Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Here’s one I found up in Canada that I was going to show during the Momofuku Ando Day #7 video, but it was already running way too long and so I skipped it. This looks to be a regular chikin ramen with soy sauce flavor – let’s look inside and see what we have here.
Last time it was fried garlic chicken and this time it’s just chicken. Let’s give it a try!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Usually, the first instant product a noodle company will put out will be chicken flavor. In fact, the first instant noodle product that was ever produced was chicken flavor. Chicken is just about universally palatable, and most don’t have a religious rule against it. A chicken instant noodle is the beginning and so that’s where we will start today. Fried garlic chicken sounds really good, and on the package, it promises an ‘insanely rich broth.’ Alright – the proof is in the noodle – let’s give it a try!
I’ve been kind of on a weird crusade lately. It has come to my attention that the popular Mala variety of Buldak Bokkeummyun is being touted by many people across the Interwebs as 4x Spicy. This is totally untrue – it’s really more like 0.5x. I did an informative video presentation about it – check it out here!
What we have here is a squid snack – what’s that you ask? Well, they dehydrate squid somehow and seasoning it. I read once there was a a package of this kind of thing that said ‘chewing gum of Asians. Here’s some background on this from Wikipedia –
Okay so a week or so ago I got a big package from Prima Taste over in Singapore (thanks again!) – full of tasty stuff! Well, last Sunday I ended up getting the worst stomach flu I think I’ve ever had and it was really crummy. Really did a number on med and put me in bed a few days. This was not from what they sent – let’s make that clear – the stomach flu ios going around. Well, once the clouds started to lift, I was hungry. Didn’t want to do anything spicy and something tasty. My wife made me this Prima Juzz’s Mee with some hard boiled egg and cut up breaded chicken (yeah they’re chicken nuggets – we have kids and hey it’s protein so don’t give me any guff) and some instant rice thrown in there too.
Here’s another one I picked up at Osaka Market up in Richmond, BC in Canada. I’d seen this variety on Instagram plenty of times and was pretty stoked to see it available. First, here’s some info from reader Sara Adam de Souza about it – thank you!
I found this one at RT Mart in Taipei., Taiwan. Okay so RT Mart. It’s big – I mean big. The aisle with instant noodles was probably the largest I’ve seen to date not only lengthwise, but height as well.
Alrighty so here’s another one of the Myojo varieties I have from Singapore. These are new formulations of longstanding popular varieties. Indeed, they invoke the term ‘yummy’ on this packaging and I will admit that although I rarely use it, it’s an important term. Let’s see if it’s fitting to include it in this one.
So what we have here is something from the United States I haven’t really delved into much. I reviewed their Cup-A-Soup on review #2544. I thought this was a Cup-A-Soup, however, it’s a Soup Secrets variety. It’s getting cold outside – better eat your soup! Wait I shouldn’t have told you that because it’s a secret… The soup secret. Don’t tell anyone… Let’s have a look.
Yep – another KOKA! I think there might be one more left but maybe not – we shall see! I made a chicken breast in the oven yesterday and figured I’d better do a chicken review! So let’s get to it!
I thought I was out of KOKA varieties to review, but definitely not yet. They sent every single SKU they produce for their Meet The Manufacturer. Thanks again – that was really awesome! I have a limit of 15 reviews for a Meet The Manufacturer series, so the extras go into the regular rotation.
Here’s another one sent by Zenpop. Zenpop is a subscription box service where you can get many varieties of Japanese products sent to your door monthly. Here’s what they had to say about this variety –
Once you get outside the United States, cilantro is known as coriander. This is actually the second coriander variety I’ll be trying from Japan. Didn’t expect that to be a popular flavor for Japan, but hey, why not. I really like coriander. This one comes from Zenpop.jp. They have monthly ramen boxes that are a really great deal – definitely, check them out! Okay – let’s crack this one open.
Yay! Another new variety of the popular Buldak Bokkeummyun ‘Fire Noodle Challenge’ series. This one’s called Carbo. At first, I saw the name and the heart and thought low carbohydrate, but that’s definitely not the case here.
fter seeing multiple posts and videos and online stores advertising for a 4x version of the popular Samyang Foods Buldak Bokkeummyun hot chicken noodle, I felt it required me to make a statement.
It is truly amazing I still have quite a few KOKA varieties to review! Can’t complain, that is for sure – having my hampers stocked well is a good thing and lets me be at ease about not running out of varieties to try. Today its chicken and I got up at 4 am and cooked some chicken in the oven to go into this one. Let’s have a look.
Here’s another left from the Tat Hui Meet The Manufacturer from earlier this year. I’ve had a lot of pho instant varieties over the years and to be honest, I’ve liked only a couple of them, so I’m really hoping this is one I’ll like.
This is another one from Zenpop.jp. Zenpop is pretty cool – they have different boxes you can get – Japanese stationery, snacks, ramen… It’s quite a variety. They’re pretty cheap, too. Here’s what they had to say about this variety:
Today, we say goodbye to the Olagafood Meet The Manufacturer series. Overall, it’s been a fun and tasty experience! I want to thank Davin over at Olagafood again for everything – also want to thank Jonathan at Waroeng Jajanan for supplying garnish and insight into this series! Much appreciated!
So you’re probably going to say ‘so what gives – this is the second Alhami Chicken Curry one you’re reviewing. Key differences I see from the packaging are the work flavor and the word flavour. To me, this denotes two different markets that these will be in most likely. The second is this one’s shiny back and the other isn’t. Shiny backs are tough to scan as you’ll see below. Well, let’s get to it – it’s chicken curry time!
Curry has and always shall be one of my favorite flavors in this universe. Today it’s kari ayam – chicken curry. Let’s have a look and a taste!
This is the only variety of Samyang Foods’ Buldak Bokkeummyun series to have a broth. Spicy chicken stew sounds good, and it is – at least the pack version was really good. There are usually some differences between packs and bowls. Mainly, bowls are almost always steeped, so the noodles may come out a little different than being continuously boiled. Also, bowls sometimes have extra ingredient sachets. Let’s give this one a try and check out this super spicy variety!
Well this sounds like a good one! It sounds to be like a chicken shio variety. Shio is one of the classic ramen varieties from Japan. Let’s see a little more about shio from Wikipedia –
Note – so I originally reviewed thios one using the ‘dry’ method. This time after some outcry, I’ll be reviewing it made with the instructions for a soupy noodle. One should note however that the ‘dry’ method is the one that’s listed before the soup version.
Hot and spicy Korean fried chicken. Hmm – where have I heard that before? Well, I definitely like the real thing that I’ve had in the past – K-fried chicken is really the bomb – especially the spicy – and if you get a chance to try it you’ll be pretty happy about it I think.
Here’s the second and final product of this Meet The Manufacturer review series of Blount Fine Foods products. So this is one you’ll find in the refrigerated section at the supermarket and looks very fancy. Indeed as I said in the last review, I really like the little cut out on the front as seen above with the steam coming off the bowl.
I’ve reviewed many fresh varieties in the past and this is a new variety from a brand I’ve never reviewed any products from before! What’s more, it’s a company in the United States. I must say that the packaging is rather striking; it’s thick cardboard and the little cut out of the bowl and steam coming out above it is really neat.
I think this is the last of the new versions of the Cup Noodles from the USA. They changed the recipe last year to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Cup Noodles. Here’s a little from Wikipedia about the history of Cup Noodles –
Okay so I’m guessing what you are thinking right now. He must be out of varieties to review. Nope. Actually, I saw this on the shelf and thought about the uncountable times that people have called domestic instant noodles Cup-a-Soup. This could be due to the fact that Nissin Cup Noodles here in the USA were called Cup ‘O Noodles up until 1993. Yep – sounds kind of alike, doesn’t it?
Rounding out the Cup Noodles Very Veggie range is Spicy Chicken. All I can say is that if it’s anything like the other two this will be a no-brainer. I still am beside myself on these; these are just about the best thing I’ve seen come from the United States in a long, long time. So Very Veggie has 1/2 cup – which is one full serving – of vegetables. Let’s check it out.
When I read about this new product line in my news feeds, I was very curious. For years, I’ve though that the amount of vegetables included with instant noodle varieties in general was way too slim. Of course, vegetables cost money to put in there and so that’s something to consider.
So in 2016, the local Singapore/Sri Lankan version was on the Top Ten list. It’s excellent stuff – love it! This is the export version – what’s the difference? Well, it doesn’t have any chicken in there. I’ve been curious about how this stacks up against the chicken version – let’s give Juzz’s Mee a try!
Well folks, the United States has started to see the light. There’s nothing I love to see more than a tie-in/crossover product and this is something I’ve seen zillions of times overseas but really never before here.
Thanks go to Amelia from Samyang Foods in South Korea for sending these along! The Buldak Bokkeummyun line from them is a fiery range which starts with their hot chicken flavor of Fire Noodle Challenge fame. Here’s what they have to say about this one –
Okay so you may have seen that there are new Pringles Top Ramen Chicken Flavor Potato Chips on the market. This is a pretty surprising thing for the US – less so elsewhere. Apparently, the only place you can buy them in stores is at a place called Dollar General. There aren’t any in Washington State, so I had to look elsewhere. I found an eBay Seller who has them and at a very reasonable price. Some people are selling six cans of Pringles for $99! That’s $16.50 per can! Egad; what has this world come to… Anyways, yeah I don’t think they currently have any in stock but I asked and they said that they were going to restock again ASAP!
Instant noodle cups – so portable, so ubiquitous. They’re everywhere! People seem to really like them for lunch. I’ve found that people also like to take them when backpacking or camping – all you need is hot water and once done, you can flatten them so it’s easy to pack out your trash. These convenient meals have come a long way since their inception – many flavors and countries of origin. This list is a compilation of my favorite instant noodle cups from the over 2,500 instant noodle reviews I’ve done to date.
Here’s another leftover from the KOKA Meet The Manufacturer series I did a little while back. Chicken flavor sounds pretty safe – I mean, who doesn’t like chicken except vegetarians? Let’s give this chicken flavor variety a try!
Here’s one sent by Chef Ron from Mama Pat’s Foods – thank you! So I’ve reviewed a LOT of Indomie in the past, yet it’s hard to come by new varieties to try. Luckily, here’s the first of hopefully more from Indomie’s product line from Nigeria! As far as continents go, Africa has been just the toughest for me to get varieties from. Here’s a little about Indomie from Wikipedia –
Here’s one left over from the KOKA Meet The Manufacturer. These soups are interesting; instead of noodles with soup it’s more like soup with noodles! Let’s have a look at this creamy soup!
