Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Here’s one that was sent by Myojo of Singapore – thanks again! So, what’s char mee? I did a bit of research on Wikipedia about char mee. It was a little vague but I am hoping what I gleaned was right. So, this is like Hokkien mee without broth. Let’s see what this is all about.
This one was sent by Robert Z. over at www.dadbert.com – he’s a good friend of mine who has just entered the blogging world with his really technical and awesome cooking recipes – be sure to check out his site! Anyways, he found this one in Kentucky, and I suspect this is a test market for these. They’re not mentioned anywhere to speak of, and so I wanted to give these a try as soon as possible. This new line looks to have a LOT of meat in there! Let’s crack it open and take a look.
This one comes by way of Daniel from Brazil – thanks again! Well, my friends – pizza. I love reviewing pizza instant noodles. Why? Because it’s awesome, that’s why! I’ve actually tried quite a few – the first was from Pakistan, then India, then Indonesia and I think there are more. Now Brazil enters the hallowed realm of the pizza flavor instant noodle. Let’s give it a try!
Here’s one sent by Daniel in Brazil – thanks again! The characters on the package are from a popular series for children called ‘Monica’s Gang’ in Brazil. This one’s tomato flavor – curious where it’s a fresh tomato, or what I’m guessing – a creamy kind of tomato taste. Let’s find out!
A couple days ago I got a package from the nice folks at Nissin Mexico! I kept seeing posts about their new Cup Noodles Intensos range in Instagram and really wanted to give ’em a try. Well, here they are! Let’s unwrap these and have a look!
Hey what’s this? An interesting box from Nissin Foods USA?! Hmmm… I’m very curious about this – this is kind of out of the ordinary to see from an American instant noodle company – maybe it’ll start a trend among them? Let’s check it out!
In the past few years, I’ve noticed some shifts in the domestic instant noodle world. Shifting towards a little more healthy being the main thing, but also playing with more exotic flavors and ideas. Here are my favorite varieties out of the reviews up to #2,943 that are made in the United States. What you should also know is that if you live in the United States, these aren’t too hard to come by. If you’re a manufacturer or just a reader who has a variety you’d like to see reviewed, please contact me using the CONTACT form. With that, here’s The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten American Instant Noodles Of All Time 2018 Edition!
Today’s variety comes by way of Daniel from Brazil – thanks again! First, let’s explain what this is exactly. So let’s start with the characters – Wikipedia, if you please –
Yep – another one from our trip to the Real Canadian Superstore! Cup Noodles from the Philippines! Rad! You know, it can be real tough for me to find new stuff from the Philippines and when I do,m I’m very happy. This is a little plastic cup victory, finding this! Let’s check it out.
Here’s another neat one from Zenpop.JP. Thank you! So Zenpop has all sorts of monthly boxes including ramen boxes. Nine instant ramen in one box for a good price – check ’em out and use coupon code RAMENRATER at checkout for a discount! Here’s what they had to say about this one –
It kind of confuses me on this one – I mean, yeah, it says ‘the original’ and doesn’t really say that there’s been a recipe change. But there has – now there’s no MSG and no artificial flavors., plus a reduction in sodium. These aren’t bad things at all of course, but I’m just kind of left wondering – so shouldn’t it say new and improved instead of ‘the original?’ Anyways, let’s see what’s in this, one of the Vegetarian varieties in the Top Ramen range.
On August 25th, 1958, Momofuku Ando’s mission of creating the instant noodle was complete. Today we mark the 60th anniversary of the birth of its invention.
Here’s the second variety from Nissin Hong Kong’s new Light Cup Noodles line. Spicy is good – let’s give it a try!
Hey look at this! This came by way of Hobby Link Japan, a great site that has all sorts of amazing Japanese things including instant noodles! Thank you very much! This variety is a yakisoba with a cheese curry flavor! I tell ya, this sounds really quite good to me! Here’s a little about it from Wikipedia –
Well would you look at that! Top Ramen. An American original. You might be thinking ‘aww that’s Japanese,’ but this stuff is as American as it gets. The flavor is made to appeal to the local market. What bums me out is when I say ‘an American original’ all I can think about is my favorite political show which is no more. My dad used to watch The McLaughlin Group for years and I finally hit an age after he was gone that I checked it out and got hooked on it. I’d torture poor Andy and make him watch it all the time. But Dr. McLaughlin died a couple years ago, and they ended the series long run. I would be curious how it would have been if he would have stayed alive longer – how the show would be these days. Anyways, I’ve gone way off track. So soy sauce is known as Shoyu in Japan. This is a kind of Shoyu ramen. Let’s check i tout!
When the Very Veggie line came out, my first thought was that it would just be varieties for Vegans and Vegetarians. Surprisingly, there was no option for this crowd. Well, it seems that that has changed! This one was sent to me by Robert Z. from Kentucky – thanks man – go check out his cooking blog www.dadbert.com! He found this at a local grocery store – nothing about this and the other new Cup Noodles he found and sent on their site or mentioned on Instagram. This has led me to think that perhaps he’s in what’s called a ‘test market.’ In some areas, a product will be introduced to meter how it’s received by the public – if it sells really well, it’ll go nationwide. If not, it might be pulled. Let’s pop the lid and look under the hood.
This box comes by way of my friend Robert Z. from Kentucky – thanks, man! He’s got a new blog caled DadBert, named after a nickname his daughters gave him. Dadbert.com features a myriad of dishes that he cooks for dinner and they all look real good – should go check it out! Anyways, let’s delve into this box…
Alright so today we have one that was sent by Daniel from Brazil – thank you again so much! This one looks to be a bolognese and from the colors of red, white and green, an Italian-themed variety. Sounds good to me! Let’s take a look.
Here’s the last of the potato chip varieties I’ve got for review. The hamper is dry of potato chips! Still makes me laugh a little – I would have never thought that instant noodle flavors would crossover to potato chips. Let’s check these out!
Found this one up at Osaka market at Yaohan Centre in Richmond, B C. I’ve always been a fan of Chikin ramen – it quite literally was the second instant noodle I tried as a kid. I’ve never had it like this, though! So this is an instant rice, but it has chikin ramen flavor. Let’s take a look at this crossover.
This is another one from Zenpop.jp. Zenpop is pretty cool – they have different boxes you can get – Japanese stationery, snacks, ramen… It’s quite a variety. They’re pretty cheap, too. Here’s what they had to say about this variety:
A big thanks to Daniel down in Brazil for sending this along! It’s been really hard to find varieties from South America over the years. So Daniel told me to be wary of the labelling that this is HOT as Brazilians don’t tend to eat a lot of spicy foods. This kind of surprised me; I would have thought they would have. Learn something new every day! Let’s take a look at this Mexican themed variety from Brazil.
So this one is made in Indonesia and I got it from Nissin Singapore – thanks! The last one of these I tried was ‘Japanese Sauce’ flavor – and definitely was very Indonesian in flavor and quite amazing. Very curious about this one – let’s take a look.
Well this is very nice to see. This is a popular variety in Japan. Cup Noodle Seafood has been around for some time. Well, Nissin USA has brought it here to the United States in a microwave form with no added MSG and no artificial flavors. Here’s a little tidbit from Wikipedia about Cup Noodle –
Here’s one of the two new flavors of Nissin Foods’ domestic Cup Noodles range from the United States. I’m very curious about this one and the other (Teriyaki Chicken). Let’s crack it open and have a look around!
Hey look at this! This came by way of Hobby Link Japan, a great site that has all sorts of amazing Japanese things including instant noodles! Thank you very much! Here’s what they had to say about this unique variety on their website –
Hey look at this! This came by way of Hobby Link Japan, a great site that has all sorts of amazing Japanese things including instant noodles! Thank you very much! Here’s what they had to say about this unique variety on their website –
It’s time for another top ten list and this time it’s The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2018 Edition! The first list debuted in 2013 – I can’t believe this is the sixth list! As always – if you are a company who would like me to review your products, please contact me via the contact link – I want to talk to you! These are my favorite instant noodle bowl selections from my over 2800 reviews to date. Let’s get started!
Today we have a Zenpop.JP variety – so what’s Zenpop? They’re a subscription service for all things Japanese! Definitely, check them out. By the way, use coupon code RAMENRATER to get $2 off! Here’s what they had to say about this one – ‘Asahikawa, a city in Hokkaido, is famous for its ‘ramen village’ and has its own regional ramen like many other cities in Japan. You don’t have to fly all the way to this old city in winter because Asahikawa will come to your warm, cozy home with this tasty version of shoyu ramen.’ Sounds interesting – let’s hit it!
Alright o as you all know (at least I think you all do), I do a Top Ten Spiciest list every year. I used to review hot sauces (did 250 of them on Saucerater), and do a series of YouTube videos called Spicy Noodle Mukbang on YouTube. So when a variety with a pepper gauge and mention of being XXtra hot crosses my desk, I’m interested. So let’s see if this one is truly as spicy as it certainly looks like it’s going to be.
Well, this was something that upon hearing about, made me extremely happy. Curry. From Nissin Foods America. I mean wow – this is something now made and available in the United States! How awesome is that? Not only this one, but the Seafood Cup Noodle is available too. They’ve changed the recipe a little and now have no artifical flavors and no MSG. Plus, you CAN MICROWAVE IT! Wow – pretty awesome! The lid says these are the #1 curry cup noodles in Japan. I’m going to go out on a limb and say these are the same for the United States as I do believe they’re the ONLY curry cup variety in the United States. So let’s see if these are good – I really, really hope they’re going to stick around for a while!
Hey look at this! This came by way of Hobby Link Japan, a great site that has all sorts of amazing Japanese things including instant noodles! Thank you very much! Three chillis! Here’s what they had to say about this unique variety on their website
Hey look at this! This came by way of Hobby Link Japan, a great site that has all sorts of amazing Japanese things including instant noodles! Thank you very much! This is a very large cup variety containing udon and green curry flavor. To be honest, I’ve not seen much if any green curry coming out of Japanese instant noodle companies in the past. Did I mention I freaking love green curry? Alright – let’s hit it!
Hey look – Top Ramen got a facelift! They’ve been changing recipes all over their ranges – getting rid of artificial flavoring and MSG. They’ve also been changing names. This used to be picante beef. To be honest, I haven’t had the first variety in years and it’s nice to be able to have it again fresh. Let’s give it a look!
Here’s a new one from Hong Kong – a light Cup Noodles. I’ve had many of the Light+ varieties from Japan and loved them. Curious if this will be similar? Let’s crack the lid open and have a look inside!
Here’s another potato chip variety from Nissin Hong Kong – thanks again! So they have a series of Cup Noodles showcasing flavors of Singapore and this is one of them. Black Pepper Crab is very popular in Singapore as is Chilli Crab. Here’s a little about Black Pepper Crab from Wikipedia –
Hey look at this! This came by way of Hobby Link Japan, a great site that has all sorts of amazing Japanese things including instant noodles! Thank you very much! This variety is a yakisoba with barbeque sauce and mayonnaise! I tell ya, this sounds really quite good to me! Here’s a little about it from Wikipedia –
Well, it’s that time again. Since the last The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time list came out , I’ve reviewed 383 different varieties. I want to thank the companies and individuals who have sent me varieties I could not easily get. Incidentally, all of these are reviewed the same way – I follow instructions to the letter and taste each variety before I add any external garnish.. I figure that a naked bowl of noodles every day would be quite boring, plus it has given many ideas on what to add to them. As always, if you are an instant noodle company or a reader who wants me to try one that I’ve not, please contact me. With that, let’s have a look at the top ten for 2018 – the finest and most memorable instant noodles I’ve tried.
Here’s one I found up in Canada that I was going to show during the Momofuku Ando Day #7 video, but it was already running way too long and so I skipped it. This looks to be a regular chikin ramen with soy sauce flavor – let’s look inside and see what we have here.
Here’s another one I found up in Canada a few months back. The graphics on this one are pretty awesome I think – but wait – what is yuzu? Help, Wikipedia!
