Yes, all of us grew up on Maggi Noodles. I was part of the brigade who would collect the Maggi logo cutouts to send it to Nestle so that they'd send me things like foam caps, comic books, etc. Of course, Maggi was heavily priced (at INR 4) and because of the general consensus amongst mommies that any packed food was unhealthy, Maggi was almost equal to chocolates - it was the ultimate prize for being good in my young life.
Of course, as and when I grew up and had a decidedly better say in what I eat and what I do not, I began eating more Maggi and liking it. I should also confess that by the time I began working, I rarely had Maggi and my only contact with it was a 'Welcome to the Gang' nod that I would give if I saw some friend eating it while I was on a visit.
It was only after a lot many years, lets say five years, that I was on a work from home stint again and I had a chance to taste Maggi. I was on a old times rush when I went to the nearest grocery shop and and bought a eight pack of Maggi, just because I knew how addicted I was to it's taste. I didn't want to run down one day at 12 in the night because I wanted to bow down to the yellow and red logo.
Preparing Maggi is like preparing eggs - everyone knows how to. Of course, the connesuirs or Maggi (trust me, there are some) will tell you about the right amount of water and the right amount of time and the right amount of other ingredients to put in and such - but back then the actual Maggi taste was so lipsmackingly spicy that you wouldn't need anything else. And yes, when I was younger half a packet of Maggi would fill me up. It was only after a while that I began having them full packs.
You could guess my 'am going to heaven look' when I first took the aroma of a steaming, piping hot cup of Maggi noodles just a moment away from my eyes, my nose and of course, my mouth. I pinched in the first stringy noodle and began munching - and boy was I surprised!
The taste of Maggi noodles had changed! From a meaty, heavy duty and robust Salman Khan it had turned into Vivek Oberoi - looking good to begin with, but having a bitter taste as soon as consumed! I checked, I double checked, believe me I even tried them recipes... one cup of water, one and one fourth cup of water, ten minutes, seven minutes, nothing worked - the taste was simply awful.
As for me, I am someone who is one bitten twice shy, and I rarely ventured onto the Maggi turf after that - but you know, sometimes one is caught between the devil and the deep sea, and so was I - and I had to buy Maggi again. This time, I tried the taste again and I was flummoxed, as it dawned onto me -
Maggi was using us as Guinea Pigs
Every time I had a taste of Maggi noodles, the taste changed. Sometimes it would be like onions drenched in water, other times it would like tomatoes clung together with and lashed with some kind of exotic Asian spices - Yuck. The taste was rank bad. The only saving grace, of course, was the tomato flavor, which somehow had withstood the evil genius who was changing the recipe of India's favorite noodles. Actually speaking, it put me off instant noodles for quite a while. Every time I saw someone having instant noodles - and by that time there were several brands available, Maggi had brought in the aspect of instant food so dominantly that any third rate noodle maker could piggy back into the market - I would yearn for that taste of Maggi to once again fill me up.
Until I discovered Chings.
Chings was in the market for quite some while, but it didn't begin with instant noodles. Instead, it used to provide with noodles and one would have to put in oil and stuff - something that worked out to be quite expensive and cumbersome. I mean, if I had to work with oil and stuff and add vegetables, wouldn't I just cut up some vegetables and prepare some lunch or dinner?
However, as companies normally do, Ching's launched its noodles pretty soon, and I should confess that looking at the package and remembering that one solitary experience I had with the Ching's Noodles, I gave it a miss for several years. Then one day, I finally gave in and tried to check whether the taste was anywhere near what it said.
I was surprised!
Ching's tastes good, make no mistake about it. It has the taste to even wean the most hardcore of Maggi fans, simply because Maggi does not have the robust taste that it had back then. Maybe it is catering to the meterosexual male, and does not want the getting down and dirty boys anywhere near their yard - but for now, Ching's has a good place in my kitchen.
Until I discovered Chings.
Chings was in the market for quite some while, but it didn't begin with instant noodles. Instead, it used to provide with noodles and one would have to put in oil and stuff - something that worked out to be quite expensive and cumbersome. I mean, if I had to work with oil and stuff and add vegetables, wouldn't I just cut up some vegetables and prepare some lunch or dinner?
However, as companies normally do, Ching's launched its noodles pretty soon, and I should confess that looking at the package and remembering that one solitary experience I had with the Ching's Noodles, I gave it a miss for several years. Then one day, I finally gave in and tried to check whether the taste was anywhere near what it said.
I was surprised!
Ching's tastes good, make no mistake about it. It has the taste to even wean the most hardcore of Maggi fans, simply because Maggi does not have the robust taste that it had back then. Maybe it is catering to the meterosexual male, and does not want the getting down and dirty boys anywhere near their yard - but for now, Ching's has a good place in my kitchen.
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