Lifesavers, they call it, every college or university student’s staple – fast to cook, good to eat! Yes, I’m talking about instant noodles but unfortunately, it has been getting a lot of bad press lately about it being coated with wax or how it is somewhat indigestible…bla…bla…bla! Well, for one thing, my girl would have to stay away from it from now on – it is not gluten-free.
She can go for kway teow (flat rice noodles) or bihun (rice vermicelli) though – those are made from rice flour, not wheat. However, instant ones are few and far between. I do not know of any instant kway teow but there was instant bihun, made in Taiwan, I think – very very peppery and lots of msg, not anything that we would want to buy and cook to eat.
Then, this brand…
…appeared on the shelves at our local supermarkets, made in Thailand…
Oh? The address looks familiar. I think I know somebody staying in that area.
My girl did not want this chicken flavour, not after that one from Taiwan as she did not like the strong taste of pepper. She did buy the tom yam flavour though but when I asked her, she said it was not so nice. Then the mum went and bought this one – she did not know that my girl had bought something from this same brand and was not thrilled by it. Ah well, since we had that in the house, I thought I would just cook a packet and try and I actually liked it!
Inside a packet, there is the bihun and a dual-sachet of the seasoning and the onion oil and there is the pepper in a separate much smaller sachet…
I did not use too much water when I cooked it as I would not want it to be too soupy and diluted, just enough the cover the bihun and I would use just half of the seasoning which, I guess, has a lot of msg so it would be best to cut down a bit on that…and no, I did not add the pepper.
For one thing, it seemed that the bihun would soak up the soup very fast and it turned out a lot drier than I had intended it to be…
Perhaps it would be better to cook the bihun separately first, the same way as I would cook instant noodles these days.
I had it with one poached egg and a sprinkling of chopped spring onions…
…from my garden and yes, I thought it was good.
Right now, I am waiting for the made-in-Kuching Sarawak laksa with bihun to hit the shops. An ex-student/friend spotted it in Singapore and shared the photograph on Facebook and my cousin in Kuching managed to buy it at a supermarket there but so far, it is nowhere to be seen here in Sibu.
When they first came out with the product a long long time ago, it was bihun but later, for reasons unknown, they switched to instant noodles instead…and it is a known and established fact that Sarawak/Kuching laksa is served with bihun, not noodles. Flavour-wise, it is very good, as good as many in the shops and I do know of people cooking it with their own bihun, saving the noodles to cook and eat in some other ways. Hopefully, we will get to see it around here soon…
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Nice photos. I have always preferred rice to noodles.
Well, this is made from rice flour, pretty close. 😀
Always keep a pack of five & will have it when the needs arises. It has been a long time since I last bought a pack. Am not adventurous into trying various type of instant noodles. Stick faithfully to my favourite Mee Daddy (chicken & curry flavour).
…and it is getting more and more expensive. I get so pissed off considering that it is made in Sibu and yet it costs more than many of the other brands. Tsk! Tsk!
I always drain away the water after cooking instant mee to get rid of the wax and what-nots. Then add fresh boiling water to cook the veg/meat+ seasonings.
I do that too but I’ve read articles on this being an urban legend, no wax used in the making of the noodles.
I am a fan of instant noodles since young, not a healthy choice but can’t totally do away with it 🙂
No worries, you’re not alone. Anyway, lots of stuff out there that people love to bits that are just as unhealthy…or even worse.
I prefer mee to bee hoon…
…in Sarawak laksa? Singapore-style? Katong laksa is different and it uses the big bihun here, dunno there.
I would definitely love to find an instant Sarawak laksa too!
They even export it to Singapore, dunno why it is not sold here. 😦
Authentic Sarawak laksa can be found in Johor (Southern part of Johor); Most Sarawak laksa here used noodles instead of bihun…I think you need to come to Johor to discover how Sarawak foods changed here. There’s lot of Sarawakian in this part of Malaysia.
***as a sarawakian in JB…even bihun here are different 😉
Oh? Thanks for dropping by and sharing. Never been to JB, would love to hop over once I get the chance.
There are lots of Sarawakians everywhere including those running the kampua and other food stalls everywhere in the main cities in the peninsula. I guess they adapt to the local tastes, the likes and dislikes and some may prefer noodles instead of bihun in their Sarawak laksa, like some may like noodles and bihun mixed in their Penang har mee, others would like noodles only – the die-hards from here would grumble that it is not the same, of course. Dunno the bihun but I love the kway teow over there – finer, thinner, smoother and translucent, not white.