
Found this at 99 Ranch Market – sounds interesting and nice to find a spicy one from China. Guessing this will be kind of like a carbonara style. Let’s give it a try!
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Found this at 99 Ranch Market – sounds interesting and nice to find a spicy one from China. Guessing this will be kind of like a carbonara style. Let’s give it a try!

Well, here’s the third. The first was buffalo/ranch flavored – 1 star. Lemon pepper next – 2 stars. This is the last chance. Can we get a good one out of the set? Read on.

Well, here’s the second of the trifecta of wings variants from Nissin. The ranch one I did previously? No thanks. Let’s give this a try – I see something promising.

Another one I found at Safeway which wasn’t there the day before when I found that Hot Pot Fusion one I reviewed this week. I’ve got strong opinions on this one. If it is indeed rich and savory, that’s what should be concentrated on. I don’t see people looking to instant noodle cups for protein; they’re health conscious. Another point on the whole of the big ‘protein push’ is that chicken is gram for gram protein. You sauté up a small piece of chicken breast – it’s ALL protein. I’ve seen a lot of things come and go in the instant noodle world and I hate to say it, but this looks like it’ll be gone possibly before this posts. But hey – it’s a competitive market and companies have to throw a lot of products at the wall to see which ones stick. Good luck – maybe it will, but I have my doubts.

This is a special limited edition – one of three that I’ll be rushing out over the next few days. So soon is the Super Bowl. American Football. What’s more, local team the Seattle Seahawks will be in it. I couldn’t care less – it gets really silly here when football is going on. We like baseball. But hey, we’ll watch it. Honestly, I’m hoping to go out during the Super Bowl – it’ll be like when we had the COVID lockdowns – I really liked those. Anyways, let’s try an instant noodle that should be a little weird. Sure with they’d do cheese burger, taco, and pizza, but so far they haven’t heard my (and the throngs of other people’s) call. On with it.

Found this at 99 Ranch Market and really stoked. I am not a huge fan of the flavor of the ol’ Volcano Curry, and expecting great things from this one. Let’s give it a try!

Found this one at a Grocery Outlet bargain market here in town over the weekend. $2.99 for a 4-pack is pretty good I figure. Last time I tried this it had different packaging – back in 2017. This one took a long time to edit as the pictures had the expiration date over the words ‘That’s Crazy Hot.’ But it came out nice. Let’s cook it up!

Here’s another one from James of Lakeside, California. This an interesting one – he sent a bunch by this brand. These are made in Vietnam for the US market and say ‘made with Korea technology.’ Curious how they are. Let’s find out.

Just over 2 years ago, I reviewed the local Korean version of this one. Found this at HMart which was a bit of a shock; their single pack selection has been abyssmal recently… I wish we had the RT Mart that was in Taiwan I got to visit – holy crap that place had the mother of all noodle aisles – singles and multipacks of everything – both sides, long as a Costco aisle – no joke. Anyways, enough thinking about that – let’s give it a try.

We end the year on an interesting note today! My son Miles is very interested in trying out Buldak. Now, he’s very food sensitive – he generally only like non warm, crunchy things (Cheez-Its, chips, apples) , pudding, chocolate milk, soda… It’s kind of an uphill battle introducing new things for him to try that he’ll go for, Noodles are definitely not going to be an easy go except for the fact he really wants to do Buldak. We saw this at 7-Eleven and he was all over it, so we got it. I’m going to cook it up, add nothing, and let it cool. I can’t think of any time he’s eaten anything hot temperature wise in years. He used to eat oatmeal and peanut butter with me, and he did used to eat noodles – but at a certain point he stopped. Is this the turning point? There will be a mukbang below – so watch and see.

Well, here we are. It’s Christmas Eve! This has been a big shift in how I do things – 24 reviews, one per day for 24 days. Didn’t know what I was reviewing until I opened the package each morning. Usually I have lead time, but not this time. I got up, did a video of opening the door, then shooting package photos, editing, then doing what I’m doing right now – editing the post. Next will be cooking it up, then shooting more pictures, editing them, then editing the video and scheduling, posting and boom – all done. Usually, I break it over two days – edit images the day before, cook the next day and then do images for the next day after that. I guess we will see how I do it going forward. What’s certain is I’m so far ahead – like six months ahead. So, maybe doing one review per day and skipping the weekends might work well.

It’s been cold, wet, and breezy – now it looks like it’ll be just plain cold today… I guess we shall see. Let’s continue the calendar with some chicken!

Only about a week to go until Christmas Eve – crazy. Hope you’ve got all you gifts got and ready to go! It’s getting late in the game… But today is my daughter’s birthday! She’s exceedingly stoked! Let’s try this Thai take on chicken from Nissin’s newest range – made in Vietnam for the EU market.

Well, here you go! We found this while looking for Slurpees for the kids at 7 Eleven a month or two ago. There’s a Mexican rice flavor one as well I’ve reviewed in the past. I know – not ramen. However, it’s with the ramen so there, and made by a ramen forward company. Let us microwave!

I’m currently broke and my options are limited, so I thought I would walk over to the discount grocery stores nearby. I found one option – this. 99 cents! It says its made in South Korea, but my whom is anyone’s guess. I’m curious – let’s cook.

The last of the versions found at HMart recently. The first one was super salty but the rest haven’t been too bad. I think this one sounds good – let’s find out.

Well, here’s the last of these they sent – thanks again! I seem to be getting to the last of a lot of things… Running low of noodles I’m afraid. Hmmm… Well, let’s cook.

Well, here we go with day two. I’ve reviewed this one somewhat recently, so no new number here. We’re also doing a LEGO City advent calendar here so I’m showing what was in there from the previous day in the video. By the way it’s Giving Tuesday I hear so if you wanna help out click here! Let’s continue on with the Nissin Germany Advent Calendar!!!

Here’s one I found in a Project Ramen megabox! Highly recommend these as they have a great selection of varieties from around the world – go to www.projectramen.com and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER to get a discount The holidays are pretty much here and these boxes are a really great pick for the ramen lover in your life! Let’s check out this chicken variety from Taiwan!

Lemonilo is originally an Indonesian company specializing in more healthy things – like these. They’ve been pretty good – let’s give this one a try!

Big thanks to James from Lakeside, California for this one. This is a very interesting variety as it looks like the range for Europe – in fact, it does inclue language in Portuguese. However, it isn’t exactly clear where this is meant for specifically, so I’m slapping the local tag on it, Vietnam. I’ve got tofu puff and an expiration date on it coming up shortly, so I’ve decided I’ll be trying to dig through my hamper for varieties I can use some of it with. Let’s give this a go!

Here’s a Koreno variety that was in a Project Ramen megabox! Highly recommend checking them out – go to www.projectramen.com and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER to get a discount! So this is interesting as it’s a range by Paldo and a departure from the Volcano curry – Buldak clone? Let’s find out.

Here’s the second of the two pizza ‘ramen.’ I’m not expecting much but I’m hopeful – so far this and the Old El Paso stuff have netted a zero star. Pray for the pizza noodles. Let’s begin.

The last one of these I tried was the Totino’s Cheese Pizza. Unfortunately, that one got a rather low score. The idea of these products being ramen is quite a stretch – I will say these are a lot of fun nonetheless. I jokingly said I bet this is made with semolina flour on the last review – it is. It also says in the ingredients that this is pasta. Let’s see what fajita noodles are like.

Big thanks to James from Lakeside California for this. Okay first things first. He found this at Grocery Outlet in California. Yesterday, I walked over tot our local one in hopes that they might have some other varieties. They had the ones he sent – all the exact same ones. Second, these are definitely what are known as prison ramen; they have the earmarks with the clear packaging which makes it awful hard to smuggle and contraband using the packs. Well, it says it is made in the US so the next question – who makes these? This image of a sachet of Maruchan Creamy Chicken shows the text and font same as on these. But why? They already have a line of products for corrections. Anyways, I’m leaning towards them being the manufacturer – could be totally wrong though. Anyways, let’s give it a try!

Big thanks to Pher Engi for this one! Let’s start with a little info from Wikipedia –

I actually ordered this off of YamiBuy which is something I never do but I wanted to give this a go. I’m guessing it won’t be incredibly spicy and I don’t know if or what to pair with it. Dessert ramen? I mean, there’s candy references all over it… Maybe a little chicken though. Let’s cook!

Today, we have a variety from Indonesian company Lemonilo for the US market. I like curry – a lot. Let’s give it a go.

Tried this 12 years ago. Packaging has changed as well as what’s in there – let’s give it a whirl in the microwave!

Here’s one that The Fat Hipster sent – thanks! These are made for hiking/camping as they don’t make a huge amount of waste that takes up a lot of space afterwards, they’re light, and just need boiling water. Let’s check it out!

Here’s a new packaging variety from the ‘states. These contain instant rice as well as little bits of noodle – last one I tried was quite nice – let’s give it a go!

Here’s anothe from the Nissin Germany advent calendar! Let’s cook!

Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Unsure if it contains meat check for yourself. To prepare, fill to line with boiling water and cover for 3 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!

Well, as I type this is January 30th, 2025. Just had almost a full week of kids being sick and at the tail end while the kids are now back to school, we’ve got a cold. Feels like I got punched in the nose, my eyes are drippy, and I feel beat. Chicken instant noodles sound like a nice restorative, although I’ve got to go to the store and get scallions this morning. I feel the whole ‘I don’t want to do anything’ voice in my head but I learned a while back that if you listen to that voice, it’ll get its way. So onward! This one was sent by James from Lakeside, California – thanks again! I did get another from this interesting Ottogi range a while back. I want to say this is one that ends up in Mexico often – unsure. Anyways, on with it.

Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These boxes are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – “Let’s start our year off on the right foot with a bit of yakisoba and philanthropy! This tasty yakisoba has a deliciously gentle yet deep miso flavor that is absolutely addicting! Plus, for each yakisoba we got for you, a donation is made to help Ishikawa recover from the earthquake earlier this year!”

Big thanks to Noodle Journey for this one! This is a new variety and it’s all in Korean. What might confuse people here is that they may have thought this would be the flavor of it the whole time. This is not. The flavor of Buldak is the flavor of the sauce that goes on Korean Fried Chicken. Original Buldak doesn’t taste like chicken. I have fought with people over this misconception. ‘But there’s chicken seasoning in it!’ Yes, perhaps in some, however in another Korean variety – a beef flavor, there’s pollock (fish) and no beef. Is it fish flavor? In Pumpkin Spice cup noodle, there’s garlic. Is it garlic flavored? No. These different ingredients are part of the arsenal of food scientist ingredients used to approximate different flavors. Anyways, let’s give this a try!

Here’s another one that came in a big instant noodle advent calendar from Germany! Thanks! Let’s cook!

Hey kiddies it’s time to check one out sent by James from Lakeside, California – thanks! Prince Katsu is a branch oof A-Sha Dry Noodle and these are made in Vietnam. Let’s give it a try!

Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These boxes are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – “Let’s kick off our noodle New Year with this tasty bowl of udon! The broth is full of umami with the taste of chicken, mackerel, kelp, shiitake mushroom and veggies used to make the base. Add in tasty balls of chicken meat, and you have a deep, delicious experience”

Here’s another one sent by James from Lakeside, California – thanks again! This is one of the varieties you can find at Dollar Tree and they’ve generally been quite good. Let’s see how this one stacks up.

Well, today I went looking for cheap toothpicks. I went to Dollar Tree – which currently should be called Dollar Twenty-Five Tree, and then Grocery Outlet Bargain Market. They’re right next door to each other. I also like to look for instant noodles at these places as well. Today, I found no toothpicks, however I found three instant noodles and this is the first one I found. I’m going to do these three varieties over the next three reviews. Here we go.