Instant pancit canton is an all time favorite of Filipinos, that’s in my case. It was launched in the 90’s and eating this instant noodle just bring backs my childhood memories. I enjoy it as is but I love it with plain white rice. You can also enjoy it with hot pandesal. It is my childhood afternoon snack and a good way to ease my hunger. Have a hard boiled egg on the side and it’s perfect.
When you say pancit canton, one brand comes to our mind and that is Lucky Me Pancit Canton. It is a household brand. However, several brands have their own pancit canton and let us taste which brand taste best.
For this face-off battle, we will have the Lucky Me Pancit Canton, Payless and Quickchow. I chose the original flavor since it’s common to the three brands.
Lucky Me Pancit Canton
First, the original and the first born pancit canton in the market, Lucky Me. This is their new version and comes in bigger packaging and size of 80 grams. The smell of this pancit canton is so nostalgic.
I cooked the noodles according to the package direction. I combined the flavoring, which are composed of oil, soy sauce and powder seasoning in a bowl. When the noodle is done, I mix it with the sauce.
Packaging, it comes with this bag packaging pack. If you try to feel it, you will notice that there is so many space inside the packaging. So yeah, it looks big but it only weighs 80 grams.
Appearance, it’s a bit pale compared with the other two. A look of it you will think it’s bland. The new noodle is flat type which is similar to instant yakisoba noodles.
Taste, the seasoning is bland and you could hardly taste it. The soy sauce though is quite over empowering the whole flavor. Also, I find it too oily.
Price, a 80g pack will cost you Php11.75.
I will give it 3 out of 5 and it will be my benchmark.
Payless Pancit Canton
This is the first time I’ve tried it. I cooked it the same way I cooked Lucky Me Pancit Canton.
Packaging, it has the same size as Lucky Me Pancit Canton. The difference is, the packaging speaks for its content. It weighs 130 grams and the plus point is, the packaging material is thicker than that of Lucky Me.
Appearance, it has the right amount color. When you look at it, you’ll tell to yourself that it must be good. Its noodle is the traditional round type.
Taste, it has a balanced flavor. The soy sauce is not over empowering. The seasoning is not too salty. You could actually taste the seasoning. Speaking of which, it has a lard type flavoring oil not like the other two which I suspect is just plain vegetable oil. It’s solid at room temperature and has this tiny bits of ingredient which I don’t know what. It’s like the oil used in beef noodles.
Price, a 130g will cost you Php14.00.
I’ll give it a 4 out of 5 rating.
Quickchow Pancit Canton
This is also the first time I’ve tried it since we are Lucky Me Pancit Canton eaters. I prepared it the same way with the previous two.
Packaging, it comes in 65g small pack. The packaging has a similar material of that of Lucky Me.
Appearance, the color intensity is the same of Payless Pancit Canton. It also has the usual round type noodles.
Taste, this one is really tricky. It has its own distinct flavor. It has much more flavor than Payless pancit canton but it’s somewhat has an acquired taste. It has a hint of beef flavor but I find this instant noodle more on the saltier side. It’s as oily as Lucky Me Pancit Canton.
Price is at Php8.40 per 65g.
I will give it a 3.5 out of 5.
The verdict, Payless Pancit Canton, based on my taste wins this face-off challenge in terms of flavor and affordability. However, Lucky Me Pancit Canton is close to my heart since it reminds me of my childhood memories. Moreover, I like their Sweet and Spicy flavor of all their available flavors.
Why not try Payless Pancit Canton and let us see your opinion.
Just a disclaimer, this is not a paid review. This is just me wondering what is the best instant pancit canton in the market. I just do this for fun and for my afternoon snack.
Hi Corey! I agree with you (Payless being underrated). It's tastier than Lucky Me and a lot bigger for few peso difference.
Haven't tried Quickchow yet, pero Payless is sooooo underrated. Funnily, Payless tastes more like the "old" Lucky Me than the "new" Lucky Me. And that's a good thing.