I celebrated a belated Pi Day today with a pecan pie from the grocery store. Sadly, my month-long hiatus from blogging has not left me with more interesting highlights to report. Between organizing journal club, studying for boards, and preparing cases and abstracts for two conferences, I have been left with little time for anything else. Our annual holiday event – the Winter Thaw – was a disappointing 3 hour lecture by evangelical vegans, which we protested over drinks afterwards. We made up for it by celebrating my senior fellows’ getting their jobs at Six Plates the following week. At home, aside from the dread of filing taxes for 3 states, I’ve continued with round 2 of my instant noodle competition. Again, each gets two scores for the soup base and noodles:

1. Ve Wong Chinese Herb (Ginseng Flavor) Noodle Soup (7,6): Nice aromatic herbal soup is spiked with bits of ginger and wolfberries, but the noodles are not very substantial.
2. Vifon Bun Rieu Cua (5,6): Even the “crab sauce” with tomato and tofu bits, dried-fried onion sprinkle, and crunchy bun, cannot convince me this is bun rieu. It doesn’t taste rieu at all.
3. Vifon Pho Bo (4, 6): Salty, flavorless broth and dehydrated bits of meat that taste like rubber, is combined with pho noodles that are way too wide. Fail #2 for Vifon.
4. Sapporo Ichiban (Original Flavor) (5,5): The “original” flavor is like soy-sauce in water while the hefty noodles lose their consistency half-way down the bowl. Definitely not ichiban.
5. Lishan Black Chicken Brand Chicken Noodle (6,6): The soup is spicy with pungent pickled cabbage. The thin, fine noodles have an interesting texture, but too little in quantity to hit the spot.
6. Kang Shi Fu – Artificial Abalone-Crab Flavor Noodle Soup (7,6): The soup is hearty with rehydrated veggies, but no abalone or crab flavor at all. The delicate noodle falls apart quickly.
7. Unif Tung-I Ramen (Special Beef Flavor) (6,6): Mediocre salty, spicy broth with average noodles. Nothing to write home about.
8. Wei Lih – Jah Jan Mien (6,8): Nice springy noodles are tossed with a sweet n’ spicy sauce pack. The extra soup base provides a generic broth on the side that seems more like an afterthought.
9. Baijia – Artificial Stewed Chicken Flavor Instant Sweet Potato Thread (5,6): Crunchy cellophane noodles are immersed in flavorful, but very salty, oily broth, leaving me thirsty for hours.