Category: * Meet The Manufacturer

Meet The Manufacturer: #2444: KOKA Silk Spicy Marinara Instant Rice Fettuccine

Meet The Manufacturer: #2444: KOKA Silk Spicy Marinara Instant Rice Fettuccine - Singapore - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles - tat hui

Today it’s a rice noodle variety with an Italian twist: spicy marinara. So, what is marinara? Wikipedia, if you please – ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2443: KOKA Signature Chicken Flavor Instant Noodles

Meet The Manufacturer: #2443: KOKA Signature Chicken Flavor Instant Noodles - Singapore - The Ramen Rater

I looked upon all the samples sent by Tat Hui for this Meet The Manufacturer. Indeed, it occurred to me to go right for the curry, the laksa… But I thought to begin with, I would go right for the standard. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Product Samples From Tat Hui 2

Meet The Manufacturer: Product Samples From Tat Hui 2

Another package from Tat Hui? What could this be? Let’s find out!

Product Samples From Tat Hui 2 – Singapore

Meet The Manufacturer: Product Samples From Tat Hui 2

Hey a poster (click to enlarge)! Gotta go get this laminated for the Wall Of Fame! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Product Samples From Tat Hui 1

Meet The Manufacturer: KOKA Product Samples - Singapore - The Ramen Rater - Instant Noodles - tat hui

This big box was sent by the folks at Tat Hui, makers of KOKAS brand instant noodles in Singapore. A few years ago, I saw an article in a news feed about KOKA products at a trade show in the United States and it hit me: maybe I should contact the guy they mentioned. I also thought maybe I could interview him and ask some questions about instant noodles. This is how the whole Meet The Manufacturer concept was born. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Interview With Tat Hui Foods Pte. Ltd.

Meet The Manufacturer: #2411: Mama Pat’s Chicken Fajita Flavor Instant Ramen Noodles

Meet The Manufacturer: #2411: Mama Pat's Chicken Fajita Flavor Instant Ramen Noodles - UUnited States - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

Today, we bid a fond farewell to Mama Pat’s Foods as the Meet The Manufacturer will be ending. Chef Ron informed me though that there will be cups and new flavors coming, so we’ll just say until next time. So chicken fajitas – here’ Wikipedia on the fajita: ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2410: Mama Pat’s Lamb Stew Flavor Instant Ramen Noodles

Meet The Manufacturer: #2410: Mama Pat's Lamb Stew Flavor Instant Ramen Noodles - United States - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

Today, it’s lamb stew! So I really never have had lamb stew, nor really cooked lamb very often. I thought though I ought to at least make an attempt, and so today I’m going to sous vide up some lamb to go along with the noodles. But as for stew, let’s see what wikipedia has to say: ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2409: Mama Pat’s Seafood Gumbo Flavor Instant Ramen Noodles

Meet The Manufacturer: #2409: Mama Pat's Seafood Gumbo Flavor Instant Ramen Noodles - United States - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

One of the first things I learned about Mama Pat’s foods was when I saw a video of Chef Ron making gumbo at a store demo. He used big bags of shrimp, tons of crab and other really great ingredients. He didn’t hold back and definitely went for the gusto. I’m a fan of seafood but haven’t had a lot of seafood from the USA as of late since it’s usually found slathered in white sauces or copious amounts of butter. I definitely got spoiled in Malaysia and Thailand trying all that seafood from there – amazing stuff! Gumbo however is something different. It’s full of seafood and has a nice strong taste  – something I really like. I have high hopes for this one; it sounds good, but will it be? Let’s give this seafood gumbo a look! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Mama Pat’s Foods Product Samples

Meet The Manufacturer: Mama Pat's Foods Product Samples - United States - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

A box arrived today via FedEx. Indeed, it’s always nice to get a package in the mail and always exciting to see what’s inside. I’ve gotten many donations from readers and companies in the past, but this one arrived in an interesting way. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Interview With Mama Pat’s Foods

Meet The Manufacturer: #2344: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor A Pollo

Meet The Manufacturer: #2344: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor A Pollo - Mexico - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

Well folks, today is the last day of Meet The Manufacturer. It’s been a definite departure from the flavors I’m used to and it’s been a different way of thinking about noodles. I usually include mung bean sprouts in everything, but that really wasn’t an option. Indeed don’t know if my application of queso fresca was correct, but I had to try. However I tried to find other varieties of Mexican cheeses, however couldn’t find any melty ones – just crumbly. It was fun and something different for me, and I want to thank the folks at Nissin Mexico for the opportunity to try all of these! Let’s check out the chicken Cup Noodles to wrap things up. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2343: Nissin Maxi Sopa Nissin Cuchareable Sabor A Jugo De Carne

Meet The Manufacturer: #2343: Nissin Maxi Sopa Nissin Cuchareable Sabor A Jugo De Carne - Mexico - The Ramen Rater

Ready? Set? Beef! Here again are the spoonable noodles, this time with a beefy flavor. Let’s give this cup a try! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2342: Nissin Sopa Nissin Sabor A Camaron Sopa Instantanea Tipo Ramen

Meet The Manufacturer: #2342: Nissin Sopa Nissin Sabor A Camaron Sopa Instantanea Tipo Ramen

Here’s the third of the pillow pack varieties of Nissin Mexico’s Sopa Nissin line. Pink! Shrimp! Let’s give it a try! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2341: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor A Carne De Res

Meet The Manufacturer: #2341: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor A Carne De Res - Mexico - The Ramen Rater - fideos instantanea

Time for some beef! I’ve noticed that kind of like in the US, there are only a scant few pack noodle varieties and most varieties are in cups. Cups are great since they’re portable, have their own container to eat out of, and are easily disposed of. Let’s check out this beef variety. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2340: Nissin RapiFideo Sabor A Tomate Y Pollo

Meet The Manufacturer: #2340: Nissin RapiFideo Sabor A Tomate Y Pollo - Mexico - The Ramen Rater

This is the second of the two RapiFideo varieties. Translating to Quick Noodles, RapiFideo has short, thin noodles and broth and can be prepared in the microwave. Let’s take a look! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2339: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor Camaron, Habanero Y Limon

Meet The Manufacturer: #2339: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor Camaron, Habanero Y Limon - Mexico - The Ramen Rater

Here’s the second of the Nissin Mexico fiery hot Habanero line. Habanero peppers are definitely not to be messed with; I’ve made hot sauce a few times using them. The worst was when I hadn’t used rubber gloves and later in the day rubbed my eyes – burned really good even after multiple hand washings! Yeah – no fun. But, they deliver a great heat – let’s give this shrimp variety a try! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2338: Nissin Sopa Nissin Sabor A Pollo Sopa Instantanea Tipo Ramen

Meet The Manufacturer: #2338: Nissin Sopa Nissin Sabor A Pollo Sopa Instantanea Tipo Ramen - Mexico - The Ramen Rater - chicken noodle

Okay folks, what we have here is the baseline. Every company has a chicken flavored instant noodle, and this is Nissin Mexico’s. I should actually say not every company has a chicken flavor – but most do. Chicken is pretty open to interpretation and I don’t think (other than vegetarians and vegans) there are any cultural groups that don’t eat chicken. I could be wrong and if I am let me know. Let’s have something chicken flavored and dress it up Mexican style! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2337: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Con Camaron

Meet The Manufacturer: #2337: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Con Camaron - Mexico - The Ramen Rater - fideos instantanea

I just realized – I meant to review the chicken Cup Noodles – no matter though! Nissin Mexico was kind enough to send 5 of each variety I’m reviewing, and so I can use one to get all the pictures and one to review. Keeps things tidy! Well, the one I grabbed as the second one is chicken. So… Going to have to switch that as it definitely won’t taste like shrimp haha! Let’s get started. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2336: Nissin Maxi Sopa Nissin Cuchareable Sabor A Camaron Picante

Meet The Manufacturer: #2336: Nissin Maxi Sopa Nissin Cuchareable Sabor A Camaron Picante - Mexico - The Ramen Rater - fideos instantanea

Felix Navidad! It’s actually Christmas morning today – I got up at 5am to get some reviews ready to go – don’t know if I’ll do any sampling today but it could happen! I’m about 60 reviews ahead of myself currently – pretty nuts, but helpful when I can’t review, there’s always one ready to go. Anyways, today it’s another one of the Maxi Sopa Nissin variants. Camaron picante is spicy shrimp. Let’s have a look! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2335: Nissin Cup Noodles Gourmet Sabor A Caldo De Camaron

Meet The Manufacturer: #2335: Nissin Cup Noodles Gourmet Sabor A Caldo De Camaron - Mexico - The Ramen Rater - fideos instantanea

Hey now this looks interesting! Reminds me of the look of Hong Kong Cup Noodles or ones from Japan. So this is a new line from Nissin Mexico – Gourmet – hopefully the first of many to try. But what is gourmet? Dictionary.com had this to say – ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2334: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor Mariscos, Habanero Y Limon

Meet The Manufacturer: #2334: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor Mariscos, Habanero Y Limon - Mexico - The Ramen Rater - fideos instantanea

Check this one out – HABANERO! This is another one that comes with a sachet of hot sauce! Awesome! Mariscos means seafood – something I’ve always dreamed of doing is visiting the coastal areas of Mexico and trying the seafood dishes there! Let’s give this one a try! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2333: Nissin Maxi Sopa Nissin Cuchareable Sabor A Pollo

Meet The Manufacturer: #2333: Nissin Maxi Sopa Nissin Cuchareable Sabor A Pollo - Mexico - fideos instantanea

Here we have a big cup of noodles! I did a little translation on this one for you – ‘maxi’ means ‘big,’ ‘sopa’ means ‘soup,’ ‘cuchareable’ means ‘spoonable,’ and pollo means chicken.  Basically, this is a chicken noodle soup one can enjoy with a spoon instead of a fork. Got it? Let’s check it out! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Nissin RapiFideo Sabor A Chile Y Limon

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Nissin RapiFideo Sabor A Chile Y Limon - Mexico - The Ramen Rater - fideos instantanea

The name of this one – RapiFideo – is a combination of two words. ‘Rapido,’ meaning ‘Quick’ and ‘Fideo’ which means ‘Noodle.’ I reviewed these a while back – let’s revisit them for this Meet The Manufacturer! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2332: Nissin Sopa Nissin Sabor A Res Sopa Instantanea Tipo Ramen

Meet The Manufacturer: #2332: Nissin Sopa Nissin Sabor A Res Sopa Instantanea Tipo Ramen - Mexico - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

I had always thought carne meant beef but I was wrong. Turned out carne means meat and res means beef – always learning something new about the world through the instant noodle and doing translations! Let’s check out this beef flavored instant noodle from Mexico! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2331: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Hot Sauce Sabor A Pollo

Meet The Manufacturer: #2331: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Hot Sauce Sabor A Pollo - Mexico - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

To start things off, I thought it would be interesting to try one of these Cup Noodles that come with hot sauce. Definitely not uncommon around the world to find a Cup Noodle variety with a sauce sachet, however it seems to be a little less common in the Americas. Let’s give it a try! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Product Samples From Nissin Mexico (2 of 2)

This box is even larger than the first one! Let’s see what’s inside!

A shopping bag (click to enlarge). ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Product Samples From Nissin Mexico (1 of 2)

A big box! Let’s see what’s inside!

What is this I wonder…

A duffel bag (click to enlarge)! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Interview With Nissin Mexico

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Mom’s Dry Noodle Vegan Chilli With Sesame Sauce

Mom’s Dry Noodle Vegan Chilli With Sesame Sauce - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater

A lot of people these days are giving up meat and switching to the Vegan lifestyle. So, what’s the difference between Vegetarian and Vegan? It seems like there are many different ‘flavors’ of Vegetarianism. For example, I have a friend who claims to be vegetarian, however he eats bacon, eggs and Jack In The Box fast food tacos. Here’s what wikipedia has to say about Veganism: ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2313: Xiao Ban Mian Sesame Oil With Garlic Flavor Thin Noodle

Xiao Ban Mian Sesame Oil With Garlic Flavor Thin Noodle - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater - Instant noodles

This looks very interesting. Check out how thin these noodles are! Sesame and garlic are great flavors to marry together as well. So we’ve seen sesame sauce – the tan colored peanutty kind of stuff and today it’s sesame oil – a much lighter fare. Let’s have a look! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Mom’s Dry Noodle Sour & Spicy Flavor

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Mom's Dry Noodle Sour & Spicy Flavor - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater

Here’s one I really like. It has what I like to call a ‘back and forth effect flavor.’ It’s like you get one flavor lingering then your palate gets the hint of another flavor, then back to the first. It’s really unique in this way – reminds me of one of my favorite hot sauces – not in the taste, mind you, but this kind of back and forth. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2312: Xiao Ban Mian Traditional Shallot & Onion Oil Noodle

Xiao Ban Mian Traditional Shallot & Onion Oil Noodle - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater

During my trip to Taiwan in November of 2016, I had the opportunity to try the three varieties of the new Xiao Ban Mian line. I remember this one in particular; it was really quite good and I only got a bite or two of it – my sister actually scarfed this one down quickly! Now, back in the controlled environment of my noodle lab (sounds more amazing than it is, really), I’m really excited to give this a try. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Mom’s Dry Noodle Sichuan Spicy Flavor

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Mom's Dry Noodles Sichuan Spicy Flavor - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater - Instant NoodlesSo I remember the first time I tried this one a couple years ago. Indeed, it is spicy! Sichuan pepper is a little different kind of spicy in contrast to a jalapeno or wasabi – here’s a little info about the Sichuan pepper from wikipedia: ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2311: Xiao Ban Mian Sesame Sauce Matcha Noodle

Meet The Manufacturer: #2311: Xiao Ban Mian Sesame Sauce Matcha Noodle - The Ramen Rater - Taiwan - instant noodles

Xian Bian Mian is a new line from Howsler Foods. They all use straight noodles and are a bit different from the Mom’s Dry Noodle line. These tall narrow packs have three servings in each. So matcha has become really popular – but what is it? Let’s ask wikipedia: ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Mom’s Dry Noodle Onion Oil & Shrimp Flavor

Mom’s Dry Noodle Onion Oil & Shrimp Flavor - Taiwan - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater

Here’s one I’ve liked for a while . In fact, it’s on the Taiwanese op Ten list! I really like shrimp as well as onion! I thought since I’ve had the opportunity to try a nice amount of Taiwanese food now, I’d share this info about their food from wikipedia: ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Mom’s Dry Noodle Pepper & Sesame Sauce

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Mom's Dry Noodle Pepper & Sesame Sauce - The Ramen Rater - Taiwan

So today we kick off Meet The Manufacturer with a unique variety – pepper and sesame sauce. First, this is black pepper, not hot chill. Second, sesame sauce is completely different from sesame oil. Sesame sauce has a more peanut butter kind of texture and flavor whereas sesame oil has that strong sesame scent and saltiness. Let’s dig into this one and get things started! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Product Samples From Howsler Foods (2 of 2)

Since Meet The Manufacturer can be up to 15 reviews, I told Kyle over at Howsler foods that I’d be able to re-review varieties he’d sent before. He was pretty happy about this and so here’s a box of them. So, let’s pop it open! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Product Samples From Howsler Foods (1 of 2)

Meet The Manufacturer: Product Samples From Howsler Foods (1 of 2) - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

Here’s the first box from Howsler Foods. So let’s crack it open!

Product Samples From Howsler Foods (1 of 2) – Taiwan

Meet The Manufacturer: Product Samples From Howsler Foods (1 of 2) - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

Well packed, indeed! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Interview With Howsler Foods

Meet The Manufacturer: #2201: Mr. Lee’s Noodles Penang Chicken Curry Laksa

Penang. It’s a place I really miss, specifically because friends and flavors live there. some of the most amazing things that I’ve ever tasted are from Malaysia and specifically Penang. I decided to save this for last as I wanted to see how everything else was before I tried something that promises to be good. Today we say hello to this exotic variety and goodbye to the Meet The Manufacturer for Mr. Lee’s Noodles. Here we go! ...see full post