Crush, eat whole, or feed to the birds: How do you eat this iconic Malaysian snack?

There's a practical way.

Oct. 3, 2022

Crush, eat whole, or feed to the birds: How do you eat this iconic Malaysian snack?

If you grew up in a Southeast Asian household, you'll most probably be very familiar with the iconic Mamee Monster snack – the 'instant noodle' lookalike that both kids and adults enjoy as a quick pick-me-up. But of course, those familiar with it know not to actually cook this snack.

Whether you prefer BBQ or Chicken flavor, there's no doubt in the world that you've got your own way of eating the savory snack.

IMAGE: The Parenthetical Pilgrim

In a Reddit poll posted by u/Acidic_Acid716, people are given three different choices as to how they eat their Mamee Monster snacks: Crush, eat whole, or feed it to the birds. Though I never knew the last option was ever a thing, I can kind of see it happening.

It also begs the question, just how diverse are the ways people enjoy this iconic snack, whether out of practicality or personal preference? Some methods might surprise you.

But first, who or what is Mamee?

IMAGE: Mamee Double Decker / Mamee

Starting off as the Pacific Food Products company in 1971, the company we know today built its first factory in Melaka, Malaysia, helmed by founder Pang Chin Hin and his son, Pang Tee Chew. Its first creation: Lucky Instant Noodle. To put things nicely, it wasn't exactly a resounding success, only garnering a lukewarm response from locals.

After seeing farmers in rural villages snacking on uncooked instant noodles, straight out of the packaging, Tee Chew came up with a unique idea.

IMAGE: Pasaraya CS / Facebook

"I came up with the noodle snack idea. My father is a very savvy person, so he worked out a way to season the noodles, while I marketed the finished product, aiming it at kids. The Mamee name and the blue monster mascot were chosen because they are easy to remember," he said.

"We put the product in small packets to keep them affordable. We stopped production of the Lucky noodles immediately after Mamee Monster became a hit."

And voila, you now have the Mamee you see on store shelves today, basically.

Crush, eat whole, or feed to the birds?

That's the question currently being posed to people in the r/Malaysia subreddit.

Try to think back to the first time you opened a pack of Mamee Monster by yourself, assuming no one had ever helped you do it prior. What's the first thing you'd do? It's usually one of two possibilities: Crush or just leave it. This writer also knows of some people who do not crush the snack at all, and instead choose to pinch little pieces off, one at a time.

IMAGE: @sitisahab / Instagram

Most people, however, would instinctually crush their Mamee Monster snacks before consumption, supposedly the most ideal way to eat the snack, since you're essentially treating it like a small bag of chips.

Others, like u/ponyponyta, exercise slightly more care when crushing the snack, making sure to break it into big pieces.

"Crush it, but like minimally so it's in big chunks instead of tiny pulverized bits for ease of eating," the Redditor says. "Pulverized bits are great for just pouring it in your mouth though."

And then there are those – a very unique breed of people – who choose to eat it whole, like a thick cracker. But despite the practical nature of this method, many liken it to a war crime, or as u/IanTheElf puts it, "the people who eat it whole don't follow the natural order". Passionate opinion indeed

But like all debates, there really is no right or wrong answer – it's all up to you at the end of the day. However, for the sake of discussion, here are some other ways people have suggested Mamee Monster be consumed: