Welcome to another edition of Thunderdome! This is a list of my least favorite varieties; the list where if your product drops off of it, it’s a good thing. We’ve got two new ones for 2026 that are exceptionally vile. That being said, if you like them, then your problem,. Everyone likes different things – just don’t expect me to eat them with you. This list is current as of review #5505. All products are reviewed prior to external garnish. With that let’s check out The Ramen Rater’s Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2026 Edition.
The Ramen Rater’s Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2026 Edition
Video Presentation
Here’s a video of myself sharing my thoughts on The Ramen Rater’s Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2026 Edition. The theme as usual are slides of foul things, Hope you enjoy!
The Ramen Rater’s Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2026 Edition
#10: Panda Signature Ramen Noodle Soup Chili Lime Flavor – United States
A reader from Montana sent me a wide variety of this brand’s range. It replaced a popular brand at Walmart, and since I’ve done the unboxing video, people have been commenting abou their dislike. Well, some weren’t so bad, but this one really rubbed me the wrong way. It smelled like an air conditioned in a motel room that hadn’t been turned on in a year and tasted the same way. As for the spiciness, it wasn’t there. Not to my liking at all. Original review
#9: McTrader Ramen Noodles Sirloin Artificially Flavored – United States
I had semi-high hopes for this one. I reviewed another product for this brand for my 5000th review – the chicken version. So what’s fascinating about this one is that it is made in India; a place where beef is generally off the menu. The flavor of this kind of falls into the concept of describing the color red to a blind person who has never seen color – but instead a person with no sense of taste making a beef flavored product. It’s foul and very dystopian. I did find it at Dollar Tree and at the time it cost only $1.25 for a mult-pack. Original review
#8: Maruchan Bariuma Goboten Udon – Japan
Do you like earthy things? Like dirt? Maybe throw a ton of salt on it – does that do the trick for you? This one has just huge amount of burdock root. Burdock is great in small amounts, but this much just turns this variety into a bowl of something that just screams salty dirt. A full frontal assault on the taste buds that leaves me wondering if when they made this if they tasted it. Original review
#7: Dr. McDougall’s Vegan Pad Thai Noodle Soup – United States
Where do I begin. Well first off, when one in the United States thinks of Pad Thai, they think of what they might find at a Thai restaurant. Okay so the rice noodles came out nicely – short, flat and broad and well hydrated, but they’re short and cut like egg noodles.. Now for the broth. Thin. Nothing like pad thai. Has a little lime flavor and a kind of herbal taste. The floating bits of tofu are a lot like the marshmallows you get in the hot chocolate that comes with marshmallows. This is as far from pad thai as I can even express in words. It’s like someone gave a broken description of pad Thai to someone who has short term memory problems and no taste buds a week prior and told them to make it. I kind of feel personally violated and offended. Original review
#6: Simply Asia Singapore Street Noodles Classic Curry – United States
A nice looking package with the enticing words of ‘classic curry’ brings an image of something really special. This isn’t the case though. Rice noodles come out very mushy, but curry with slightly soggy noodles wouldn’t be so bad if it tasted like curry. Basically the flavor is a lot of lemongrass and strongly lacks authenticity. It’s like if you went to a restaurant, ordered some french fries, and they brought you a soda that said french fries on it. Just wrong on so many levels. Offensive in the highest – almost. Original review
#5: Sugakiya Men Dokoro Inosho Kansyu Kara Kara Uo Ramen – Japan
This one looked really nice at the outset, and I was particularly enamored with that little pile of powder. I figured it’s neat and must be a real asset. Indeed, the noodle and broth were excellent – it really would have been a contender for the top ten bowls list. Well, then along comes that little powder mountain of funk and blows it all out of the water. Yep – imagine an oil drum with of dead fish, gym socks and dog breath in the sun for a month. Without it, wonderful. With it, on the bottom ten. Original review
#4: Annie Chun’s Japanese Style Yakisoba Noodle Bowl – United States
Yakisoba – a fried soba noodle, traditionally with a tangy sauce with tamarind notes, much like Worcestershire sauce. Well, this isn’t that. First, we have their ‘Hokkien’ style noodle. Hokkien noodles are usually egg noodles. These are your run of the mill pouch noodles much like udon except a thinner gauge. The flavor is mostly sugary with a little acidity. This bears as much resemblance to yakisoba as a grilled cheese sandwich – on wait – less resemblance as the grilled cheese is usually fried. To top it off, they recommend adding cilantro. Just a train wreck word salad that left me speechless. I thought the previous number one wouldn’t be pushed down, but this is so inauthentic on so many levels to merit it the worst of The Ramen Rater’s Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time. Shame! Original review
#3: Omsom Saucy Noodles Chili Sesame – United States
Boy, I guess I shouldn’t make claims like in the last one on this list that there couldn’t be worse, but I found something; in fact, a few somethings. First, I must say that the packaging of these it really neat – little boxes. Upon opening you find a noodle that looks like a Taiwanese dry noodle. Also, a big liquid base sachet – I was stoked! Well, it was mushy noodle and Italian vinaigrette. ‘For reals life’ as my daughter would say. It just baffles me. They all taste about the same except for a coconut curry I tried last in hopes it would be the best. Well, it certainly wasn’t; bland and mostly lemongrass. At around $5 per fancy box, I was left very disappointed and quite honestly stupefied. Original reviews
#2: Totiino’s Ramen Noodles Buffalo Style Chicken Pizza Naturally Flavored – United States
This one and it’s mates in this range as well as the Old El Paso range take the cake. First, we have to accept that this is not ramen. In fact, the package says it is durum wheat pasta. Second, it is so foul – here’s your bowl of acid reflux. I guess calling pasta a buffalo sauce flavored thick broth on them constitutes ramen in the United States now. Such a letdown; I used to enjoy Totino’s pizza when I was a kid, and this is nothing remotely like that. I’m always hoping for a truly wonderful variety from the Holy Trinity – Pizza, Cheeseburger, or Taco. Nobody’s come out with anything remotely 5 stars in those flavors. Yet. Original review
#1: Ajumma Republic XL Ramen Bul Jjajang – South Korea
With a tray the size of a box of cereal, this variety isn’t only horrible, its a whole lot of horrible. Its almost like the flavor reacted with the foam packaging, but I’m not sure if that’s the deal or not. Either way, the noodle and sauce mixture is just as funky as can be, along with a little bit of spiciness. Their Hot & Spicy however was quite enjoyable, so there’s that, but this one… Wow. If you click on original review you can see the video where I prepare and sample it. If you eat one of these massive trays of horrible noodles, you should get some kind of prize. Original review
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Top Ten Redux 2.0
A while back, I got some advice. ‘Why not call your list by the number of the following yea if it was the second half of the year?’ It made sense to me; the list would be current for more of the following year than the current. Well, this theory ended up being very frought with confusion. That being said, I decided to take a year off on some lists that I published last year that say 2026 and will revisit them in 2027.
5000 Reviews!
Reaching a span of over 20 years and 5000 reviews, I decided to go all out and do a documentary about how I got my start doing what I do as well as a one on how I do it– check it out!
Definitive Guides
This year, I’ve decided to do a special series called Definitive Guides. Recipes, trivia, history, and more on some of the most loved and fascinating varieties of instant noodles around the world! With that said, I’ve got one on Nongshim’s Shin Ramyun, and Indomie’s Mi Goreng and Nissin Foods’ Cup Noodles Pumpkin Spice! Very recently, I released a Definitive Guide To Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup. Future guides will include MAMA Tom Yum, and more. My plan is do feature one or two products from each country.
Ramen Junkies
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