Comparison: Japanese Instant Noodles vs International Instant Noodles Ramen

 

International version

The title of this post might be strange. This is what I meant: the comparison between the Japanese version of the same brand (e.g. Nissan) Noodles and the international version of the same instant noodles.

Japanese version

If you ever wondered whether they might be different, you are correct. They are quite different. In fact, if you blindfolded me and asked me to do a taste test, I would not be able to tell that both are from the same brand. 

International version 

ready to serve International version

I've always thought that the Nissan Instant noodles we know of were the standard until I moved to Tokyo and realized they are very different. There was a day I was craving that oiliness of Nissan noodles, however, when I went to the store and bought a packet that "looked" similar enough to be the Nissan Ramen I am familiar with, but to my surprise (and disappointment)... it wasn't. 

Japanese version: uncooked

Japanese version: ready to serve

Here are some differences I noticed. 

Differences between Nissan noodles:

	Japanese version	International version
Noodle type	baked, not fried, contains bits of dried ginger and other condiments	fried, a bit of an oiliness, plain
Noodle texture	thin, firm and has a heavier chewiness,	thick, slightly porous and has a light chewiness, also a bit oily
Taste (broth)	saltier, richer flavour and healthier tasting (similar to egg noodles), heavy on ginger taste (with noticeable ginger bits)	lighter brother, everything is "well balanced" and gives you a comfort food taste. Heavier on sesame
Noodle prep time	1.5 minutes (in boiling water)	3 minutes (in boiling water)
Calories	306 calories	450 calories

It has hard to choose which one I prefer because both are good and different (in a good way). The International version is more of a comfort food, while the Japanese version seems healthier and more preferred if I want a ramen meal (for dinner). 

Which do you prefer?

For those interested, here are more photos and info about each version of ramen. While reviewing the images, I realized the instructions have changed since I reviewed these noodles (on their old packaging)... so please ignore the differences in directions (between the review and the images... I'll make amendments in a bit.)

Nissin International Version:

highlights: 

made in Hong Kong

Made in Japan

Kiehl's products that didn't work

 

you have heard me rave about Kiehl's products... and to make my reviews as transparent as possible. I decided to write about the products that didn't work for me. 

Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate

This product claims to instantly boost radiance and have anti-aging benefits such as reducing fine lines. 

I discovered this product when I made a mistake and ordered this. I was planning to purchase the "Precision Lifting & Pore-Tightening Concentrate" but somehow bought this instead. They are both the same price and they look the same and I made a mistake and bought this instead of the other one. Unfortunately, my skin didn't like this as much as I thought it would though, this is more of a "me" issue than Kiehl's. My skin has reacted badly to most Vitamin C products I have tried. I thought Kiehl's might be different since most of the products I have used from them worked well, but I was wrong.

Hours after applying this product, my skin still did not absorb the Vitamin C contents which made my skin very wet and sticky. I was able to feel and smell the product (especially the Vitamin C's metallic odour). Although it didn't worsen my skin's condition, it didn't make it better either. The most frustrating part was that it just sat on my skin and didn't absorb.

I was also unimpressed with their container, similar to the Precision Lifting and Tightening Concentrate, this product's container is made of plastic. 

Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil Herbal Concentrate

If you are ever planning to give this product a try, Kiehl's provides a disclaimer to NOT travel with it. It contains a mild dose of Cannabis (as the name suggests) and some countries have strict laws of possession (think Brittney Griner).

I have heard many good things about Cannabis skin care products about their ability to calm and relax the skin.

However, my experiences were different, and this is one of the products that didn't work.

My skin hated this oil and wasn't able to absorb most of it. It ended up staying on the surface of my skin for hours. This also means that I had to smell the weird weedy grassy scent and it got all over my hands, clothes and phone... >___<.

Retinol Skin-Renewing Daily Micro-Dose Serum

All Skin Types, including Sensitive Skin A potent Retinol serum in a daily-strength micro-dose that visibly reduces wrinkles, evens skin tone, firms skin, and minimizes the look of pores with minimal discomfort. Maximum efficacy and maximum tolerance for even first-time users, sensitive skins, and for use around delicate eye areas. The formula is paraben-free and fragrance-free. The other main ingredients are peptides and ceramides.

I have heard many... MANY great things about Retinol, so I decided to order this and give it a try. Boy, was I wrong. The formula was silky smooth and it glided easily on my skin. At first, my skin was willing to absorb the serum (which was a good sign!) however, I started noticing my skin getting worse.

At first, I thought my skin was purging... and so I didn't think much of it (and was actually glad there was purging) BUT... after a month of using this... my skin had worsened to the point that there were dry patches, acne forming in different areas and my skin just seemed unmanageable. It had a hard time properly absorbing other products. I switched out this serum and my skin slowly got back to normal. 

T&T Black Sugar Tapioca Cake short review

apologizes for not having a picture of the product with the packaging (but you can see what it looks like on their website). It looks like a small roll of cake. We got rid of it before I decided to write this review. (yes... it was THAT bad >__<)

I will make this as short and simple as possible.

I didn't like it.

impressions:

• dry
• tapioca is too soft (as in not chewy)
• weird
• the cream was extremely dehydrated
• no black sugar

To be honest, it tasted like old cake (cake left in the fridge for over 2 weeks), which doesn't make sense, since we ate it the day we bought it. I couldn't be more disappointed... especially after a worker/baker at T&T told us that this is a best-selling product at T&T and highly recommended it to us.

She even claimed that we were lucky they still had some left. 

Score: 0/10

Website: https://www.tntsupermarket.com/eng/50742301-tnt-bakery-brown-sugar-tapioca-swiss-roll-320g.html