Noods Noods Noods Festival, Santa Ana

I found out about this awesome event through Foodbeast's Instagram page. Noods Noods Noods was a food festival sponsored by Cup of Noodles and Foodbeast and most vendors used noodles some way in their menu item for this special event.

My friend and I bought the VIP tickets at  the late price of $60 which gave us access to unlimited food in the VIP area. There were about 20 vendors and we tried everything! I would say it was definitely worth the price for the amount of food we stufffed ourselves with. I didn't eat after lunch (the event was at 7) so that I could try as much food as possible! The other ticket option was $10 admission and access to food trucks where you had to pay money for each individual item. The options from the food trucks looked just as good as the VIP vendors.

Parking here was a disaster–the security guy told us to go around a corner, and we passed a parking structure, then we found another one that had a blocked entrance, and finally, with the help of Waze, we found another structure a couple blocks away. Traffic turning into the parking lot was bad–we had to turn left while people were going straight or turning right into the sturcture; luckily someone was nice and let us turn in ahead of them.

The line to get in was long but went quick, and we were given a wristband. We were confused when we entered because people were packed like sardines–we thought it was another line to wait in, but we ended up pushing our way through to find the VIP entrance. 

There was even an epic Super Smash Bros tournament at the eSports Arena. I'd never experienced anything like it–who knew video games could be like a pro sport.

Food!

Jinny's Pizzeria &
En Tu Boca

Cheesy Corn Pizza & Ramen Crusted Chicken Wings

Let me just say, this night was my first time taking Lactaid. I've avoided using it, but I gave it a try to make sure I could taste all the cheesy, dairy-ful food! And it worked! Now I could enjoy a delicious pizza. It was surprisingly good with the noodles on top of it–there was also seaweed flakes and corn–an interesting Asian spin on pizza. 

The Chicken Soto Ramen was basically cup noodles with a fried/glazed chicken wing on top. The wing I ate was mostly fat and there was hardly any meat, so I wasn't really wow'd by it. 

Sgt. Pepperoni's

Pizza Number 2! This one was even better than the first pizza. It was pizza dough stuffed with cheese and kimchi, and I think sriracha on top. The flavor combo was weird, but it worked out! Scrumptious!

Ten Asian Bistro

Spam , Eggs, and Parmesan Cup Noodle

My mom always told me that Spam was gross so I just steered away from it and never really ate it. I had a spam musubi one time and I was expecting Spam to taste gross because it comes out of a can–but it wasn't that bad. When I had this cup noodle with spam, it reminded me of a hot dog and sausage...a salty one. It was good, but I wouldn't eat spam all the time. The seaweed flakes and egg added to the overall flavor, and the combination worked out quite nicely. I would've finished the whole thing, had there not been more food to try. 

Megadon: Mini Poke Bowl

​This was just what it looks like–a mini poke bowl. How cute.

The Pie Hole: Yakisoba Pot Pie

The serving was not this big–it was about a quarter size, but this served as a better picture. When we received our sample, it was luke warm; the crust was dry and the noodles were cold. The flavors were all there, but it tasted as if it had been sitting out a while.

Cali Tacos: Carne Asada Cup Noodles

This was one of my favorites! The meat was hot off the grill, flavorful, and tender. It actually paired well with the noodles–I guess if you think about it, it's like pasta with meat. If there wasn't so much food, I could've easily eaten the entire thing as my dinner.

Red Envelope: Summer Spring Rolls

Wasn't really a fan of these because they didn't taste like much. I think it was my first time eating flowers, though.

Clever Leaf: Stuffed Crab Claw Garlic Noodles

This was so delicious. The crab claw was covered in some sort of shrimp/noodle mixture that was fried. It was piping hot, and I nearly burned my tongue, but it was so worth it. I mean, everything tastes better fried.

Ninjas with Appetite: Teriyaki Cheesesteak Ramen

I saw them mix the noodles with a bag of cheese on the pan, and it reminded me of mac and cheese! The teriyaki was so good–this entire item was on point. Another favorite from the night. And yes, that's sriracha on top.

Not gonna lie, I was scared to try this. The inside of a sea urchin?! I feel like that is something that is not supposed to be eaten! But I know it's this delicacy in Japanese cuisine. My friend had showed me pictures of raw uni the day before and I was grossed out, but I told myself I would try everything that was offered at this food festival. So I held it in my chopstick and put it in my mouth. Surprisingly, it didn't taste fishy or gross like I expected–the texture was a little weird and my taste buds were trying to process this interesting food. I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to order it, but it was good. 

Miyabi Uni

Miyabi Uni Ramen Bowl

Belly Bombz Kitchen: Firecracker Chicken Ramen Quesadilla

This was a cool hybrid. In this quesadilla, the tortilla was replaced by ramen! It was delicious and gave a good cheese pull.

Supernatural Sandwiches: Scallop and Bacon Mini Roll

This mini sandwich was so cute–how did they stuff so much different food in it?! I don't eat scallops often, so I didn't really care for this mini-sub. I was scared to take a bite because that black stuff is SQUID INK! The sandwich was tasty, and I forgot what I was eating scallops and squid ink when I took a bite.

As we walked along the food tents, we noticed that the Bruxie food truck had the longest line, so we saved it for last. By the time we got to the line, it was half as long, phew! There used to be a Bruxie near me and I loved their waffle sandwiches. It'd been a good 4 years since I'd had Bruxie, so I was super excited for this item. It was fried chicken with kimchi, and the waffle was waffled ramen. I'm not sure how you make that–probably put the noodles in a batter and into a waffle iron. The sandwich was so good, I stuffed my stomach beyond it's capacity (it was the last thing I ate here). I also rarely eat fried chicken, so this was my cheat day to enjoy it with the other 2,000 calories I probably consumed at this event. Also, not a fan of spicy kimchi, but this wasn't spicy at all, thank goodness. By far another one of my favorites at Noods Noods Noods.

Bruxie: Kickin Kimchi Ramen Waffle

The Loop

Lil Loop Churros (Ube Coconut and Matcha Almond)

I've been to The Loop before, it's in Westminster, but hadn't tried these flavors. I love ube and matcha, so my friend and I split both. They were yummy and the almonds added a nice crunch and paired well with the matcha glaze. 

Oh my! This was my favorite dessert of the night–mainly because I can never have milkshakes since I'm lactose intolerant. This downsized milkshake was the perfect size. I couldn't finish it, and definitely would not be able to finish a full size one. It was the perfect sort of sampler. There were so many components to this: the choco pie, crunchy marshmallows, chocolate syrup. So much chocolate, but I LOVVEE chocolate. Honestly, I think choco pies are dry and bland, but the rest of the shake was scrumptious. I licked all the marshmallows off the rim–they're like Lucky Charms marshmallows–I love that crunch. Also, that tiny flag is adorable. 

Thanks so much Foodbeast, this was a super fun festival and I can't wait for more events!

Creamistry

Choco Pie Nitro Shake