Invasion Of The Noodle

More than a couple of years here now, I realized many changes that will not be reported or written in a tourist forum or journal. First and foremost the crime rate is getting higher, we were surprised when announcements were made about the regularity of pick pockets at the ever so crowded train stations.

Racism is more apparent, you can see how majority of the locals will show their distaste towards some nationalities. Drug joints are more open despite police being stationed everywhere, and the daredevil of suicides in front of a moving train are more regularly reported.

However, to top the changes here I would say is the invasion of the noodles’ joint. They just mushroom out of nowhere and honestly everywhere, from tiny dark corner shops to grand new international stations, you see them and keep on seeing them. It is just amazing how they managed to overtake the ever so famous doner kebab stalls; I can easily say almost by 50 percent now.

Yesterday evening, I decided to stand and watch them making the fried noodles, just to see what are the magic ingredients that could make them so in demand here, besides the price of 1.99 Euro for a box?

This is what I saw; first the noodle was fried with some oil and a kind of stock, which I assumed must be the stock from the chicken cubes, next a handful of sugar was poured on the noodles together with a handful of salt. They were mixed together, next come the shredded carrot and spring onion, further mix, then a ladle full of thin soya sauce and a ladle full of diluted oyster sauce, last a cup (trust me just a cup or may be two) of beansprout (because this is expensive here).

Just look at the finished product, it was mainly the noodle with very little else, you could hardly see the carrot as well as the spring onion, let’s not mention the beansprout. So this is what they call a meal now, sad…………………… really so sad.

What can you say to a nation that claims the thin hard dry chicken schnitzel as their specialty? Nothing!!!!!!!