ITSU – Satay Rice noodles

Pot

A big embossed pink plastic lid sits on top of a White cardboard wrap, all sealed with a clear plastic retainer around the lid.

The design of the packaging is definitely a case of less is more, as the bold print on a white background makes this look like a premium product. Though for a premium product I would be expecting better green credentials, so less plastic and more cardboard.

What’s Inside and how to prepare

Lifting the giant lid you will see the rice noodles sitting above the two sachets one containing Spring onion and the other the satay sauce.

Why do ITSU make their customers remove the noodles to get the sachets, surely they can put the sachets in after the noodles in the pot? Minor annoyances aside you get a lovely little story from the chef about how he is pleased to have the opportunity to prepare these noodles for you, after reading this I feel a little guilty about complaining how he has put the items in the wrong order.

The noodles are prepared with boiling water, and left to stand with no lid required, so I am still wondering why supply such a large plastic lid, other than to bump up the price a bit. The little twist in preparation is that after waiting 5minutes you are then told to add a splash of cold water.

Taste

The satay sauce gave this pot snack some nice heat from the Chilli and Ginger. You could also taste the sesame seeds very well, making this a nicely balanced broth in which to coat your noodles.

The spring onion was very noticeable with each mouthful I took, but not sure it justified being in a separate sachet to keep it ‘fresh’ as other noodle snacks such as Nissans Pork Tonkotsu had no problem with a good spring onion flavour without resorting to extra plastic.

The disappointment for me was the Rice noodles themselves. Unfortunately these noodles just seemed to have no flavour at all, and became a slimy accompaniment to the rest of the Pot snack. All flavour came from the broth and Spring onions, and that just didn’t feel enough for me to be satisfied, however despite the low calorie nature of the dish, it did feel filling.

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Quick Summary & Rating

A lovely satay broth gives this Pot noodle snack a delightful kick that just about wins over the fact you are having to enjoy this broth while eating tasteless slimy noodles.