{"id":2093,"date":"2014-04-30T20:42:19","date_gmt":"2014-05-01T01:42:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/updates.xephalon.net\/?p=2093"},"modified":"2014-04-30T20:42:19","modified_gmt":"2014-05-01T01:42:19","slug":"spring-noodles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/2014\/04\/30\/spring-noodles\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring & Noodles"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"2014.04.30.a\"<\/a>\"2014.04.30.b\"<\/a>It’s just 2 months before the end of fellowship, and I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. But the tunnel is fraught with obstacles – studying for oral boards, wrapping up research, preparing conference talks, house-hunting, mortgage shopping, arranging for movers, and of course, finishing my NC culinary tour before leaving. Earlier this month, I caught up with some residents over happy hour at TGIF<\/a>, followed by delicious hand-pulled noodles from the deceptively named China Express<\/a> – a restaurant I serendipitously heard about from a talk radio show while driving. One of the incoming fellows was visiting, so we took him to Local 22<\/a> for mac n’ cheese. The following week, our department celebrated a “Spring Warm-Up” at the home-opening game of the Durham Bulls<\/a>. This was in lieu of the traditional “Winter Thaw” event that was delayed due to our chairman’s untimely demise. The spread of fried chicken, burgers, and hot dogs were a relief compared to last year’s atrocity<\/a>, although my first experience at a minor league baseball game confirmed my fear when we started the 3rd inning almost 2 hours into the game, prompting most of us to an early departure. This week, after presenting journal club and lecturing at our Ocular Imaging CME Course<\/a>, our new fellowship director took us to swanky University Club<\/a> atop Durham’s only high-rise for a nice buffet dinner with my co-fellows. Back home, I’m also trying to empty out my fridge and pantry, and wrap up Glenn’s noodle competition. Without ado – round 5! The scores (soup, noodles) are out of 10.<\/p>\n

1. Sapporo Ichiban Chow Mein<\/a> (5, 6): These average noodles are served dry with a spicy, tangy sauce that’s too sweet – another fail for Sapporo Ichiban. Avoid at all costs.<\/p>\n

2. Daily Instant Noodles Tomyum<\/a> (6, 6): This tomyum formula is just a cut above similar cheap Thai brands, but still doesn’t compare to the big players in the noodle market.<\/p>\n

3. Six Fortune Instant U-Dong Noodles<\/a> (7, 7): Another Nong Shim rip-off, this one offers flavors similar to Neoguri but with noodles that are just a tad softer. Just not the real deal.<\/p>\n

4. Vifon Shrimp Flavor Mi Tom<\/a> (5, 5): The generic noodles soften just too quickly in a broth that tastes suspiciously umami without a discernable flavor. Very, very suspicious indeed.<\/p>\n

5. Myojo Chukazanmai – Soy Sauce Flavor<\/a> (7, 9): This brand’s premium noodles does not disappoint, although this soup base is saltier and less complex than its sibling flavors.<\/p>\n

6. Nongshim Seafood Ramyun<\/a> (7, 7): Nong Shim may be messing too much with their winning formula – this version has a finer noodle that softens too readily. Stick with Neoguri!<\/p>\n

7. Sau Tao Xiao Qiao Rice Vermicelli – Abalone Flavoured<\/a> (7, 8): These vacuum packed vermicelli has a nice but soft texture; the soup is nicely-favored but left me plenty thirsty.<\/p>\n

8. Mama Oriental Style Instant Flat Noodles – Clear Soup<\/a> (4, 5): Mama served me stiff rice noodles in spicy salt water. I’m just glad my mom never cooked this badly. A disappointment from a popular brand.<\/p>\n

9. Vifon Hu Tieu Nam Vang<\/a> (5, 6): Vifon’s rice noodle formula tastes identical whether it’s pho or bun or hu tieu – all equally uninspired. This version is no different.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s just 2 months before the end of fellowship, and I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. But the tunnel is fraught with obstacles – studying for oral boards, wrapping up research, preparing conference talks, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2093\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xephalon.net\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}