If you read Coconuts regularly, you’d know that Indonesians take their instant noodles very seriously. This time, online chatter about a new variant from Indomie’s cup noodles sibling, Pop Mie, which combines two of Indonesians’ favorite source of carbs attracted so much attention that even the government had to verify the news.
In early September, a post showing Soto Ayam-flavored Pop Mie with an added label of “Pake Nasi” (with rice) went viral after it was originally posted on Facebook. To cater to Indonesians’ obsession with random abbreviations, the variant was given the name Panas, which literally means “hot,” for Pake Nasi.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this caused quite a bit of commotion as netizens then demanded Pop Mie’s official account to confirm the legitimacy of the supposedly new variant.
https://twitter.com/FaizalAS_/status/1300334090504134663
“Those who belong in the eating-noodles-with-rice team will be happy to see this, including myself. Indofood representatives said that the [Pop Mie Panas] is still in the production stage and internal testing (only Indofood employees get to try it),” the caption in the screenshot reads.
If you think eating noodles with rice is either unhealthy or weird, you best believe that many in the country do so for a variety of reasons. Many Indonesians, for example, are of the opinion that no meal is complete without rice, while others do so for economical reasons or simply based on personal preference.
The excitement/confusion on social media eventually led the Information and Communications Ministry (Kemkominfo) to issue a statement declaring that the cup noodle/rice was a hoax based on a fact-check article by Liputan 6.
Fast forward to early this week when Pop Mie finally announced the Panas variant through its official social media accounts. As if netizens needed more reassuring, Indofood director Axton Salim, the heir to the food conglomerate who’s popular on Instagram, also posted a video of him enjoying Pop Mie Panas while watching the hit Korean drama series Reply 1988.
And yes, in case you’re wondering: a packet of dried rice is included in the Pop Mie Panas cup.
If enjoying noodles with rice is your way to go, you can try your luck by pre-ordering Pop Mie Panas through its official Shopee page. It’s available for a promotional price of IDR60,000 (around US$4) for a box of 12 cups. The variant is said to be a limited edition, and it was already sold out at the time of publication.
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