March 6, 2014 By The Ramen Rater

#1331: Indomie Taste Of Asia Mi Kuah Rasa Tom Yum Ala Thailand

Comments

I’ve been asked about this special series from Indomie for a long time and finally got my hands on some! Indomie’s Taste Of Asia line has three components: Laksa representing Singapore, Bulgogi representing South Korea, and finally Tom Yum to represent Thailand. I thought since I embark on a new Meet The Manufacturer tomorrow, I’d try something a little different. So Tom Yum is a Thai soup, usually with very strong spiciness and citrus flavors. I’m very curious as to how they’ll do this one. Let’s check it out!

Here’s the back of the package (click image to enlarge). Looks like it may contain shrimp in the garnish. To prepare, boil 400cc water. Add noodles and garnish sachet contents for 3 minutes. While cooking, put contents of paste sachet in a bowl. Once noodles are done, pour into the bowl and stir well. Enjoy!

The noodle block.

The paste sachet.

A thick paste and oil. I’m not detecting the strong citrus scent I was expecting; but the proof’s in the cooking. I’ve had some varieties in the past I’ve found to be really foul smelling when it came to the pastes, and then when everything was cooked and combined it was some really excellent stuff. This doesn’t smell bad at all, just not what I was expecting.

The garnish sachet.

What are the round things? Sliced shrimp ball.

Finished (click image to enlarge). Added lime, Thai chillies, fish balls, shrimp, cardamom (cilantro), sweet onion and BonCabe Level 10 chilli seasoning. The noodles are good – thick gauge and nice texture. The broth was a surprise. I get cardamom and citrus and a bit of spiciness, but there’s a bit of a sweet soy sauce kind of thing going on as well which seems really odd. Odd that they would use it but decent in the mix. The garnish was very nice – hydrated well and was of excellent quality. Was like a fusion going on. 3.75 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 089686043525.

See larger image

Indomie Variety Pack - 1 Case (30 Bags) (Misc.)

Haven’t tried Indonesian instant noodles before? Indomie is a great place to start. You get 5 packs of 6 different varieties! It’s some seriously tasty stuff – give it a try! As for the Indomie variety I reviewed today, you’ll have to hop a plane or a boat to get it – it’s only sold in Indonesia.
New From:	$14.30 USD In Stock
Used from:	Out of Stock

Here’s an Indomie commercial for their Taste Of Asia line, focusing on the Bulgogi variant.

Products cooked according to package instructions. Product reviews done prior to adding any additional ingredients.

March 5, 2014 By The Ramen Rater

#1330: Sapporo Ichiban Otafuku Okonomi Sauce Yakisoba

Comments

Here’s some more noodles I picked up last July in Canada. It’s been a while now, so I’ll tell you the story of the July trip. I saw a blog post from a guy up in Vancouver, BC who was talking about my top ten list. He had a really neat little graphic icon that looked cool, so I tried to figure out where it was from. Finally, he was the one who let me in on it. It was a graphic someone had made of my top ten list! I was curious to find out where it had come from…

Here it is (click image to enlarge). Pretty awesome, but hey wait a minute – they’re using my images and list and name and everything and haven’t asked permission or anything! So I figured I should give them a call. I left a message and got a return call promptly. They apologized for doing it and said that they were big fans (wow Canadian fans – rad!). They also said that they pulled the poster because everything on it had sold out. At first I was kind of mad, but then I thought that if they thought maybe I could collaborate with them. A date was set, and me and my partner/site developer Dave drove up to Richmond, BC to their headquarters. They wanted to have me do appearances at their stores and develop a top ten list just for them. They also gave me a shopping cart and demanded I go up and down the aisles of the Metro Center T&T and have all the noodles I’d never reviewed. $400 worth of them; was like a strange shopping spree! Was a lot of fun and very nice of them. Department of Agriculture stopped us on the way back – was pretty comical! Anyways, they were going to call me with a contract/proposal but never got back with me. Really bummed about that; really don’t know what happened on their end. But yeah that was the big July 2013 trip. I’ve got no hard feelings on T&T; they were all really nice people and it was a fun day. At least they gave me something for using my material unlike lots of places. Anyways, on with the review!

Here’s the distributor’s sticker (click image to enlarge). Looks to be meat free, but check for yourself.

Here are the side panels and bottom (click image to enlarge). To prepare, remove sachets. Add boiling water to line and steep 3 minutes. Using pour spout, drain. Add sachet contents and drizzle with mayo sachet. Enjoy!

Here’s detail of the lid (click image to enlarge).

The noodle block.

The liquid sachet.

Yakisoba sauce.

Some bits of cabbage and other vegetable from the bottom of the tray.

A garnish sachet.

Seaweed!

This is one of my favorite things about Japanese instant noodle trays; when they have mayonnaise. Yup – mayonnaise and yakisoba is where it’s at. Period. Bar none.

Andy and I enjoying our noodles and watching Star Blazers (Space Battleship Yamato, thatis).

Finished (click image to enlarge). Added grilled chicken, cabbage and a little kamaboko on the side. The noodles were pretty good; the texture was just right for yakisoba. The flavoring was right on the money too - the only yakisoba sauce I’ve ever seen for sale around these parts is that Otafuku stuff so either it’s all they can get or it’s popular. The mayo was wonderful and the seaweed (green laver) was a perfect accompaniment. If you like yakisoba and instant noodles, this is the perfect stuff. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars.UPC bar code 4901734017493.

See larger image

Yakisoba Sauce - 17.6oz by Otafuku. (Misc.)

This is the same stuff in this tray!
New From:	$5.38 USD In Stock
Used from:	Out of Stock

Here’s how you do it homemade!

Products cooked according to package instructions. Product reviews done prior to adding any additional ingredients.

March 4, 2014 By The Ramen Rater

#1329: Vifon Oriental Style instant Noodle Mi Ga Chicken Flavour

Comments

Here’s one I got up in Canada in July of last year. Looks like a very basic chicken noodle cup. This one’s from Vietnam, and they usually put some interesting things inside. Let’s have a look!

Here are details from the two stickers that were on the side of this one (click image to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. Not often is there one sticker, but two is pretty rare on a cup.

Here’s the complete side panels (click image to enlarge). Note that the nutrition facts on this label and the ones on the sticker are very different. To prepare, add 350ml boiling water and all sachet contents. Steep 3 minutes. Enjoy!

Detail of the lid (click image to enlarge).

An included fork!

The noodle block.

Powder soup base sachet.

Powdery!

Vegetables sachet.

Looks like corn, carrot and cabbage.

Seasoned oil sachet.

Has an onion scent.

Finished (click image to enlarge). Added grilled chicken, corn, carrots and cabbage. The noodles were very much under par; they were crumbly and just didn’t work for me. Further through eating it, they ended up getting a little softer, but they never seemed done enough. The broth was on the lighter side and had an ‘off’ kind of thing going on. The veggies hydrated in a mediocre fashion. 1.25 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 8934561000716.

See larger image

12 Bags of Vifon Chicken Flavor (Pho Ga) (Misc.)

Here’s some chicken pho from Vifon.
New From:	$13.35 USD In Stock
Used from:	Out of Stock

Vifon TV commercials.

Products cooked according to package instructions. Product reviews done prior to adding any additional ingredients.

March 3, 2014 By The Ramen Rater

#1328: A-Sha Hello Kitty La Wei (Spicy Flavor)

1 Reply

This one was sent by the folks at A-Sha – thank you very much! I’m always on the lookout for Hello Kitty instant noodles. Why? Well, my wife really likes Hello Kitty. They wanted me to be sure to let people klnow that these cannot be found for sale in the United States – sorry folks – gotta pack your bags and fly to Taiwan! This one’s spicy – which seems a little funny to me. I would think anything Hello Kitty would be very light in flavor and tame for the kids. I think the kids over in Taiwan can handle their spicy stuff! That’s rad! Let’s check it out!

Here’s the back of the package (click image to enlarge). Not sure whether it contains meat or not. To prepare, add noodles to boiling water and cook for 4 minutes. Drain. Stir in contents of liquid sachet and enjoy!

The noodle block. Very wide noodles – they actually make wider ones known as Hakka noodles. These noodles have scant few ingredients – salt, floue and water usually.

The spicy sauce sachet. Much like the noodles, the sauces usually contain maybe 3 or 4 ingredients.

Has an interesting soy and spicy scent.

Finished (click image to enlarge). Added Nappa cabbage, shrimp and Fresno chilli pepper. The noodles in this one are great. They’ve got such a nice texture and chewiness. They’re not just broad, they’re thick. The flavor is slightly sweet, soy and spicy. The spiciness is pretty decent – Hello Kitty’s on fire! 3.75 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 4715635851052.

See larger image

Mandarin Noodle Original Sauce (Misc.)

The folks at A-Sha said that this Hello Kitty variety was like their original version except spicy. Here’s their original Mandarin noodle flavor.
New From:	$6.99 USD In Stock
Used from:	Out of Stock

Here’s a video outlining big things that have happened for A-Sha in the United States with their distributor in California. I hear they’re expanding again! Wow!

Products cooked according to package instructions. Product reviews done prior to adding any additional ingredients.

March 2, 2014 By The Ramen Rater

#1327: Unif-100 Instant Noodles Artificial Tart Beef Flavor

Comments

Here’s one sent to me by Roger S. – thanks! I haven’t had one of these Unif-100′s in a while. I had the Cayenne Beef a little while back, but this is one of the ones that are distributed here in the US quite widely. Chances are if you have an Asian grocery local to you, they’ll have some of the Unif line of instants. Now, while beef is a very common flavor where instant noodles are concerned, tart beef is something I’ve not encountered before. Let’s see what’s inside and how it tastes.

Here’s the back of the package (click image to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, put everything in a bowl and add 500ml boiling water. Cover for 3 minutes, stir and serve. What I do is I boil the water in a pot that has a lid, take the pot off, add everything and cover for 3 minutes and stir; seems easier to me.

The noodle block.

The powder base sachet.

A light powder.

The paste sachet.

Has a tart scent from vinegar.

The vegetables sachet.

Cabbage, chilli and other veggies.

Finished (click image to enlarge). Added leeks, thin sliced sukiyaki beef, Fresno chilli pepper, and Nappa cabbage. The noodles . The broth is definitely tart beef flavor. I wasn’t sure what to make of it at first, but after a couple tastes I was kind of into it. It has a bit of spiciness as well which went well. The broth is a little oily from the paste, also something that was welcome here. The vegetable garnish was really nice and worked well. 3.0 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 6920077415627.