THC spotlight: World of Noodle Mi Goreng x Samyang Spicy Noodles

Thanks to stonedfoodreviewer.ph for this guest column!

In the world of Mi Goreng (instant) noodles, Indomie remains the undisputed king. But another brand seems to have infiltrated its (lokal) territory, threatening to throw its gauntlets down to challenge The KING.

Your humble scribe just recently discovered World of Noodle Mi Goreng, available at Rustan’s Supermarket at Shangrila Plaza:

The circumstances surrounding this discovery was kind of bittersweet: it was the last day at our (now old) office before it was transferred to a new location. It was after work, while aimlessly wandering around after some last tokes, shrooms, & existential distant-eyed thoughts going nowhere (and mild visuals), when it suddenly just showed up out of nowhere. I was actually about to buy a pack of Indomie when this caught my attention first.

WoN’s Mi Goreng is available in three flavors: Original, Garlic, and Hot and Spicy. I had to decide with the remaining small unwithdrawable >100 in cash in my ATM debit card (yeah I was poor that day) and went for the original. I wanted to test this as is, and bought the 5 in one pack for 65 pesos, 5 pesos higher than Indomie’s.

WoN has the same, reliable, old-school curly hair style noodles, every bit as good as Indomie’s, with the same type of flavor packs (fried onion, spicy sweet sauce, soy, and garlic oil).

The taste overall is a little more subdued compared to Indomie’s more full flavor approach. It’s not bland, but if you’re more of a flavor freak, Indomie is a much more flavorful option for you. Recommended for those who constantly complain about their food having “too much flavor” and blah blah…

I have mentioned Masan grocery in the Cubao Farmer’s Market before, and I will again on this report. When it comes to Korean and Japanese food and food supplies, it is the recommended go-to, with an almost complete selection at great prices. And you can get Samyang there for only 55 pesos buy one take one, it’s a good deal, not just for the novelty.

There are two variants in this price tag, 2 x Spicy (the most popular) and Mala, which is made from Sichuan pepper.

Samyang is red hot Uranus torture, much like Gorgoroth’s Under the Sign of Hell and Destroyer albums played AT the same time as Blasphemy’s punishing classick Gods of War, and with murderous intent.

I never really bought the hype of that Samyang spicy noodles challenge a couple of years ago. But I do like Samyang occasionally, because it is a sadistic way of punishing your mouth with a considerable KICK. Much like a kick in the nuts only that the hellish torture is in your mouth. And don’t ask about the results the next day either when exiting out.

The Mala spicy flavor seems to be just a little less painful than the 2 X Spicy OG. But that doesn’t mean it won’t enter like a dragon breathing fire and come out like Elon Musk’s gigantic SpaceX in full combustion either. It’s practically the same kind of experience. The next day was the 2 X Spicy, and it was a little more punishing fun (in, and out).

The trick to overcome just one package of this seems to be, well, to overcome the initial, and very fast build up of the pain from the potent chili pepper flavors. Easier said than done even with just one bite. Underneath all the chili chaos torture is that actual “chicken flavor ramen” written on the seemingly comical package. It’s in there, you gotta dig through the ultra hot facade to discern it.

I also made the mistake of wiping or nudging my eyes totally not knowing there was a little chili oil smudged on my fingers, which needless to say was a great way to remember NOT to accidentally do. I have experienced it before though, so no biggie.