jb wtm when not cooked yet smells of formaldehyde and sometimes ammonia, which are (illegally) used to preserve noodles in humid and hot weather without refrigeration. the first time i was there i could smell it on the handful of noodles rolled on the counter. it's the same smell at viet noodle eateries. they use formaldehyde to preserve their noodles so they can last longer without refrigeration. over 69% of their noodles that were sampled were also found to contain tinopal, a carcinogen, in the first study done by cescon in 2013. cheap doesn't mean good, and good doesn't mean safe.
