The best and the rest: Hong Kong instant noodles taste test
We put the kettle on in a search for the ultimate in convenience store cup noodles, from a (totally unscientific) sample of 10 brands from across East Asia. See if you agree with our ratings
Yes, we all know that instant noodles are bad for us – they contain excessive amounts of sodium and fat, are difficult to digest, and have little – if any – nutritional value. And I, as a food editor, should be (so I’m told) disdainful of them.
But I – like so many others out there – eat them because they’re convenient, fast, and, if you choose correctly, they can even be delicious.
Our goal was to find the best cup noodles out there, choosing from those sold in convenience shops in MTR stations. We soon realised that goal was far too ambitious because there are just too many available; in one day of shopping at 7-Eleven and 759 franchises in just two MTR stations (Pok Fu Lam and Tai Po), we had 30 cup noodles. We narrowed it down to 10, choosing from different price ranges (HK$6.90 per pack up to HK$19.90), flavours and origin (Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea).
Six colleagues gathered one afternoon for a casual, totally unscientific tasting. But before we reveal the results, a few words of observation.
First, price often does matter. The more expensive instant noodles tend to be better (although of course there are exceptions).
Second, read the label very carefully. Most of us assume that one packet of noodles is a single serving, but the brands often list the amount of sodium (as well as fat and other nutritional information) per 100 grams. Some packets contain less than 100 grams, but others have a lot more, and if you eat the whole thing by yourself, you might be doubling the amount of sodium you think you’re getting.