Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
I’ve seen a lot of these Yopokki variants lately and this one definitely piqued my interest and my wife loves tteokbokki and cheese – and then there’s ramen in there too! It’s a win, win, win! Found this at Asian Family Market on Aurora and 130th in North Seattle – rad store – go check it out! Let’s crack this big pack open and see what dwells within!
Yesterday we found ourselves in Bellevue and about to go home, Kit asked me if there was anywhere we should go over there before we left. I looked to see if there were any Asian grocery stores I’d not been to and found a few, but one had a name that stood out. S-Mart. Yeah – if you’re familiar with the film ‘Army Of Darkness,’ you know why this piqued my curiosity. It seemed that Korean grocery stores usually have a letter followed by the word Mart. It was only a matter of time; we have an HMart nearby, and a GMart (formerly KS Mart), and there’s more of them. Well, we decided to shop smart and shop S-Mart. That’s where I found this one – something I’ve never seen before. It always floors me – I’ve been to tons of Asian grocery stores in this area and then whammo – one that has a variety I’ve never seen around here. In fact, I found a few of them. Let’s give it a try!
Last time this came across the desk was June of 2011. This one came from an Exotic Noods subscription box. You can get one or a subscription to them and they’ve got all sorts of neat varieties in them. Use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount! Let’s delve into this one!
Here’s one that came via Exotic Noods – check ’em out and use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount!
Had this just over 7 years ago – it can take another shot. Well, this is one I’ve enjoyed very much in the past – a Top Ten list variety. I think revisiting this with a heap of cheese is the right thing to do.
I left it up to the wise folks in the Ramen Junkie group on facebook (you should really join if you haven’t) and of two choices they picked this for me to make into bread. It didn’t go as planned, but it was addictive and tasty and so here it is in all of it’s glorious ingloriousness.
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!
Yeah, after the last attempt at making bread out of South Korean instant noodles, I needed to explore further. Today, I’m going to infuse a loaf with a block of instant noodles, a can of corn, and chicken, and a wallop of sesame seeds! One thing to note – in the video I mention the dates this one will release on YouTube – I made a mistake. It’ll release on September 20th, and it will also release on December 24th – I thought it would on September 23rd. So, that was a mistake. Let’s take a trip down Corn Lane!
I left it to the folks over at the Ramen Junkie Facebook group to pick which #ramenbread would be next for me. I really wanted to do something that incorporated a South Korean variety – last time I tried that though, it was a big fail as I tried to make flour with the noodles. I’ve learned that is definitely NOT the way to go, but using cooked noodles and bread flour in a good mix makes for a nice moist cake and crisp crust. Well, here it is! Best loaf yet and infused with chashu, cheese, and egg. Let’s see what happens when I try to put a ton of stuff in a little loaf of bread with a big block of ramen in it!
Here’s one that was inside a subscription box from Exotic Noods! Exotic Noods (www.exoticnoods.com) has monthly subscription boxes with varieties from around the world! Really nice assortments! Check em out and use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount!
This one arrived in an Exotic Noods subscription box – check ’em out and use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount!
This one gets the USA tag since it’s an export version for the United States. It’s from South Korea though – spicy beef! Sounds great for a Friday – let’s check it out!
Did an interview for a Korean magazine and they wanted me to include a shot of various Korean instant noodles on my desk and this was one my wife picked up for me the other day. Let’s check it out!
I did an interview a month or so ago after being contacted by a journalist in South Korea. I like to do interviews – they’re fun and I always like to see what kind of questions people will ask me. Anyways, when I do one that ends up in print, I always make the stipulation that I would like to get a copy. Well, she sent five of them! Thank you very much – check it out!
Oh boy, oh boy… I did a big sort of all the noodles I had in my hampers and one thing I found was a huge amount were expired – not just a little, but like expires in 2018 (it’s 2020). Now that my noodle hoard has dwindles (I think I tossed a good 50 packs/cups/bowls), I saw someone else touting this one as a new add to their stash. Well lo and behold, this one made the cut – it expires next week, so I’d better get on it. Not only that, this sounds like a mukbang if I’ve ever heard of one. Let’s do it.
This one came once again by way of Daniel over at Exotic Noods – use coupon code RAMENRATER15 for a discount – thanks!
Here’s one that came via Exotic Noods – check ’em out and use coupon code RAMENRATER15 for a discount!
Last year, I was way behind schedule on everything. This year however, it’s going to be the opposite. Last week, I kind of decided to go nuts on Top Ten Lists. I did more than one. I did up SEVEN OF THEM! So that should make 2021 a little better for everyone. I’m calling to all South Korean noodle companies – send me your stuff! I have been hoping to review more stuff from South Korea but it seems to be harder to come by – at least newer varieties as of late. Drop me a line! This list is current as of review #3,702. let’s check out The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten South Korean Instant Noodles Of All Time 2021 Edition.
Here’s a pho bowl that came by way of the folks at Exotic Noods – use coupon code RAMENRATER15 for a discount over there! South Korean pho – I’ve come across this before and it was good. Let’s give it a go!
Well, I thought I had one more of the other brand to do a mukbang of but it turns out I don’t. Hmm.. Well, I do have this one – thanks to The Fat Hipster (check him out n YouTube) – thanks, man!
A little while back, Samyang Foods produced a variety called Buldak Mini. It was a smaller noodle block, however it clocked in at 12,000 SHU. Since people like to go big or go home, they came out with this – Challenge Buldak. This time it’s a full size noodle block, and it is served cold. Again, this one comes in at 12,000 SHU. They even have a hashtag mentioning this challenge attribute. I decided to give it a go and in the video below, you’ll see I conquered in in just over 3 minutes. Let’s give this one a look!
I’ve been enjoying spicy instant noodles for years now and these are some pretty lethally spicy ones. Personally, I go for savory over ultra spicy, but I certainly like a challenge and these bring that for sure. Got one you think is hotter but don’t see it here? Drop me a line. Also, check out Instant Noodles – The Ramen Rater group on Facebook – lots of great people in there talking about ramen from all over the world. Well, let’s check out the new The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2021 Edition!
Here’s a variety that’s perfect for the summer month – this one’s served cold. Here’s a little something from Wikiward on this one –
Here’s another one from the folks at Exotic Noods. They ship great subscription boxes full of noodles every month – use coupon code RAMENRATER15 for a discount!
I really like tteokbokki – fat finger tubes of chewy rice flour. Well, rabokki is what you get when you take the sauce for tteokbokki and mix it with noodles. Let’s check it out!
Well, here’s the first of a whole slew of new Buldak varieties. If you’ve never seen or heard about this range (you’ve probably been under a rock), just know these are probably the most popular spicy range of products around when it comes to noodles. They came out with a Christmas themes variety – meat spaghetti. I’m wondering if this one will be similar? Let’s find out.
Well, well, well. Here we are yet again. Just not hot enough for you, eh? Well, maybe this will do it for you. I mean look – Hochi (the Buldak mascot) is right there, tears streaming, breathing fire… 3x Spicy – so what it 1x spicy? Well, 4,400 SHU (scoville heat units). 3x would be 13,200 SHU – I guess we’ll have to see if that’s spicy. I know it will be. Time to burn!
A big thanks for this surprise from The Fat Hipster – look him up on YouTube! This one’s saying it’s the hottest in the world. I would wager it’s really trying to challenge as the hottest in South Korea. Let’s find out!
Okay, this one comes from the folks at www.ExoticNoods.com, purveyors of neat subscription boxes – check ’em out and use coupon code RAMENRATER15 for a discount!
This yeah has just been rough – for everyone I know. After the hardest part of it for me – the passing of my mother – I took a week off from walking after doing 1,000,000 steps on my Fitbit in June and dove in to working on top ten lists. I did four of them, all current as of review 3545. This list hasn’t been updated since 2017. I’ll be rolling out lists here and there for the next couple of months and maybe do this again a little ways down the road. Here’s The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Rice Noodles Of All Time 2020 Edition.
Here’s something I’d not seen before – I know, that’s kind of a redundant statement; I try to review something new every day, so… But this is very different. Often, cold noodle varieties from South Korea pop up, but not usually ones that come with a cold broth – they’re usually broth-free. I think that may have been the longest sentence I’ve ever typed on this blog, so apologies for that.
Bowls, cups, , trays, packs, and boxes. Well, I haven’t done a list of boxed or tray-style instant noodles – maybe that will come soon. But I think that separating these is important. The experience that a cup is meant for is different than a cup or bowl. Cups are more for a snack on the go, packs for when you’ve got a stove, and bowls are, well, for lunch. Although in the finished shots of these you’ll see them plated here, generally people will be looking at the bowl they came in, possibly using the plastic fork they came with, and tossing everything once they’re done. These are my favorites, current as of review #3545. Let’s have a look at The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2020 Edition.
You ready? Watch below to see something that’s going to blow your head off!
Okay. This one’s interesting. This product is produced by Paldo Vina, a Vietnamese branch of Paldo Food of South Korea. It is for sale in Taiwan (formerly called Formosa). It was sent to me by Daniel – one of the guys from www.exoticnoods.com who visited Taiwan recently and brought it back for me – thanks again! Let’s check it out!
This one is the first I’m reviewing from a ship that Nongshim America was kind enough to send – thank you! I should mention that James from Lakeside California sent one of these – thanks everyone! So from the little word-cloud above the name Soo, I’m guessing perhaps that the word Soo means excellent? I looked it up and it can (as a family name) mean water or shore/riverbank. I’m going to guess water will be the logical one here since these are air-dried noodles and not fried. That has a nice little logic to it, at least in my head. Let’s give them a try.
Looks like this is a local version (I do’t know that there is export ones) of Paldo’s Jjol Bibim Men. After a little researxh, it looks lik the difference between this as their Bibim Men are the noodles are chewier in this one. Let’s give it a try!
First off, let me say that I did a mukbang with this one an it’s at the bottom. Definitely the spiciest one I’ve done in quite some time.
What do we have here? The second of two big bowls from Paldo! I’m in the mood for sampling spicy today- it’s cold outside. It’s snowing. Weatherman says we’re looking at 5 more inches of snow and gusty winds. It’s cold in here. Time to cook!
Sriracha is a place I’ve been to in Thailand. It was very hot and the sky was a deep azure blue. Telephone poles were packed with wires – you’d have to see it. Looking out my window right now it’s cold, windy, and the forecast is calling for a week of snow here, just north of Seattle. I miss Thailand.
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Despite all the tumultuous and unnerving events of our current age,, I am happy to announce that I’ve got a new list for our year, 2020. In the past fe hundred reviews I’ve done this past year there have been some real standouts and of course many have remained. These are my absolute favorites of reviews 1 through 3487. It’s hard – I feel like I should be doing a top 20, or even a top 50 at this point, but the sheer amount of time that would take with being a stay at home father of two while trying to get in a few hours of exercise every day just isn’t in the cards. I’m hoping in the coming months to come out with the regular top tens and maybe some new ones, but it’s a tough juggle these days.
