Black bone chicken? Baijia? Well, let’s give it a try. This is the last of the Baijia’s I have.
Here’s the ingredients and nutrition panel. Click image to enlarge.
Seasoned oil, powdered seasoning and vegetable things.
Now this looks a little foreboding. I guess time will tell.
Click image to enlarge. Noodles are again sweet potato based and horrid.
The broth was hideously greasy and nasty. The vegetable things were strange and inedible. 0 out of 5 stars.
This is a great documentary. Here in the US, you really don’t hear much about this since it was a Russian who orbited Earth the first time.
Actually, this noodle soup is not likely designed to be “delicious” or taste good. Chinese bone noodle soups (be it chicken or other) are considered “nutritious” among Chinese people and for individuals who are recovering from illnesses. In my experience, Chinese bone soups taste absolutely horrid (although some say it doesn’t taste bad, probably personal preference). I remember almost vomiting when my parents (who are very good cooks) made me eat some when I was hospitalized since it is “good for you”. It’s one of the many (imho) not tasty but (supposedly) nutritious foods in Chinese cuisine (ex. Bitter Melon, which as the name implies, is bitter). The soup is supposed to be very oily and greasy. Although how nutritious an instant soup version is remains to be seen. It probably also tastes worse than the real thing.
Wow – after all the news about the bottom ten list, I had never heard about this. Thank you very much for sharing – very kind of you!
– TRR
You’re welcome. There’s many things in Eastern culture that Westerners have little knowledge of, and vice versa (although Easterners probably know more about Westerners due to dominant Western culture) and it is always good for both sides to learn more.
While I’m not so sure about the accuracy of rating what is being marketed as a nutritional supplement with other instant noodles, I also think leaving it as one of the worst noodles in terms of taste is probably accurate.
I would have suggested maybe a line about the intended nutritional value if it wasn’t for the fact the instant noodle reviewed here seems to have none. The English Ingredients (since I can only recognize a small amount of Chinese characters as I was raised in the US) doesn’t seem to suggest it is anything like black chicken bone soup going by the “Artificial Chicken Flavor”.
As a side note if you are curious: “Black Chicken” most likely refers to the old dominant breed of chicken in China before Westernization (it isn’t as large and grows slower, but is valued more because people think it is more nutritious than mass produced chickens which are of the same breed found in the US)
Here’s a good website on what Chinese people believe are benefits of Bone Soup (and why Baijia likely made this product marketing it as Bone Soup Flavor with a “premium” sounding brand name of Single Noble, it’s a premium-ish name in Chinese, doesn’t translate well)
http://www.jadeinstitute.com/jade/bone-broth-health-building.php
Another trivia thing: The name “Bai Jia” or “White Family” (Surname Bai, Lit Translation White) makes me less trustful of this brand, as there was a famous TV series featuring a “Bai Jia” who were (supposedly historical) traditional Chinese” medicine doctors and pharmacists, and it is possible they are trying to make money off of people’s pre-existing knowledge associated with that name (although it is funny that I am less trustful due to them using the brand)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1368472/
Again, I thank you for your comment – to be honest, as which probably shocks many people, the only way I find out about Eastern culture and food is through the instant noodle. I haven’t traveled to Asia before, but find everything having to do with the culture there so fascinating. I agree – Western is so dominant in the world; I have an Android app on my phone to listen to radio stations around the world and usually it’s just rehashed Britney Spears or Beyonce going on on the Top 40 stations unfortunately. I like to dig for the heart of the cultures of the varieties that I review; as I have learned from the recent events with my lists and Taiwan, I do feel that the west, especially the USA is truly the ‘frog in the well.’ I don’t think people really crave to know about the unknown person who shares the planet. According to fractal/chaos theory, a butterfly flapping it’s wings in Thailand can affect the weather in Los Angeles. There is a real truth in this in that everything affects everything, good or bad. I think here in the USD, European culture seems to be more accessible (less so on the west coast) but more so than Asian culture. Our ‘melting pot’ might be a great concept, but we still have the ‘that’s where these people live and that people live’ mentality.
Anyways, I think the differences are what make everything so interesting; I like trying something different every day and even though they’re instant noodles, I constantly am learning and embracing the facets of different cultyures. I think very few people in the US really feel they have an outlet like that other than a book; I feel like I have little pamphlets with imitation flavors inside 🙂
– TRR
I think I know what the problem was – they accidentally included INEDIBLE salt this time instead of edible salt like it says on the package. Doh!
Yeah it was all nastiness.
– The Ramen Rater