When most 'instant noodles' cost around $0.69 a packet. To see one priced at $2.99, the first thing that comes to my mind was ' the content better taste pretty dawn good '?!
Whilst shopping at T&T today, I came across this new product:
'Prima Taste' - Made in Singapore, authentic Laksa La Mien 'Instant' Noodles.
After purchasing a packet, I decided to give it a try immediately I got home. Upon opening the packaging, besides the dehydrated noodles, I noticed two huge pouches marked 'Laksa Paste' and 'Laksa Premix'. The 'potent' looking paste emitted an awesome aromatic smell that was really fragrant and spelled 'authentic'! The other packet contained equally fragrant smelling coconut powder. Recommended cooking time.was a ,longer than normal, 7+ minutes.
VERDICT:
Man!! Was I in for a huge surprise! Overall, it was one great tasty bowl of noodle. The spice level, sweetness level, umami level and aroma were all pretty spot on. Texture of the 'Pulled noodle La Mien' was chewy and super al dente. Actually a touch too much elasticity for my liking, but still very enjoyable. A further 2 minutes more cooking rendered the texture just perfect!
A few fish balls, a hard boiled egg, a couple of cooked prawns and some bean sprouts and you would think you are eating in Singapore's Newton Hawker Center!! Ha!!
So good, I am willing to hang my head out, put my reputation on the line and recommend this product! ( they also have a Singapore Curry version ).
Looking forward to hearing some of your feed backs.
It's rated one of the top instant noodles by the Ramen Rater (fascinating in a crazy way).
Prima Taste are well known for their pastes (assam, curry laksa, mee siam, etc) so I guess no surprise their instant noodles are pretty good too.
In the dry noodle section? Or is it fresh? And the noodles - are they palm oil-filled? Thanks!
Ramen Rater has pictures of the packaging on his website. It looks like just the paste has palm oil. Too bad. It's so hard to find instant noodles without palm oil.
It looks like most of the fat comes from coconut. Wonder if these were fresh/frozen/dried. On my to try list
Did you add a few things to it in the second photo?
A colleague and I have been splitting instant ramen packs for lunch every Friday at work sampling different products that we find in local supermarkets. Neither of us have any knowledge or expertise concerning instant ramen products and our "search" is nothing more than pursuit of interesting flavors in a warm meal for less than $2.00 per person. We found the RamenRater's review/blog a few weeks ago and appreciated his efforts to list his personal preferences. Finding two of the Prima Taste products at the top of his list, including the Laksa LaMian Singapour and their Curry products validated some of our own experiences. While many of the instant ramens we've tried are pleasant vehicles to deliver enjoyable noodles plus salt plus a simple processed flavor element, the ones we've tried from Prima Taste actually offer a complex range of flavors that puts them apart from many of the other products we've tried. The Laksa LaMian version has tremendous depth that balances coconut, shrimp, and chili flavors in a very pleasant manner. From our perspective it offers a ton of flavor per serving.
Eat in moderation! Beware of Tranfat and wax, my friend!!
Actually, there's no way and very little chance of transfat. I don't think I've seen an instant noodle with transfats in the last zillion or so - here's an article I wrote about some rumors/urban lore about instants - http://www.theramenrater.com/2012/04/...
great find charles! i really like the curry laksa at gourmet malaysia and the metro square food court. maybe i'll brave the icy streets to pick up a pack and some extra ingredients!
The t&t at kennedy and 407 had this on special display at the front of the aisle. Tastes pretty good.
We love the nongshim korean potato ramen. Sells for $1.29. Very chewy texture.
If anyone sees it in the gta, pls advise of location. No longer seeing it at galleria.
My favourite was the "fresh" ramen by Pulmuone. No longer find it at Galleria, unfortunately, but I keep checking when I go.
What is this potato ramen you speak of? I'm intrigued. Can you upload a picture of the package?
http://www.nongshimusa.com/?mid=meal_...
The noodle is quite chewy. Read about it in a magazine. Tried it out and we love this version.
I'm excited to go to T&T to get some!
There's an ad on the ramenrater's page that says there's a chili crab flavour. I wonder if it's available here?
The influence and power of Chowhound??!!
I went to the Weldrick T&T to replenish some and they were sold out!! Went to the Woodbine/16th store next. Same thing!! Wow!!!
Got the remaining two 'Curry' ones instead!
Charles, you have to try MyKuali's Penang White Curry Noodles, which is all the craze in Malaysia & Singapore at the moment. It's also listed in Ramen Rater's top 10 spiciest noodles list as mentioned by this Malaysian site http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/fo...
http://www.theramenrater.com/top-ten-...
People here fight to buy MyKuali's white curry noodles off the shelves and it is often so hard to be able to find any. Here is how the packet looks like
http://mylovelybluesky.com/wp-content...
Personally, I find MyKuali's curry noodles tastier than Prima Taste's. Do not bother with Prima Taste's Chilli Crab and Singapore Curry flavours, they are pretty bland compared to the Laksa version.
Maybe so, but Prima's Curry and MyKuali's are like apples and oranges...
What makes you say that?! Both are noodles in curry broth and also used coconut milk powder to add richness to their broth. If it's Indomie's dry mie goreng vs noodles in curry broth, then you can say I'm comparing apples to oranges!
Anyway, both are the instant noodle companies' attempt to interpret local laksa and curry noodles into instant packaged form.
There are different varieties of curry the world over; it's pretty obvious that Prima's take isn't as much of a local take but a broader take.
I think Prima got the local flavours right, but toned down the chilli ratio to suit non-Singaporean tastes, with an eye on the Chinese market. But the original flavours are all there for all the noodles flavours offered:- Laksa, Chilli Crab and Curry.
BTW, you mentioned that the Prima Laksa has a "fishy scent" (http://www.theramenrater.com/2013/03/...), do note that Singapore Laksa uses dried shrimps and no fish, only Malaysian laksa uses fish.
Just spent a couple months in Malaysia.... Didn't even think of stocking up on some instant noodles! Wasted opportunity!
FYI Charles, they have lots of laksa at the 16 and Woodbine store now. I just bought one.
I'm glad that you Canadians have finally discovered one of our Singapore food treasures. I think this product was first mentioned by Singaporean Chowhound, klyeoh, in his "Katong Laksa Wars" posting in March 2012 :-
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/8392...
Hey Charles,
If you really like them, one can order a case of 12 from Prima Taste Canada. $36 plus $15 shipping (I've easily spent that much driving and calling around trying to find them with no luck).
Now, if you really REALLY like them, free delivery for orders over $160. :-D
Happy New Year PoppiYYZ,
I like them but not to THAT Degree!! Will try my luck once in a while! Thanks for the tips anyways!
tons on the shelf at tnt cherry st.
- khao san road
Ha ha,
Happy New Year Charles, all the best for 2014 !!
this actually sounds good. what is the verdict on MSG level? i grew up eating instant noodles and get nostalgic for it, but one look at the ingredients list (filled with un-pronouncable chemicals) makes me put the package down pretty quick nowadays. i hope this is different :)
No MSG is listed on the ingredients plus on the front of the package, they state "No MSG added*". However, they added in fine print on the back "*Contains naturally occurring glutamate."
The ingredient list is pretty good for instant noodles -- only three to four un-/semi-pronounceable chemicals. I think the nutritional info/ingredients list is available in a photo on ramenrater's site.
However, your query prompted me to read the back of the package (I just had this for dinner) and I just ate 91% of my recommended daily sodium intake!
Flavour-wise, this is great for instant laksa at home. Would buy again if I have a craving for laksa. Easier to throw together than the Prima Taste Laksa meal kit and simpler for one person. I've tried the kit before and I think it's slightly better than the instant noodle (sambal chili and laksa leaves are included in separate packets), but the instant noodle is far more convenient.
I don't think I've ever used the full seasoning packet for ramen. A full packet makes it too salty for my taste. With the Koka brand Laksa I use the full coconut powder, but only half of the salt powder and half the oil.
Yikes ! At over 2000 mg sodium (91% daily intake) per serving, I'm concerned there will be very few Toronto CHers left if this really catches on !!
Meh. If you eat at restaurants on a regular basis, you've already got a ton of sodium in your diet. Most restaurant food has way more sodium than you'd think. Have you ever seen that Toronto Star column where they measure the nutritional content of restaurant dishes? Pretty much everything has 1500+ mg of sodium.
People tend to overreact about the amount of sodium in ramen... or underreact to the the amount of sodium in pretty much all prepared foods. Or a bit of both, I guess.
And most people don't know how much sodium is in their home cooked meals.
I agree with this if you eat processed at home but if you eat fresh at home, it should be easy to know how much sodium you eat at home.
Absolutely right.
BTW, the Laksa is 2180 mg sodium per pack !
I still plan on trying them based on Charles' req and my love of Laksa, but will probably only use part of the of the premix packet per paulj's suggestion.
Good news, if you have a few packages in your pantry, you will also have a great emergency walkway de-icer !! ;-)
In theory I could measure every use of salt. If I do that by volume I'd have to convert that to mass. I'd also have keep track of how much of each dish I eat. But what about salt that I add by the sprinkle and pinch? And the salt used in brines and pasta water? Salt in soy sauce and fish sauce? There are other sources of sodium as well, such as baking soda.
Kamozawa and Talbot, in Ideas in Food, were meticulous in recording salt use in their recipes, and calculated that they consistently seasoned their food at a 0.5% of weight basis. I haven't tried to translate that to a volume measure such as tsp of salt per cup of soup broth, or serving of rice.
If you're careful about cooking low sodium meals, then yes, that's true. But if you're just cooking without paying much attention to that, then it is very, very easy for the sodium levels in homemade dishes to skyrocket. One teaspoon of salt has 2300 mg of sodium. Think about how tiny a teaspoon of salt is, and how much salt you generally use while cooking.
At home, I don't usually eat with sauces, bribes and so on. Tonight, for example, we had steak (which we salt), beets, parsnips, carrots, baked potato. In total on the veggies we used about a teaspoon and I also used about 1% of my daily intake via sour cream. We rarely add any salt to food that we cook.
The times when I'm eating for health/fuel, I know my salt intake. When I'm just eating, and not caring, then I don't know.
Pour a teaspoon of salt in your mouth and it won't seem tiny. Then imagine eating 3-4 times that amount in a day which is possible when eating out or processed food without caution and moderation. Likely help one change their eating habits, even if the blood pressure meter doesn't.
Anyway, I am planning on trying this Laksa, but will try using less of the flavor packet, and reduce salt on other things that day...
I routinely will use only a one-third or less of the flavor packages on the increasingly rare occasions when I cook instant ramen at home. So I guess I`m not getting the full flavor experience intended by the manufacturers, but my taste buds seem to have adjusted OK. This will also explain the sodium overload I experienced recently when I tried one of the new Ramen shops mentioned here on CH. I am at the stage that too much sodium (for me) is unpleasant to intake.
Better test is to put that teaspoon in a cup or two of hot water, and judge how close that comes to your preferred soup.
My favorite Maggi bouillon powder lists 840 mg of sodium per tsp (4g) (per cup of hot water).
Too much for me as much as I'd like to try it. Blood pressure's high enough without all that sodium.
Yeah there's a pic of the ingredients on the review. What I like about their stuff is what I also liked about A-Sha (Taiwan) products; they use very few ingredients and make some excellent stuff.
I'm fairly sensitive to MSG, but had no aftereffects from the Laksa package.
I didn't find it particularly salty either, but I guess the numbers don't lie.
it's instant noodles, what do you expect?
Eat it as an occasional treat, just like you would with any junk/snack/fast food.
If you're a worrywart, do you, don't eat it.
Thanks for the rec Charles. I always walk down that aisle at T&T to check out the various brands and noticed this one.
Picked up a pac of the Laksa La Mien and one of the Curry for lunch. Definitely enjoyable. First, the noodles. I boiled for 7 minutes and let steep another minute and they were perfect. Held their texture well in the hot liquid even though I didn't eat fast. Second, the flavour. Wow, very tasty and "authentic" tastic. Quite spicy. So much so, my wife (who's a wimp) couldn't finish hers so I got to eat both. Personal preference was for the curry version. Possibly because I started it first and then found the shrimp paste flavour in the La Mien a little much. Either way, I'd eat both again. I just served it plain with a few raw shrimp that I added for the last 2mins of simmer.
BTW, I noticed that Prima Taste products have been put in some of the end of aisle displays. THey had a Hainanese Chicken rice, Signapore Chili Crab, Rendang and something else I forget. I'd give them a shot just to see how much I like the dish before I try making them from scratch.
I finally had a chance to try the laksa. It's good. The noodles were great. I really enjoyed the texture. They were chewy in a great way. I also really enjoyed the laksa seasoning. I love anything with shrimp paste and this was no exception. I would even enjoy it if the shrimp paste was stronger.
Can't wait to taste the curry flavour.
Being stuck at home alone today, I tried the Laksa for the first time. Liked the noodles and the bowl was quite tasty, even though I only used half of both flavoring pouches. Nice treat for the odd occasions...thanks for mentioning the product on this forum. Thinking of using the left-over flavor packages with something like spaghetti pasta if I don't just toss them.
Count me in as one more person grateful for the introduction of this product. The broth is so tasty that I could not help but add an extra serving of noodles into it, after the original noodles are finished! I also like how "sturdy" and thick the noodles are, especially that they are not deep-fried like regular instant ramen.
Thanks for introducing us to this product, Charles. I'm having the curry one for lunch right now and it's delicious!
I love the firm, chewy noodles and the seasoning is wonderful.
The only complaint I have is that you can't take it to the office for lunch because of the long cooking time for the noodles.
T&T store on Cherry St. has been cleaned out. Charles, you really do need to get a commission.
I tried to buy some last week at Cherry st also but alas the racks were also bare.
I purchased some Sun Noodle products and those turned out to be really good also. Located in the freezer section.
I've been lurking on this post for a while and I will soon give into temptation and head to the T+T on Cherry street. Other asian supermarkets don't seem to carry Prima Taste and when I was in the Leslie street Loblaws yesterday also scanned that aisle hoping somehow magically there would be something since Loblaws share the same supply chain as T+T there would be the chance...:(
As I posted just now in another thread.....Found the 4 pack of Prima Taste in Laksa LaMien and also Curry version. Both came in 4 packs. Both were 9.95 at two stores I went to. The selection at Kam Man Food on 200 Canal Street in Chinatown (NYC) was astounding. (I also found the 4 pack of just the Laksa LaMien at Asia Market Corp on Mulberry Street. Asia Market Corp also had Indomie noodles which are rated very high). I now have an awesome 'go to' place that also has a bar area that serves hot food! I spoke to the manager and he was awesome. Thanks ChowHounds!!!!
Any recent sighting in the GTA?...checked T&T on Warden and the Middlefield one....no luck....
I've been looking there for the past month.. No luck either!!
Just a heads up for those looking for this noodle. The T&T on Warden&Steeles currently has a boatload of them.
Its even on a bit of a sale. 2 for $5.50 instead of the $2.99 for one.
They are also selling it by the box now, I think $30 per box, didn't remember how many packs per box.
Commie...Awesome...will check it out...is it in the regular ramen section or in the frozen section?...
Thanks commie. Picked up a bunch from the Warden and Steeles T&T. Have been dying to try these ever since this thread was started. Great find Charles!
For some reason the cashier rung them up at 2 for $5 instead of 2 for $5.50. Just an FYI.
Flavours were very similar to the laksa I've had at Gourmet Malaysia and the food stall in Metro Square.
warlock...it is in the regular ramen section. There seems to be 2 sections of ramen...one focusing on mostly japanese/korean noodles and another. It's located in the ramen aisle that's closest to the western direction of the store.
Thanks commie...picked up a couple...didn't see any boxes though...and they seemed to be running out of it...
Condiment-wise, the trick is to chop up some fresh parsley very finely and add it when serving, mix it into the broth (I put some in the bowl first and the rest on top of the broth). Brings a whole new taste-level to the experience. Very common to see this topping in Laksa bowls in Singapore.
And someone mentioned that the spiciness level was a little toned down, to that I suggest that Singapore eating is very much about condiments (to your own taste). So mix in a little sambal chilli into the laksa and you'll be all set.
Thanks for the tips! Just to make sure, its 'Parsley' and NOT Cilantro ( Chinese Parsley )?
I believe both are used as subsititute for laksa leaves, chinese parsley to a lesser extent. In Singapore, laksa leaves or daum kesum ( in Malay) is commonly used as garnish. It is also known as Vietnamese cilantro and Cambodian mint.
( T&T @The Promenade also has loads of both Laksa and Curry La Mian on sale)
Cherry street too?
Last I saw earlier this week, they only had the curry flavor. Plenty of it though.
my wife got both varieties yesterday at Cherry St. said the shelf was close to being emptied out.
Thanks. So the Curry flavour is different from Laksa?
The Miliken store only has the Curry...I bought 4 and there were only 4 left.
Demo/sample tasting currently going on in the Weldrick branch. Special being offered at 2 for $5.00. Tons in stock!
Tons in stock at the Kennedy 407 location. I bought the Laksa version. Will add some shrimp, fish ball, tofu puffs and yellow noodle to make my own "version".
And lots of cilantro.
Hi caitlink,
Seems when you already do all that work, may as well put together a bowl using a paste and coconut milk, which is what comes in the Prima packet. I'm going to find some laksa paste (recs anyone???) and make something using yellow and rice noodles, the proteins, and cilantro.
Neighbourguy...what you say makes sense.....if you are serving two or more persons....
This Prima Noodles is more for if you are alone and need a quick fix....
I normally use Tean's Gourmet Curry Laksa which is pretty decent....this paste is easily available at most stores...
Agreed, Tean's line of pre mix pastes are generally above average - fair good.
Prima's line of products are pretty authentic overall.
Not sure whether this available in the supermarts here:
warlock, I got an envelope of the Tean's. Thanks for the rec! This will absolutely do until I return to KL.
I recently needed a hit and boiled up my last pack of Prima Taste. It is indeed very good. I'm generally not a fan of flash-dried instant noodle but theirs has a pleasant "toothsomeness." And the soup/gravy has a viscosity I love. I may try to replicate this thickness the next time I use Tean's with coconut milk powder added to the canned milk+soup stock mix.
T&T Cherry St. Plenty of cases of both flavours.
Can't get out until next week, hope there are still some left somewhere. :)
and 91% of daily sodium.......
So, you're saying basically the same as all packaged Asian noodles.
Calories, fat, and sodium. The three basic food groups !
Buy three cases and they will throw in a personal defibrillator at no charge, AND they are all delivered by a doctor !
:-D
No sugar though. Fat and sodium aren't the real problem according to recent research!
Depends on which research and what you want to prevent. Fat is a major culprit, and the only diet shown in studies published in peer-reviewed journals to prevent and reverse heart disease is a very low fat diet that also excludes animal protein of any sort. http://www.heartattackproof.com/
I guess random internet sites are okay: http://www.bmj.com/press-releases/201...
Of course they're not healthy: they're highly processed food products loaded with additives. Though I was being facetious originally, I'm not sure why harping on the "dangers" of fat and sodium are even worth mentioning in this thread...
Then again, these look positively health-conscious compared to Momofuku's ramen as per the recent Star article.
I tried making Beef Rendang using beef shank and their pre-packaged sauce. The result was a very tasty product.
Finally picked some of these up.
The Lhaksa noodles are delicious. The curry flavour is nice, but no contest with the Lhaksa flavour.
Why do you spell Laksa with an H?
How did you prepare them? I have bought them, but find they are not all that exciting if you don't add all the items that Charles did in his picture. When you add fish balls, shrimp, bean sprouts, and a few other items it is very good. I had it that way yesterday.
Good point foodyDudey....personally I've never tried them plain,because of its price point I treat it with more care...I always add the works (fish balls,bean sprouts and shrimp)...Its more of a proper meal rather than just a quick cook "ramen" meal to me...
After having them plain the first time only, I also don't eat it that way any more. Yesterday I added also added lobster flavoured balls, lime leaf, snow peas and a small amout of coriander leaves.
I tried one bowl of each without any additions.
They were nice enough, but I agree you need to add more to make it a complete meal. There are some nice suggestions here I will try next time.
We go all out and add the lobster tails that are often featured on sale in grocery stores (often @ $1.99). Great texture. Also add any crunchy veg that are in the fridge.
$1.99 lobster tails? I guess I am shopping at the wrong stores. I was expecting to read what wine you drink with this. I suppose a an Alsatian Gewurztraminer or a Late Harvest Riesling? :-)
The lobster balls I bought at T&T yesterday worked very well.
Usually a German Kabinett.
Occasionally a slightly sweet Alsace Gewurtz.
So you were almost spot-on.
Last time it was the Dr. L Sparkling Riesling
VINTAGES 296095 $14.95 (recommended).
And we've bought the lobster tails at Metro & Sobeys at that price.
I was at No Frills last night and they had packs of 4 smallish lobster tails for $8.99, I assume that is the type you are referring to? I'll have to try those in the soup soon.
Recently I found frozen Madagascar mangrove crab pieces at No Frills. ($10 for a 1kg bag) Maybe I'll try those in there for a change.
Back in stock (at Cherry St.). 2 for $5.50
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