I never thought the day would come that you’d see Itsu noodles on my blog. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of their cafes and when I worked in Bristol city centre, would often go for lunch but when it comes to instant noodles, I’ve always steered clear of western brands, preferring to get them from Asian supermarkets.
Itsu is a well known brand selling healthy Asian inspired food in the UK, with both a grocery line and chain of lunch spots. It was started by a British entrepreneur in 1997 – incidentally, the guy behind Pret a Manger. So although it’s Asian inspired, it’s absolutely for a British audience.
In the interest of my noodlereviewoodle page being a balanced and accessible list of reviews for everyone, here we are! I’ve been branching and eating a broader selection of instant noodles.
For those of you new to noodlereviewoodle, here’s how it works:
I score every pack out of 30 with up to 10 points available for each of the following factors:
- Flavour
- Texture
- Ease of making
Customising your ramen
The idea behind the Itsu big bowl ramen is that you customise it with your own additional ingredients to make a heartier meal. You get rice noodles and a broth paste and on the back of the cup, suggestions for what to add. It suggests a protein, veg and topping. I went with roast chicken slices, mushrooms and the fantastically addictive White Maisu peanut rāyu.
Scores on the doors
- Flavour – 5/10
- Texture – 5/10
- Ease of making – 8/10
Total: 18/30
Buy again? No
Although these weren’t for me, that doesn’t mean they’re not for you. The noodle cup format should make them an easy office lunch – but because you have to add additional ingredients, it’s not as easy as other noodle cups that you can just stick it in your bag, find a fork and some hot water and you’re off.
The sesame stock was tasty when I tried it out of the sachet but too watered down once the water was added so it didn’t have that sesame flavour punch I hoped for. I definitely preferred the Ottogi sesame ramen although it was pretty different in texture and style.
I found that the noodles were still slightly al dente after the five mins but by then the broth was cooling beyond the point it could continue softening them.
For more noodle reviews, head to my Noodle Reviewoodle page!
Dave