What is it?First off the official blurb on the side of the pot itself – ‘Noodles in an incredibly HOT CURRY flavour sauce with soya pieces, vegetables and a little sachet of hot fire chilli sauce’. So if you were in any doubt, this is a CURRY flavoured noodle product. It comes in a cylindrical cone-like round ‘pot’, made of plastic and covered in a foil lid. Within the pot, as the blurb suggests, along with the dried noodles is a small sachet of sauce for use in the flavouring process, allowing the user to tweak their taste experience according to their taste, making the Pot Noodle a fully customizable foodstuff. There are also a healthy amount of peas and sweetcorns (both also dried), meaning presumably eating a pot noodle counts towards your ‘five a day’.
Quick Fact – The english language word noodle originates from the German word Nudel (meaning Noodle).
What does it do?You may notice that with the dried food inside, a newly purchased pot noodle also works well as rudimentary maracas (only if no actual maracas are available, if they are I strongly recommend you use them instead for fear of looking silly – see forthcoming Uninformed Review – Maracas).. As a foodstuff, its main task involves being eaten by the user, with the manufacturers intention presumably be for it to taste as good as possible. Obviously different people have different tastes, therefore the Pot Noodle company have helpfully produced at least four other flavours (and possibly more by the time you read this, they are apparently developing new noodle related ideas all the time). So this review is based on the presumption that the reader does in fact like the curry flavour, should they not I recommend they wait for The Uninformed review of King Pot Noodle, Chicken and Mushroom flavour, which should be available shortly. As well as simply being edible from a pot (which makes it very useful should you be caught in a position where you need to eat ‘on the fly’, in other words very quickly), you can remove the cooked product from the pot and add it to a bowl, or if you are really adventurous add it to a bap or baguette for a more bread related noodle experience. Hilarious practical jokes can be achieved by pouring the Bombay Bad Boy flavour noodles plus full contents of aforementioned hot fire chilli sauce into an empty Chicken and Mushroom flavour pot, then served up to a friend who is sensitive (i.e. doesn’t like) spicy food. The entire packaging of a pot noodle (including the noodles themselves) are fully recyclable. Quick Tip – You may like to reuse your used pot and use it as a plant pot. Very postmodern, apparently.
Where does it come from? The Pot Noodle company as brought by Unilever from its previous owners Golden Wonder, which prevented cross contamination caused by cheese and onion crisps finding their way amongst the noodles. This was a baffling problem for Golden Wonder, especially as the crisps and pot noodles were manufactured in different factories.
Quick Fact – Pot Noodle has recently come under fire for being an unhealthy snack, this can be avoided by eating it as a substitute for a main meal. You could always get a takeaway later if you get hungry.
How long will it last?My recently purchased pot noodle has a used by date of MAY 08. Meaning that if you have recently knocked up your wife, girlfriend or other, you could purchase a pot noodle today and it will still be good to eat as a celebration when the baby eventually arrives (is born). However the actual usage time, not including storage time spent in your cupboard while waiting to eat, is a little under 15 minutes. This includes boiling the kettle, and waiting for the noodle to achieve optimum softness. Its speed of preparation however adds to its score, as it does fall into the snack category.
Quick Tip – Replacing the lid of the foil lid after adding the boiling water will speed up the softening process of the noodles. Achtung! Do not replace the foil lid before adding the boiling water, this will not work as the foil is impervious to water, meaning it will pour away from the pot rather than on to the noodles, possibly causing scalding type incidents should said water come into contact with the user. This might seem obvious, but there is always one isn’t there?
How much will it cost?96p Adsa, 99p Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons. It is possible you could be charged as much as £1.89 in 24 hour garages and the like, so shop clever, people.
Quick Fact – Noodles are of course an extremely cheap foodstuff, grown as it is in the paddy fields of south east Asia along with other staple vegetables such as rice and pasta.
Summary
I found the eating of King Pot Noodle, Bombay Bad Boy flavour as a very pleasant experience. True, it will never replace an actual curry, however should you be in a position where nothing but a curry will do, yet neither have the time, energy, or money to obtain one, this will do as an adequate replacement. However comparisons with curry are at best not clever, as previously mentioned Pot Noodle is in fact a snack, therefore it can be better compared with beans on toast. At worst the comparison between a curry and a pot noodle could be considered the first ramblings of a madman, so Ill have to tread careful here. Its cheapness and simpleness explains the relatively high score awarded to this product. Once note of caution however – despite many earlier references to adding boiling water, written as it was by me, this is incorrect. The pots themselves have ‘add hot water – not boiling’ printed on the sides. I inadvertently added boiling water and accidentally pierced the bottom of the pot with my fork whilst vigorously stirring, causing the contents to spill onto my trousers. So just a little warning there – no matter how simple something appears to be, probably best to read the instructions first just to be on the safe side, eh?
NOTE – it is perfectly acceptable to use a spoon to eat a pot noodle, but not a knife.
Score
57%
