A Pot Noodle without the pot - whatever next!? (Wot? Not In A Pot Noodle)

Member Name: karalouk

Product:	Wot? Not In A Pot Noodle
Date:	01/10/09 (145 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tasty, quick and easy to make, vegetarian, cheap

Disadvantages: I still prefer Pot Noodles, not exactly healthy, not the most sophisticated of foods

I am absolutely in love with chicken and mushroom Pot Noodles so when I saw NEW chicken and mushroom 'Wot? Not in a Pot Noodle' in the shops, I just had to try it.

There are 3 other flavours to choose from (but which I have not tried) - beef and tomato, southern fried chicken and sweet and sour.

PACKAGING

The chicken and mushroom 'Not in a Pot Noodle' is packed in a green, foil packet. It has the same size and shape as Super Noodles. Each packet is 63g.

There is a green, foil sachet inside the pack which holds the chicken and mushroom flavour.

APPEARANCE

Once the noodles have been removed from the packet they are ready to cook. The noodles are packed tightly and are stuck together to form a block. They appear a pale, beigy colour and are very dry.

The chicken and mushroom flavour powder is a bright yellow colour.

Once the noodles have been cooked they look completely different - they are limp, soft, stringy and a yellow colour. Not very attractive raw or cooked!

HOW TO COOK

You can cook the noodles on the hob or in the microwave - I personally cook mine on the hob and haven't tried cooking them by microwave yet (they take about 5 minutes to cook in the microwave).

You need to boil half a pint of water in a pan, break up the noodles and put them in the water. You then need to break open the sachet and add the flavouring. The temperature then needs to be turned down slightly and the noodles can be left to soak in the flavouring and cook.

The noodles take around 5-10 minutes to cook. You should give them a couple of minutes before serving as they are very hot and take a little while to cool down.

TASTE

I'm not going to lie - they don't taste anything like chicken (well I've been vegetarian for so long that I don't remember what chicken tastes like but I'm quite sure it's not like these noodles!) or mushroom for that matter.

They don't taste identical to Pot Noodle but definitely have that hint of unmistakable Pot Noodle.

I don't really have any words to describe the taste but it is very tasty and quite tangy. There is quite an after taste too.

INGREDIENTS

Although it is called 'chicken and mushroom' it doesn't actually contain any chicken and is suitable for vegetarians. It also contains no artificial colouring.

The ingredients consists of:
Noodles: [Wheat Flour, Vegetable Oil with Antioxidants (Gamma-Tocopherol, Delta-Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palminate), Potato Starch, Salt, Firming Agents (Sodium Carbonate, Potassium Carbonate)], Seasoning: Water, Flavourings (contain Wheat, Milk), Potassium Chloride, Maltodextrin (from Maize), Flavour Enhancers (Monosodium Glutamate, Sodium-5-Ribonucleotide), Sugar, Skimmed Milk Powder, Onion Powder, Yeast Extract, Salt, Colour (Curcumin), Ground Sage, Vegetable Oil, Citric Acid.

AVAILABILITY

I buy my 'Wot? Not in a Pot Noodle's in Tesco, they are situated inbetween the Pot Noodles and Super Noodles (which ironically is how I would describe them).

I haven't yet seen them in any other shops or supermarkets, except for Sainsburys.

PRICE

Each pack costs just 38p at Tesco and Sainsburys - Tesco also sometimes have 3 for £1 deals on. Very cheap indeed, which means they should be a big hit amoungst students and those who aren't made of money!

VERDICT

Overall I really like these noodles and have had them on more than a few occassions, however in my opinion they aren't as nice as Pot Noodles.

I personally prefer the noodles in a Pot Noodle, as the 'Not in a Pot Noodle's are a lot thinner and not as appealing (just like Super Noodles). I also miss the fact there are no sweetcorn or soya pieces to chew on. There is no soy sauce sachet included either - although if you have some in the cupboard you can throw some in (I don't). Chicken and mushroom 'Not in a Pot Noodle' could also come across quite bland compared to chicken and mushroom Pot Noodle.

On the upside 'Not in a Pot Noodle' is probably the best tasting noodle in a packet that I've tried and actually does have the unmistakable flavour of chicken and mushroom Pot Noodle to it. It is cheap, quick and easy to make and is very handy to have in the cupboard in times of an emergency.

You can eat 'Not in a Pot Noodle' as a main meal, part of a meal or just as a snack. The recommended serving size is half a pack but I usually eat the whole lot instead of a meal. I suppose the reason behind each serving being just half a pack is that each serving contains 137 calories (6.3g of fat) - that's a whopping 274 calories (12.6g of fat) per pack! Not really one for the health concious then.

I usually find that one pack of 'Not in a Pot Noodle' fills me up nicely for a few hours.

The packaging and advertising is primarily aimed at the younger generation and in my experience I've noticed that older people generally hate Pot Noodles and anything associated with Pot Noodles so 'Not in a Pot Noodle' probably won't appeal to them.

It's not something I'm likely to serve up at a dinner party (not that I'm likely to ever take part in any dinner parties!) or to friends, but it's something I am more than happy to eat by myself or with the family.

If you like chicken and mushroom Pot Noodle then I definitely recommend trying chicken and mushroom 'Wot? Not in a Pot Noodle' - it's not as tasty as a Pot Noodle but is still very good.

Summary: Not bad.