I've been meaning to write something up about Mr Lee's Noodles for a while and I’ve been putting it off for so long that they’ve only gone and updated all their branding and flavours! So, this blog is about their first release as I haven’t tried their new stuff yet.
Yes, Mr Lee is a real person, Damian Lee to be precise and he and the company are based here in Bournemouth. A business entrepreneur who has started many companies, whose story leads him to Bournemouth. I saw Damian tell his personal story at a local marketing event, Once Upon a Time, at the Shelley Theatre in the summer of 2016.
I've grown up with rice and noodles from birth. Noodles has been a staple part of my diet, when I say diet I mean general eating rather than healthy mindful eating. The noodles I have been used to are the packet ones with a bag of soup base powder full of flavourings and not necessarily MSG either, and a sachet of oil to boot. The Chinese noodle pots are pretty similar as well. My student years were all about instant noodles and a fried egg on top.
I've seen the business appear all over social media (Twitter and Instagram) and I like the way roll. Spring roll? Looks fun. Ho fun? Asian culinary based banter, it's a thing now.
These pots are in the low calorie range and being marketed as healthy, with no nasties. So, how will they stack up on the flavour and filling tests? At first I was a bit apprehensive about writing anything as I’ve seen the people behind it, their messaging and so on but I didn’t want any bias coming across and what if I didn’t like it. What if I prefer the mass produced deep fried instant noodle variant? Some of the other blogs I have seen were a bit too fawning and cheesy let’s say, and Korean Cheesy Noodles is also a thing.
You know what, I’ve just got to put it out their and as they say, your mileage may vary - but that’s OK.
Shaolin Monk Vegetables
The first pot that I tried was at the Once Upon A Time event. It was the Shaolin Monk Vegetables one. To be brutally honest, it was bland - not a touch of salt or depth that I was used to. But on a positive note, the fact that you could see chucks of real vegetables, vibrant in colour, was a good thing. The connection about healthy eating, quick snacking was made. But, there was no draw for me to try another one, apart from not wanting to bear judgement without trying again.
That opportunity did come round when I took advantage of a Black Friday deal. I bought boxes and boxes!
The Warrior Fighting Shrimp
This had three chilli symbols on the carton but I sort of imagined that the Laksa one would be hotter.
On pouring the boiling water on top, I notice that the many little shrimps floated to the top after I gave it a good stir. It's nice to see some colour in what you eat. It was a slightly red broth, which should have been a tell tale sign of things to come.
It was spicy from the first slurp. Wasn't long until my tongue was on fire and my head sweating.
Having eaten all sorts of noodle pots and ramen packs in the past from the standard UK brands to the Far East ones, I initially found the broth too light. I felt it needed a bit more body, probably salt, but that's when it dawned on me that this wasn't the point of Mr Lee's Noodles.
Normally with the other pots, they are very salty which gives the broth a lot more body but in time when you finish, you are very thirsty.
With this pot being very spicy, it felt a little more filling or satisfying. It is a difficult balance getting a good nutritional product and one that also delivers on a big taste. Whether something like shiitake mushrooms, tomato and coriander would have complimented it, but still be workable as a production process I don't know. I am looking forward to the Laksa noodles as that should have a creamy spicy broth to it.
I really like the fact that it is low in calories and I could easily have one for lunch and one for dinner, plus some other vegetables and I know I will be OK with my 5:2 diet regime.
Penang Chicken Curry Laksa
This was the one I was really looking forward to. I like a full on Laksa, rich creamy and spicy soup base. But, this was going to come in at 237 calories.
Maybe I should have used less water but none of the creamy spicy rich notes came through.
Second time round I did use less water and it was much more enjoyable. The broth had a nice intensity of spice, but I think it would be difficult to reproduce the creamy base without piling in on the calories. Just wondering whether a bit of cornflour could help to give a slight mouthfeel to it.
I liked the chunks of chicken though, which seemed more prominent this time round.
On my third time of trying, I put in half a small tin of sweetcorn in which gave it some sweetness and made it even more filling for not that many calories on top.
Dragon Fire Mushroom
When Mr Lee puts three chillies onto the pot, you know they will be tongue burning spicy. I've learnt from my first couple of pots not to top the water up to the ridge as directed and so this time got a better more concentrated taste. This was more satisfying, more earthy taste due to the mushrooms. What I also did was to add a little bit of Marmite into the pot, that gave it a bit more salt that I needed and deeper umami taste.
This would have added another 10 calories on top of the already low 215 calories, but worth it in my mind. Salt vs healthy, yes I know, sue me.
Hong Kong Street Beef
This has been the most satisfying all round. I didn't fill to the line. The chunks of beef were very satisfying and the soup base was very full and didn't need anything else.
My favourite by far. Definite Chinese flavours coming through good and strong.
Tai Chi Chicken
This didn't have any chilli symbols on and I had a preconception about it being bland to be honest. But knowing not to put too much water in I waited for it to finish its few minutes steeping in the water. The aroma and flavour was much more that what I expected. I really liked the freshness that the spring onions gave it.
The small cubes of chicken were also more than I expected but even towards my last spoonful they were still quite firm as opposed to succulent. Maybe longer shreds would work better here but I have no qualms about the taste. It was something that a dash of Tabasco or hot pepper sauce would enhance for those that like a bit of spice.
So, what do I really think?
I like the product and the idea behind the product. It’s going to be a hard balancing act between full on flavour that I am used to, calories and salt. It was more preferable to use less water. I was happy to pimp my noodles and add dashes of Tabasco, Bovril and even miso paste knowing that I wasn’t over-reaching. Price point is a little high, but it isn’t a global production scale, just yet.
I was already thinking for their second iteration that there needs to be an attempt to add extra umami flavouring and still keep the salt content to an acceptable level. Also, the three chillies heat was a bit over the top. From what I can see on their updated website, they have done just that.
I love the fact that their calorie count is so low. It tells you the value for the pot itself. For other instant and packet noodles, it can be so cryptic which is really annoying. This makes the product ideal for when I am trying to keep to a 5:2 fasting diet regime.
I will look forward to trying the updated range.
