Category: Other

#2581: Samyang Foods Curry Buldak Bokkeummyun

#2581: Samyang Foods Curry Buldak Bokkeummyun - South Korea - fire noodle challenge - the ramen rater

I’ve reviewed the pack version of this one and now it’s time for the bowl. A few months ago I did a series of seriously spicy reviews for my guide to this series. Let’s see if my palate still can handle the heat! ...see full post

#2580: New Touch T’s Restaurant Tantanmen

#2509: New Touch T's Restaurant Tantanmen - Japan - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

The second of two I found recently at Uwajimaya in Bellevue, Washington. The last one was good so I’m hoping this will as well. Here’s a littler about Tantanmen from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2579: Just Way Noodles Spicy Hot Sesame Guan-miao Noodles

 #2512: Just Way Noodles Spicy Hot Sesame Guan-miao Noodles - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater

This variety comes by way of Colin, a reader from Massachusetts – thank you! It was originally said by Oscar Wilde: ‘Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.’ I have often found this to be true for the most part. Indeed, why would someone want to imitate exactly what you do unless they want to attain something that you did prior? Well, sometimes it just seems like it takes a bit of a spiral from flattery to pure copying. ...see full post

#2577: Wei Lih GGE Ramen Snack Tomato Flavor

#2577: Wei Lih GGE Ramen Snack Tomato Flavor - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater - instant noodle snack - good good eat

I’ve tried a lot of these instant noodle snacks from GGE (aka Everybody Loves Good Good Eat). They come in little cubes, loose noodle style, round little cylinders and these strips. Let’s bust open this bag of GGE ramen snack and see what’s going on inside! ...see full post

#2576: Ching’s Secret Singapore Curry Instant Noodles

#2576: Ching's Secret Singapore Curry Instant Noodles - India - The Ramen Rater - desi chinese

Well, I found quite a few of these new packaged versions recently at an Indian market in Bellevue, Washington. Now, this is what they call ‘Desi Chinese’ food. What’s that? Let’s ask Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2575: Samyang Foods Kimchi Song Song Ramen

#2575: Samyang Foods Kimchi Song Song Ramen - South Korea - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

Today we have Song Song Kimchi Ramen. Kimchi varieties out of South Korea are among my favorites. I really like the tangy as well as bright, spicy flavors. Kimchi is interesting; it’s cabbage as well as many other ingredients that is allowed to ferment for an amount of time. ...see full post

#2574: Acecook Spice Deli Tantan Men With Cilantro

#2574: Acecook Spice Deli Tantan Men With Cilantro - Japan - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles - cup - zenpop

Here’s one I got from ZenPop, a company that’s producing ramen boxes in Japan. They have a new box every month with 9 different varieties for $29.50 – a pretty impressive deal as they include the shipping in the price. ...see full post

#2573: Ikeda Shokuhin Nabeyaki Kitsune Udon

#2573: Ikeda Shokuhin Nabeyaki Kitsune Udon - Japan - The Ramen Rater - Exotic Noods -

Here’s one that came by way of the guys over at Exotic Noods. Thanks! You can subscribe and get great boxes of different noodles every month – they also have The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Box! Definitely take a look. So today it’s udon from Japan. Kitsune udon comes with some fried tofu – which is really good stuff. Udon is a very thick noodle, but what is a nabeyaki? Here’s a little from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2572: Ripe’N’Dry Hokkaido Soy Sauce Ramen

#2500: Ripe'N'Dry Hokkaido Soy Sauce Ramen - Japan - The Ramen Rater

Here’s one I picked up in Taiwan last November. I’d always seen these but never really thought they existed. I’ve seen the design on t-shirts and other things. Ripe and dry sounds like a fart, too! So this one is soy sauce flavor – which would be known as shoyu in Japan. Let’s look up shoyu ramen on Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2571: KOKA The Original Spicy Stir-Fried Noodles

#2571: KOKA The Original Spicy Stir-Fried Noodles - Singapore - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

Here’s one from KOKA left over from the KOKA Meet The Manufacturer series earlier this year. This one certainly looks like an export version. How can you tell? A big giveaway is a number of different languages on the packaging. Not a lot of German-speaking folk in Singapore. Let’s have a look at this one and give it a try! ...see full post

#2564: TRDP Mario Masala Noodles

#2464: TRDP Mario Masala Noodles - India - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

This is one I found a few weeks ago looking at an Indian grocery in Bellevue, Washington. I’ve never seen nor heard of this one before and thought it looked kind of interesting. I rarely find much if anything new locally and so this was a score. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

#2557: Yamachan Sapporo Miso Ramen

#2557: Yamachan Sapporo Miso Ramen - United States - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles - shirakiku

I contacted Yamachan a couple of weeks ago and they had new varieties for me to review! I did a Meet The Manufacturer with them a long time ago and their stuff is really great. Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about miso – ...see full post

#2556: Ching’s Secret Hot Garlic Instant Noodles

#2556: Ching's Secret Hot Garlic Instant Noodles - India - The Ramen Rater - Desi Chinese

Okay for a couple years now, the old pack version of Ching’s Secret Hot Garlic has been on The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time list. I heard through the grapevine though that Hot Garlic didn’t seem that hot to another review site, Ramen Regret Rater. So, I thought I’d hunt it down to give it another try. ...see full post

#2555: Samyang Foods Kimchi Song Song Ramen Big Bowl

#2555: Samyang Foods Kimchi Song Song Ramen Big Bowl - South Korea - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

Today we have Song Song Kimchi Ramen. Kimchi varieties out of South Korea are among my favorites. I really like the tangy as well as bright, spicy flavors. Kimchi is interesting; it’s cabbage as well as many other ingredients that is allowed to ferment for an amount of time. ...see full post

#2563: Yamachan Tokyo Shoyu Ramen

#2563: Yamachan Tokyo Shoyu Ramen - Japanese - The Ramen Rater - United States - style oriental original noodle instant

Here’s another fresh variety from Yamachan. Yamachan’s in Southern California. So this is a fresh noodle (must be refrigerated) and is a shoyu variety. Shoyu translated to soy sauce, but it’s definitely not just a soy sauce flavor. Here’s a little from Wikipedia on Shoyu style ramen: ...see full post

#2549: Nissin Gekikara Ramen Extra Hot Ramen Goreng

#2549: Nissin Gekikara Ramen Extra Hot Ramen Goreng - Indonesia - The Ramen Rater

Here’s one that Kamran from Ramen Regret Rater sent over from Australia – thanks again! He got this one on a recent trip to Bali. It’s crazy – everything is so far away from here but all sorts of awesome places are just a quick hop from Australia. ...see full post

#2548: Ottogi Plain Instant Noodle No Soup Included

#2548: Ottogi Plain Instant Noodle No Soup Included - South Korea - The Ramen Rater - ramyonsari sari ramen

I reviewed this, however in a different package many moons ago. Back then the packaging said Ramyonsari. Recently, I did one called Sari Ramen. Basically, this is a plain instant noodle block in a plastic pillow pack. ...see full post

#2547: Sichuan Guangyou 9999 Chongqing Spicy Hot Noodles

#2547: Sichuan Guangyou 9999 Chongqing Spicy Hot Noodles - China - The Ramen Rater - 重慶小麺 麻辣麺

I’ve tried Sichuan Guangyou noodles once before. Today, it’s a spicy and hot variety with a lot of 9’s. Found this one at Asian Food Center on Aurora in Seattle, WA a few months ago. It’s one of a whole slew of Chongqing noodle varieties that kind of leaped into the Chinese export market and headed to the west. Here’s some info about Chongqing from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2543: KOKA Curry Flavour Instant Noodles

#2543: KOKA Curry Flavour Instant Noodles - Singapore - The Ramen Rater - Tat Hui

Here’s another left over from the KOKA Meet The Manufacturer – thanks again for participating For almost a whole year I was reviewing two varieties per day – this is how I got so far ahead in my reviews. Now I’m only doing one at this point and I think I probably will for a while. You see, having a 5 month old baby girl and a very inquisitive 21 month old boy in the house can be a little crazy. He’s really interested in grabbing things and flinging them on the floor. He’s also a big fan of stealing remote controls (we got him a couple just for him, but he still steals ours). He loves the mouse and keyboard too, so I have to put those up when he’s running around. ...see full post

Re-Review: Great Value Spicy Ramen Noodles (Flu Edition)

Re-Review: Great Value Spicy Ramen Noodles (Flu Edition) - Canada - The Ramen Rater - fire noodle challenge

If you look at the header on the site, you’ll see the Noodle Shop is gone. It used to be there but it’s not anymore. Why? Well, Amazon decided to get rid of their aStore thing, so I guess that’s that for the little store thing. However, that freed up a spot so I decided to put my YouTube Channel up there instead! I have been doing a lot of videos lately – especially ones having to do with hot and spicy things. Anyways, yesterday I posted a video of me attempting to eat a bowl of this really spicy Japanese variety – but there’s a catch. I have the flu. I don’t know if it was violent as it seemed or I am just weakened by the flu. Anyways, I definitely failed the attempt (don’t fret – I’ll be doing it again soon) and thought hey – let’s do something else spicy. ...see full post

#2540: GGE Noodle Snack Wheat Crackers Mexican Spicy

#2540: GGE Noodle Snack Wheat Crackers Mexican Spicy - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater -

Here’s yet another opone of the GGE noodle snack varieties – Mexican Spicy. There are so many of these varieties its kind of mind boggling./ Actually, when you go to Taiwan and go down the noodle aisle, these aren’t there. Indeed, there’s an aisle with chips on one side and noodle snacks on the other. Why do we have so few of them here? I can’t think of any USA branded noodle snacks really at all. It’s like they came out with a few varieties of ways to offer up instant noodles here in the US and then they just stuck with those and kind of quit innovating. I mean, what about a beef stew instant noodle bowl with beef? A A spicy cheese? A pizzas flavor? Closest we get is a cheap cheese cup. I think the instant noodle world in the USA should really go and just kick some major butt and try some new things. I mean hey – no risk, no reward, right? Anyways, let’s check out this snack noodle! ...see full post

#2534: Fujiwara Hokkaido Hakodate Shoyu Ramen

#2534: Fujiwara Hokkaido Hakodate Shoyu Ramen - Japan - The Ramen Rater

Seems like a little while since I did a pack instant ramen from Japan. This is one I found during my trip to Taiwan last November at the Carrefour in Taipei by the Miramar Entertainment Park. I tell you – they had quite an impressive instant noodle aisle – like 4 aisles really. So this one is a shoyu instant ramen. Here’s a little from Wikipedia about shoyu ramen – ...see full post

#2530: Ottogi Ppushu Ppushu Honey Butter Flavor

#2530: Ottogi Ppushu Ppushu Honey Butter Flavor - South Korea - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles snack

What have we today? This is a popular South Korean snack noodle – Ppushu Ppushu – and an interesting new flavor. Ppushu Ppushu means… I don’t know what it means, but it’s pretty neat stuff. Let’s check it out – right now! ...see full post

#2611: Meet The Manufacturer: Nona Lim Tokyo Ramen + Miso Ramen Broth

Nona Lim Tokyo Ramen + Miso Ramen Broth

Thought it would be logical to try these Tokyo Ramen noodles with the Miso Ramen Broth – I mean, it makes sense. These noodles and broth are Vegan, however, I’m going to lay it on thick with some toppings that will not be so Vegan. Let’s give it a go! ...see full post

#2607: Meet The Manufacturer: Nona Lim Hakata Ramen + Miso Ramen Broth

NL5: Meet The Manufacturer: Nona Lim Hakata Ramen + Miso Ramen Broth

I thought it a no-brainer to pick Hakata Ramen to try with the miso. The other I’ll try with it will be the Tokyo Ramen. Anyways: Hakata Ramen. What is it, Wikipedia? ...see full post

#2525: Sokensha Curry Udon

#2525: Sokensha Curry Udon - Japan - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

Here’s another one I found recently at Uwajimaya in Bellevue, Washington. Can’t pass up curry udon – I mean some on – sounds good – here’s a little about udon from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2524: Nissin Straits Reborn Laksa

#2524: Nissin Straits Reborn Laksa - Singapore - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles kitchen

So here we have one that’s on the 2017 Top Ten list – under two names. It was originally Straits Kitchen and they re-branded it as Straits Reborn. Literally no different in recipe – just the name. However I thought it would be good for me to do a review just so you could see. Here’s some info about laksa from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2523: Nongshim Budae Jjigae Noodle Soup

#2523: Nongshim Budae Jjigae Noodle Soup - South Korea - The Ramen Rater - 농심 보글보글 부대찌개 라면을 먹어봤습니다

Here’s one I found at the local HMart a couple months ago. I’ve had a budae jjigae instant once before – I know there’s at least one more variety out there… Very curious how this one is. Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about budae jjigae – ...see full post

#2522: Takamori Hearty Japanese Style Curry Udon

#2522: Takamori Hearty Japanese Style Curry Udon - Japan - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

I gota ride to 99 Ranch yesterday from my sister – thanks! So I was looking for mung bean sprouts, however I found this one when we went through the store. I did a Meet The Manufacturer with Takamori Kosan a few years back and really been hoping I’d get another chance to try some more of their products. Well, this is one of them! Here’s a little about udon from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2518: Samurai Ramen Umami

#2518: Samurai Ramen Umami - Japan - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles vegan

This was sent to me by Ippin, a purveyor of wonderful Japanese items! Thank you again! – So these look to be vegetarian as well as HALAL. Let’s give them a looksie. ...see full post

#2517: Ikeda Shoku Nabeyaki Tempura Udon

#2517: Ikeda Shoku Nabeyaki Tempura Udon - Japan - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

Here’s one sent by the guys over at ExoticNoods.com. Thanks! They have a monthly subscription box you can get! So this is nabeyaki udon – let’s see what Wikipedia has to say – ...see full post

#2516: Fujiwara Hokkaido Hakodate Miso Ramen

#2516: Fujiwara Hokkaido Hakodate Miso Ramen - Japan - The Ramen Rater

Seems like a little while since I did a pack instant ramen from Japan. This is one I found during my trip to Taiwan last November at the Carrefour in Taipei by the Miramar Entertainment Park. I tell you – they had quite an impressive instant noodle aisle – like 4 aisles really. So this one is a miso instant ramen. Here’s a little from Wikipedia about ramen – ...see full post

#2514: Ogasawara Kirin Giraffe Shoyu Ramen

Here’s one I got at the Carrefour store in Taipei at the bottom of the Miramar Entertainment Park mall. It was on sale and definitely something I didn’t expect to see. There was a bunch of articles that came out about this variety a while back – it was popular many years ago and discontinued and then brought back to the delight of consumers. Noodles with a picture of a giraffe in a bow tie on the front? Yeah; this sounds neat. Let’s check out this revisited classic from Japan! ...see full post

#2512: Mom’s Dry Noodle Dan Dan Noodle

#2586: Mom's Dry Noodle Dan Dan Noodle - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater

Here’s a new one from Mom’s Dry Noodle. This one is Dan Dan Noodle flavor – here’s a little about that from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2509: Maggi Hot Heads Green Chilli Noodles

#2580: Maggi Hot Heads Green Chilli Noodles - India - The Ramen Rater - spicy

I spend a lot of time looking around to see what’s new and what’s going on in the instant noodle industry. I kind of have to; if I don’t, I can’t find out what’s popular elsewhere in the world. I read a little about this extra spicy variety from India called Maggi Hot Heads – they’ve got a few flavors. People were commenting how this was the spiciest of all of them and I thought hey why not seek it out. My wife Kit was kind and got me some off of Amazon! Thank you! This is a rarity (I mean she’s always nice) – we never get instant noodles online for reviewing. This one seemed to be one that needed some attention though. Let’s check out this Hot Heads variety and see how hot it is! ...see full post

#2507: Indomie Mi Instant My Noodlez Mi Goreng Rasa Rumput Laut

#2507: Indomie Mi Instant My Noodlez Mi Goreng Rasa Rumput Laut - Indonesia - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

Here’s one sent by Kamran R. of Australia – thanks again! He’s part of Ramen Regret Rater – they review ultra spicy instant noodles and see if they end up with horrible gastrointestinal difficulties. Yes, really! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Cups Of All Time 2017 Edition

Instant noodle cups – so portable, so ubiquitous. They’re everywhere! People seem to really like them for lunch. I’ve found that people also like to take them when backpacking or camping – all you need is hot water and once done, you can flatten them so it’s easy to pack out your trash. These convenient meals have come a long way since their inception – many flavors and countries of origin. This list is a compilation of my favorite instant noodle cups from the over 2,500 instant noodle reviews I’ve done to date. ...see full post

#2505: Acecook Super Cup Torigara Shoyu

#2505: Acecook Super Cup Torigara Shoyu - Japan - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

Here’s one sent by Javier over at www.BoxFromJapan.com. You can get a nice package of 4 varieties shipped to your door every month via their subscription service – they also do Japanese candy boxes as well. Today it’s shoyu from Acecook. So if you don’t know about shoyu, here’s a little something from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2503: Sichuan Guangyou Sweet Potato Instant Noodle Sour-Hot Flavor

#2503: Sichuan Guangyou Sweet Potato Instant Noodle Sour-Hot Flavor - China - The Ramen Rater

Here’s one sent by Colin from Massachusetts – thanks! So this sour-hot sounds interesting. Usually with Chinese varieties, the sour often comes from black vinegar and the spicy from peppers. Let’s see what this one’s like! ...see full post

#2501: Happy Cook Toona Paste Noodle

#2501: Happy Cook Toona Paste Noodle - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater - instant noodle

This is one I brought back with me from Taiwan! Happy Cook is a brand that one of the factories in Taichung makes. ...see full post