Okay, there is an obvious pattern here in the top spots, where again the gluten-free rice noodles of Kobuto appear to be the ‘healthy’ option in the world of instant noodles. So if you want healthy noodles – go with rice noodles. Anyway, the branding is also similar to the ‘authentic Asian’ flavours, and, like Itsu, it follows a likely fictitious Japanese origin story of Samurai Master Crispin and his handcrafted recipes from his family kitchen. “With the skill, dedication and discipline of a Samurai warrior”. Similar branding, but cuter, and more anime/weeb-inspired.

Again I play it safe with Batchelor’s Super Noodle Pot Curry, ‘noodles in a curry flavour seasoning with peas and tomato’. Unfortunately they are worse than I remember, given they’re kind of mushy, and messy, and a bit like baby food. They’re really just not my style of noodles. I prefer a bit of chew in my noodles. And even ground white pepper and dry chilli flakes failed to save them. They’re still good for the saucepan though. Anyway, I’m not certain why the brand is named “Asian Street Style”, but I’m guessing they’re inspired by the whole ‘authentic’ Asian street food fad that I admittedly buy into as they’re almost always more exciting than plain old Chow Mein. So I go with the Pot Noodle Asian Street Style Thai Red Curry, a staple of Thai cuisine that’s pretty much never found near street food outside of Khao Rad Kaeng curry canteens. But I’m always excited for anything curry, and I’m already thinking of more Thai curry flavours, like panaeng, and massaman, and how awesome could Khao Soi be? Now, in 2020, I finally have the opportunity to put them head-to-head, and while I am familiar with almost all the original Super Noodle flavours, Batchelor’s say that flavours differs from the standard Super Noodle range. Exciting. But they don’t really look like they’ve changed. They just look like a chunk of Super Noodles squashed inside a cup. Exciting. Nissin Soba Noodles: I would probably eat noodles/noodles soups thrice a week in Asia. And I will always go with the noodles with a bit of meatiness, a bit of bite, a bit of chew. So this is where Nissin Soba Noodles add to this selection.Anyway, the chewy, filling noodles of Ko-Lee are right up my street, the flavours are definitely Asian, and Ko-Lee even include a plastic fork, which is more like a trident, in every pot. So I do suspect they were produced for an Asian market where pot noodles are easily prepared at every convenience store or konbini to eat on the go. Otherwise instant noodles are prepared mainly at home in the UK with kettles/boiling water found right next to the knife and fork drawer. So it feels almost like Ko-Lee have just dumped a load of tasty Asian noodles into European markets and relied on the cheap and cheerful product to sell themselves. Why waste money on regional branding. Anyway, I go with itsu Satay Rice Noodles and I was genuinely surprised by the unlikely goodness of this pot noodle as the flat rice noodles and miso broth really bring a freshness to what is otherwise a junk food staple. The flavour of peanut sate is there as well, and while it’s not outstanding, it can easily be fixed with a bit of personal seasoning (salt, ground white pepper, and chilli flakes). These rice noodles are also gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, and oddly there’s no mention of peanut in the ingredients so they’re probably fine for allergies. Good job Itsu! But I will go out on a limb here and say these Itsu noodles are homegrown here in the U.K. Firstly, because Itsu doesn’t seem to exist in the instant ramen scene in Japan. But the potentially fictitious Yoshihiro is also said to be from “Nagano Valley” near Tokyo. I have been to Nagano before, the prefecture, the city, the snow monkeys, and Google maps don’t even know where Nagano Valley is. Anyway, they seem to be selling a more upmarket ‘Japanese’ pot noodle experience. “Eat with pride” “Eat beautiful” “Solution for foodies” which seems to be an alternative to slobbing away on a Bombay Badboy.

So given the questionable origins of Itsu I was happy to branch out to satay (sate), a common street food staple in Southeast Asia which has become somewhat of a generic term for barbecue meat skewers. However sate is probably better known for its sauce, a delightful spiced peanut sauce (Sambal Kecang) from Indonesia (or Malaysia if you’re from Malaysia). And personally I like my ‘sate’ to be less sweet or coconutty, and more hot and fiery and Sumatran style. Unilever Pot Noodles: Partly influenced by my passion for food tourism as Pot Noodles are the U.K’s equivalent to Japan’s Cup Noodles. With 10s of flavours to explore. And somewhere there will almost always be a reduced price/half-price offer going on Pot Noodles.