About a week or so ago, I talked about Mr. Lee’s Noodles and their aim at being a healthy food that not only packs each cup with a bunch of nutrients but also only takes a few minutes to put together. While being a cup-o-noodles type of food, you won’t find all of the additives in these as you would in other brands on store shelves. Sodium, sugars, carbs, and fats are cut down, plus they use fresh ingredients to make it truly a healthy alternative.
Over the last week, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to try these healthy noodles for myself. Mr. Lee’s was gracious enough to send me a care package of their mixed box so that I could get a taste of what they have to offer. In the box was 2x Hong Kong Street-Style Beef, 2x Coconut Chicken Curry, 2x Zen Garden vegetable, and 2x Tai Chi Chicken. Each cup variant offers its own combination of flavors to create a symphony of taste.
The physical appearance of the cups is really aesthetically pleasing. They’re colorful, trendy, and unique. Most cup-o-noodles containers are microwave safe, but Mr. Lee’s opts for a different approach. It trades microwave safe for a heat jacket akin to something you’d find around your cup at a coffee shop. It makes this a great thing to eat on the go in that regard.
When it came down to getting these puppies ready to slide down the gullet, it’s a pretty straight-forward process that most would find a breeze. Boil some water, shake the cup, fill it up with the water, stir, wait for 3 about minutes, and enjoy! Since I had 8 of these and the instructions were so fail-proof and easy, I figured I’d experiment with them a little.
While boiling water is the optimal way that Mr. Lee instructs us to cook up this quick meal, I found the fastest way to get from preparation to digestion was to heat up some water in the microwave. Now, these cups are not microwave safe so don’t try to heat up the water from inside the cup itself. I’d put some water in a mug and microwave it for about 3 minutes and then pour the water into the noodle cup. It wouldn’t be boiling, but It’d be totally hot enough to cook the noodles and ingredients perfectly and saved me a few extra minutes.
Another thing I played with was the height at which I would fill up the cups. There’s a fixed line in the jacket surrounding the cup which can be viewed when looking into it. While I used that line most of the time, I did try filling above and below it to see a difference in taste. Personally, I felt that adding too much water was a mistake. It would water down the flavor and didn’t do anything positive to the experience overall. Adding slightly less water than recommended though was the most positive in my experience with it. Because of the moderate use of spices and ingredients to maintain that healthy punch, adding less water would bring more flavor out without it tasting watered down. Pouring the instructed amount of water in no way was disappointing but It just comes down to preference.
The cups say to wait about 3 minutes to eat after adding water, I would say 5 minutes gives the best results. Waiting longer enhanced the flavors so well. The meat and vegetables would be cooked better and release more of their flavors. The spices had more of a chance to mix throughout the water as well. This in turn would create a symphonic tasting broth.
Taking off the cardboard wrap really lets you get a sense of what’s going on behind the scenes. The really great thing about the food is how this company handles its ingredients. All of them are fresh, then freeze-dried to preserve the taste for when you hydrate them upon eating. After getting to taste them myself, I can honestly say that it’s not just a gimmick. Comparing them to any other quick noodle meal I’ve ever had at home, these taste like something you wouldn’t expect to make in a few minutes.
You can taste just about every ingredient and distinguish them from one another in every bite. I was blown away by just how good it really tasted. I did have favorites when it came to choosing which to eat but they all did taste great in their own right. The flavor combinations too felt unique, I don’t think that I’ve really tasted another meal similar to theirs. Most of these types of noodles on store shelves are mixed with a salty chicken flavor but these made the effort to do something more.
Getting down to brass tax, I had an extremely enjoyable time with Mr. Lee’s Noodles. I was able to eat yummy food, experiment with it, and the best part was that it had a positive impact on my body. Now, an 8-pack will run you back $31.99 which works itself out to $4 a cup. Yes, you can pick up a 12 pack of Top Ramen for a buck or two but you won’t get the same flavor, ingredients, or healthy nutrients. Sitting here now I still have craving for the Coconut Chicken Curry noodles. This is a brand that I think everyone should treat themselves to at least once, even if just to get a taste of something more from the run of the mill cup-o-noodles brands. Fantastic food with a positive impact.
If you’re interested in try some of the many flavors that Mr. Lee’s Noodles have to offer, take a look at their website right here. They also have vegan options as well as a line of congee too. Check them out!
