What can I say?… I feel that my entire life has been a lie.
Today, I went to my absolute favourite Korean restaurant – I was ecstatic! I’ve been craving the hot and spicy goodness for days! But, things quickly turned sour.
When I sat down, I knew immediately what to order: “Assorted Seafood Noodles in Soup”, a bubbling ocean of spiced sea critters that swam with a school of slender noodles. I usually request it to be extra spicy.
It came. It tasted awesome. It was a lie.
I took a quick glance at the shelf next to the cash register. I took another look. And another… and another. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Out in the open, a box of Nong Shim instant noodles was towering over me – a serious eyesore. My world began to crumble, but I fervently hoped that maybe I was wrong. Maybe the owners just sell these on the side; they are Korean instant noodles after all.
Sadly, after speaking with the owner, I realised that I was right. What I thought was a bowl of hearty, homemade noodles crafted by a mother’s touch… was actually a machine-manufactured styrofoam cup noodle, saturated with unhealthy fats, sodium, and MSG. No wonder it tasted so good.
You may be wondering why I’m so upset over a simple bowl of noodles. Well, my friends know that I have three all-time favourite foods:
Korean
Nando’s
and Korean!
I’m sad to say that I will not be returning to this little restaurant. Now, I must venture off into the scary world that is bursting with hidden lies… searching for my next Korean food spot.
Foodobyte’s Rating
I can understand your frustration since I would also expect a bowl of noodles would be made from scratch in a restaurant. I don’t want to pay the extra money to have someone assemble instant noodles from a package. The interesting thing about Instant Korean Ramen (Ramyun) is that it’s very popular in Korea. If you order ramen over there, it will also be from an instant noodle package. They do this is Korea and it’s all the case here. Other authentic Korean restaurants here such as Kimbap Cheonguk & Kimbob E Ramyun do the same.
It’s the total opposite of Japanese Ramen restaurants such as Kintaro, Santouka, who make most of their ingredients from scratch.
Don’t feel so bad. You’re eating noodles how they would would be prepared like in Korea. :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_noodles
“In South Korea, instant noodles are more common than non-instant noodles; the word ramyeon (라면), generally means the instant kind. Most South Korean food stalls make instant ramyeon and add toppings for their customers. Instant ramyeon is also often added to budae jjigae (literally “army base stew”), a stew made with assorted ingredients, which was invented in the 1950s in South Korea.”
Wow… I never would’ve thunk it… thanks for sharing!
But yeah, if I knew earlier, I would’ve just bought an entire box of instant noodles that would still cost a fraction of what I paid at that restaurant :P
I am a Korean, and was not surprised at all that they use instant noodles. As Jeff said, that’s how they do it in Seoul and it is very popular. Some people may think it is lame, but, believe it or not, it takes some skill to cook instant Ramens really well. Restaurants also add their own ingredients to make them better.
I just thought that a mom and pop shop like this would invest more time in making their food. They could’ve at least made their own soup base, ya know? And all they do is just add a couple pieces of frozen seafood.
[…] KOREAN FOOD! At last, I’ve finally found a Korean joint that (hopefully) doesn’t sell instant noodles for $7! If you haven’t heard of my tragic experience at my ex-favourite Korean restaurant, click here. […]
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