
This was sent to me by Ippin, a purveyor of wonderful Japanese items! Thank you again! This is an ultra special one they came out with to commemorate the anniversary of Cup Noodles – the Cup Noodle Rich line.
Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002

This was sent to me by Ippin, a purveyor of wonderful Japanese items! Thank you again! This is an ultra special one they came out with to commemorate the anniversary of Cup Noodles – the Cup Noodle Rich line.

Ready? Set? Beef! Here again are the spoonable noodles, this time with a beefy flavor. Let’s give this cup a try!

Time for some beef! I’ve noticed that kind of like in the US, there are only a scant few pack noodle varieties and most varieties are in cups. Cups are great since they’re portable, have their own container to eat out of, and are easily disposed of. Let’s check out this beef variety.

I had always thought carne meant beef but I was wrong. Turned out carne means meat and res means beef – always learning something new about the world through the instant noodle and doing translations! Let’s check out this beef flavored instant noodle from Mexico!

Here’s the second of four short little looks at Prima Taste’s new Ready Meals line. This one’s beef rendang. Rendang is an Indonesian dish of beef that’s cooked in coconut milk with lots of seasonings. There is wet and dry Rendang – the wet is what I’m guessing we have here. Here’s a little more info from Prima Taste –

Sad to say it but this is the last of the varieties sent to me by Javier over at www.BoxFromJapan.com. He’s decided to end the subscription service for instant noodles, however you can still get neat boxes of Japanese candy! Check ’em out! Well, here’s what he had to say about this variety:

Yep, you guessed it! This is yet another one left from the Nissin Hong Kong Meet The Manufacturer. Thanks again to Nissin HK for sending so many varieties! Sounds simple enough – it’s spicy, it’s beef. Let’s check it out!

Here’s one sent to me by Colin – thanks again! So this one is kind of interesting – I’ve reviewed lots of Mr. Noodles in the past, however they’ve been from Canada. I think there’s also a Mr. Noodles in India as well – unsure if they’re related to this Bangladeshi brand though. It seems to me that with so many Mr, Noodles out there (lest we forget Mr. Noodles from Sesame Street as well), there’s bit of confusion. In fact, I get comments quite often actually from the Mr. Noodles customers in Canada asking where to go to contact them. Of course as far as the Canadian ones go, all I can find is a distributor and nothing else. So very sorry, Canadians…

Here’s a new one from Colin – thanks again! Don’t think I’ve reviewed anything by this brand before – let’s have a look!

This is the third of this line of new products from Sichuan Baijia that I’ve tried recently and what’s neat is that there are bowls too so I’m going to have to try those soon too. The others have definitely been spicy hot but this one says spicy hot. I think this may be a contender! Yesterday’s review of the cheese buldak bokkummyun fire noodle challenge noodle was super hot! Let’s give this a looksie and see how hot it is!

Thanks go out yet again to Jen from Australia! Beef? Beef. Sounds simple enough – let’s check it out!

Here’s another one sent by Jen from Australia – thanks! Although not an Australian brand, the distributor’s sticker mentioed Australian distribution and so here we are. Sounds good – been reviewing quite a few beef ones lately it seems. Let’s check it out!

Here’s one that Jen from Australia sent – thanks again! Braised beef sounds good… I’m mostly familiar with Taiwanese braised beef flavors – excellent stuff! Curious how this one will be – let’s have a look!

When it says these are broad noodles, its definitely not an understatement. I’ve had mixed feelings about the offerings from this brand in the past – let’s see how this one pans out!

A few weeks back I was at an HMart – the one on 184th next to Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood, Washington state. I saw this perky orange pack practically jumping off the shelf at me saying ‘pick me, pick me!’ I’ve reviewed this one a couple times in the past, but it just screamed eat me. Today, I’ve got so much craziness going on – I’ll let you in on it. First, I want to say that if you take really long flights, you should get up and walk around every hour or so. Why? Well, when you don’t, you can end up with blood clots in your legs. Then those blood clots can get into your lungs. Then you can end up in the hospital like I did last weekend with my first IV in my arm and a very timid feeling for the universe. Luckily, I’ll be fine, but it could’ve been much worse (i.e., no more The Ramen Rater). I’ve been having to get my blood checked, get injections this week… Not much fun. On the up side, I should be fine – the only pain I’m in is from shots (fleeting little bits of pain when I’m jabbed) and the clots will go away naturally. The other crazy business is that in 9 days Kit and I expecting our second child together! We’re very excited and I’ll definitely post pictures of her when she’s born! Those are the bigguns – aside from those, I have a sore tooth (drove me bonkers in the last 24 hours but totally eased up now), it’s about to snow any minute now, and oh yeah – Christmas is just around the corner! A lot in a small period of time. New life and dodging a bullet. Wow. Today, I slept in a little and decided to skip reviewing. Well, couldn’t figure out what to have for lunch – I didn’t want anything that would anger the tooth again, and so again this orange pack of noodles was staring at me. Today is your day!

Let’s start with the brand name of this one – Farmer’s Heart. I think many of you will be surprised that it’s a translation of a brand that’s very well known – Nongshim. Usually Nongshim’s flavors lean towards Korean flavors – logically. But this one’s definitely Vietnamese. I’m really curious about it also because not only are these rice noodles, but they can be made in the microwave. Let’s check it out!

Every year in January I come out with a Top Ten list of South Korean varieties. Much to the disappointment and anger of many people, this will never be on that list. Why? Simple. It’s made in the United States. People have debated me into the dirt on it too ‘so, why does it matter?’ Well, if I put Nissin top Ramen on the Top Ten Japanese list that would be a little ridiculous, wouldn’t it? The differences between the Nongshim Shin Cup manufactured here and manufactured in South Korea might be only geographic and packaging, but those are the rules. This could be on the Top Ten Made In The USA list at some point (I haven’t come out with a new one of those lists in a while – maybe next year perhaps). I’m working on getting some South Korean varieties soon, so I guess we’ll see this January!

Here’s yet another one sent by a reader named Colin from back east – thanks again! It’s funny how we don’t have any of these Kang shi Fu variants out west – at least not at any of the stores I’m near to. Spicy beef sounds awesome – it’s a really cloudy and rainy day here in the Seattle area. Let’s check it out!

Here’s one my sister brought me back from Canada – thanks again! Ah, Walmart. They’re probably the biggest store around and there are lots of them. What’s funny is that these are made in the United States and sold in Canada – but you can’t find them at Walmart store in the United States. Let’s check out the elusive Walmart Great Value cup noodle!

Another left over from the Hong Kong Nissin Meet The Manufacturer. Thanks again! Still lots of varieties from them that they sent! Spicy beef eh? Let’s give it a taste!

Here’s yet another one kindly sent to me by a reader named Colin from back east – thanks! A lot of people think Germany when they think sauerkraut and that makes sense; it’s a German word for pickled cabbage. But pickled cabbage is exceedingly popular in Asia as well. Let’s check it out!

Here’s another one sent to me by Javier from Box From Japan. Box From Japan has subscriptions for all sorts of neat Japanese things. I regret to say that I was informed that they won’t be taking subscriptions for their ramen boxes for now – hopefully that will start again soon. He mentioned that you can purchase instant noodles from them here. Here’s what he had to say about this particular variety:

The second review will be this beef cup! Very curious what will be in here – beef? To beef or not to beef? Well, only one way to find out!

It’s been a while since I’ve done any re-reviews and there will be a couple in this Meet The Manufacturer. This is from a long time ago – last time I had this bowl was in review #304 which I posted February 20th, 2011. Yep – very old review and should be interesting to see how I like it now as opposed to back then. I know it’ll look nicer than back then – I used to drop two fried eggs in with EVERYTHING and a lot of the time it looked like a hideous trainwreck. Let’s revisit this one!

By looking at the front of this package, it looks to me like it’s definitely for the European marketplace – northern Euope in particular. Time to take some beef out and make some noodles!

Purple! Nothing like purple. Purple crayons, The Color Purple, Purple Rain… Actually, I’m not really a fan of any of those; but when I see the color of purple on an instant noodle package, especially from Taiwan, Hong Kong or China, it usually denotes something pickled. Indeed, here we have sour pickled cabbage. This isn’t quite like sauerkraut but kind of like it. Anyways, let’s crack into this one – another kindly send by colin. Thanks again!

Here’s one of the last two sent to me by my cousins Adriana and Mike O. – thank you very much! Picanha is considered to be the best cut of meat in Brazil – let’s give it a try!

Here’s another I reviewed as part of a collaboration with Apple Daily news. Nothing like a good beef instant noodle! I remember a couple years ago being told that Chinese sausage is popular to put in with beef instant noodles, so I think that’ll be what gets put in today – haven’t used it in a long time. Just to reassure you, nothing gets scored after I put any external ingredients in. That’s the way I always review; I think you’ll agree that’s the only fair way to do it. anyways, let’s get started!

Here’s another one sent by reader Colin – thanks again! Salted beef? This is new to me; it just makes me think of beef jerky, but I know that’s probably way off the mark. Let’s see how this one taste.

A big thanks to Colin for finding and sending me this one! Okay, so I have been trying to get this one for a while; anything by Roland honestly. I called them, emailed them, and always got the same reply – ‘we don’t send sample.’ I really love it when companies have such a rigid policy against basically what amounts to free advertising. This one is made in Singapore for Roland company here in the USA, and I have a feeling it’s a private label by Tat Hui/KOKA – all boils down to one aspect which is a giveaway. Let’s check this one out and I’ll show you what that is.

I haven’t reviewed a whole lot of beef varieties during this Meet The Manufacturer, so I figured I’d better! Here’s one – spicy beef! Sounds good to me – let’s give this big bowl a try!

Today, we delve into a rice vermicelli cup. Mifun is just one name for rice noodles – here’s some more from wikipedia:

If you’ve followed my reviews for a while, two things you’ll probably have realized – I like curry and I like beef. I don’t think I’ve tried a curry instant from outside of South Korea before and this one looks pretty neat. This is the first cup version of the Demae Iccho line I’ve ever gotten my hands on! Let’s have a look inside!

Hey look at this! So every two weeks, my wife and I bring my son Andy down to Renton, Washington to go to Pokemon League. Yeah – there’s such a thing! Kids (and some adults) play the Pokemon card game. Well, my wife and I don’t play Pokemon so we have time to look around and stroll. As it happens, there’s a Uwajimaya nearby which is awesome. The first time we went I found two big bagfulls of noodles! What was a surprise was finding a LOT of Maruchan products I’d not seen before. There are a couple new Instant Lunch cups (sriracha which I reviewed previously as well as a cihpotle chicken) and these Taste of Asia products in the Bowl line. Let’s check out this sukiyaki variety!

First off, I must thank Jen from Australia for sending this real gem of an instant noodle. I mean come on – I think anyone reading the name of this variety definitely should thank her. Ow… Ow… Spicy Cow – I mean that’s awesome. This one is made in Malaysia, however it’s for the Australia/New Zealand market. Without further ado, let’s crack it open and get punished by the spicy cow.

Here’s the first in the special series I did for Apple Daily of Hong Kong. I’ve reviewed varieties from Four Seas in the past – in fact, this looks kind of like a bowl version I’ve had before. Beef and radish, huh? Sounds interesting – let’s check it out!

Here’s another one sent by Colin, a reader from back east – thank you! He went to Mexico recently and sent me a ton of varieties that he found there. You’d think with Mexico being next door I’d be able to find more varieties, but actually it’s been really hard. This one’s made in South Korea for the Mexican market. Instant noodle are hugely popular in Mexico, and with spicy flavors coming out of South Korea, it’s a pretty good fit. Let’s have a look!

A couple of months ago, I experienced an instant noodle drought. I was looking in my hampers and there were maybe 10 varieties left! We hit 99 Ranch and I found about 10 or so varieties to review (later after putting a call out on the site, I ended up with people sending all sorts of varieties and now my hampers runneth over – my thanks!). Here’s one I found at 99 Ranch – let’s check it out.

This one was sent to me by Jen from Australia – thanks again! So this is interesting; it’s made in Singapore for the Australian market. It boasts the use of 100% Australian wheat. Wheat is a big export for so many countries throughout the world; and of course instant noodles are a big part of why that is. Let’s open this one up and see what’s inside.

After quite a few years, its looking more and more like Kang Shi Fu (Master Kong) is definitely getting their products distributed into the United States. This one was sent to me by a reader named Colin (thanks again!) and is definitely different from most of the Mang Shiu Fu stuff I’ve seen. First, there’s a lot of English on the package; something very new to me. Stewed beef sounds good – let’s have a look inside.