Pal-Do World "Seattle Ramen"

Brand: Pal-Do World Inc.
Flavour: Seattle Ramen
Format: brick-in-packet
Packets: two
Identifiables: noodle brick, veggie bits, soup powder
Sodium: 1.99 grams

One wonders what precisely goes into "Seattle Ramen". I live rather near Seattle, and I'm in the city on a regular basis. It certainly has a unique feel, a certain style that I love, but I don't really associate it with a flavour, except perhaps espresso. (I swear, I've consumed more coffee in my two years here than I did in my entire lifetime before that.) I don't see espresso in the ingredient list, but I do see Alaska pollack as the very last ingredient in the soup powder. That... will have to do.

On the surface, the package and everything in it comes across as a clone of Nong Shim's "Shin Ramyun", that standard of instant noodles. It looks the same and cooks the same, so one can get the gist of it by revisiting that review. The noodles even absorb the broth the same way.

The flavour, however, is very different. It has less of the full-spectrum beefy flavour I recall from Shin Ramyun. The noodles are edgier, with spice (a high four) and an almost acidic-seeming high end without all that much below it to give the feeling of a hearty broth. The broth itself is better, but still spicier than expected and in an off-balance way. It's rather like eating a salad made of predominantly green pepper slices; if there are other flavours, they're masked by a hollow earthy flavour that's supposed to be support, not main attraction. The result is a rather dissatisfying meal which, honestly, I find myself finishing not because it's tasty, but because it's not truly repellent. I hate pitting one ramen directly against another, but given a choice, I'd take the Shin Ramyun.

And no, it didn't taste like espresso.

Numbers: packaging 3, preparation 2, heat 4, flavour 2, overall 2
Music: Yuka Honda - Memories Are My Only Witness - Some Days I Stay in Bed For Hours