Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Here’s another one of the Ramen Bowl varieties from Maruchan here in the United States. This is one of those varieties I figured I’ll leave as they’re so easy to find and save for a rainy day. Well, it’s raining – I’ve kind of hit a low amounts of instant noodles slump – happens from time to time. So, let’s get our chicken on.
A number of years ago, I thought I’d see what would happen if I cooked up some noodles and ran a camera as I did it. It’s kind of funny – a lot of the large projects in my life have started with ‘let’s see what happens.’ I had thought for years the idea of shooting video while I cooked noodles for reviews was a purely idiotic idea; I would have to edit every video, which would take so much more time than the way I did things. Well, I found a way around that.
This was one of three my lovely wife Kit found at Whole Foods a while back. These are really large noodle bowls – as you’ll see below, they have two noodle block in there. I just baked some chicken for the review so it should look somewhat nice. Let’s give it a go!
First, off a huge thanks to Kyle over at Mom’s Dry Noodle for help in translating this. According to him, this is a special dish – here’s what Wikipedia had to say about it –
It’s time for something different in this series – something a little spicy – but wait. I think the next two will be spicy as well, so be prepared! Let’s get the guinea pigs on their treadmills and fire up the ‘ol microwave and give this puppy a try! NOTE: we don’t actually make the guinea pigs run on treadmills to power the microwave. Yet.
Say what? What. This is what. What is it? Well, it’s noodles but it changes color; kind of. There’s food coloring in the noodle block, and so once you introduce boiling water or microwave and stir, it changes to either pink or blue – at least so far. There might be green as well – I really don’t know. Purple? Mauve? Chartreuse? Taupe? Taupe is not magical. Remember that. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of anything like this and that’s saying something. Very cool and unique! Let’s check it out!
Here we are at the end of the line of three varieties from Thailand – chicken flavor. What’s Khao Soi though? I looked it up on Wikipedia –
Here’s an interesting one from Japan found in a Zenpop box – check out zenpop.jp and use the coupon code RAMENRATER for a discount!
Fiery Korean chicken? Well, I think we all know where this is headed. I must say thgough, I’m intrigued. These are the same folks that brought us the almighty! The Pumpkin Spice Cup Noodles! I must admit, I figure this is going to be interesting. Bring on the spice!
Thank you to James of Lakeside, California for sending this. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I heard about this stuff and have really wanted to review it for a couple months after Stumpy of N Little Rock, AR told me about it. He wasn’t a fan and by the looks of things, I probably won’t find this to be the second coming either. But the thing is for me, my favorite instant noodle is the one I haven’t tried yet – and this is not only one I’ve not tried, but a brand I’m completely unfamiliar with. This is made in China. Let’s check it out!
You might not know, but there have been huge lapses in my reviews lately. I usually don’t review every day, however I do a few reviews on days when I do. Well, it’s Saturday night and I’m setting up reviews right now to do tomorrow. I’ll have done three reviews a day since last Monday. It feels good – especially since I’ve been able to get out and do my walking and everrything. Anyways, this sounds like an interesting variety, so here we go.
These I’ve been going through slowly – I think this one came by way of James from Lakeside CA, but it may have come from Nissin Foods USA – either way, thank you! Last time I messed with a Stir Fry cup I took 4 of the Korean BBQ flavor ones, pulverized them into powder, cooked them in the microwave, and added them to a pie crust to make a savory Christmas pie. Yeah I know – that’s weird. Well, let’s try this one without trying to make a dessert out of it, as fun as that might be…
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
This one came by way of the fine folks at Asha Dry Noodle USA – interesting! When they mentioned it to me, I knew who would be fascinated by this – my daughter. Mimi is into Hello Kitty. Anyways, she’s in the episode of Instant Noodle Recipe Time – so check it out! Let’s give this stuff a try!
This one comes by way of my good friend (who actually was Knighted) from the UK I met via the Ramen Junkies group a little while ago. Thank you, bro! I’m a huge fan of British varieties and especially interesting ones from Pot Noodle. Let’s see if this one is as bland as he says it is. Sadly, I have no tinned pangolin to add to this one, Sir JB will be happy to see the absence of corn.
Here’s the second of two products from Soupply containing retort pouches. This is really quite awesome – something I’ve wanted to see for a long time. Retort pouches are like flexible cans that can contain meats, vegetables, broths and more. This gives a serious boost to noodle soups that are shelf stable. Let’s check it out!
This is something new – an upgraded version of Maruchan’s popular Instant Lunch. I’ve tried the non Hot & Spicy in the past and been meaning to try this one. Let’s give it a go!
Here’s another one sent by James from Lakeside, CA – thanks again! This one’s made in Vietnam, but for the US market. Chicken instant cup noodles. Sounds pretty basic to me and should be alright – let’s find out!
Definitely not ramen, but something interesting from a domestic company known for ramen. Found this at Uwajimaya in Bellevue, Washington when I was picking up some narutomaki. Let’s check it out!
Recently got a huge box of these from Charming Couple – thanks! So this is biang biang, a very wide belt noodle. They sent 4 varieties and will be trying them soon – they all have really funny graphics on them. Let’s check this one out!
Well this was a nice surprise – British noodles at a local store? Unteresting the new things I’m starting to see around here. I rarely get UK varieties – I enjoy reviewing them a lot, too. Let’s check this one out and see what’s up.
Today, we have a kind of DIY setup here. This is Suprama’s Dara noodle- a variety which doesn’t come with seasoning. However, Suprama also produces a base that should go perfect with this style of noodle – let’s check it out!
It’s been literally years since I tried this one since it’s packaging has changed. I was looking around the local store when that hit me. So, here we are. Green beans, carrots and bok choy? Interesting – let’s check it out, shall we?
As soon as I heard about this stuff I was curious. But that was a long time ago and I’d almost forgotten why I was so curious until I did the unboxing. This stuff is made with pumpkin seed protein! That’s definitely unique. 22g of protein and 6g of net carbs. Ah, I remember net carbs. So, for every gram of fiber, you can knock off a carb. This has a ton of fiber. I’m really curious. Let’s give it a try.
I’m always really humbled when a company sends me a prototype! Getting to try something that’s being tested and isn’t available yet – that’s a true honor for me. So thanks for sending it over! I’m really curious – this one has lots of protein, fiber, vitamins, and low sodium. Let’s get to it!
For a long time, I’ve thought I didn’t like chicken and abalone flavor. Then something happened – I had some really good varieties. I’m hopeful this is one of them. I visited these folks in 2015 and wow – Thailand is an amazing place. I got to visit the rice noodle factory there and it was really amazing. I highly recommend visiting Thailand if you want a headchange; it’s so bright and colorful – the smiles are endless. Not only that, the 7-Eleven stores have the most wonderful array of instant noodles you’ve ever seen. Let’s check this one out that I found locally.
Here’s an interesting one from Japan found in a Zenpop box – check out zenpop.jp and use the coupon code RAMENRATER for a discount!
Here’s a classic one from Japan found in a Zenpop box – check out zenpop.jp and use the coupon code RAMENRATER for a discount!
An older package of Maruchan Chicken flavor Ramen Noodle Soup
You may have seen that I was in the hospital this week. I can describe the whole thing in the video below since it has been typed a lot of times and I had a TON of blood draws in the past few days and to put it short, they had to get them out of my dominant hand and it’s a little sore after being poked so many times, so my apologies.
Found this one at an interesting store in Bellevue – called S*Mart. Yes, shop smart – shop S*Mart. This is the last review I’m doing this week. Guess what? I did 15 reviews this week. That’s a lot. It’s amazing when school is in session the things I can accomplish with a little peace and quiet! Well, let’s see if this packs a wallop or not.
This looks like a fancy one – it came in a 5am Ramen subscription box! Check em out at www.instantramen.jp and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER fpr a doscpint!
Here’s one that came from an Exotic Noods subscription box! Use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount. I haven’t had anything by this brand in probably a decade – but I remember I liked this brand’s products. I remember that, but I don’t know where my keys are at the moment. Fascinating. Well, let’s give it a try!
Found this one at the Lynnwood, Washington Walmart store while we were picking up school supplies. Actually, the day I did this review was the first day of first grade for Miles after a long drawn out experience with distance learning. I’m hoping we don’t have to return to that, but I’m kind of guessing we will unfortunately. We’ll see. Anyways, this is a pretty big cup of chicken instant noodles from The Philippines – let’s check it out!
I saw these on Amazon recently and though I should contact Maruchan about giving them a try – and they kindly obliged. Thank you! There’s a couple interesting things I’ve noticed that I’ll mention as you scroll down and look at the images and text. With that, let’s check out this, the biggest change I’ve seen to date of the Instant Lunch cup. Actually first, look at the lower left corner. See that? Microwavable – unbeknownst to many, no – you’re not supposed to microwave the foam cups – but these aren’t foam cups.
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
Another one from the guys in California. You don’t often see revision numbers on food products, but these guys put them on there. To me, it shows they’re always striving to improve on products and upgrade them when possible. Pretty cool! Let’s give this new version a try!
So my daughter Mimi and I were at the local 99 Ranch Market and she saw this one and asked if I’d tried it. Honestly, I don’t think I have and if I have, it was over ten years ago, so looks like a good shot for a new review. I should point out that this brand, Ve Wong, isn’t pronounce ‘vee’ wong, but ‘way’ wong. Found that out in Taiwan! Let’s check it out.
Getting down there! Almost out of these Thai Chef varieties. They’ve been pretty good, too! Let’s try this chicken pillow pack version.
The last ramen bread I made was 100% instant noodles, however had more moisture than I wanted it to have, so I thought perhaps lighter on the eggs and liquids would prove for a more loafy loaf – less cake like. Well, what happened was nothing short of a Christmas miracle really and something new. What if I told you you could take a few packs of Top Ramen and turn it into popcorn chicken? That’s like diamonds in the microwave but it actually happened! Let’s give it a whirl, Earl!
Wow – it’s been forever since I had this one, so it’s getting a fresh and new review today. Namja mean’s it’s for men in Korean – sorry ladies! I dunno though, it could be an ingenious marketing ploy – tell women it’s not for them, they might just go and eat copious amounts of it to prove that they can handle the heat and garlic. What’s interesting is that I would say when it comes to gender specific ramen, I would say I’ve seen more that are purposefully geared towards women. Anyways, let’s check this one out!
