Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Well, it’s Wednesday…. A rainy Wednesday. Really like the universe to comply… Need to get out and walk but my poor little Mimi has a stomach bug which is keeping her home for the third day. So, here I am reviewing again. I’m so far ahead – don’t know when you’re seeing this one (September?) but it’s March 27th as I write this. Really need a break from reviewing as well as getting out of the house. Hopefully I’ll get to next week… Maybe this weeks? Getting my hopes up… Let’s try this one.
It’s Saturday and we hit up some places. I just realized I should’ve grabbed some beefballs. Beefballs? Yeah – they have them at a local Asian grocery. They’re definitely with other Vietnamese items in the cooler. I’m going to use Chinese sausage for this onbe – I’ve been using it lately in beef varieties instead of beef. I dunno – using Chinese sausage is fun I think as it’s so tasty. Anyways, let’s cook this one up.
Well, this is it as far as I know. I’ve tried this before (it said new at the time, no longer does) and I wasn’t happy with the finished pics and its possible its changed so here we go. I may do a mukbang as it appears I didn’t in the past.
This is interesting. The other day I told someone bulgogi isn’t usually in instant noodles. As a soup? I’m skeptical on this one to be honest. WEell, let’s see what happens.
Okay so here’s another really huge multipack. If you want a ton of noodles and soup, this is the ticket for your. I’ve seen these many, many times, but for my birthday, my lovely wife Kit took me to a few Asian grocery stores and told me to go crazy – and I did. I went from having two varieties to having a slew – thank you, Kit!
About 13 years ago, I did a review of this one. Over 4000 packs, cups, and bowls – and trays ago! Wow. I used to use a lot of different garnish than I do now that’s for sure. Well, let’s cook it up.
Another find from S*Mart. This is pretty non-descript. Maybe from a multi pack? I don’t know, but it certainly is interesting. This one’s made by JML (Jinmailang). Let’s delve into it.
This one’s kind of surprising to me as it looks like I’ve never reviewed it but that really surprises me. I really had thought I had. Got this one at S*Mart – but you can find it at pretty much any Asian grocery. Let’s give it a try.
Okay so I found this at HMart and I believe (could be wrong) it’s from the same people that make Bulramen. It’s certainly made in South Korea, but for sale in the United States and packaged for that reason. Anyways, let’s try some beef flavor noodle.
Here’s a neat one that was sent by Pher Engi – thanks again! Yeah, I really have no idea on this one. I found it’s a Maduranese yellow beef soup. Soto is often from my experience a beef and lime kind of affair. Let’s find out what we have here.
Here’s another neat Indonesian variety sent by Pher Engi – thanks again! So, what flavor is it? Let’s ask Wikipedia –
Here’s one that came by way of James from Lakeside, California – thanks again! This is the second of two varieties he sent. Let’s give it a go!
Big thanks to Pher Engi for this one! So these are really small packages to be prepared in a coffee mug. Things like this tend to be a little tricky to pull of staging since little bowls are hard to get the right sizing on. But we will be triumphant! What’s baso sapi? Wikipedia, please –
Lanzhou! This should have a nice beef flavor – usually does in varieties I’ve tried. Let’s check it out! First a little blurb on the history from Wikipedia –
Here’s one that came by way of James from Lakeside, California – thanks again! He saw me mention that I don’t get a lot of Vietnamese varieties and sent a couple and this is one of them. This is a spicy beef flavor variety – curious… Let’s give it a try!
This one came by way of James from Lakeside, California – thank you again, sir! So, this is a combination of gomtang, a creamy beef soup, and instead of being a soup, this is a dry version, so there’s your paghetti part of the name. It sounds good, and apparently milk can used instead of water which I intend to try. Let hit it up – I’m expecting good things.
Big thanks to Pher Engi for this one! Wikipedia had this to say about Padang cuisine –
Padang food or Minangkabau food is the cuisine of the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is among the most popular cuisines in Maritime Southeast Asia. It is known across Indonesia as Masakan Padang (Padang cuisine) after Padang, the capital city of Western Sumatra province.[1] It is served in restaurants mostly owned by perantauan (migrating) Minangkabau people in Indonesian cities. Padang food is ubiquitous in Indonesian cities and is popular in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore.
Well, I thought it was quite a while since I reviewed this but it was only a couple years. What I’d really like is to be able to get more varieties from this and other instant noodle companies in Taiwan – I get a lot of dry noodle varieties, yet not many instants… Well, let’s kick this into high gear.
Big thanks to Pher Engi for this one! Time to hit up Wikipedia –
Mi kocok is a beef broth-flavored noodle dish typical of the city of Bandung. This dish consists of yellow noodles served in thick beef broth, sliced kikil (beef leg tendons), bean sprouts, meatballs, lime, and sprinkled with sliced celery, green onions and fried shallots. Some recipes may add beef tripe.[1] The term kocok (shake) in the name of this dish refers to the cooking process, namely shaking the noodles in a hollow metal container with a handle, while dipping it in hot water.[2] The type of noodles used are flat yellow noodles which have a softer texture. To add flavor, you can also add sweet soy sauce and chili sauce. The basic recipe for shaken noodles is noodles, beef broth and beef kikil. However, there are several variations in presentation with the addition of certain food ingredients. For example, add chicken feet, beef, meatballs, even beef tripe.
Golder beef sour? These are an interesting set of terms and I’m very curious. Everything these folks have sent thus far as been excellent. Let’s proceed!
It’s pretty rare I get to review something actually from the Philippines I’ve not tried as of yet. Today’s review is thanks to James from Lakeside, California who was kind enough to send this along. Beef! Let’s go.
Here’s a Vietnamese beef pho, found at HMart recently. This one is a little interesting as instead of a rice noodle it’s a wheat noodle. Also, note that it’s not called pho, but it is a noodle soup. Mi means noodle and bo means beef. Pho? That means soup. Anyways, let’s see what happens.
Gomtangmyeon is probably not what you immediately expect when you’re thinking about Korean ramyun noodles. That’s because it’s kind of a creamy beef noodle soup instead of a spicy one. Gomtang is nice and savory – let’s cook some up!
Here’s another one sent by James from LAkeside, California – thanks again! This one says it’s gluten free so my wife will be giving this a try. Let’s hit it – oh and I know it’s not ramen.
Found this one the other day at 99 Ranch Market. This one is interesting as the range is very easy to find here, however there was a lot of confusion whether it was another brand – Master Kang. Master Kang translates to Kang Shi Fu, and also has a little chef guy for it’s logo. I remember getting a phone call from a lawyer about it a long time ago asking my opinion on it. It’s been such a long time though that I’m guessing that whatever legal issues were involved are probably kaput at this point, so here we are. Soyed beef – is that like corned beef? Interesting. Let’s cook this stuff up.
Well, this is it. This is the last of the varieties that were so kindly sent by Pher Engi from Australia and it’s sad to see the end. So many great flavors – really bumped up my list of Indomie varieties I’ve tried by a ton! Thank you so much!
One of the very last (indeed the next to last) varieties sent in by Pher Engi of Australia – thanks again! I’m not sure of how rendang on a stick differs from regular rendang insofar as an instant noodle flavor. I guess we’ll find out!
Oh no – the last one… I really liked these – I sincerely hope the make even more varieties. Some of the best stuff I’ve had from China. Well, let’s give braised beef a try!
This one was brought over and mailed to me – thank you! Very nice and excited to try it! I’m going to guess this will be a beef and Sichuan pepper kind of affair, but who knows – it’s a Thai brand so it should have a special spin on it. Let’s give it a try!
Big thanks to Pher Engi for sending this all the way from Australia! This is a variety that used to be available in the United States, however this and a couple other have disappeared from our shelves here over the years – and it bums me out. Bring them back, please! Not sure what rendang is? Wikipedia says –
Man, I’ve been itching to get my hands on this stuff for quite awhile and finally it showed up at my local grocery store. This is a pretty good range – especially the sizzlin’ rich pork – that one’s excellent. Let’s see if the Mongols can conquer them all!
Think I found this one at 99 Ranch Market. I’ve had a few Lanzhou beef noodle instant varieties before. Let’s see how this stacks up.
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
This is the second of two pack versions of Nissin Fire Wok, this time a beef variant. This one’s supposed be hotter than the chicken one I reviewed prior – I guess we will see.
Here’s another one I found at 99 Ranch Market recently. Again, Vietnamese flavor, new Chinese authentic style, and packaged for sale in the United States. It’s almost as if it’s got some kind of flavorful identity crisis! But it sounds interesting so let’s get to it.
I’ve been reviewing instant noodles since 2002, doing episodes of Instant Noodle Recipe Time, The Chocolate Break with my wife, Professional Mukbang, Unboxing Time With The Ramen Rater and more. Right now, we’re in a pretty crummy financial situation and hoping that some of the fans will be able to help out. I really loathe asking like this. I’ve set up a GoFundMe. It really is strange – you hear about statistics like ‘this percentage are one paycheck away from financial ruin.’ I love going to the thrift store and finding some trinket on the cheap. Right now, that’s a luxury I can’t even fathom, really. What’s crummy too is the time of the year that this is happening. Holidays plus my daughter’s birthday is a week before Christmas. Ugh. Here’s the link if you can help out.
Found this one recently at Boo Han Market in Edmonds, Washington. I rarely buy a multipack, but I found this one so compelling that I figured why not. Bulgogi is a delectable dish which usually isn’t represented well when not in it’s original form, and marrying it to something as western as an alfredo pasta seemed really fascinating – if it works. Let’s see if they can manage to balance the authenticity of both dishes well.
Here’s the second Cielo variety – Menudo. When I kid, I think on the ABC channel they had a lot of stuff about a show called Menudo – or a band – and I think Ricky Martin was in it? Well, that’s different from the soup. Menudo was honestly the first real introduction to latino culture I really got – I grew up in a town that was pretty white. It isn’t that way anymore which is nice though – lots of different people. Here’s what the soup consists of – ‘In Mexican cuisine, Menudo, also known as pancita ([little] gut or [little] stomach) or mole de panza (“stomach sauce”), is a traditional Mexican soup, made with cow’s stomach (tripe) in broth with a red chili pepper base. Hominy, lime, onions, and oregano are used to season the broth.’ I can probably pull off some lime and onions. I tried hominy once before I realized it is cooked in bacon fat and I never have bacon, nor bacon fat on hand. Let’s give this a try!
This sounds great and I’m really quite curious. Braised beef noodle is a really wonderful thing in Taiwan. I’ve had the fortune of trying it over there and it’s just spectaular – rich flavor and beef that’s melt in your mouth wonderful. A-Sha also makes a boxed premium noodle with beef that’s been on the global top ten for a couple of years now. Let’s see what this new braised beef noodle tastes like – it can be prepared two different ways, too!
While I tried this in May of 2022, I heard through the grapevine that there may be some changes to this one so I thought hey – I like beef noodle – can’t hurt to give it another try. Nothing better than Taiwanese beef noodle, that’s for sure. Let’s check out this premium boxed variety.
