The "Thai Kitchen" is Closed

I'm not normally one to review food items, but today I'm going to make an exception. Usually, I cook my own food from unprocessed ingredients...I'll bake up a chicken, cook some green beans, bake a potato and voila...lunch and/or dinner. Yesterday, on a trip to Whole Foods, I decided to get a little creative and try to get on board with this whole "convenience trend," so I bought a product called Thai Kitchen Noodle Cart Single Serve Size Thai Peanut Instant Rice Noodles & Sauce. Let me tell you, this whole convenience thing is WAY overrated.

Though the picture is small, behold lovely rice noodles in a delicate peanut sauce. You can practically hear the squeaky wheels of a Thai noodle cart just by gazing at the box. Unfortunately, although I more or less followed the directions, the noodles soaked up so much water that they instantly turned into a white, congealed gooey mess. In fact, when I opened the microwave I saw that a few brave noodles had even tried a daring escape, veritably leaping out of their included plastic microwaveable tray. Sticking with my experiment, I added the oil and seasoning in a vain attempt to create the "sauce" of which this product boasted. Instead, I ended up with a white, congealed gooey mess studded with tiny peanut chunks. Yum.

I thought to myself, "Maybe this is merely a cosmetic difference...maybe it will TASTE just fine." No. I'd like to proclaim here and now that it did not "taste fine." It in fact tasted like starchy, plastic-y noodles covered with peanut bits...a point I confirmed with three co-workers willing to substantiate my findings. Thanks guys.

I could widen this review into a modern-day fable by pointing out that "You get out of something what you put into it" and "In life, there are no shortcuts." Instead, I'm thinking of complaining to the Thai Kitchen people. Maybe I'll get coupons or something.