The Impulse Grocer: Indomie Mi Goreng Review

As much as I'd like to think that the Philippines is super unique (=+*p!N0y_pR!dE*+=), similarities between neighboring countries cannot be denied. Turns out, there's another overpopulated Southeast Asian archipelagic nation with an overwhelmingly dominant religion that's just as addicted to instant noodles as we are 🇮🇩. Does some foreign noodle actually have the chance to wean us from our Lucky Me!? Find out how Indonesia's Indomie Mi Goreng stacks up in my review!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I have literally just heard of Indomie twice: (1) when my roommate mentioned it in a conversation we had that I didn't pay attention to, and (2) when I was given a t-shirt with an Indomie print a few Christmases back. The fact that my subconscious held on to those two inconspicuous moments must've meant that I'm curious of what Indomie is. That's why I didn't second guess my decision to go grab a pack when I had my first Indomie encounter at the Asian section of the supermarket. I have got to know what's up with this Indonesian pancit canton.

Indomie Mi Goreng is surprisingly very like something a local noodle manufacturer would churn out. A pack is about the same size as a pack of Lucky Me! Pancit Canton. It's packaged the same way too, in that all-too-familiar plastic wrapper that's super easy to rip open.

According to the cooking instructions printed on the back, Indomie Mi Goreng is cooked and prepared in practically the same way as our instant pancit canton #scary #doppelgänger. The biggest difference as far as packaging is concerned is that Indomie comes printed with Chinese and Bahasa Indonesia ~subtitles~.

After opening the pack of Indomie Mi Goreng, I get a whiff of what I think is the scent of sesame oil. I guess the differences between instant pancit canton and mi goreng will ultimately come down to their smell, flavor profile, coherence to the theme, originality, and audience impact, charot! Anyway, unlike instant pancit canton, Indomie comes with five packets. We have (1) Sambal or chili sauce, (2) kecap manis or sweet soy sauce, (3) minyak bumbu or seasoning oil, (4) bumbu or seasoning powder, and (5) bawang goreng or friend onion. This 5-packet flavor combo goes beyond our local 3-packet. Also, weird fact: 🇮🇩 bawang = onion, 🇵🇭 bawang = garlic #Illuminati #WakeUpObama

While waiting for the noodles to cook, I followed the rest of the cooking instructions and mixed all the sauce packets together - except for the fried onion! That's intended for garnish!

Once the noodles are cooked, drain it well and mix it with the sauce really well. Top it all off with the included packet of fried onion on your bowl (or plate or mason jar, whatevs i don't control ur life).

Time for the million-dollar question (or, you know, 13.5-billion Indonesian Rupiah). How did it go? What does Indomie Mi Goreng taste like? Well, you can actually 'smell the taste' as you mix the noodles with the sauce. You get this vague idea of how the stuff would taste like before that first forkful of noodles get in your mouth. Your initial suspicions are validated after you get your first taste of mi goreng - it's a little sweet with a lingering spiciness (care of the sambal) and it tastes strangely of an ulam you had in some random cafeteria before. The closest Lucky Me! flavor I could probably compare it with would be Sweet and Spicy, but they aren't really the same. I guess you'd have to try it to know. As of the noodle texture, they're practically he same as the stuff we have here.

After finishing my noodles, I had to drink a glass of water and eat a Kit-Kat because it's kind of above average spicy. Maybe you aren't really required to empty that entire packet of sambal into your bowl - though I recommend that you use up all the included flavoring on your first try and experiment with the proportions on your succeeding servings. You'll never know until you try!

To be quite honest, I found it really hard to write about Indomie Mi Goreng. I usually find something very interesting about a product I try and base my review from there - focusing on how different it is with the stuff I came to know and love. I guess I find it really weird to write about something that's so unexpectedly alike with what we have locally. Maybe the world really isn't that big after all! I'll just have to wrap my head around the fact that bawang in Indonesian is onion and not garlic. #PinoyPaRin chz

WOW! WE HAVE AN ALL-NEW SYSTEM TO RATE THINGS HERE AT THE IMPULSE GROCER!

Introducing the new RatePlane™. 'Di lang pampamilya, pangisports pa! #blessdt

On a scale of -10 (LUGI BEYOND BELIEF) to 10 (TOTALLY WORTH IT), this product scored 9 (SULIT PERO...). "What's sulit, Mama?" Well, ito sana pero may Payless Jumbo Pancit Canton kasi out there na hindi naman gourmet pero laman-tiyan na rin.

On a scale of -10 (KILL IT WITH FIRE) to 10 (PAK NA PAK SA SARAP), this product scored 7 (HONOR ROLL SARAP). As of writing this post, surebol bibili ulit ako nito pagdaan ko sa supermarket. Hindi man ako ang One Tru Fan ng sweet-spicy flavor, sure akong maraming taong magugustuhan 'tong mi goreng na 'to.

Indomie Mi Goreng is every bit exotic yet it's strangely familiar, true-blue Indonesian yet weirdly Filipino. So if you're in the mood for something new, filling, and won't break the bank, go give this a try! Your first serving of mi goreng may be the best conversation starter by this November's ASEAN Conference. #cultured ✌️

Have you tried Indomie before? Is it available at your local supermarket? Tell me at the comments below!!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Like what you've read? Click the banner and check out the rest of the blog!