Nongshim OoLongmen Chicken Flavour

This appears to be an improved version of the Chicken Poulet which curiously contained beef extract. This new version is all veggie, but is still not very good. I mean, it's edible, but it just has an unpleasant chemical flavour all the way through, and the noodles are too floury. There's lumps of soy which are intended to be beef. It's an odd concoction, with unpleasant textures. I'll try them again in the future out of curiosity, but it's not really a noodle I'm going to be reaching for in my cupboard.

Score: 3

Nongshim

The best (and worse) 
Chicken flavour noodles

Golden Sunrise BBQ Beef v Lidl Newgate BBQ Beef

A Lidl BBQ Beef noodle v a 99p shop BBQ Beef noodle. The Golden Sunrise is the 99p shop brand, and costs 20p for a 70g pack. I reviewed it in Sept 2016, and gave it a score of 6. The Newgate is the Lidl brand, and costs 35p for a 108g pack. I reviewed it in 2015 under the Vitasia name and again in May 2016 under the Newgate name when I gave it a score of 4.

The Lidl noods are little more expensive weight for weight, but look a little more attractive in the bowl, and have a slightly more attractive packet. The taste though really is the main difference, and it's quite staggering. The Lidl noods are simply stodgy, plain and boring. There is too much noodle for the flavouring, and the flavouring simply lacks impact. The Golden Sunrise noods have bags of flavour - perhaps too much. There's a bit of spicy warmth, but also a fair degree of msg. Just a tad too much. Bags of savoury, but pushed just a tad too far so it all tastes just a bit too chemical and false.

We mixed them together and that produced a fairly acceptable if not particularly exciting lunch.


The winner is the Golden Sunrise.

Lidl Curry v Asda Curry

The Lidl (Newgate) is a larger pack

Head to head with two own brand curry noods. The Lidl own brand is called Newgate, which is misleading, but at least it has more noodles - 108g compared to Asda's 85g.

Ingredients are much the same, except that the Asda contains crushed dried chicken. The Asda is made in China - the Lidl doesn't give country of origin.

The dried noodles look more attractive in the Asda pack, while the seasoning pack (and the seasoning itself) looks more attractive in the Lidl pack.

The Lidl has plumper noodles, and this meant that the noodle wheat flavour tended to be slightly more prominent than the sauce. The Asda noods seemed more integrated. But, really, there is little in it. The flavours are very similar. I slightly preferred the Asda, my partner slightly preferred the Lidl. Given that the Asda contains chicken, I declare the Lidl noods the winner.


*  Lidl Newgate / Vitasia Instant Noodles Curry Flavour

*  ASDA Chosen By You Curry Flavour Noodles (packet)

Itsu What The Duck Crystal Noodles (Cup)

The sauce makes for a pleasant savoury drinking soup, while the noodles are best thrown away.


Score: 4

Ko-Lee Bang! Bang! Noodles Cheeky Chicken Green Curry Flavour

I like this. Warm, but not too spicy, with a pleasant touch of lime. The sauce works well with the noodles, and I didn't need to add any salt or seasoning. I put in all the sauces, and it worked well. A little watery, but that's OK sometimes. Drinking the sauce afterwards was a nice way to finish it off, though the design of the cup makes it just a little tricky.


Score: 7

Kohlico

Best curry flavour