Tuesday, 1 July 2014

Cooking & Food: Battle Of The Udon -- Stage 3

Can anyone of the 4 udons dethrone the mighty ACE Sanuki Udon?
Image from Locky's English Playground
Surely, one will easily get hungry when watching soccer past midnight (HK time), getting sick of instant noodles? Maybe it is time for some "udoniousness", so back is our Cooking & Food: Battle Of The Udon -- Stage 3

First, a quick reminder the results from Stage 2:

Results from Stage 2
(Left to Rigth) ACE Sanuki Udon, ACE Japanese Udon (Hand-made Style), ACE Shikoku Sanuki Udon, Menyuraku Sanuki Zaru Udon Noodle, Japan Furusato Sodachi Udon Image from Locky's English Playground

Round 1 -- Price
Winner: ACE Shikoku Sanuki Udon -- HK$3.29/100g

Round 2 -- "Dry length" of udon noodle
Winners: ACE Sanuki Udon and ACE Japanese Udon  -- 24.7cm and 24.5cm respectively

Round 3 -- Cooking time of the udon noodle
Winners: Menyuraku Sanuki Zaru Udon Noodle --  6 mins

Round 4 -- The "Stretch" of the udon noodle
Winner: Menyuraku Sanuki Zaru Udon Noodle -- (25.8 - 20.2) / 20.2 x 100% = 27.7%

Round 5 -- Edibility! 
Winner: ACE Sanuki Udon

Overall "Battle Of The 4 Udon" Stage 2 Winner !
ACE Sanuki Udon (again!)

And so ACE Sanuki Udon has won two battles in a row, although it may not be the tastiest udon or the cheapest, it is ranked way up there with the best, thus it really deserves to be the overall champion in both battles, but can it stand the 3rd test of time? Or will it finally be dethroned?

Let's kick off Battle Of The Udon -- Stage 3!!!

Here comes the new challengers!!!
Image from Locky's English Playground

This time round, we have 4 challengers for the two-time champion, Itsuki Hakata Udon is priced very close to ACE Sanuki Udon, Ishimarus Futo-Udon/Thick type has an awesome-looking smooth non-glossy packaging, Yamamoto Seifun Udon is selling how its udon can be served hot and cold while forgetting to put the company logo in front, while Hato Dried Noodle Udon too, having no company name or logo, comes with a simplistic packaging.

Round 1 :  Price-Per-100g!


ACE Sanuki Udon
Image from Locky's English Playground


Itsuki Hakata Udon
Image from Locky's English Playground


Ishimarus Futo-Udon/Thick type
Image from Locky's English Playground


Yamamoto Seifun Udon
Image from Locky's English Playground

Hato Dried Noodle Udon
Image from Locky's English Playground



Like Stage 2, the udon prices are calculated according to the price bought. 

In Stage 3, our four contestants from left to right, up then down, all bought from AEON / JUSCO Supermarket, are:
  • ACE Sanuki Udon, 400g, HK$19.9
  • Itsuki Hakata Udon, 400g, HK$20.9
  • Ishimarus Futo-Udon/Thick type, 500g, HK$32.9
  • Yamamoto Seifun Udon, 400g, HK$21.9
  • Hato Dried Noodle Udon, 270g, HK$15.9
And the Price-Per-100g is listed below:
  • ACE Sanuki Udon                                    -- HK$4.98/100g
  • Itsuki Hakata Udon                                  -- HK$5.23/100g
  • Ishimarus Futo-Udon/Thick type             -- HK$6.58/100g
  • Yamamoto Seifun Udon                           -- HK$5.48/100g
  • Hato Dried Noodle Udon                         -- HK$5.89/100g
And what do you know, ACE Sanuki Udon is the most inexpensive udon this time round! I wonder how many shoppers will notice this price-per-100g figure before they buy?

Sorry, some udon have already been eaten before taking all subsequent photos, that is, a bunch is obviously missing from some packets
Image from Locky's English Playground
Congratulations to ACE Shikoku Sanuki Udon for grabbing the first win in Round 1! Looks like ACE Shikoku Sanuki Udon is off to a great start today!


Round 2: The "dry length" of udon noodle.

 Here are the measurements:

ACE Sanuki Udon -- 24.5cm
Image from Locky's English Playground

Itsuki Hakata Udon -- 19.9cm
Image from Locky's English Playground

Ishimarus Futo-Udon/Thick type -- 24.2cm
Image from Locky's English Playground

Yamamoto Seifun Udon -- 19.2cm
Image from Locky's English Playground

Hato Dried Noodle Udon -- 24.5cm
Image from Locky's English Playground
After measuring, the results are:
  • ACE Sanuki Udon                          -- 24.5cm
  • Itsuki Hakata Udon                        -- 19.9cm
  • Ishimarus Futo-Udon/Thick type    -- 24.2cm
  • Yamamoto Seifun Udon                  -- 19.2cm
  • Hato Dried Noodle Udon                -- 24.5cm
When it comes to length, we have 3 udon very close in length with each other, and so I am going to award this one to 3 udons measured around the length of 24cm!

Congratulations to ACE Sanuki Udon, Ishimarus Futo-Udon/Thick type and Hato Dried Noodle Udon for winning Round 2!


Round 3: Cooking time of the udon noodle
(Left to Right) ACE Sanuki Udon  -- 10 mins, Itsuki Hakata Udon -- 15 mins, Hato Dried Noodle Udon -- 7 mins
Image from Locky's English Playground

(Left to Right) Ishimarus Futo-Udon/Thick type -- 18 mins, Yamamoto Seifun Udon -- 10 mins
Image from Locky's English Playground
All together, the result is as follows:
  • ACE Sanuki Udon                                    -- 10 mins
  • Itsuki Hakata Udon                                  -- 15 mins
  • Ishimarus Futo-Udon/Thick type              -- 18 mins
  • Yamamoto Seifun Udon                            -- 10 mins
  • Hato Dried Noodle Udon                          -- 7 mins
Ishimarus Futo-Udon/Thick type needs 18 mins for cooking? I really do not get it! Hato Dried Noodle Udon takes this one!

Congratulations to Hato Dried Noodle Udon  for winning Round 3!


Round 4 of the battle is the "Stretch" of the udon noodle

the stretch of each udon!!! This time, apology to the missing close-ups photo of the Yamamoto Seifun Udon.


ACE Sanuki Udon -- 30.9cm
Image from Locky's English Playground

ACE Sanuki Udon -- 30.9cm
Image from Locky's English Playground
Yamamoto Seifun Udon -- 25cm
Image from Locky's English Playground
Itsuki Hakata Udon -- 25cm
Image from Locky's English Playground
Itsuki Hakata Udon -- 27cm
Image from Locky's English Playground
Itsuki Hakata Udon -- 27cm
Image from Locky's English Playground
Ishimarus Futo-Udon/Thick type -- 30.1cm
Image from Locky's English Playground
Ishimarus Futo-Udon/Thick type -- 30.1cm
Image from Locky's English Playground
Hato Dried Noodle Udon -- 29 cm
Image from Locky's English Playground


All together, the result is as follows:
  • ACE Sanuki Udon                                    -- (30.9 - 24.5) / 24.5 x 100% = 26.1%
  • Itsuki Hakata Udon                                  -- (27.0 - 19.9) / 19.9 x 100% = 35.7%
  • Ishimarus Futo-Udon/Thick type              -- (30.1 - 24.2) / 24.2 x 100% = 24.3%
  • Yamamoto Seifun Udon                            -- (25.0 - 19.2) / 19.2 x 100% = 30.2%
  • Hato Dried Noodle Udon                          -- (29.0 - 24.5) / 24.5 x 100% = 18.4%
From the percentage, we can see that, if you want to have more filling sensation but wants to lower the carb intake, you should go for Itsuki Hakata Udon with 35.7% increase in length! Another surprise is that Ishimarus Futo-Udon/Thick type takes the longest time to cook but has almost the smallest percentage of "stretch".

Congratulations to Itsuki Hakata Udon for winning Round 4!


Round 5, the final round of the battle, is Edibility! 

The judges here are my wife, who did not know which udon she would be eating, and I myself, with my wife's opinions taking the most weight. The whole process was recorded and typed out by me.
  • ACE Sanuki Udon                                    -- toughest, taste slightly salty
  • Itsuki Hakata Udon                                  -- tough, bland
  • Ishimarus Futo-Udon/Thick type              -- too soft, disgusting, very bland
  • Yamamoto Seifun Udon                            -- soft, like Chinese ho fun, taste bland
  • Hato Dried Noodle Udon                          -- tough, but not chewy, taste ok
And here's her rank:
  1. Hato Dried Noodle Udon
  2. ACE Sanuki Udon
  3. The rest
Congratulations to Hato Dried Noodle Udon for winning Round 5!

I will now add my own opinions into the judgement and present to you my choice of Stage 3 winner, but before I reveal the answer, let me do a quick summary of our current winners:

  • Itsuki Hakata Udon -- Winner of Stretch
  • Hato Dried Noodle Udon -- Winner of Shortest Cooking Time
  • ACE Sanuki Udon, Ishimarus Futo-Udon/Thick type and Hato Dried Noodle Udon --  Winners of Dry Length
  • Hato Dried Noodle Udon -- Winner of Edibility
  • ACE Sanuki Udon -- Winner of Price-Per-100g

I will have to say that this time round, the competition is not as tight as the previous 2 battles. We know that price is not everything when it comes to food, but surely, Ishimarus Futo-Udon/Thick type at HK$6.58/100g turns out to be the most expensive in terms of purchasing and use of gas in that 18 mins of cooking. Good packaging is now proven to be a poor reference to good udon.

Yamamoto Seifun Udon and Itsuki Hakata Udon, one word for them, mediocre.

The finalists boils down to ACE Sanuki Udon and Hato Dried Noodle Udon. ACE Sanuki Udon has shown us once again its positioning is among the most competitive in this aspect, at the other end, Hato Dried Noodle Udon is the most costly of the badge, whether being the smallest packet scares or attracts customers is an interesting research topic, but smaller packet does mean that it is going for the premium customers rather than general household consumers. Has it then reached that level of taste requirement of the premium customers then? The answer is definitely no.

And so, for the most consistent udon, we have, and yes, once again,

ACE Sanuki Udon wins 3 times in a row!!!
Image from Locky's English Playground
Congratulations to ACE Sanuki Udon 讃岐うどん for becoming Locky's English Playground, "Battle Of The Udon" Stage 3 Winner !

I am starting to think if there will be any other udon out there that can defeat the brilliant ACE Sanuki Udon.

There will be the Battle Of The Udon -- Stage 4, till then, I know which one is the best!


Vocabulary:
stand the test of time -- If something stands the test of time , it is still popular , strong , etc . after a long time
dethrone -- (vb)[T] to beat someone who is the best at something, especially a sport , and become the best yourself


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