Surreal fireworks night

It could be said that Germany got the shaft at this year's competition because they got the one night that there was a thunderstorm in this area. Last night was just a weird sight: on one side you would look out at the casino's hotel on the horizon - a cloud of smoke hanging over everything. Look the other way and you'd see bright sky - an illusion of all the light-polution from the city at night. And everywhere lightning turning the clouds into a white fury... and somewhere under all that, a shower of sparks were emerge from the fog....

noodle review: "miso"

As promised here's what I have to say about the "miso" flavoured instant ramen by Nissin...



Well ...there you have it - argueably the most uninspiring variation of the famous "Take-Out" brand instant ramen by Nissin. I mean, look at it, it's pretty much identical to the plain ones but with a big white text balloon pasted over the image!! And below is the actual content ...which besides the "seasoning powder" looks remarkably like the plain version.

Perhaps the reason the outside is so boring is because the finished product after the usual 5-minute boil and the powder mixing also appears just as boring... It has ZERO-texture! Even the plain version comes with a packet of sesame oil to give it a little zing. But let's wait for the taste...

First of all, I should mention that I have very little real life experience with Japanese food to begin with. I mean, I've sampled some stuff here and there - even had several sushi meals. My aunt (who is Japanese, by the way) has even prepared some authentic dishes for me over the years... But I think I've only had miso soup once. All the rest has been instant miso (just add hot water!).
Well, if you don't know - miso is kinda like a Japanese bean soup. It has a slightly salty taste and is typically garnished with bits of tofu and seaweed. And well, actually, that's the only thing this variant of instant noodle has going for it: it actually does taste like miso soup (or at least, tastes like the miso I'm accostumed to). In fact, I liked it so much that after gobbling down the ramen noodle, I actually lifted the bowl to my face and drank the rest of the soup! And surprisingly, it didn't leave me with that MSG-filled after-taste usually associated with instant ramen soup mix.

Would I get this again? Seriously? No. I mean, the noodle itself was pretty boring and tasted like any other instant ramen Nissin produces. And if I really wanted some miso soup, I wouldn't be making instant ramen, would I? I'd probably make instant miso instead. ^_^;

Score: Revenge of the DVD

This'll sound like I'm being anal, but I think it's fair-game to ask that my favourite films series be packed consistently. Last year when the final movie in the blockbuster franchise hit DVD, Canadian fans (like myself) were dismayed that for some odd reason, after waiting years, suddenly Lucasfilm decided to release bilingual packaging.

Now as a proud Canadian (and a Quebecer at that) I have no problem with catering to the second of two official languages. What I have a problem with is that you wind up with a complaint like this! Simply put, the series packaging has been in the works for 5 years when Phantom Menace (after much delay) came out on DVD... and all the releases since were similarly packed... Then suddenly out of the blue, the font size is changed to accomodate a second translated title for the final DVD. WTF?

After much waiting for a boxed set (since I foresaw this possible dilemma) I've decided on my least-favourite option: the American Solution. That's right, I eBay'ed Episode 3 last night to get an English-only package from the US. But I got a pretty sweet deal too since the auction was for Episode 2 as well. I even had a pleasant surprise this morning to know that I happened to have some unclaimed bonus sitting in my Paypal account (about 2 bucks). That's sweet.

Noodle Review: "sukiyaki"

As a token Asian growing up in the heart of French Canada, I've been subject to plenty of import convenience foods over the years. The old stand-by has always been "Doll" brand instant ramen - so ubiquitous is the brand that it's become a noun all its own to describe instant noodles. However, in more recent years, another brand produced by the famous Nissin company has taken the market by storm and my family has developed a taste for both their "regular flavour" and the "beef" flavour (both of which are actually powered by a tiny packet of who-knows-what chemical compound).

Feeling adventurous, I decided to sample some of their other flavours. Up tonight is the sukiyaki udon flavour. For those of you who don't know, sukiyaki is sort of like a Japanese equivalent to stew ...if stew were served in a soup noodle. Click this link for specifics.


...well, the packaging looks appetizing enough.

But when the hell will I learn that all instant noodle packs contain the same damn thing?

Okay, granted, this was actually a little surprising to me because this isn't ramen at all. Instead of the stringy vermicelli-like thin noodle, this is Nissin's version of "udon," a thicker noodle you're more likely to see in authentic Japanese cooking.

And this is what it looks like after the usual prep (ie: boiled for 5 minutes then mixing with the included flavour packets):


All told it was actually pretty good. Having grown up on ramen, udon is satisfyingly heavy by comparisson. The taste is... well, I couldn't really taste the soup-base. Instead, the package came with a "seasoning sauce" that totally overpowered whatever the soup was supposed to taste like. On the other hand, having read the article on sukiyaki, I realize that although I haven't ever had authentic sukiyaki, given the discription of the preperation, it did taste a bit like what I would imagine a mixture of soy-sauce, sugar, and cooking-wine might taste like. It had a bit of a tinny seafood-quality flavour as almost all Japanese foods do... I can't really describe it otherwise. I wouldn't eat this every night, but I'll probably buy a few more packages when I get the chance.

Tune in next time when I review the "miso" flavour instant noodle.

Fireworks over Casino

It's that time of year again (and the last time before I move out at the end of the year): it's the summer fireworks exhibition over the Lac Leamy Casino in Gatinueau - and I have a perfect view (except for the trees that obscure anything that's too low). This year babou brought his daughter over and we watched from my balcony... this is more or less what it looked like: