Fast to eat, good to cook...... duhh

The instant noodle noodle business must be horrendously profitable; this is evident in the numerous companies in Malaysia making and marketing them. Aside from the usual stalwarts such as Maggi , Cintan & Mamee, little known names have also emerged from the woodwork. Even firms known for their packaged spices are making them to say nothing of hypermarkets hustling them under their house brands.

Imported brands from Asean nations such as Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam have also made substantial inroads into the local scene. Having tried them, I must say they are better than the local ones – I guess they must be giving the local boys a tough fight. What I find mind boggling are that these imported brands often sell for less than the locally made ones, despite the logistical costs involved in bringing them over. Imported stuff from Asean nations are eligible for preferential import tariffs, such being the benefit of belonging to Asean. Which brings to mind a point - local firms are making obscene profits from this humble product. I wonder how much it costs to set up a production line to make the noodle cakes and a lab/packaging shop to pack the 'chemical soup powder' for the various msg laden flavours.

Many brands proudly trumpet 'no added msg' on the labels thus giving the consumer the false impression that it is better and his hair loss will probably lessen. Look closer into the ingredient list and you will see compounds like sodium inosinate & glutamate instead; these being alternative flavour enhancers. Wonder whether these new replacement chemicals are better or worse for health. Or is it msg has increased in price thereby warranting substitutes. Whatever it is, whether monosodium or disodium we really need to cut down drastically on sodium intake if we want to live longer.

Another caution is the anti-oxidants used to prolong shelf life of the noodles. As most of the noodle cakes are oil fried , anti-oxidants are essential to prevent the product going rancid. One such anti-oxidant is BHA (go look it up on the Net) - a waxy substance derived from the petro-chemical process. Seems we can't digest BHA and the gastro-intestinal tract have problems expelling it out thru our rear ends. Recommended measure is to drain away the hot water after cooking it, then refill with fresh hot water plus whatever flavoring the noodle came with. I read that this gets rid of most of the BHA. It may also be best not to use the plastic cup to cook noodles; use a large porcelain mug. No telling if the plastic cup will not react with the boiling hot water poured into it. For that matter, forget about cup noodles as they are much more costly than the normal soft packs, go figure out the maths to find out how much more you are shelling out for them.

Most brands include a smidgen of freeze dried vegetables such as carrot, spring onion, etc. Really just a smidgen cos they are niggardly in this, are freeze dried veges really that costly to produce? Some Asean brands even include dried fake chicken bits made from flour gluten in the bid to make the final product more appealing. This is all well and good but where are our local brands in this? These are actually available in their premium lines but let's face it, who wants to spend RM2 upwards for a lousy bowl of instant noodles when you can get decent hawker or foodcourt fare for just RM3-5 in Malaysia?

I have observed that the major buyers of instant noodles are students, foreign workers and people with foreign maids; the poor maids must be fretting over their hair loss and wondering how much a hairpiece will cost when their contracts run out and they go home to hubby and kids. Before the Indonesian brands penetrated the market, workers from that nation showed a marked preference for one of the local brands. The firm concerned will worry whenever there was a proposed crackdown on these foreign workers cos sales will plummet in their absence. I suppose such headaches no longer occur as the foreigners are now loyal to their own homegrown brands and no longer buy the local 'premium brand'.

I keep a small stock of instant noodles in my larder for emergencies such as tsunamis; nyuk nyuk. Hey, I live in PJ- just joking there. It is for those times when hunger gnaws at my vitals during the wee hours with sleep being elusive and I am too damn lazy to drive out to the 24hr mamak joint. I'd tell myself to just eat the noodles and avoid drinking the potent soup if I want to keep my head of hair. Which brings me to mention my buddy's young son in nursery school- this kiddo slurps up every drop of soup while leaving the noodles. I really cringe at this.