****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Arrived today. I was shocked to see that these where not your average noodles! This came with chop sticks and a soup spoon, along with real meat and other toppings! After following the directions, the first taste was amazing! I would highly recommend these any day. WELL WORTH THE MONEY!I'm busy and don't always have time to make a big pot of pho, so when me or my kids are craving it and I'm in a hurry, this is best option. The kids love it and they are figuring out how to make it themselves!Tasted better than I thoughtDecent for instant meal, did not come with the utensilsThis instant pho has got to be the best instant pho you can find. It's very well packaged and the meat is very high quality and tasty. It's very easy to make, just put all the ingredients together, put either hot water or cold water and microwave per instruction; you can also make it without microwave but I did not try that. The pho comes out looking very much like an authentic bowl pho you'd get from the restaurant. Flavor wise, the broth still tastes very much like instant pho because it's from the seasoning packet; however, the juice from the meat packet really enhances the look and flavor to make it looks and taste more authentic. It's still not as good as bone broth I make at home but it's very good for instant broth. The meat is super tasty, it's even better than some of the meat you'd get from restaurant. There are about 3-4 pieces of decent size meat in there; it didn't look that appealing right out of the bag but once you microwave it then it looks delicious.Overall, this instant pho makes a very delicious meal and I really enjoyed trying it out. The only thing I don't like about it is the price. It's currently $36 for 3 bowls of pho, which makes it $12 each. I can just get an authentic bowl of pho from a restaurant 10 mins drive away for $15, or I can just make it at home for a lot less since I always have all the ingredients available. So for me, it's not really worth it. However, for someone who does not live close to a Vietnamese restaurant, or does not know how to make pho, this is a very good option. If this were a bit cheaper, in the $6-8 range, then I'm so going to be stocking up my pantry with them.This is by far the most gourmet 'instant' meal that I have ever tried. I wasn't even aware that it was possible to package real meat without keeping it cool.Making the product is super easy. Just follow the step by step directions and put the noodles, seasonings & meat together with water in the microwave. When done, add the sauces to your liking. Nice, quick meal when you're in a hurry.Overall, I really liked the flavor of this. It smells kind of strong of an anise like scent but it doesn't taste that way. It has a solid ethnic flavor which I really enjoy. The meat is super tender and kind of just melts in your mouth. Shocker. It is a bit fatty but maybe that's the way that cut of meat is supposed to be? Easy to just pick off. One bowl is surely enough to fill you up as well. Plus, the little broth spoon and chopsticks are an adorable added touch.What I don't like is the sodium content. Oh my. One bowl has 124% of your daily sodium. That's a lot. To mitigate this, I just didn't eat any additional broth other than what the noodles and meat soaked up. I reckon you could also hold back on the amount of seasoning you put in but you may also compromise flavor. Or, of course, split one bowl between two meals.In the end, I do really like the flavor of this product. The simplicity as well. One star removed for the sodium as that's simply too much. There has to be a way to tweak the seasoning to keep the flavor while lowering sodium. Fix that and you have near perfection.So this is a paper based bowl with a fitted plastic lid that comes with a nice spoon and set of chopsticks. Inside is a packet of noodles, a packet of meat, a packet of herbs, a packet of soup mix, and tiny pouches of hoisin and sriracha sauces. Directions are put everything in to the bowl, add 2.5 cups of water and microwave for 3 minutes 45 seconds. Or you can make with boiling water from a kettle, but you have to cook the noodles first, drain the water, add more boiling water plus all the other packets and let sit for 4 minutes. The person who said add room temperature water and cook in the microwave for 1.5 minutes missed the "if you use boiling water, you only have to microwave for 1.5 minutes"The pictures show they added greens of some kind, limes and what looks like bean sprouts. I think that would probably be a good addition, but is not required and does not come with the packet. I tried it with just the hoisin sauce - my stomach doesn't deal well with peppers or overly spicy. My husband tried the sriracha but not the hoisin. We both found the soup to be tasty. I think I like the noodles in ramen a little better but the meat in this is pretty tasty. The price, however, is a little high for me for a single meal.
