2006 Canadian IMP Pork Chow Mein Individual Meal Pack Review MRE Taste Testing 

Every time Steve gets a well preserved mre he acts like a kid on Christmas morning.

"my apologies it's off the tray" Steve is such a legend.

Steve is the only person who can say "it's pretty fresh" when describing food from 2006 and would be correct to say so.

_Alone of all the RU-vid historians, Steve really makes an effort to absorb history, make it a part of him, and spend time digesting it._

That chocolate bar has held up better than I have in the last 16 years, I can say that much.

I'm amazed every time that Steve is confident enough to do something like stand with a full tray that has 2 drinks on it and slurp up a bowl of cherries, somehow never drops the tray.

When I'm lonely or feeling down, I like to eat whatever it is I'm eating while watching Steve. Makes me feel a little less lonely and a little less down. It's like eating a meal with a good friend

16 year old instant rice. "It's a little odd. It's not bad, it's just unusual." God I love watching this guy. If Bob Ross ate MRE's, this is what it would be. Relaxing and entertaining.

My jaw dropped when you opened the coffee bar. Almost NO BLOOM at all. Thats like a unicorn of chocolates in rations.

The musical spoon moments always make me happy, keep doing what you do Steve

“My apologies it’s off the tray” immediately the most well rounded RU-vid apology of all time. Thank you Steve, all is forgiven.

Man, out of my 12 years in so far I havnt got a single IMP where the chocolate bar hasn’t bloomed. This man opens up a 16 yo IMP and it’s mint. Keep it up, love hearing the opinion of someone that’s not a disgruntled troop freezing their ass off. Much love from Canada, stay safe!

Anyone else smile when he says “alright, lets get this out on the tray”?

Back when I was in the CDN Infantry I enjoyed a lot of the IMPs. The only problem with them was they didn't provide us with enough calories because some bean-counting nutritionist back at NDHQ didn't want the rear-echelon types getting fat and for simplicity they only ordered one standard calorie count meals. We often carried extra rats with us. I'd bring cans of smoked oysters (on the crackers they were awesome, oil and all) and I'd bring a couple cans of spaghetti-o's or similar for those evenings when I was feeling down LOL. Plus spices of course. The two worst IMPs I remember were the chicken a la king, and the dreaded ham omelette in the breakfast packs. You could re-sole your boots with those. I carried a small butane camping stove in a Bren gun mag pouch so my fire-team partner and I could warm up our own food.

As a Canadian I can tell you the “staleness” is just what Coffee Crisp naturally is like. Not like those Neapolitan wafter cookies that when fresh are crisp but still kinda moist in the filling.

While Steve's talking about that cherry juice I'm over here yelling "Dump it in the lemon drink Steve!" 😄 I'm entirely too into this review

You might be the most genuine channel on RU-vid. You obviously do this for the love of it. Otherwise you wouldnt go so long between videos. We missed ya Steve.

For me, it is the fact that Steve eats the entire ration. Not just little bites from each. This makes him the best ration reviewer on YT, hands down.

I've never thought I'd be so excited about no bloom on a chocolate bar!

My cat went crazy when she heard you shaking the rice pouch. Thought it was treat time! Great video as always and an excellent ration pack.

I'm glad Steve is still doing his thing, he's the reason I tried some MRE's.

Find you someone who looks at you the way Steve looks at MREs. You deserve it

Dude 8:52-9:00 that lemonade drink spinning was the most relaxing little tune ever. That was nice on a asmr level.

Dang, this food is 16 years old and still looks better than some fresh stuff you find in a store. Seeing the rest of the meals would be nice.

1325 days sober thanks to Steve and his awesome MRE reviews. Keeps me calm every time. Thanks for your videos!!!

I've been homeless since my home burnt down. An we were given MRE's to eat an it came with toilet paper an wipes, an everything you need coffee, gum.. some of the food was great.. candy... Yeah 3 meals... I thought of you when I was laying it out to eat... Thanks for what you do.. some stuff tasted nasty ... Grateful to have it for sure!!! ✌🏼💗😊❣️

I remember my first taste of the bread when it was first introduced around 97 or 98. Texture, flavour and moisture were ideal. Speaking to one of the food scientists at the time she told me it was meant to have ten year shelf life under ordinary storage conditions. Much better than you'd expect in ordinary rations. I really liked it. The only drawback was that it dried fairly quickly once the pack was opened. You either ate it swiftly, or mixed it in with your food.

Overslept badly today so I got my coffee and I'm watching Steve. The man is a marvel and singularly the best reviewer!

When Steve uploads its like wearing an old warm coat and finding money in the pocket. Satisfying, comforting and you feel richer because of it

Check the ingredients on the rice; it could be vermicelli, which is pasta. Great video; forwarding this to my uncle who survived 3 1/2 tours in Vietnam. He claims that the rest of his squad called him "The C-ration Gourmet". He likes your channel as well....

I am Canadian, raised in a military family. Watching you eat not only a Canadian MRE, but from all around the world is really lovely. Thanks so much for the content!

The dramatic zoom and overly-careful placement of the chocolate bar really made me laugh. Never change, Steve

Steve is the only guy on RU-vid who doesn’t do this as a way of making money he does it for the real reason RU-vid was created, to share passion about a hobby he loves and enjoys with true facts and information. Love ya Steve! My daughter does to!

steve has carried me through so many sad nights. a breakup, and i can’t thank him enough. never forget that spaghetti

no filter this man's videos have really changed my late night game. truly an artist

I honestly don't know how Steve does it, but everytime I watch his videos I leave feeling so happy. His encouraging commentary while reviewing these fills my heart with delight. Thank you!

This is from the generation I was issued back during my service. Vegetarian menu items were often passed over, so I would take plenty of those home. When I joined the army I was very poor, so these MRE supper days were the very best eating. In the field, the FRH's weren't issued very often/often enough to really be useful so it usually ended up being boiled over a stove. Now here I am watching someone eat these for fun. Think I still have an old FRH I pulled out of the map pocket of my tac vest before handing it in around here somewhere...thanks for the great video Steve.

The rice is instant, so it has been steamed, then dried again, so it will reconstitute without boiling. That seriously changes the texture. Try The Instant Rice Formerly Known As Uncle Ben's, and you'll find the texture somewhat similar. Were there noodle pieces in the chow mein? "Mein" means "noodle". That they served it with rice is a little head scratcher. A block of ramen would have been closer to actual chow mein. Reconstitute some ramen instead of the rice, drain it, then put it underneath the pork. It's good to see you back, Steve. Hearing you say "look at that thing!" just made my evening.

My favourite part of Steve’s videos is when he says “Let’s get this out on a tray, Nice”.

So I was in the Canadian Army in 2007. I remember everything in this box. The entrees were almost always some sort of protein and veg in a sauce. The rice is instant rice, you just need to add a tiny bit of water, then just throw it in your entree pack and it will cook. The entree usually didnt have carbs in it like noodles and rice. The rice would soak up everything nicely. The bread is best if you boil the package. Can't stress that enough. Boil the package of bread and it will have the consistency of a fresh donut. They are good toasted, too. We usually saved a few breads for when it's your turn to do stove watch, then make some toast with your pb/j. The marmalade was kinda nasty but all the other jams are decent. Sometimes you got a package of nescafe mocha. Usually in the morning we boiled a pot and everything coffee related from your section gets thrown into one pot. Good stuff, especially in the winter. If you're hurting and in a hurry, you can eat the coffee with a chaser, then have your mint after, honestly not that bad, we all did it. Oh and you would keep the box from your entreee to kind of hold the package. You always ate it in the package, I have not once emptied a ration onto a plate. Thats why you get that really long spoon. You always got a liquidy dessert. That cherry one is good, theres a blueberry thats similar, and a fruit salad. If you had a nasty taste in your mouth, you dont anymore after having the dessert. Canadian Army had A LOT of variety for the main meals. My favorite was salmon in creamy dill sauce. It was a deck of cards sized hunk of salmon floating in a cream sauce, and it came with plain white rice. Everyone else hated that meal so I got to trade for it a lot. The breakfasts were always a gamble, because theres a chance you may get the dreaded mushroom omelete. It was going to be a good day if you got the beans and weiners.

5:49 Love how Steve makes sure the coffee gets onto the tray, lol.

I was 13 in the cadets right when these were out and when we were off base and going outside they would provide us with these exact MREs, good memories

My uncle who served in Vietnam said he got cigarettes in his ration pack. I no those days are long gone but when I served the lure of coffee and cigarettes was a great breakfast. Love your videos Steve keep them coming.

As a Canadian, I am so happy that Steve love this ration and it turns out really goof from his POV! One thing I want to point out is the typo on this ration, Chow Mein this mein actually mean noodle instead of rice; it would be Chow Fan to be correct. Also I'm little surprise how that coffee crisp is nearly perfectly like fresh! I wonder did they make it a little differently so it could last longer than those on the shelves?

Steve's mixing and spoon tapping is music to my ears.

I can’t help but smile when I watch these videos. It really comes across in the video how genuinely happy Steve is when he films these. Never change please.

Huge respect to Steve for not begging for likes, subs or bells. The content speaks for itself. Can't wait for something new, or old.

I like Steve because he gets a lot of stuff out of the norm, so he isn't posting a video every week. That's what makes him worth waiting for. And he eats the whole thing, always cleans his plate (or tray) like my Daddy taught me.

Love how delicate you are with the box, in the field we tear into these things like rabid animals lmfao

So many satisfying nuances in Steve's videos. Everything from the black box, the hiss, the tray and the old style music, I hope he never changes his presentation.

16 years old Ration "Hmmm, seems savoury, and fresh..." Gotta love his excitement.

Aw man this brings back memories of camping trips from highschool with my buddy who did cadets. Those packets turned the flames purple when burned IIRC.

I've truly missed Steve and his rations. Happy your back

Can’t believe we are being blessed with a two for one tonight. Amazing. Iconic. Incredible.

No ads, no sponsors, no join button. These reviews are his love and he doesn't make a cent off of them. And with the number of subscribers he has, he could easily make a few bucks. That being said, I wonder if he at least has a Patreon for folks who may want to help out his channel a bit. For the amount of entertainment and Info I get from every vid I'd gladly donate a few bucks to keep it going

A small note: lighter roasted coffees are stronger. The less you roast the coffee bean, the more caffeine it retains. If you roast them to death more caffeine is burned off. I know what you meant but that's just something I noticed.

Every time I tell someone about this channel, and that it's weirdly compelling and you'll watch it for hours, they think I'm crazy. About half of them try it and tell me they watched this channel for three hours straight the next time they see me.

Every time Steve gets a well preserved ration it makes me too happy. It's just great to see a piece of history preserved properly and Steve getting the chance to enjoy it and present it to us.

I just searched on YT how to go with MREs and ended up here by Steve. Not knowing he has others videos. Right by the first video he catched me, I subscribed and he has me as a new "fan". I really like him and I love his videos and the "respect" he shows of all the food which he eats. Great guy and for me finding him on YT is like winning in a lottery. I love to hear "ok, let's get this on the tray" and the "singing of the spoon". And just to mention how he rips the bags open, perfectly! Thanks Steve and all the way...🙏

The quality of life and things in 06- 09 was something that wont be known to anyone on earth again. I pray we one day can have a time like that.

The way you described the rice reminds me of rice a roni. It's an instant rice mixed with vermicelli, which is a type of pasta. It looks similar.

Steve you have to do another outside camping episode with mre's. Im sure the relaxed nature of that episode cured some of our anxietys.😂 And nearly 2 million subscribers can't be wrong.

Steve is always showering praise on the Canadian IMP. I love it! Proud Canadian here!

I’d bet that the only reason the Coffee Crisp tasted a little off, was because Steve’s comparing this “Mocha” version to the regular kind. Which has a bit of a lighter coffee flavour. Thanks for another awesome video Steve! I’ll always love to see more!

The King has returned. I always look forward to these videos. Great content man, this is literally one of if not my favorite youtube channels. I remember when you had around July 2016 when you had less than 100k subcribers. It has been amazing to be able to watch your channel grow over the years and I hope it keeps on growing.

You make these MREs seem like the most gourmet food ever, and I want to try them so badly

I was in the Canadian army most of my teens and into my 30s. The best meal you got there is the chili. Guys use to fight over who gotten it first. And best thing about our rations is that you can heat them by boiling water. The utensils I didn't like. They snapped to easy so I tend to use my metal army utensil set. I'm fully retired now but here and there my local army surplus store tend to carry the CDN rations but he's asking $25 CDN for one package. But great video Steve and hope you enjoyed your CDN rations.

Drinking vending machine coffee and eating a barely expired cookie, while watching this put me in a different frame of mind before my 12 hr. shift. Thx Steve

Steve is back with that good food. Keep it up my man!

8:57 one of the best sounds to ever be created.

I love the packaging on Canadian IMPs! It’s so clean and satisfying

I'm freaking drooling here watching my bro Steve eat an MRE... damn I'm jelly!

Whether you like it or not, learn to love it, because Steve1989 the best thing going in mre reviews today!

I love how content Steve is with this food - particularly the coffee. I live in Melbourne, Australia, and I'll admit I'm a coffee snob and only drink barista-made cappuccinos. Steve's a nice reality check!

So excited for new videos! My 5 year old likes watching them before bed. He and daddy made their own “Steve mres” the other day for breakfast

Some of the best MREs. I've had fellow soldiers from other countries come up to me and offer me 2 or 3 MREs for one of my meals. One Aussie gave me 5 Aussie MREs for one Pork Chow Mein. Quick tip... Once prepared a gourmet meal for a girl I was dating using Hungarian Goulash MRE on a bed of rice. Let's just say she was impressed. :) When in doubt fall back on MREs.

It's astonishing how this MRE survived the ravages of time, with the components being fresh as the day they were made. I really enjoy watching your channel. You are like an archaeologist, but with old and obscure food items and military rations.

My favourite part of every morning is opening my 3in1 coffee sachet and saying "A Cup of Coffee Instant....Nice".... Miss you man hope your well

I am surprised at the quality of a 16-year-old MRE, especially on that Coffee Crisp bar. No bloom at all on it! Great video, as always!

When you pour out something powdery like the drink mix and then squeeze the bag, that makes me feel good and laugh for some reason. I appreciate that you continue to do that.

you know when its a good day when steve drops 2 videos, nice!

Reminder for future me that yes, i have watched this video three times so far. Thanks Steve!

You just cant beat a nicely preserved ration. This looked great.

This channel is truly a treat. Each and every time Steve uploads i can't help but smile. Keep on puttin em on a tray man!

Watching with my cat. I think he likes MRE's.

When my brain will not shut off, and all of life's problems are swirling in my brain, these videos help distract my brain. While i appreciate learning about all these MREs, I really just love that I can come here and get some distraction from everything. Thanks Steve. Sometimes these videos are the only thing that can help me shut my brain off of "worry mode" for a little while.

Steve you should review the rest of the items in the box! They looked really interesting.

Anyone think he's underrated as a youtuber I feel like he's the bob Ross of reviewing MREs

I am a Canadian and a huge Coffee Crisp fan, and I don't remember the Mocha version at all. Sounds amazing!

Oh man I remember those little Baskin Robbins candies back when I was a kid! They were so good! I can't believe i forgot about them. Thanks for unlocking that memory Steve!

I'm surprised how great all the food looks in general, the fact that it's 16 years old makes it amazing. I know Steve has opened older and the food has appeared just as great but still.

Man Steve always knows when I wanna chow down and have something good to watch when I'm doing it. Nice

I'm a Canadian and it's my birthday week, so I feel extra special that you posted this 💜 also love coffee crisp, one of my all time favorite chocolate bars!

Hello Steve from Florida USA. As I was watching this video with the Canadian ampm, you definitely know your coffee. Freeze dried coffee is only type of coffee my grandparents drink. This is an awesome video especially when you poured the pork chow mein on the tray. It actually made me want to go out to Chinese restaurant and have some pork chow mein for supper tonight… Keep up the good work and keep a variety of different military rations in the pipeline.

I appreciate the fact that your knives are always razor sharp.

After watching enough of Steve's videos it inspired me to get a couple of the French MRE's. Just finished working my way through the French RCI no.4. Outstanding! Thanks Steve for all your great work!

Watching this man eat old MRE’s was definitely the weirdest obsession I had as a kid but I’m not mad at it 😌

Been in the Candian Army for over half a decade and I can confirm there isn't many expenses spared on the IMP's, we'd have other countries on tour trying to trade two of their rations for just one of ours. I've found our menu items tend to be heavy and hearty in nature to give a guy a huge calorie load seeing as we do most of our training in early spring or mid fall.

Why are these videos so compelling to watch?! Favourite quote from this video “a truly delectable…” but my all time favourite line, “ok let’s get this out onto a tray. Nice!”

Looking forward to the rest of them being reviewed. I am also canadian. Thank you MRE Jesus. Another great video.