
A package from A-Sha… Hmmm what’s inside?

Ooh what is this? The folks at A-Sha told me this variety is called Hell Spicy Mala and is popular in Taiwan as it is extremely spicy. Sounds like fun!
Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002

A package from A-Sha… Hmmm what’s inside?

Ooh what is this? The folks at A-Sha told me this variety is called Hell Spicy Mala and is popular in Taiwan as it is extremely spicy. Sounds like fun!

Got a box today from a reader! What’s inside?

Sweet – I’ve been very curious about this one! Thanks to Robert F. from Hoboken, NJ for sending this along!

I was invited by Brian over at Ramen Adventures to take part in a Google Hangout to discuss the upcoming Grand Tsukemen Fest in Japan. I’ve never had tsukemen before, but I sure a lot of you have. Tsukemen is different from traditional ramen in that you have a bowl with broth and toppings and then a bowl of (usually) cold noodles. It sounds really good to me! Here is a video of the chat which includes an appearance by the reigning Grand Tsukemen champ!

I did an interview with a news agency in Japan recently called Record China –
They sent a box of amazing goodies from Japan I’ve been hoping to finbd for a while!
Since today is National Cheeseburger Day (yeah – it’s a real thing), I thought I’d report my ramyun burger recipe. Thought people might like to see it again.

Here we go with the 31st edition of The Ramen Rater Noodle News! I scour the Internet for articles about ramen and instant noodles and bring them to you! Here are some recent stories you might find interesting!
Hey everyone! Thanks to those who have voted so far! The contest is the KING5/Evening Magazine BEST In Western Washington – an annual list of the best of the best of Western Washington state here in the USA. I would be extremely thankful if everyone would vote for me – this would really help the site out a lot! Click on the above image or here to vote. I was on Evening Magazine (a local TV show) earlier this year – Jim Dever and a cameraman came into our little apartment and set up a miniature film studio here in Edmonds, WA (the clip is below).

Recently, I came up with the ramyun slider. I thought since I’ve got some Shin Black on hand, why not a full-fledged ramyun burger? This recipe came out great and really wasn’t that hard to do.

When we got home from the hospital yesterday, I called the apartment office to see if there were any packages – they said there was one. A mailer from Nongshim America – what’s inside?
With the recent popularity of the ‘ramen burger,’ I felt it necessary to try them out, but with a twist. South Korean ramyun is easily available by many brand and the noodles are thicker as well as more plentiful than other country’s varieties. Let’s give this a try!

The instant noodle originated in 1958 in Japan, but since that time, they’ve expanded in popularity all over the world, including of course, the United States. Seeing this, instant noodle companies thought it wise to start building plants here in the 1970s. Since then, many brands operate factories here in the US, mostly in southern California. This is a list of my favorite varieties produced here, encompassing my over 1,100 reviews to date. With that, here’s your top ten, America!

Happy August! The Ramen Rater has entered the advertising game! This chart (click image to enlarge) shows have many impressions (page views) have accumulated per month since October of 2010. The Ramen Rater keeps getting more popular. We feel that it is the best place for grocers that sell instant noodles as well as manufacturers of instant noodles to advertise – people who come to The Ramen Rater are looking for information on instant noodles or where they can find them. Why not tap into that? With more people browsingh the site come new expenses like hosting. Advertising with The Ramen Rater not only helps get the word out and bring people to your company website but also helps support The Ramen Rater continue to bring you daily reviews.

This year, we’ve got some new fiery additions to this list of spicy and burning hot varieties. If you can find them, you’ll be feeling quite the burn! If you think you’ve found anything hotter or noteworthy of being on this list, please comment below or send me an email. Without further adieu, here’s the 2013 picks for the spiciest instant noodles I’ve found after 1,128 reviews!

7/31/2013 – UPDATE – I’ve been getting quite a few comments about wax in noodles again, so I thought it would be a good idea to repost this. Recently, an article outlining reasons not to eat instant noodles came out which perpetuates these rumors and false claims.
I noticed lots of visitors to the website tonight from Indonesia – it looks like they’re happy that thje Indomie cup was the #1 on the Top Ten Instant Noodle Cups Of All Time 2013 Edition! Well, I’ve been asked if I’ve reviewed more Indomie varieties, and so here is a link to an interview I did with Indomie CBP and lots of links to local varieties – enjoy!

Here we go with the 30th edition of The Ramen Rater Noodle News! I scour the Internet for articles about ramen and instant noodles and bring them to you! Here are some recent stories you might find interesting!

Cups were the second instant noodle innovation that really took the world by storm. Nissin founder Momofuku Ando of Japan decided that a cup would be a really handy way to have instant noodles on the go. His creation came to the market in 1971. Forty-two years later, the instant noodle landscape is filled with many different cup designs and contents – some all inclusive only needing hot water,m and some requiring a little more with packets – and some even with forks! Of all the varieties I’ve tried to date, here are my favorite ten.
A couple days ago, I was interviewed via Skype on NTD TV about the recent uproar over The Bottom Ten List as well as what I do. It was a lot of fun and I would like to thank NTD TV for this great opportunity! Thank you! Here’s a direct link to their site.

So after sampling so many varieties of instant noodles over the years, of course there have been some that I didn’t like. There also were some that are so memorable for how awful they were. After people asked what my least favorites were a few times, I thought I should just make a list of them. I should point out that these are on the list because I couldn’t stand them. I’m pretty sure they are all still in production, and the only reason they would be is that people somewhere find them enjoyable. So who knows – you might have a completely different opinion on these than me, but I found them to be absolutely the worst of the worst. With that, here’s The Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time, 2013 Edition.

After more than a year of pondering and reviewing since the last list, here’s the new top ten instant noodle bowls. This encompasses all instant noodle bowls reviewed up to today, June 15th, 2013. With no further adieu, the top ten instant noodle bowls of all time, 2013 edition.

Here we go with the 29th edition of The Ramen Rater Noodle News! I scour the Internet for articles about ramen and instant noodles and bring them to you! Here are some recent stories you might find interesting!

I recently got a nice box of noodles in the mail from a gentleman named Martin from Wales. He has rasked me with trying Marmite, something he has said he hasn’t heard of anyone not native to the UK being able to palate. I’m going to have to try it!

Here we go with the 28th edition of The Ramen Rater Noodle News! I scour the Internet for articles about ramen and instant noodles and bring them to you! Here are some recent stories you might find interesting!

In the last week, I’ve had a lot of traffic from upset Taiwanese that none of their country’s beloved instant noodles made the list. I saw videos like this one and then this angry one. I felt a video message would be appropriate, and here it is.
I’m hoping to win! Please vote for my pic – here’s the link – http://bit.ly/ZFilQH – thanks!

So these last two days have been crazy – so many people from Taiwan just coming in droves to the site and declaring their passion for the instant noodles of their country! You should be proud of yourselves; I’m never going to look at Taiwanese noodles the same again, that’s for sure! I’m sure I’ll be reviewing more very soon so keep your eyes on The Ramen Rater!

In the last 24 hours, thousands of people of Taiwan have been coming to The Ramen Rater. I see your displeasure that Taiwan didn’t make the 2013 Edition of the Top Ten Instant Noodles list. I see the pride you have in your instant noodle brands and varieties as well! Any country that has folks like you who feel so strongly deserves attention! That being said, I would be very interested to hear from any and all Taiwanese instant noodle companies that might be willing to send samples of the non-export products that you produce. I do a special ‘Meet The Manufacturer’ spotlight which includes doing an interview with the company and then a series of up to 15 reviews of your products. This gives people a good look at what you make. All I’ve ever tried are the Taiwanese variants available in the United States, but I’m sure there are many I do not have access to here that are quite good as well. I also invite instant noodle companies to this from all countries – represented and not represented on the list. I’ve seen a lot of stories in the Taiwanese news – if anyone from any of these agencies would like to arrange an interview via Skype, please let me know. Please contact me – thank you, and thank you all for visiting The Ramen Rater.
If you watch this from beginning to end, not only proven yourself a true fan of the instant noodle, but also seen pretty much every single instant noodle review and re-review I’ve ever done. Clocking in at an hour and forty-nine minutes, this is pretty heavy duty. Enjoy!
Ealier this year, I got a call from Japan, asking if I would like to be interviewed for a TV show. I answered in the affirmative! They were interested in my Top Ten list, but something shorter. I picked three varietiesand did the interview via Skype. The guy interviewing me is Charles V. Lee. He told me he’s the most popular comedian in Japan. He’s originally from Oregon! So how the show works is a random topic is picked and a question is asked. Then they find someone who knows the answer and they interview them. The term ‘patena’ means random. With that, here’s the video!
Please vote for my photo – here’s the link: http://bit.ly/10NsnP3 – Thank you very much!

I’ve heard of recipes people make where they combine two different types of instant noodles to make something new. Well, here’s one from South Korea that is very popular right now! Chapaguri! 짜파구리 !

Here we go with the 27th edition of The Ramen Rater Noodle News! I scour the Internet for articles about ramen and instant noodles and bring them to you! Here are some recent stories you might find interesting!

Hey everyone! Nongshim America’s got a contest! Please vote for my picture of me & Daisy here. Thank you!

Recently, I was given the great opportunity to visit the Wheat Marketing Center in Portland, Oregon. People who work with noodles and other wheat products from all over the world come here to take part in the Asian Noodle Technology and Ingredient Application Short Course. The course is taught by Dr. Gary Hou, an expert in the production of wheat noodles like ramen and yakisoba. I found out about the course via a news feed I follow and decided to email Dr. Hou and see if I could cover the instant noodle workshop for The Ramen Rater. I was very pleased when he answered in the affirmative, and so on March 27th, we got up early, hopped in the car and drove to Portland! In the following pictures and video, I’ll describe how instant noodles start as raw ingredients and become the blocks of noodles we all know so well. I’ll go through everything from photos first, and then there’s a video at the bottom of the process. Enjoy!
I read an article about the dangers of instant noodle cups a long time ago which prompted me to write an article last year. Well, I recently saw another one so I thought it was time for a rebuttal. I emailed ConsumerAffairs.com and they were interested, and so without further adieu, here is my article! Thanks to Jim H.! If the link isn’t working, click on the image below for a large image of the article.

Approaching the Canadian border!

A weirdly shaped building; probably full of video cameras pointed at people crossing the border.

My wife was under the weather last month and I thought I’d make her something special. She liked some Saimin I made recently and she really likes udon. Another of her favorites is cheese. Well, I decided to bring all of that together and make cheesy udon with SPAM in it. Here for you is the method to the madness.