Category: China

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2019 Edition

April 4, 2019April 27, 2019 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Top Ten Best Instant Noodles Of All Time 2019

This is my list of my all time favorites (compiled up to review #3132). These are the best and most memorable varieties – some you’ll be able to find easily, some you won’t. In the images you see, you’ll see garnished bowls of noodles. Note – reviewing is done BEFORE products have anything externally added by myself, and I follow directions on the package – for better or for worse. I should also note that going forward, the official last day for companies to submit varieties to be considered for the annual top ten will be January 31st. That’s enough – let’s have a look at The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2019 Edition! ...see full post

#3132: Liangchengmei Food Biang Biang Mian – China

March 25, 2019 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Here’s another Lianchengmei product that my wife found while we were perusing the aisles at Foodyworld up in Richmond, BC. She found one a while back – 30″ Hot Bird, a fire noodle clone. What’s Biang Biang? Here’s what Wikipedia had to say – ...see full post

#3130: Master Kong Golden Stock Shrimp Noodles – China

March 23, 2019 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

#3130: Master Kong Golden Stock Shrimp Noodles - China

This one is from a box from Exotic Noods. Exotic Noods has subscription boxes you can get every month! Use coupon code BOOM for an added discount! ...see full post

#3123: Luosiking Spicy River Snail Noodle – China

March 16, 2019 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Here’s the second of the two Luosiking varieties Jack sent – thanks again! Two reviews ago, I tried the soup version. Let’s see what happens when you take the broth out! ...see full post

#3121: Luosiking River Snail & Pork – China

March 14, 2019March 14, 2019 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Here’s one that was sent to me directly by the manufacturer – thank you! It is a brand I’ve not tried in the past – Luosiking. River snail – that I’ve tried before. Let’s take a look. ...see full post

#3106: Double Mountain Xiamen Instant Noodles Satay Flavor – China

February 26, 2019 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Here’s one that was sent to me by the man who runs this company! He sent a very nice letter along with these – check out the Unboxing Time video to hear more! This one’s satay flavor and has been around now for over 30 years! Wow! Let’s give it a try! ...see full post

#3098: Lau Liu Tou Hand-Made Noodles Spicy Beef Flavor – China

February 17, 2019February 17, 2019 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Here’s one we found up in Richmond, BC at China World. That was a tough store. Mainly it was because we went there and got a ton of noodles and then find out they only accept cash. That sucked. So we ended up coming back! Let’s look at this one! ...see full post

#3093: Sichuan Baijia Green Curry Shrimp Flavor Instant Vermicelli – China

February 11, 2019 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Here’s one I found up in Canada – can’t remember where. Green curry is one of my favorite flavors, however not one that I think I’ve ever seen coming out of China. Sichuan Baijia has been coming out with more and more different varieties – and different little cartoon characters on their packaging. Let’s give this one a try and see how it fares. ...see full post

#3048: Uni-President Braised Beef Stir Noodle Bowl – China

December 22, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

#3048: Uni-President Spicy Beef Stir Noodle Bowl - China

Here’s the last of the Uni-President varieties my wife spotted a few months ago at Foody World up in Richmond, NC! They were $1.50 apiece which seemed very good. Really like the graphic on this one – looks really neat. Let’s crack into this one and give it a go! ...see full post

#3006: Uni-President Guizhou Spicy Soybean Paste Flavor – China

October 31, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

First off, thanks to Kyle K. for help with translating this one! I found this up in Canada at FoodyWorld – a huge Asian supermarket which is a must see for anyone doing the tour of Asian grocery stores up in Richmond – lots of fun and much to see. These were on sale and looked neat so I went and got all the varieties. Let’s give this one a try! ...see full post

#3003: Chencun The Flavours Of Yunnan China Acid & Peppery Beef – China

October 28, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Here’s one we found at China World in Richmond, BC. The name definitely didn’t translate all that great. I think acid probably will be closer to something like tangy. I mean, acid and beef? Perhaps it could be referring to a process of cooking beef that uses something acidic? Either way I’m fascinated. Let’s see what happens when we open it and cook it! ...see full post

#2999: Uni-President Pickled Cabbage Beef Stir Noodle Bowl

October 23, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

#2925: Uni-President Pickled Cabbage Beef Stir Noodle Bowl

We found this one up at Foodyworld in Richmond, BC. They were on a great sale – 2 for $3CAD! Not bad at all! I have to say I love this packaging’s graphic. The food is all sharp and colorful and contrasts so well with the background. Very old school Chinese! Sorry about the lack of pictures of what’s inside the sachets – woke up late and so rushing to get just this one done! Let’s have a look! ...see full post

#2995: Uni-President XO Sauce Stir Noodle Bowl

October 19, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

#2993: Wugudaochang Tomato Sirloin Instant Broad Noodles – China

October 17, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Found this one recently up in Canada at a T&T Supermarket. There’s a few of them in Richmond, BC – they’re all pretty big. The one we went to was connected to an Olympic skating oval which was kind of interesting. What was kind of hard at this as is with many stores I’ve been to is that I would’ve been able to get more varieties, however they were in multi-packs instead of singles. I’m only going to review one item, so not into spending ten bucks on a multi-pack of noodles. Anyhoo, let’s check this one from China out! ...see full post

#2976: Sichuan Baijia Sichuan Hot & Sour Vermicelli

September 30, 2018September 30, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Here’s one I found up in Canada at China World I believe. The sheer amount of varieties up there is pretty intense – especially ones from this company. Curious how it will be. Let’s find out! ...see full post

#2960: Soup Daren Spicy Pork Bone Noodle

September 14, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Found this one among others up at FoodyWorld in Richmond, B. I just can’t get enough of Canada – it’s such a nice place with nice people and nice everything. This one looked fascinating – let’s check it out. ...see full post

#2932: Soup Daren Borscht Noodle

August 14, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Here’s another one I found up at Foodyworld in Richmond, BC. I’ve seen these as cups before but never bowls. Now, borscht sounds like an odd flavor from Asia – let’s ask wiki a little about it – ...see full post

Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles 2018 Edition

August 1, 2018October 21, 2019 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch 3 comments

THIS LIST IS NOW OUTDATED – SEE THE TOP TEN 2020 EDITION HERE

spiciest instant noodles The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles 2018 Edition

It’s been a long year, let me tell you! I have been asked countless times about this list and what’s new. I’ve done numerous taste tests and endured lots of heat! Ready to burn? Check out the list and look down at the bottom for a way to get a great selection of some of the spiciest and tastiest varieties in one low-cost box! Indeed, it is time – here’s the official top ten – your spiciest instant noodles for 2018 from almost 3,000 reviews to date! ...see full post

#2902: Yumei Instant Sour Turnip Duck Vermicelli Hot Pot

July 20, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Time for another one of these self heating/self cooking hot pots from China. I’ve found so far that the draw of these for me seems to be more of novelty than an thorough enjoyment of the innards of these. But hey – all it’s been up til now is mala – now we’ve got sour turnip duck vermicelli! Let’s check it out! ...see full post

#2872: Chongqing Suanlabao Food Co., Ltd. Hot Pot Mala Seasoning & Sesame Oil Package

June 28, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Hey it’s a self heating hot pot! I got this one at China World on St. Patrick’s Day this year. The weekend before, we drove up to Canada and checked out China World in Richmond, BC. It was amazing – awesome! Got two baskets of noodles. Went tot he front and boom – cash and Canadian debit only. That sucked. So we came back the next weekend! I found about eight different varieties of these hot pots and so here’s the first. I’ve reviewed two others in the past. Let’s open this thing up and see what makes it tick – yeah – it cooks itself! ...see full post

#2869: Chencun The Flavours Of Yunnan China Torpid & Peppery Beef

June 24, 2018June 24, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Alright so when I found this up at China World in Richmond, BC, I was curious. ‘What’s this torpid all about, anyway?’ Well, Thanks to my friend Kyle, that’s been cleared up. It’s a really bad translation. This really should be Sichuan Spicy Flavor. As far as torpid goes, here’s the definition –

tor·pid
tôrpəd/
adjective

mentally or physically inactive; lethargic.
“we sat around in a torpid state”

Spicy and lethargic beef flavor? Yummy! Translation is a seriously tough thing. It’s definitely an uphill battle for me – Google is of very little help. I’ve been asked in the past by companies what I would call a product and helped them with translating and making it sound like a good name for something sold in the west. I think that would be a neat job – helping companies with western translations. So I guess if you need help with someone proofreading a packaging bound to be on products for the west, contact me maybe I can help. Alright – let’s do up some spicy beef vermicelli! ...see full post

#2836: Shanjinshan Yibin Burning Noodle Green Onion Flavor

May 29, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

These came by way of Snackoo – a company that supplies you with great snack boxes, containing all sorts of fascinating things as well as ramen noodles. Why not check them out? ...see full post

#2835: Da Long Yi Self Heating Hot Pot – Vegetable Version

May 29, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Alright – now if this isn’t something that doesn’t make you wanna check your head… So we went up to Canada yesterday. What was up there? This, the second one I’ve reviewed that has a little sachet that actually heats the bowl of noodles and cooks it. Where did I find it? I’m sure you’re thinking ‘oh some neat Asian grocery store.’ No. Hold onto your butts. My wife saw this one. At Walmart. Yeah. Walmart. The Walmart locations both in Richmond, BC and Vancouver, BC have decent noodle aisles with varieties from all over. It should be noted though that there’s a huge Asian population in this area – and so kind of makes sense in a demographic way. I mean, you certainly won’t see this near Walmart HQ in Bentonville, Arkansas…I thought it would be really cool if my son Andy got a chance to try and cook one of these. It should be fun! Glad we found it at Walmart – it was our last stop before heading back home. We go to Walmart every time we go to Canada. It’s really nice up there. Let’s cook this sucker up! ...see full post

#2821: Sichuan Baijia Broad Noodle Sour Soup Fish Flavor

May 21, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

I picked this one up at the 99 Ranch Market in Edmonds, Washington a few weeks back. I hadn’t seen this Baijia variety before and I thought the graphic on the front of someone sleeping and dreaming about fancy cars, a home and lots of money was really quite compelling. ...see full post

#2817: Liangchengmei 30S” Hot Bird Noodle

May 6, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

#2906: Liangchengmei 30S" Hot Bird Noodle

Here’s one my wife spied at FoodyWorld supermarket up in Richmond BC! Wow – what a find, eh? This one’s from China and it has some kind of corrupted chicken who’s into metal wearing a leather jacket with spikes (punk rock chicken?) – I quite honestly must say that this is most likely one of the most interesting instant noodle product packaging ideas ever. Little sayings here and there connote a seedy underbelly – ‘devil’s hotness,’ ‘screaming soul,’ and finally ’30SecondsOpen the hot fantasy life.’ I dunno – does it really get any weirder than this? Maybe? I really hope so – I like weird! Well, let’s check this one out – looks hot… ...see full post

#2743: Nongshim Korean Clay Pot Ramyun

March 1, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Here’s one I got up in Canada a few months back. Yeah – lately we go up to Canada almost once a month. It’s fun up there – I’m thinking though we’re going to have to venture outside of just going to Richmond and hitting Vancouver one of these days. ...see full post

#2721: Yumei Instant Spicy Hot Pot

February 11, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Alright kiddie, hold onto your butts! So we have something here I had to review the day after I got it; not because it was going to expire but because I was a little wary of storing it. Why’s that? Well, first off I got this up in Canada at Osaka Market at Yaohan Centre in Richmond, BC. I’d just returned from my trip to Taiwan, my jet lag now gone (for the most part). I had some leftover Taiwanese currency and the Kingmark Currency Exchange doesn’t charge for exchanging which is nice. I converted it so I could treat my family to some wheel cake and milk tea at a little Taiwanese shop at the centre. ...see full post

#2716: Jinmailang Yakisoba Sweet & Sour Pork Ribs Flavor

February 7, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

#2216: Jinmailang Yakisoba Sweet & Sour Pork Ribs Flavor - China - snackoo

These came by way of Snackoo – a company that supplies you with great snack boxes, containing all sorts of fascinating things as well as ramen noodles. Why not check them out? ...see full post

#2708: Qinsheng Dumpling Pastry Hot & Sour Flavor

February 2, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

These came by way of Snackoo – a company that supplies you with great snack boxes, containing all sorts of fascinating things as well as ramen noodles. Why not check them out? ...see full post

#2702: Chuanbei Sichuan Yibin Style Spicy Noodles

January 27, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Firstly, thanks to Bobby Y. with help on this variety’s translation! So I found this one up in Canada at a big Asian supermarket a month or so ago. It was at the height of pre-mid-Autumn festival, and mooncakes were in full force. I mean, this place had the biggest display of mooncake I’ve ever seen – even had special display mooncakes that were at least 2 feet across and! ...see full post

#2693: Qicaiyuan Liangpi (Shaanxi Cold Noodle)

January 18, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Been forever since I tried Shanxi cold noodle. I think perhaps I cooked them wrong. Regardless, I know how to cook them correctly thanks to the nice folks at Snackoo! Snackoo is a subscription box service startup in San Francisco. They’ve got a lot of neat products – many I’ve never seen before – check ’em out! ...see full post

#2682: JML Instant Noodle Artificial Spicy Hot Beef Flavour

January 10, 2018 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Re-Review: JML Instant Noodle Artificial Spicy Hot Beef Flavour

I’ve been doing a lot of spicy noodle videos on YouTube recently. There’s a particular one that I tried and just couldn’t handle. The main reason for this is that first off, it’s ultra spicy. The second was that I attempted it when I was sick with the flu. I mean hey – it was from Japan and I thought I should be able to handle it; never run into any spicy noodle from Japan that I found too spicy to eat. ...see full post

#2670: Nongshim Kimchi Ramyun Noodle

December 29, 2017 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch 2 comments

I picked this one up on a recent trip to Canada. Ok, so you might be wondering about this one. It’s made in Shanghai, China. Nongshim has factories all over the place and I’ve found that the different factories have slight variances in flavors. In the USA, this product would probably be coming from their Nongshim America factory in California. Hop the border though and most of the products up there come from China. It’s funny because they also have ones from the United States there as well. Anyways, Kimchi time! Let’s check it out. ...see full post

#2619: Liu Quan Authentic Snail Rice Noodle

November 19, 2017 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch 2 comments

First off, special thanks to a reader from Malaysia who helped with translation. This one just says ‘spicy rice noodle’ on the distributor label, but it seems to be a non-spicy variety and it mentions snail. I don’t know if it actually is but hey you never know.But I’m pretty sure this is the regular version and not the spicy I reviewed previously by the same company. Actually after getting some comment from a couple friends in Canada and Taiwan, indeed it is snail! Here’s a little from Wikipedia about this variety – ...see full post

#2601: Nongshim KamjaTangMyun Potato Pork Flavor

November 1, 2017 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch 2 comments

Here’s another one I found up in Canada in July of 2017. So this one isn’t made in South Korea or the United States – it’s made in China. A lot of Nogshim varieties up in Canada hail from mainland China which I discovered a few years back. I’m pretty sure I’ve reviewed a potato pork version that I got up in Canada before that was a Nongshim China product, but I know it didn’t look like this one. Anyways, let’s see how this is – bring on the noodles! ...see full post

#2590: JinMaiLang Bone Soup (Spare Ribs Flavour) Noodle

October 21, 2017 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Recently we headed up to Canada for a nice meet up with new friends and to find some noodles. This one spoke to me and said ‘Halloween’ – I mean, bone soup made from boiling pork bones is a very traditional kind of thing – heck, it could be also seen as something Thanksgiving style where after the meal the carcass of the turkey is boiled to pull out all of that great flavor. But the black and green big letters and all just kind of screamed skeletons! Trick or treat! Spooky! ...see full post

#2547: Sichuan Guangyou 9999 Chongqing Spicy Hot Noodles

September 10, 2017 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch 1 comment

I’ve tried Sichuan Guangyou noodles once before. Today, it’s a spicy and hot variety with a lot of 9’s. Found this one at Asian Food Center on Aurora in Seattle, WA a few months ago. It’s one of a whole slew of Chongqing noodle varieties that kind of leaped into the Chinese export market and headed to the west. Here’s some info about Chongqing from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2531: Uni-President Pickled Cabbage Beef Noodle

August 22, 2017August 22, 2017 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

A guy named Mengzhe Z. from China sent me this – thank you again! I think the first time I saw the export version of this one it was called beef and sauerkraut. Cabbage is definitely popular in Asia – goes well with yakisoba, pickled in soup and fermented in ramyun. Let’s give this a look! ...see full post

#2503: Sichuan Guangyou Sweet Potato Instant Noodle Sour-Hot Flavor

July 20, 2017 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

Here’s one sent by Colin from Massachusetts – thanks! So this sour-hot sounds interesting. Usually with Chinese varieties, the sour often comes from black vinegar and the spicy from peppers. Let’s see what this one’s like! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2017 Edition

June 25, 2017June 30, 2017 Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch No comments

So today it’s the fifth annual The Ramen Rater’s Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time. On my other lists, I exclude varieties that no longer are on the market. On this list, everything’s fair game for the bottom ten. As I say in the video presentation, if you like some of these, there’s nothing wrong with you – I just find these detestable personally. These are my least favorite varieties of the over 2400 varieties posted to date. Without gurther ado, the bottom ten. ...see full post

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tor·pid tôrpəd/ adjective

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tor·pid
tôrpəd/
adjective