Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Was contacted a few weeks ago by Zenpop, a company thjat specializes in neat boxes of products from Japan! They informed me they wanted me to check out their ramen box and I was alright with that of course! They also have other kinds of boxes available – check them out here! Let’s crack this one open and see what’s inside – this month it’s the ‘Noodle World Pack!’
Every month, Box From Japan offers instant ramen subscriptions as well as candy and other special subscriptions! This is the July box. Thus far, I’ve never gotten a repeat, nor one I’d reviewed previously! Let’s have a look.
Here’s one from Javier over at www.BoxFromJapan.com – thank you! So Box From Japan is a subscription service – every month, you can get a different four bowls of instant ramen from Japan – pretty awesome! This one’s wantan men – let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about this variety –
Here’s one from Javier over at www.BoxFromJapan.com – thank you! So Box From Japan is a subscription service – every month, you can get a different four bowls of instant ramen from Japan – pretty awesome! This one’s dandanmen – let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about this variety –
These came by Way of my sister Sue – thanks! She found them up in Canada – I believe at PriceSmart Foods in Richmond, BC. Been a couple of years since I made the trip north in search of instant noodles for my birthday. The way I look at it, I have to lay off Canada for a little while to let the big stores up there percolate; then they’ll have new stuff I’ve not tried. Well, hopefully. Last time I found a lot of the same stuff from the time before.
Here’s a new one – sent by Javier at Box From Japan! Thankj you! So Box From Japan is a subscription service. Indeed, you can lay out a few bucks every month and get a box with four really decent instant ramen from Japan to your door – definitely one to check out if you’re into Japanese food and culture
The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2017 Edition is a list of the best bowls I’ve tried of the over 2400 reviews posted to date. Bowls are interesting insofar as they often contain extra things, since there is more room for sachets, spoons, fork, etcetera. As always, I implore instant noodle manufacturers to contact me – I would love to review your products and all it costs is sending some samples and your time! So sit back, grab a bowl, some hot water, peel back the lid, stir – and enjoy!
Seems like a little while since I did a pack instant ramen from Japan. This is one I found during my trip to Taiwan last November at the Carrefour in Taipei by the Miramar Entertainment Park. I tell you – they had quite an impressive instant noodle aisle – like 4 aisles really. So this one is a shio instant ramen. Here’s a little from Wikipedia about shio –
Way, way, way back, I had one of these packs. I bought it at a local Asian grocery and never reviewed it. That was 15 years back and it has been haunting me ever since.
Here’s the final of the three Japan version MyKuali boxes. This one’s a favorite of mine (as are the other) but lately it’s been a real treat. Here’s a little about Hokkien Prawn from Wikipedia –
Here’s one I was sent by Javier from www.BoxFromJapan.com. Box From Japan is a service you can subscribe to and receive monthly boxes of instant noodle bowls from Japan! Pretty nifty. This one is a tonkotsu variant – let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about tonkotsu ramen –
This was sent to me by Ippin, a purveyor of wonderful Japanese items! Thank you again!
Here’s something a little different. So Nissin has a series of Cup Noodles with flavors from around Southeast Asia. Laksa from Singapore, Tom Yum from Thailand and here we have Mie Goreng from Indonesia. I’m very curious how this on will be. Indeed, it looks interesting enough and a decently sized cup. If you don’t know about Mie Goreng, you should! Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about the dish:
My friend Javier over at www.BoxFromJapan.com sent over the new ramen box for May! Thank you! Box From Japan is a purveyor of not only monthly subscription boxes of instant ramen bowls but you can also get neat boxes of candy and other neat stuff! Let’s see what’s within!
Went to Uwajimaya, a local Japanese grocery store chain in the northwest the other day. So I found that you can get chashu pork there – it’s really nice for Japanese instants since I can slap one on top! Indeed what I do is get a few packs of it from the deli and then bag them individually and throw them in the freezer – it’s pricy stuff, but done this way it really stretches it a long way. So $15 or pork will yield me about 18-20 slices and since it’s frozen, it’ll last nicely until I’ve done that many Japanese reviews.
The nice folks at Ippin sent me this one (SG folks click here) – thanks again! They are purveyors of all things Japanese! So I would say most Japanese instant noodles contain pork. Whether it be a chicken, seafood or whatever, it’s in there. Not with this one and That’s great for those that follow Islamic guidelines. So what is Halal? Let’s ask Wikipedia:
A while back the folks at MyKuali sent over samples. I give reviews to different versions of products and this is certainly different. This is the Penang Red Tom Yum Goong that is now in Japan. As you can see on the front of the box, a rank #1 on the 2015 Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time list. Well, what’s tom yum? Here’s something from Wikipedia:
Here’s another one I found in Taiwan on my trip in November of 2016. Yakisoba is one of my favorites – and my wife Kit likes it quite a bit as well. As I’ve said before, I’m usually quite a few reviews ahead as normally I do two reviews a day but only post one. Right now It’s February 20th, 2017 and our new President Trump has only been in office for a month. I have to assure my friends from all over the world that indeed not all of us are rude and boorish as he is and respect other people’s rights. That being said, let’s talk more about this one!
I’m happy to say that I got an email from Javier over at Box From Japan telling me that they’re back! They offer s subscription service – instant ramen bowls direct from Japan! You get 4 bowls every month! It’s pretty neat – should go check it out!
We recently took a trip to Asian Food Grocery in 130th & Aurora and found this one. My wife likes yakisoba a lot and so I like to make it for her. This one has a little interesting thing though. On the sticker, it mentioned ‘This product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.’ Wait, what? So I took a look at the ingredients list and found something I’d not seen before – an ingredient called Rebaudioside A. I looked that up and wikipedia had this to say:
Javier over at www.boxfromjapan.com is working hard to bring you the best from Japan! He hand picks the best every month – ones you definitely can’t find here in the United States. Box From Japan is a subscription service – check it out! Here’s this months offering.
Here’s one I got at Jason’s Market at the bottom of the Taipei 101 in Taiwan. Indeed this Ripe’n’Dry miso is one I’d been searching for for a very long time! I reviewed the Shio version about 45 reviews back and wasn’t extremely impressed. It wasn’t bad, but wasn’t ‘holy cow this is awesome.’ I will say that I really love this packaging though – very nicely done! However, the name evokes thoughts of, well… Flatulence. Smelly dry farts immediately come to my mind. I thought I’d look and see what wikipedia has to say about flatulence:
Wow check this out! This is one I’ve reviewed many times before but this is a new version that comes in a little box! Thank you to MyKuali for sending this along! Indeed, their Penang White Curry was #1 on my annual top ten list is 2014, and it’s appeared on top ten lists since then. It’s amazing stuff; very strong flavors and aroma. When I visited Malaysia in 2014, I got to get a real sense of the foods there. In fact, I got to try many, many varieties of their cuisine! I tried lots of seafood of which I really liked the sunfish.
This is second of two cups I found at Uwajimaya. Similar graphics on them, the other is Kitsune Udon, this one is Tanuki Soba. So, what is a tanuki anyways? Here, we have some info from Wikipedia:
Javier over at www.boxfromjapan.com is working hard to bring you the best from Japan! He hand picks the best every month – ones you definitely can’t find here in the United States. Box From Japan is a subscription service – check it out! Here’s this months offering.
Animal noodles! Animal noodles? Yup – animal noodles. That’s at least what I used to call these – there are two of them very popular in Japan – kitsune uson and tanuki soba. Kitsune refers to a fox and has fried tofu with it. Tanuki soba usually has either a round disc of tempura or little bits of it. Here’s a little more info from Wikipedia –
Here’s one that was a gift from the folks at Washoku Explorer – thanks again! This variety from Nagasaki definitely has a fish sense to i, however let’s look at Wikipedia on the subject of Shoyu ramen –
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.
Here’s one I got at Jason’s Market at the bottom of the Taipei 101 in Taiwan. I’d been very curious about this line as I’ve seen them before; hard to miss with the angry bear on the front! I’m very curious about how ripe and dry correlate with instant ramen. Lately when I use the term ripe, it’s referring to needing to change a diaper as in ‘ooof Miles – you’re ripe!’ Dry as far as flavor I usually think of when it comes to wine. I’m hoping this doesn’t smell like loaded diapers or taste like wine – I’m guessing it won’t. Let’s give it a go!
Here’s one I got at the Carrefour store in Taipei at the bottom of the Miramar Entertainment Park mall. It was on sale and definitely something I didn’t expect to see. There was a bunch of articles that came out about this variety a while back – it was popular many years ago and discontinued and then brought back to the delight of consumers. Noodles with a picture of a giraffe in a bow tie on the front? Yeah; this sounds neat. Let’s check out this revisited classic from Japan!
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:
This was sent to me by Ippin, a purveyor of wonderful Japanese items! Thank you again! They informed me that this one has been discontinued, but I’m reviewing it anyways. I really like curry, spicy things and chicken. What’s more, it’s snowing today! Let’s give this Cup Noodle with a famous tennis player on the front!
Hooray a new box of MyKuali samples! I’ve been a big fan of their products ever since they released their Penang White Curry way back in 2013 I believe. Since then, they appeared on my top Ten Spiciest list and then my Top Ten annual. They’re known nowadays worldwide as something unique and different. Let’s see what’s in this package!
It’s kind of interesting. Indeed, I review two products a day but generally only post one. This ensures two things. First, I get to everything before it expires. Second, I have a buffer in case I don’t have time to do a review. Meanwhile, the buffer has grown and is quickly reaching 80 reviews! I did this review on November 13th, 2016 and today is Inauguration Day, January 20th, 2017. It’s kind of funny; I did this review about as many days before my daughter Miriam was born as days since she was born (December 17th). Another interesting thing is while unplanned, this review follows Momofuku Ando Day yesterday where I did a video about Nissin Yakisoba. Weird. Finally Happy Birthday to my sister Sue!
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:
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:
This is another one sent by Colin from the east coast – thanks again! So pork bone broth is hugely popular in Japan and this sounds like a soy and pork variety to me. Let’s check out this premium variety!
Here’s another one from Colin from the east coast – thanks again! So to start with, a little about the originin of these noodles. You se here they’re referred to tantanmen, however they’re also dandanmein – Wikipedia, if you please:
Thhis was sent to me by Ippin, a purveyor of wonderful Japanese items! Thank you again! I heard about this variety a few months back and was immediately interested. I’ve never had turtle soup although I’ve heard it’s a very fancy dish. This new Cup Noodle Rich line is supposed to be very fancy and quite nice – excited to try it! This one isn’t available as it has been discontinued by the manufacturer and I don’t think anyone is selling it anymore (Ippin mentioned that they weren’t selling it either). There was some concern by animal rights activists over it being turtle flavor. Kind of confused by this since turtle seems to be available most places. But that’s a conversation for a different day – today is about flavor – let’s give it a try!
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:
