Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
So as I type this, it’s Cinco De Mayo. My eyes are watery and I’m sneezing. Really allergied out. This variety was chatted about with friends in the Section 42 mod group – the admins for Ramen Junkies. I decided I’d re-review it; new package, over ten years… Last time, it made my bottom ten. Oh wow – more than ten years – it was review 161! So that’s 15 years ago. Sheesh! This one’s made in South Korea and packaged for US sale. Let’s give it another try – maybe I’ll like it now?
I’ve been looking forward to this one! Rapokki is a combo of ramyun and tteokbokki – tubes of chewy rice flour. That rose flavor though is something else – a combo of sweet and savory and creamy and wow. This should be great stuff – let’s hit it.
This one is the second level of the Hot Ones bowls trifecta from A-Sha. Really love the noodles in the bowls- non-fried and work really well. Let’s see how hot this sucker is!
Hey look at this one! Big thank you to my wife Kit for getting me this! Only at Walmart. So, haven’t we gone through this before? Yes and no. Yes, it’s identical in every way to the pumpkin spicy flavor Cup Noodles – except one little thing. The name. They changed the name from spice to pie – why? I don’t know. New barcode now as well. To see both and a myriad of weird things to do with it, check out my definitive guide here. I’m gonna do it up real pretty. Let’s do it up!
Big thanks to Pher Engi for this one! So what I’m getting is that this is a curry – and that’s about it. I don’t get anything from translation for kaw except kay and that’s unhelpful. All I know is I like curry from this part of the world – even got a mint plant a few minutes ago. Let’s give it a whirl.
I’m really not sure about this one. It’s rather heavy and I’m having trouble finding instructions on its preparation – but I’ll get t the bottom of it.
Here’s the last one of these, sent by James of Lakeside, California – thanks again! This is a prison ramen – lots of clear pack everywhere. Time to cook it up!
Frank over at 5am Ramen sent me this in a box of varieties – thanks! He’s got some really premium stuff like this for sale – and he does guides and tours over in Japan as well! This a spicy dandan variety, so should be thick stuff! Let’s give it a try.
This is the third review of the day and this is a fingers crossed situation of saving the best for last. I love rapokki – ramyun is paired with tteokbokki with a sweet and spicy sauce. This can go awry though, especially if the cooking instructions are iffy. I’m hoping we’re gonna make something rad. Let’s start.
Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These boxes are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – “Let’s up the celebration with a cup of cheesy ramen! This ramen features a rich, savory white chicken broth that is made even richer with the 3- cheese powder, combining parmesan, emmental and gouda! Perfect for a fun hanami celebration!”
Frank over at 5am Ramen sent me this in a box of varieties – thanks! He’s got some really premium stuff like this for sale – and he does guides and tours over in Japan as well! Here’s what he had to say about this variety – “Seasoned with salt, shio ramen is an unsung hero in Japan’s ramen world. Furthermore, it isn’t easy get right because the seasoning is normally light. But they get this one oh so right! The word “Fuyu” means winter in Japanese and this is a shio ramen perfect for winter. The salt base makes way for a sticky rich soup that has a spicy kick to it. The Nappa cabbage make for a great topping too.”
We found this one at the new T&T Supermarket in Bellevue, Washington. It was out first visit and found some neat stuff there, although I really expected their noodle aisle to be so much more impressive than it ended up being. Did find a nice array of things, though. Let’s try this interesting little box.
Well, this is it. The last of the Momofuku varieties. I’ve been waiting to do this one and as this is Thanksgiving eve eve, hopefully I’ll be doing this one tomorrow. On with the pre-turkey noodling!
Here’s one I found at S*Mart – shop smart, shop S*Mart! Awhile back I reviiewed some varieties that were much like this and were incredibly good. Fingers crossed. Actually, today is a big day – this week, I shot the video for six top ten lists – all in one session. Just got the 2025 global top ten all ready for release as I type (it’s 4/17/25 today so you can see it already), and the last time I did a regular review was twenty days ago. So, I’m pretty stoked to do some reviewing again. Let’s give this one a try!
Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – “Let’s start the season of love with this sweet and spicy ramen! This collab with Mode Gakuen features a tasty yukgaejang-style broth with a beef base and plenty of red chili and garlic. And with the honey butter oil, this cup is lovely from start to finish”
Thank you to Pher Engi for sending this along! This brand isn’t familiar but I must say I like the logo with the duck in the letter D. Let’s give it a try!
Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These boxes are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – “After a night of haunts and scares, you’re going to need some comfort! This pack of abura soba is sure to provide a bit of comfort! Get tons of flavor too with non-fried noodles with a hint of garlic and a tasty soy sauce tare with hints of sesame oil, bamboo and grilled pork!”
Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – “We had to end our list with more Pokémon fun! This tasty ramen pack features ramen noodle in a spicy soup with a spicy miso-based soup. This soup has great spice with chili paste and chili powder and tons of umami with hints of beef and gochujang in the broth!”
Frank over at 5am Ramen sent me this in a box of varieties – thanks! He’s got some really premium stuff like this for sale – and he does guides and tours over in Japan as well! Here’s what he had to say about this variety – “The city of Tenri in Nara is known for two things – the Tenrikyo religion…and RAMEN! The local ramen is referred to as “Stamina Ramen”. It’s rather unique. For one, the shoyu (soy sauce) seasoned soup is packed with Chinese cabbage, or hakusai. Hakusai is a topping you rarely see in ramen. Alongside the tangy shoyu base, the soup is a bit spicy from togarashi spice and broad bean chili paste. You’ll also notice the strong presence of garlic. In summary, this is an underrated, delicious ramen that hits the spot any time of year.”
Big thanks to Pher Engi for sending this along! These are really neat varieties and they come with braised egg or braised quail egg! Let’s see what is in there!
Thanks again to Pher Engi for sending this one! This is from their ‘syiok’ range – in Singapore (and I guess syiok (or shiok) mean wow or cool or excellend or rad. This sounds interestoing. Let us cook!
Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These boxes are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – “Next up is a classic bowl of shoyu ramen with a fun Pokémon package! This
bowl features thick tasty noodles in a chicken and shoyu-based soup with
hints of ginger, garlic and onion for tons of umami! Plus, this bowl has 1 of 3
possible Pokémon designs”
Frank over at 5am Ramen sent me this in a box of varieties – thanks! He’s got some really premium stuff like this for sale – and he does guides and tours over in Japan as well! Here’s what he had to say about this variety – “This is is the official instant ramen from Junren, one of Sapporo’s most celebrated miso ramen shops! This is saying a lot, as miso ramen originally comes from Sapporo….and there are countless miso ramen shops there. But Junren has a history going back to 1964. This instant ramen pays proper homage to this. The soup is rich with pork bones, but isn’t too rich. A bold miso flavors still shines through as well. The thick, Sapporo style noodles are wonderfully chewy and the generous amount of minced ork adds extra meatiness to the soup.”
This is the last of this range sent by James from Lakeside, California – thanks again! They’ve been pretty decent and I must say 6 minutes is the right timing to use. Let’s try it out.
Big thanks to Pher Engi for this one! So too warm in the bedroom at night so open the window. Writing this during allergy season so pollen invades room. Misery. That’s how I start my day. Let’s cook.
First, big thanks to James from Lakeside California for sending this. So, I’m generally not a huge fan of river snail noodle, however this one seems like it’s been very popular. There’s a tom of sachets. A ton. Let’s give it a go.
Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – “We had to bring this popular, limited-edition tempura soba back! This pretty, pink soba bowl has delicious soba noodles in a savory katsuo dashi (Japanese soup stock) and soy sauce soup! It’s topped with tasty beni shoga (red pickled ginger) tempura, perfect for the season!”
You may have seen this before – on my top ten global noodles list. It’s incredibly good and the folks at A-Sha sent me the new packaged version. Read the review and I’ll go over changes if any to the product. Hope they haven’t as it was great.
Frank over at 5am Ramen sent me this in a box of varieties – thanks! He’s got some really premium stuff like this for sale – and he does guides and tours over in Japan as well! Here’s what he had to say about this variety – “This instant ramen beautifully showcases Japan’s Nagano region. First of all, “Shinshu” is the ancient name for Nagano. Furthermore, “Shinshu Miso” comes from Nagano and is the most prized type of miso in Japan. This instant ramen features a rich soup with a bright Shinshu Miso flavor. It also includes two toppings straight from Nagano – nozawana (a leafy green) and shimeji mushrooms. Lastly, there’s a little bit of heat coming from shichimi spice prepared by a company that’s famous for it.”
Here’s one sent by James of Lakeside, California – thanks! The first of these was good as I remember and this one sounds very good. While made in China, everything is done specificall for the USA. Let’s give it a whirl!
A big thanks to Noodle Journey for sending this one. So this cold noodle usually has apple I believe but this time it’s strawberry. Very curious about this, so lett’s cook!
Big thanks to Noodle Journey for sending this one! So, this is a new version of Paldo’s Bibimmen, kind of a 2.0 deal. Looks interesting – I guess we ought to sample it.
Here’s the last of the Kenchan Ramen varieties they sent over – thanks! I think I might end up doing this cold today. Let’s give it a try!
This and the next Kenchan Ramen varieties I’m trying will be gluten free, which I think will appeal to many. I’m very curious about these – let’s give ’em a go!
In addition to fresh noodles, Kenchan Ramen also has shelf stable stuff like these. These can go hot or cold. Let’s try em hot!
Kenchan Ramen is providing a myriad of different delivery ramen options. The recently sent a box on ice with fresh as well as shelf stable varieties. The fresh boxes contain two servings of everything. This one today is their tonkotsu – a lot of nice garnish and looks good to me – let’s give it a go!
Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These boxes are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – ” Let’s see what they had to say about this one – “Now for some tantalizing yakisoba! This tasty yakisoba has a salt and pork base with plenty of veggie flavor for tons of umami. And with green onion and accents of garlic and pepper, this yakisoba is packed full of flavor! Truly an enticing bowl of noodles!”
This sounds interesting; I donn’t see what flavor it is as ‘tofu flavor’ wouldn’t make much sense. Spicy? Sweet? I suppose I’d better cook it up and find out!
Here’s a new one from the folks over at Lemonilo! They’re an Indonesian company with export varieties – and this one says it’s going to have a burn to it! Let’s give it a try!
Another one from James of Lakeside, CA – thanks again! These are made in China, but everything of the packaging shows me its only made for US sales. Sounds like it’ll be decent – let’s find out!
