Since Wai Wai and Mama are both more budget-friendly ramen brands, we have two ramen flavors in this review: Mama’s Clear Pho and Wai Wai’s Pad Char Baby Clam.
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The first flavor is Mama’s Clear Pho. I ate this one for the first time when I was sick, and oh man did it hit the spot. It was so comforting! The broth is not overly complicated. Like the name says, it's a very clear both in look and taste.
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Inside the package there is the rice noodles, soup base, chili packet, and seasoning paste. It's also very simple to prepare. Add the noodles and all seasoning packets to a bowl, fill with 1.5 cups of just-boiled water, cover, and wait three minutes. Presto! A hot bowl of hearty pho. I added meatballs to mine for added protein and texture.
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It's a bit spicy with the addition of the chili packet, but it didn't bother me at all. I thought it was just right and added warmth to the dish (for reference I would say I'm roughly low-medium on the spice tolerance range, and I don't usually seek out spicy food but I like it on occasion. Or to put it another way, I like spicy Cheetos, but I need to take breaks when I eat them lol). The broth had that almost undetectable sweetness akin to bone broth which makes it nice and smooth, but there's no meat or bone in the broth! I couldn't even tell that it is meant for vegetarians. And since it has rice noodles it might be good for people who need to avoid gluten (though I'm no expert on that). So DEFINITELY a good one to consider for blended households in terms of diet restrictions. Pacific Rim also carries other Mama Pho noodles. We have Mama beef pho in stock at the moment as well! And keep a lookout for the chicken flavor.
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Now onto Pad Char Baby Clam from Wai Wai. If you like spicy seafood ramen this one will definitely fit your taste. Even if you don’t, it’s still worth a go since it has a unique taste profile compared to other seafood ramens.
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First, let’s take care of the basics of ramen reviews (contents and cooking). Inside the packet there are standard noodles, seasoning powder, and a sauce packet. To cook it, place the noodles in a bowl and cover with just-boiled water. After 3 minutes, pour the water out (no broth here folks!) and add the seasoning packets.
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Once it’s all prepared, the spice is quite strong, and there is a definite presence of star anise. I paired it with a soft-boiled egg and avocado. The creamy avocado and egg balanced out the spice for me nicely. The next time I had it, I added milk (yes that’s perfectly acceptable if you find yourself a bit overwhelmed by the spice in your ramen). It was still a bit spicy though, so I recommend this ramen more to people who like spicy noodles.
That's all for this one. Thank you for reading and have a nice day!
-Josie
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