A Flowery Song

Background: The label proudly proclaims these to be “none fried” and “MSG free”. It comes as your familiar noodle brick, a sauce pack, and a pack of “dried vegetables” (most of which is a wheat-based meat substitute which I initially mistook for dried mushroom.) The Chinese herbs are evidently plum, Angelica sinensis, Ligusticum wallichii, Paeonia lactiflora Pall., and Rehmannia glutinosa. Yep, those are herbs.

Smells like sesame, ginger, and, well, herbs. There are some floating red berries that are vaguely fruity, while the wheat bits are chewy and don’t seem to have much flavour beyond that from the sauce. Again, the cabbage is a different texture, but doesn’t have much distinct flavour. As for the flavour of the sauce…it’s a little sweet, not overly salty (for ramen, leastways), and very herbal.

Overall: I like them. I’m not convinced that the packet directions (combine everything with 500ml of water) are the best preparation method since it ends up with so very much broth, but they’re flavourful and filling.

Background: Lychee is a fruit. Nata de Coco is more interesting; it’s produced by fermenting coconut water with Acetobacter xylinum, a unique bacteria that synthesises cellulose. The result is a chewy, translucent, slightly sweet jelly-like substance.

Nose: Sweet, floral lychee.

Taste: Very sweet lychee. It’s got a good fruity flavour, but this is flavoured sugar water, not juice. The Nata de Coco is floating around as small cubes, approximately 3mm on a side. It adds an interesting texture dimension, but has a tendency to settle to the bottom.

Overall: I found it too sweet for my tastes, but other than that very interesting.

Background: A jelly-like dessert produced by boiling Mesona chinensis, a member of the mint family.

Translucent, black, and slightly firmer than cranberry jelly, with a slightly bitter lavender-like herbal flavour.

Plain, it’s kind of watery and blah. With sugar…well, it’s still no stunner. Might be good in a fruit salad for some added textural contrast.

Background: Fruit-flavoured jelly snacks manufactured by Tsang Lin Industries in Taichung, Taiwan. Each little cup contains, in addition to naturally flavoured seaweed-thickened gel, one or two chunks of what’s probably coconut.

There’s a small amount of liquid hiding out inside these buggers, so be gentle when opening. The gel’s texture is slightly firmer than normal gelatin snacks, and the chunk of whatever provides a nice contrast.

Pineapple: Faint pineapple flavour. A bit blandly sugary, to be honest.

Grape: Tastes purple, as is fitting for a purple gel.

Strawberry: Decent. Stronger flavour than the pineapple, slightly more natural than the grape.

Green Apple: My favourite. I’ve always loved pretty much anything “green apple”, and this provides that. I’d like it to be a bit tarter, but it’s okay as-is.

Overall: Hey, it’s fruit gels, not haute cuisine. There’s no great depth of flavour, but were you really expecting that?