Carol my sister-in-law, who had just returned from a business trip to Vancouver, excitedly handed me two bowls of ramen. “Oh you got to try this! It’s very delicious!” Promptly Karen and I altered our lunch plans from dining at Canlis to eating these bowls of ramen at home. We anxiously boiled some water, and with the whistle of the kettle, deluged the styrofoam bowls with steaming water and sealed the bowl. After waiting what seemed like an eternity, we lifted the lid. If you’re expecting mouth-watering, delicious fragrance, think again.
It stunk. Like the gutter.
A closer inspection of the packaging revealed the words, “AQ Stinky Stinky Pot”. In which part of the world do companies intentionally use the word “stink” to describe its own product as an advertisement? And where do people line up to indulge in fermented, foul tofu flavored with Chinatown dark alley aroma?
Only in Taiwan.
Now personally I enjoy the Stinky Tofu, but this Stinky Ramen didn’t meet the bar. To be frank, it just didn’t stink enough, as the weak smell seemed more like an afterthought. A word of advise to AQ: Next time you advertise something, take it all the way. Don’t wimp out and give us some half-baked aroma thinking that the consumers wouldn’t notice the difference. That nasty stench needs to permeate through our mouth, nose, and pores with each bite to attain the highest level of satisfaction.
Only then can this stinky culinary product be complete.
Canlis >> stinky ramen