It’s been a while since I reviewed something from Jin Mai Lang, also known as JML. I reviewed their Artificial Chicken Mushroom flavor way back when, and it did certainly deliver on both the chicken and the mushroom flavor, although the noodles weren’t really the best. Here with this variety, we’ve got a Chinese “stewed pork” flavor I’m not totally familiar with, but I do love trying new things, so this should be interesting.
Read more: Site-Exclusive Review: JML Artificial Stew Pork Flavor
I paid around $3 for this bowl at my local Asian grocery store, and you may also find this in a 5-pack that will most likely have better noodles than what you get in this bowl. I may spring for a pack version of the next JML flavor I want to review down the line to compare the noodle quality.
Check out the nutritional information below:
3053mg of sodium! That is absolutely insane, even for instant noodles. Unless you’re damned sure that your body can handle all that salt, I do not advise drinking this broth.
Inside the bowl, we’ve got a block of wheat noodles, a sauce packet, a seasoning powder, and a pack of dried vegetables. The sauce packet is palm oil-based with salt, garlic, scallion, chili, and “spices.” The seasoning powder contains yeast (likely the artificial pork flavoring), garlic, sugar, chili, black pepper, and caramel. And finally, the vegetables are cabbage, carrot, and scallion. Also one of those flimsy foldable plastic forks that no one likes.
One other quick note in case you found your way here via a web search: there’s no cooking instructions on this cup, which is kind of typical of many Chinese brands, JML included. To cook this, add everything to the cup, fill with boiling water to the inside line, and steep for 3-5 minutes. I’m going with 3 since I know from before that these noodles get soft pretty quickly.
The finished product:
Noodles:
The noodles are basically the same as the last JML bowl I had. They feel cheap, overly starchy, a little soggy, just not my favorite texture. They’re not awful, but they’re not great either. On the plus side, it’s a pretty hefty portion of noodles, so you won’t be hungry if you kill this whole bowl.
- 4.5/10
Spiciness:
As I mentioned above, there is chili pepper in this, plus a little zip of black pepper as well. But I promise you, the amount of heat in this is next to nothing. It was only after having a few bites that I remembered, “Oh right, this is supposed to be spicy.” Super mild. Only the most spice-intolerant of you will find this offensive.
- 1.5/10
Flavor and Overall Score:
As this steeped, I was really enjoying a super pleasant oniony aroma coming off of it. Unfortunately, I don’t think it tastes as good as it smells. The broth here is a super-salty concoction with some mild five-spice flavoring, a tiny bit of garlic, an indistinct savory element (soy and yeast probably), and a hint of the onion I was smelling as it cooked. It wasn’t by any means bad or offensive, but it was certainly nothing special either. There was also a substantial oiliness to the broth, and while I do love an oily finish most of the time, I think this might have been a bit too much. Again, not inedible, but not my ideal consistency. Nothing about this flavor screamed “pork” to me, so the artificial flavoring missed the mark too. The dried flakes were decent and rehydrated well, particularly the cabbage, which added a needed texture to the whole thing and broke up the overall saltiness with a nice little sweetness. Overall, a perfectly average Chinese noodle that doesn’t do anything particularly mind-blowing.
- 5.5/10
While this doesn’t put me off of JML as a brand (I still really enjoyed the Chicken Mushroom soup), this particular variety isn’t something I’ll be buying again. It’s one of those things that I’m glad I tried because I was curious, but the end result was just unimpressive. If you find yourself in possession of this, watch out for that sodium and be prepared to dress it up quite a bit, but it will do in a pinch if you’re looking for a cheap, big, salty meal.
