Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
I figured I needed something scary for this pairing of Halloween varieties and so here’s something scary. I have no clue how truly spicy this one might be. I’m hoping it’s not going to kill my gut. This will have not only the cooking video at the bottom but the mukbang where I scarf the whole thing down if I can. Well, let’s see if I can handle it.
I’ve known about this one for a while, but I was finally able to score some – and what better time to roll it out than for Halloween! I’m hpoing it’s good – I mean, when you look at this, your first thought (at least mine) is gimmick – but then again what we find inside looks fascinating – blue noodles! Let’s take a look and see how it tastes!
I got three different version of this up in Canada. After a little translation work, it looks to be Jjajang
Here’s the second of the Teishi varieties I received recently. The first one was truly exceptional – curious how this one’s going to go – let’s find out!
I’ve been wanting to try this one for a great while. Happily, they were sent along by my new contact at Paldo! Thank you very much! This one screams mukbang to me but as some of you might know already, mukbang is something that’s getting harder and harder for me these days. I used to eat a LOT mre, and now I exercise and my diet is much more regulated. To put it bluntly, scarfing down a big block of carbs is easy when you do it more often than I do now.But of course, I’ll give it a shot.
Here’s another one from a reader in Brazil – thank you very much! So from translation, it sounds like this is a cheese sauce noodle. It mentions ‘menos agua’ which means ‘less water,’ probably meaning this will have a thicker broth/sauce. Let’s give it a try!
Here’s something new from Tiawan from a brand I’ve not tried before. This one contains alcohol – yep – real booze! In the past I’ve tried varieties which contain different spirits and found them to be pretty good; the alcohol adds a nice bit of richness and flavor. Let’s give this one a try!
Here’s another one I found over at Boo Han Market in Edmonds, Washington. This new O’Taste brand seems to be cropping up a lot lately. It’s interesting as it’s not exactly a Nongshim variety, but it’s Taekyung Food & Processing, and I’m unsure exactly how they fit in with the Nongshim corporate structure. Maybe I should find out.
Here’s one from an Umai Crate – a subscription box from Japan. Use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount if you’d like to get one! Here’s what they have to say about it – ‘There’s a saying in Japan that long noodles are good luck for a long life! These soba (buckwheat) noodles are extra long for that reason! They also come with tasty crispy tempura balls, seaweed and crunchy shrimp.’
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 – ‘The original ‘CupStar Shoyu’ was released in 1975 (Showa 50), and is now back in your kitchen as a reprinted edition so you can try the original version. Toppings are scrambled eggs, kamaboko, shrimp, and scallion. The standard version today has minced pork, but the original version did not include it; instead, it has kamaboko (a type of cured fish paste). It is one of the simplest, yet most enjoyable instant ramens out there. Please enjoy the original version and explore a ‘back to the past’ experience!’
This one was in a Ramen Trunk subscription box.These boxes are full of extremely high end varieties that you’ll never find in the United States or anywhere outside Japan! Check out this link and use coupon code RAMENRATER20OFF for 20% off any single box or subscription!
I saw an article mentioning two new ‘super spicy’ noodle coup out of Japan. Well, I found one of them (actually I found both but this one was cheap on eBay while the other required buying six and that wasn’t happening). I keep seeing that this is a spicy Mongolian miso tanmen which sounded interesting.
I haven’t done a mee goreng variety in some time – at least it seems like it. This one sounds really good – I love curry and mee goreng as well so this should be good. Found this one in a shop at Lansdowne Centre up in Richmond, BC. Let’s get started!
Here’s one the folks at A-Sha sent over – thanks again! I like spicy and I like scallions a lot. Scallions (spring onion/green onion) are one of the things I always have to have on hand. Period. Let’s check these out!
Oh wow okay so I’ve been kind of hanging on to this carbonara topokki for a little while. Today seemed like a god day for this one. Is it? Well, let’s find out!
Here’s a fancy variety that came from a Ramen Trunk. Ramen Trunk is a subscription service featuring monthly boxes of super premium ramen from Japan! Use coupon code RAMENRATER20OFF for a discount on your first order!
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 – ‘Let us introduce you to this brand new breakthrough ramen! Yaki Curry (grilled curry) is Moji-Harbor’s, in Fukuoka prefecture, beloved local dish, enjoyed for over 60 years. There are numbers of local cafes serving this dish around Moji-Harbor. The noodle itself is seasoned too which makes the soup blend in better with noodles. It’s a great combination of spicy curry soup with the mellow flavor of cheese.’
Here’s one from an Umai Crate – a subscription box from Japan. Use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount if you’d like to get one!
Today, we have one that was part of Japan Crate’s Umai Crate. So Japan Crate is a subscription service which has all sorts of different options for you. pretty neat stuff from Japan! There’s a coupon code for you too – just use THERAMENRATER to get a special discount at check out.
I’m truly stoked on this one – another one found again at that Smart N Save up in Richmond, BC Canada. This is one I decided not to get last time I was in Taiwan that I saw at Carrefour because, well, it was such a big package and I had limited space. What’s great is that they’ve got quite a few varieties up there so I’ll be trying more – and they’re cheap!
Here’s one of the new ones from MyKuali. I’ve enjoyed MyKuali’s stuff for years, with multiple appearances on the top tens. Here’s a new flavor – gaeng som – and a little something from Wikipedia to explain –
Found this one up in Canada at Smart N Save as well. It turns out that this brand is actually related to Nongshim. It’s produced by Taekyung Nong San, which is part of the Nongshim company as can be seen on their logo. Interesting! This is a combo of tteokbokki and noodles. Let’s check it out!
Okay so now that I’ve been doing a lot of weight loss and walking like a fiend (one might call me a White Walker – Game of Thrones reference, sorry), I’ve been running through shoes like crazy. I really like these $30 pairs I’ve been finding at Walmart up in Canada, but as you can guess, after a week there are holes in them. We went up in search for a new pair for me again (no luck grrr) and and during our time up there we hit Lansdowne Centre, a mall in Richmond. Well, there was a new store (at least I think it’s new but I don’t know how we could have missed it) that has a staggeringly wonderful noodle selection. The place is called Smart N Save and they’ve got some really neat stuff in there, including this one. Let’s check it out.
Another one found at FoodyWorld up in Richmond, BC. That place never ceases to amaze me where really out of the way varieties are concerned. This one should definitely be hot and spicy – curious in which way it will swing – savory or deluge of pain. Let’s find out!
This one was in a box from www.zenpop.jp – head over and use coupon code RAMENRATER for a discount!
Today, we have one that was part of Japan Crate’s Umai Crate. So Japan Crate is a subscription service which has all sorts of different options for you. pretty neat stuff from Japan! There’s a coupon code for you too – just use THERAMENRATER to get a special discount at check out.
The third of the Vite Ramen offerings. The first time around when I sampled the prototypes, this was my favorite – curious how I’ll like it this time around as full fledged version 1.0! I should mention that I hear that there will be an updated version coming soon – 1.1? 2.0? Not sure but definitely will be giving the three another go when they update them. Let’s get started.
Here’s something pretty fascinating. First off, thanks to Empire International for sending these over! This is from Indonesia, is only 160 calories for the whole package, and… yeah. It’s konjac (pronounced like cognac).- These noodles are incredibly low cal and I’ve honestly had mixed resilts. I’ve had them that are horrible before – thicker noodles. But recently tried some that were thinner and they worked well. These are dry, and I haven’t tried them that way before, so we shall see how it goes. Let’s find out!
No, this is NOT noodles. But it’s a tie in that’s for sure. These are little surimi (fish) sausages to enjoy as a snack, flavored like Buldak Bokkeummyun. I’ve seen these all over recently in different ways – some packs call them ‘Kid’s Bong’ and they come in a variety of flavors. These sounded interesting! Couldn’t resist. Let’s take a look!
One of my favorite styles of curry would have to be green curry. It’s very different from the others – a kind of crisp and savory flavor rolled into one. This is really exciting to try – curry from Taiwan in collaboration with a company from Thailand. Very curious. Been waiting a couple weeks to hit this up, so let’s go!
This one was in a Ramen Trunk subscription box.These boxes are full of extremely high end varieties that you’ll never find in the United States or anywhere outside Japan! Check out this link and use coupon code RAMENRATER20OFF for 20% off any single box or subscription!
This one was in a Ramen Trunk subscription box.These boxes are full of extremely high end varieties that you’ll never find in the United States or anywhere outside Japan! Check out this link and use coupon code RAMENRATER20OFF for 20% off any single box or subscription!
This one was in a Ramen Trunk subscription box.These boxes are full of extremely high end varieties that you’ll never find in the United States or anywhere outside Japan! Check out this link and use coupon code RAMENRATER20OFF for 20% off any single box or subscription!
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 – ‘The rich and deep flavor of the soup is created with beef, onion, garlic, miso and other spices and seasonings which all keep a perfect balance together. topped with four kinds of ingredients including diced potatoes which are the hidden stars of this dish,’
Okay, alright. It’s another Buldak spicy thing and this time its not topokki and ramen, it’s just topokki. What’s exciting about this is that this is the export version. I’m usually not happy about getting export versions; I want the local versions; te ones that people in their respective countries find at the store. But what’s cool is that this is now available in the United States – and I’ve seen it here recently. This is original Buldak Bokkeummyun flavor – there’s also a Carbo version as well. For those of you who are asking ‘what’s a topokki?!’ here’s a little info from Wikipedia –
I usually try to review at least two varieties a day and yesterday I did the last two Ramen Hero varieties and it was a lot of fun. It’s pretty neat to be able to do up all the garnish that came with it – and the printed seaweed was really neat, too!
Two weeks. Two long weeks. I haven’t done a review in two weeks!! Our apartment got remodeled, plus I had a sinus infection that basically knocked out my sense of taste. Yeah – that wasn’t cool at all. But I’m back – back to walking, and today back to reviewing. The remodel is done and I’m enjoying my noodles once again!
I got an email asking if I was interested in trying overnight delivery ramen. Hey – why not, right? So, here we are! Ramen Hero is based in the Bay Area and serves a few surrounding states at the time of this post – check their site for current service area. You pick your ramen, pay, and they’ll overnight you a set of ingredients to make a bowl of ramen at home – including garnish! Not bad. Let’s give this one a try – they send four and since they’re perishable, I’m going to do them over the next couple days.
I often end up at 99 Ranch Market to pick up mung bean sprouts, other produce, and other things once every week or so. It’s a chain of Asian markets that started on the west coast but after looking at their site, they’ve popped up all over the United States – which is good – they’ve got lots of neat stuff.
This one was in a Ramen Trunk subscription box.These boxes are full of extremely high end varieties that you’ll never find in the United States or anywhere outside Japan! Check out this link and use coupon code RAMENRATER20OFF for 20% off any single box or subscription!
