Country of Origin:
ChinaTaiwan
More Siesta than Fiesta.
Consumption
I suppose Mexico and Taiwan have a bit in common – both having large neighbours that are kind of dicks to them. So having a fusion dish kind of makes sense, but the execution definitely needs some polish. All the right ingredients are there: black bean, spices, chilli, pork composite materials(?) for the Mexican taste, and the noodles provide the Asian side of the dish. However, instead of a fresh, spicy dish we were left with something more redolent of dodgy packet Tex-Mex tacos, Old El Paso style.
A limiting factor may have been China’s apparent One Packet Policy, where every dish we’ve gotten from the People’s Republic has so far been limited to one packet. Granted that’s only one other dish, but that’s a 100% one-packet rate – the math doesn’t lie.
So all of the ingredients for this dish come in a single, slightly odd-looking paste. The smell is right, opening the packet gives a waft of what seems to be cumin, paprika, some chilli powder, a little bit of ground coriander and the black bean. But the bark is definitely more than the bite, it really doesn’t have the intense flavouring or heat that you get from Mexican food or other noodle dishes.
Heat Level
Taste Level
The cake was incredibly dense, so you do end up with a hell of a lot of n00ds for your buck, but ultimately the taste just ends up being blah. Perhaps an illegal second packet with vegie chunks could lift the dish, or even a third just for the flavour powders would leave room for more flavour, but that’s risking a trip to an unnamed disputed border somewhere.
The Aftermath
No hints of a revolution in my stomach after this one, so it would be a safe bet for an anytime meal, but I’d rather just grab a cheeky burrito.
0 flames, not really a Great Leap Forward in cuisine either.
I feel a little misled, Mexico flavour (to me) means i want to be tasting a fiesta of Jalapeño, cumin, coriander, salsa Verde. This nood was like in the R&D phase one person who had Mexican once said, “this tastes like Mexican” and not to feel left out everyone sheepishly went along with it. Don’t get me wrong, it has some of the components, but I so desperately wanted a pork burrito flavoured ramen (perhaps i went in with impossibly high expectations). I will concede that i ate the entire bowl and I do so without forcing myself, I guess i just wanted more.
I got no regret here, there was concern while eating. I thought “this tastes like regret”, my initial thoughts later became totally unfounded. I sat, I pooped, I wiped, I left.
0. no ragrets (is that reference completely played out now).
The noodle block was deceptive; I thought it wasn’t going to produce many noods at all. Seems the Taiwanese have mastered noodle compression as these actually expanded out quite heftily; block the same size as an Indomie, however 30% more portion. Magic.
It kinda tasted like Taco seasoning and there was a little bit of heat, but the overall flavour was just underwhelming. Definitely Mexican so they got that much right, but I was hoping for some interesting kind of Fusion dish and all I got was cheap Tacos.
No real regret to speak of with these ones either! Though they contained the flavour of black beans they came with none of the gas. Wonderful! Safe to eat; but more “Siesta than Fiesta”.
0 flames
Overall Porcelain Punishment Level
