Early this month, at the end of a business trip to Sichuan province, Todd Roy, a 39-year-old American manager working for a Beijing-based company, purchased a special gift for his four-year-old son - a pack of "spicy pot instant noodles".

"It is a pity I can't take my little baby with me around China. I also can't take the fresh Chinese food from different regions back to my family, such as Dandan Noodles (a famous hot and spicy snack originating from Sichuan province). But with the instant noodles, I can give him some idea of distinctive Sichuan dishes," he said.

After traveling to different cities across China, Roy found the biggest headache was choosing presents for his family. "For them, Chinese food is the most attractive gift. But this is difficult to carry when you're always on the move," Roy added.

Thanks to China's fast-growing instant food industry, Roy found instant food with regional distinctive regional flavors. For instance, if he wants to eat Beijing-style food, he could choose Traditional Beijing Fried Bean Sauce Instant Noodles. If he wants Guangdong-style food, he could purchase Boiled Old Chicken Soup Instant Noodles.

"Usually, the taste was said to be authentic by local friends," said Roy, adding that he thought that was the best way to let his family try Chinese food.

"Although all I brought to my family was instant food, they were always happy because the taste was always different," he added.

Cliff Chien, a spokesman for China's top instant noodle maker Mr Kon, said that today's increasingly fast-paced lifestyle was the major reason for instant food's soaring success.

"If you are busy traveling and have no time to enjoy local food, you can carry a packet of local-style instant noodles along with you and enjoy the unique flavors," Chien explained.

China's instant food market has been growing by more than 15 percent annually over the past decade.

The "instant food era" began with the arrival of Mr Kon, a top instant noodle brand under Taiwan-based Tingyi Holding Co, to the mainland in August 1992

The company now has 111 production lines with a daily output of more than 26 million packets. The annual sales of Mr Kon instant noodle have already reached 12 billion units.

A major landmark for the company was when it started to developed regional-style products.

"For those who have no idea what Chinese food is, we hope instant noodles can be the best choice for them," said Shelly Zhao, assistant to the chairman of Tingyi's companies in northern China.

Since 2004, the company has researched culinary customs in different cities across China. So far, the company has regional-style instant noodles reflecting the local flavors of Guangdong, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Liaoning and Shaanxi provinces.

Mr Kon's regional-style products have reached as far as Canada, Singapore, Europe, Australia and Russia.

"We hope our instant noodles can help foreigners learn more about Chinese food," said Zhao. To this end, the company plans to introduce more regional-style products this year.

The reason for Mr Kon's popularity compared with other types of fast food such as McDonald's and KFC, is that "you eat the same McDonald's food in every corner of the world, but Mr Kon offers you the chance to experience tastes from different regions," said an expert from Beijing Catering Trade Association.

COFCO, the nation's largest agricultural trading and processing company, recently announced its merger with Beijing-based instant noodle maker Wugudaochang, in a bid to get a slice of the action in the fast-growing domestic instant noodle market, the expert said.

"Increased competition is good news for the development of China's instant noodle industry," the expert told China Business Weekly during a recent interview. It will result in improvements to product quality, and will also see these firms expand further into the global market, where Chinese food is becoming increasingly popular.

(China Daily February 23, 2009)