I Tried Andrew Zimmern's New Target-Exclusive Noodle Collection, But The Condiment Stole The Show

If you consider yourself to be something of a bonafide noodle lover, then there's a good chance that A-Sha brand noodles and soups have found their way into your bowl before. A-Sha may have started from a small, Taiwan-based noodle company back in 1977, but since then, it has grown into a worldwide brand known for its "air dried, never fried" noodles. A-Sha has done plenty of collaborations in the past, including its Hello Kitty and Friends and "Hot Ones " collabs, and the latest collaboration to enter the noodle-sphere is one with celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern.

The A-Sha/Zimmern collab — dubbed Zimm's Collection — features three types of cheesy noodles, two noodle soup bowls, and even a peanut butter chili crisp. Unlike other A-Sha products that may be available at various retailers, all of the products in Zimm's Collection are available exclusively at Target (you can find the products listed online, but as of the time of this writing, they're sold out on A-Sha's website). Though exact prices and availability may vary depending on Target location, at my nearest location, the noodle bowls cost $4.39, the cheesy pastas are $3.79, and the peanut butter chili crisp is $7.59.

Of course, one lingering question remains: Are the products in Zimm's Collection any good? A-Sha sent me samples of each of these new products to taste test for myself right at home. So I did just that, putting each product to the test and reviewing them completely honestly based on overall flavor and quality — read on for my full review of each product.

I prepared all of the Zimm's Collection products at once (minus the PB chili crisp, of course), sampling them side by side. I made sure to give each products its due attention; preparing them all at once helped distinguish exactly where these products' similarities lied (and where they had distinct differences or quirks). 

As for how I conducted the review (as in, determining whether or not I thought the products were good or if they're worth purchasing yourself), that more so came down to a given product's flavor, the noodles' texture (which, realistically, each product had decent noodles), and overall quality of the product. I didn't treat the collection like a monolith; as you'll soon learn, I'm not going to either recommend that you purchase the entire collection or none at all. Some products were stronger than others, and I'll touch on what specifically made them stand out in the taste test slides, versus those products that paled in comparison.

As someone who admittedly isn't the biggest fan of cacio e pepe in my everyday life, I have to say that Zimm's spicy cacio e pepe noodles were actually pretty tasty. I'm usually overwhelmed by the sheer pepperiness of cacio e pepe (yes, I know that's sort of the point) and find that any other flavor notes get lost in translation. While A-Sha/Zimm's take definitely went heavy on the pepper as well, there were other flavor notes present to help round out the noodle dish into something rather tasty.

Pepper aside, the first flavor note that hit me was one of sheer, savory goodness. There's no sauce packet included with these pastas, but rather a powder packet (which you mix with a little bit of reserved pasta water to make it smoother and creamier) and another one for the topping — cacio e pepe's topping packet was, of course, coarse black pepper. This pasta definitely leaned heavily into the creamy, savory side, but I enjoyed subtly tangy undertones (reminiscent of Pecorino Romano in fresh-made cacio e pepe) and even a little bit of sweetness. The noodles themselves were also exceptional, perfectly chewy without any mushiness.

Overall, this single-serve pasta dish was easy to throw together — just boil the noodles, mix the sauce, and voila — and the final result felt indulgent yet balanced. My one complaint? There wasn't much spice at play, so that name didn't feel entirely accurate, but I can forgive that one since the "spicy" aspect might be more in reference to the excess of black pepper.

As mentioned, a single box of these cacio e pepe noodles equals one serving. In a given serving, there are 350 calories, 4 grams of fat, 1,510 milligrams of sodium, 65 grams of carbs, 4 grams of sugar (including 2 added grams), and 13 grams of protein.

It's hard to beat the sheer convenience of a bowl like this roasted garlic chicken noodle soup offering from the A-Sha/Zimm's lineup, but flavor-wise? I was left feeling a little tepid. There definitely weren't any bad flavors going on here, but when something boasts roasted garlic right in the name, I would certainly hope that such a strong, unmistakable flavor note would be more apparent in the final dish.

So, needless to say, I was a little let down by the lack of garlicky flavor in this soup bowl, but moreover, I was hoping for more flavor in general. Now, it is true that chicken noodle soup is pretty mellow by nature, but I wanted more savory notes or some sort of flavor note to really stand out in this bowl. Instead, the soup and noodles were both tasty enough, but they really weren't anything special (or anything that you couldn't easily find from another brand). Preparation for the bowl was at least quite easy, and I opted for the microwave method: Add soup base and veggie packet, 1 ½ cups of water, and microwave for 4 minutes. Even so, I'm not sure that the overall lackluster final product was necessarily worth the time it took to prepare.

Each bowl of this chicken noodle soup is one single serving. And, within each bowl/serving, there are 290 calories, 4 grams of fat, 1,870 milligrams of sodium, 53 grams of carbs, 6 grams of total sugar (including 5 grams of added sugar), and 10 grams of protein.

Truffles, in all types and forms, are perhaps one of the most luxurious pasta additions out there. Even just a drizzle of truffle oil can instantly elevate the simplest of noodles, and that level of flavor elevation is seemingly what A-Sha and Andrew Zimmern were going for with these cheesy truffle noodles. I was personally a bit wary about how such a high-end ingredient might translate to a pre-packaged, store-bought pasta format, and as it turns out, I was right to have some reservations.

From the second I cracked open the powder sauce packet, the truffles made themselves apparent through aroma alone. But the smell was a little too harsh for truffles, and once I mixed up the sauce, tossed it with the noodles, and sprinkled on the crispy onion topping, that harshness became a reality in the flavor department, too. The truffle flavor was simply too strong and not high enough in quality to justify it. Of the three pastas, this sauce was the least creamy once mixed, so there was really no other flavor profile to help temper that sharp truffle note — it was just a lot of pungency and saltiness, and I just couldn't bring myself to enjoy it.

I will note that each of the three cheesy noodles calls for swapping out the pasta water to mix the sauce and instead adding milk and butter for a more decadent take. I didn't make these swaps myself, but I do think that this particular noodle dish would have benefited from these added rich ingredients.

Each serving of cheesy truffle noodles contains 350 calories, 3 grams of fat, 1,600 milligrams of sodium, 67 grams of carbs, 4 grams of total sugar (with less than 1 gram being added sugar), and 12 grams of protein.

Much like with the roasted garlic chicken noodle variety, I found the other soup bowl — spicy pork noodle soup — to be a little disappointing flavor-wise. This bowl didn't taste bad, but I simply expected more, especially because this one boasted a spiciness that ultimately didn't come through as I'd hoped for.

I will at least say that, of the two bowls, this one was my favorite. Though there wasn't a whole lot of spice, I think the pork broth fared well, offering up savory notes that at least made for a generally tasty (if slightly lackluster) bite. The noodles also cooked up nicely, offering that slurpable quality that felt cozy and comforting. I think that a little more of a genuine kick of spice would have really taken this soup bowl to new heights, and the potential is there. I'm not sure that I'd seek out this noodle bowl again — simply considering that there are quite a few similar products that actually pack a spicy punch on the market — but I also wouldn't go out of my way to tell someone to specifically avoid this product.

A single-serving bowl of this pork noodle soup has 330 calories, 7 grams of fat, 2,080 milligrams of sodium, 55 grams of carbs, 6 total grams of sugar (including 4 added grams), and 11 grams of protein.

Rounding out the trio of cheesy noodles is the Vermont cheddar noodles, a product that I figured I'd like well enough, but one that I actually ended up enjoying quite a bit. Sometimes classic cheddar cheese noodles are tasty enough on their own (without the need for harsh added flavors or excessive extras), and I think that was definitely the case with this one.

Once prepared, these noodles reminded me a lot of a mellow white cheddar mac and cheese, but with slurpable noodles and a unique but subtle onion kick thanks to the dried scallion topping. The creamy, relatively neutral sauce flavor was quite tasty without being overly salty or too rich. The dried scallions seemed a bit tacked on at first, but they actually did go a long way in adding some flavor diversity without changing up the flavor profile of the whole dish. The noodles had that perfect bite to them as well, so overall, this was one tasty, cheesy pasta dish that I'd happily eat again. 

One serving of these Vermont cheddar noodles comes with 350 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 1,590 milligrams of sodium, 64 grams of carbs, 6 grams of total sugar (including 2 grams of added sugar), and 14 grams of protein.

The final product in the A-Sha/Zimm's lineup, the peanut butter chili crisp, is one that sort of threw me for a loop. I simply wasn't sure what to expect with this product, and if anything, I had worries that it might be a bit too sweet. But I'd argue that this PB chili crisp was my favorite product of them all, offering up a deliciously savory-sweet-spicy flavor profile (one that's led me to plan which foods to pair it with next).

As I mentioned, I went into this product assuming it might be too sweet — a peanut butter with a hint of chili crisp. In reality, the PB and chili crisp notes were beautifully balanced, and the first flavor note I was hit with was a more savory one, followed by a subtly sweet nuttiness that transformed into a nice heat that lingered on the tongue. Despite the "mild" label, I actually thought that this product still packed a nice, spicy kick. I first tried the PB chili crisp on its own, from a spoon, and I was already impressed.

However, since this product is meant to be a condiment, I drizzled some onto both of the soup bowls (after I had already adequately tasted them and formed an impression based on the products alone, without additions). And, needless to say, this stuff was straight-up delicious on the soup bowls, adding just the right rich, nutty, spicy kick — like I said, I'm already plotting which foods I can try this PB chili crisp on next.

Per a 2-tablespoon serving of this peanut butter chili crisp, there are 180 calories, 16 grams of fat, 410 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of carbs, 2 grams of total sugar (including 2 grams of added sugar), and 4 grams of protein.

After sampling these six A-Sha Zimm's products, I can safely say that some of them are worth seeking out. Now, am I recommending that you flock to Target and load up on each product? No. But there were a few standouts — namely the cacio e pepe noodles, Vermont cheddar noodles, and peanut butter chili crisp — that I do think are worth seeking out and at least tasting. The only real commitment of a product is the PB chili crisp, and that's the product that I recommend the most highly out of all of them.

As for the two noodle soup bowls, it sort of depends on what you're looking for. I personally wasn't crazy about either of them, but after a simple jazzing up with the PB chili crisp, I enjoyed both bowls that much more. So they do serve well as bases for building upon — a jammy ramen egg and drizzle of sriracha alone could elevate the bowls significantly. As stand-alone products, though, with no additions or zhuzhing up, they fall a little flat.

If there's one product I'd strictly recommend skipping, it's the cheesy truffle noodles. The overwhelming truffle flavor felt more like a punishment to eat than a luxury. I just don't think the truffle flavor was executed well enough to (in good faith) recommend this product to anyone, truffle lover or otherwise.