Ramen Review 14: Gefen Instant Noodle Soup - Tomato

I found these ramen noodles at a local bargain emporium and decided to give them a try. The cups are slightly bigger than the standard Nissin Cup Noodles, and they were 85 cents apiece - sounds cheap, but I get Cup Noodles 12 for $4.95 at the Asian market, making 85 cents pretty costly for instant soup.

Ease of Preparation: 8/10 - Most ramen cups require only the addition of water. Gefen wants you to add water and stir. Wait 2 minutes, then add contents of seasoning pack; stir again and wait another 2 minutes. I'm not sure what the extra step is for, or why the seasoning can't go in right at the start as with other ramen cups. Seems unneccessarily fussy to me.

Vegetable Pouch: N/A - Any vegetables in this meal are powdered and included in the seasoning.

Seasoning Pouch: 4/10 - A small pouch with a picture of a tomato on it; not very tomatoey; tastes more like salt, celery, and onion

Taste: 4/10 - Somewhat nasty, like extremely cheap bouillon with extra salt. I never would have guessed this was supposed to be "tomato soup" if it didn't have it on the label. The broth is thin and kind of brownish-red and lacks any real flavor. The noodles hold up well in texture, but had a slightly rancid "old oil" flavor to them despite the cup being well within it's "sell by" limit.

Spiciness: N/A - This isn't marketed as a spicy ramen.

Overall: 5/10 - Acceptable as an emergency ration only. If you're stuck with one, keep it in your desk at work for those times when you get caught working late and need a snack to hold you over until you can find real ramen.

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