Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Here’s one I got from Justin M. from Winfield, BC up north of here in Canada! Thanks! Let’s see here: the instant noodle was invented in Japan. This one is sold in Canada under the name Azami and sold by Loblaw’s, a supermarket chain. It’s manufactured in China. I’ve been hoping one of these Azami varieties would really blow me away; hot and spicy is a flavor profile I generally like a lot – let’s see how it fares!
Here’s one I got on my trip to Malaysia last October! I was really keen on getting something like this while over there – anything that has some kind of promotion for a contest or sports event – or movies and cartoons – are very fascinating to me, not only because that’s not something you really see here on instant noodle products, but that the possibility of finding an export version here is slim to none. This one mentions Brazil on it – football! Let’s have a look inside and give ‘er a try!
Here’s an interesting looking one from Malaysian company Twetnty-Twenty. I remember seeing this on Instagram and wondering who made it and if I could try it. I sent a message and it turned out the poster was the manufacturer, and so here we are. Let’s have a look at this curry rice noodle!
There have been quite a few of these Baixiang varieties. Well, this looks to be the last one I have – I’m sure I’ll find more. Let’s check it out!
First off, you’re probably wondering why it says NCC before the post number. Well, I’m a Star Trek fan and NCC-1701 was the number on the starship Enterprise.
Wow – number 1,700! Only 300 more to try until I hit the big 2000. Today, it’s a variety from A-Sha Dry Noodle of Taiwan. These are ‘Hakka’ noodles. Here’s a little info on the Hakka from Wikipedia:
Mi Goreng means fried noodles and Pedas means spicy – how can ya beat that? This is one that I picked up at the Econsave on last year’s trip to Penang, Malaysia. I gotta say – it’s weird to say that. I never thought I’d end up making it to Asia; now having been to both Malaysia and Thailand, it’s like I’ve got a different perspective of the world. So many of the people I met over there had visited the United States, either for work or schooling. How many folks do I know from here that have gone the opposite direction though? Definitely a lower ratio at least in my experience. It is quite expensive and I’ve been lucky that companies have said ‘hey! come visit us!’ Instant noodles – who would’ve thought. Anyways, I’ve been a big fan of Mi Goreng for quite a while. It’s combination of sweet and spicy flavors has always been so nice. This one promises to a bit further on the end of the spicy stick – hoping so! Spicy is always nice. Let’s check out this mi goreng by Vit’s of Malaysia!
I’m sure many of you are familiar with Mi Goreng. For those of you who aren’t, Mi Goreng translates to ‘fried noodle.’ Mi Goreng basically are noodles that are cooked, drained, dropped in a wok or skillet, and fried with different seasonings and ingredients. Now Bihun Goreng is a little different. Instead of a wheat noodle, rice vermicelli is used the same kind of way. Rice vermicelli are very thin rice noodles. Instead of broth, these are broth free. They’re kind of distant cousins of yakisoba, yakiudon and chow mein. Let’s check out this Bihun Goreng from MAMA of Thailand!
These noodles are made in Myanmar! This is the second day in a row reviewing an instant made in a country I’ve never tried anything before. The nice folks at MAMA (Thai President Foods) invited me to their 2015 Agents Meeting for European distributors. They had varieties on tables – from all over the world! I asked if maybe I could get some samples and they were more than kind to send me lots of new varieties to review. This one’s particularly curious to me; coconut milk flavor. I’ve found coconut powder in instants really spruces things up; thick and creamy, especially with curries. This however is the first time I’ve ever heard of a coconut milk flavor instant. Let’s have a look!
Here’s a different one – a box with 5 different varieties! Check it out –
Here’s a different one – a box with 5 different varieties! Check it out –
Here’s a different one – a box with 5 different varieties! Check it out –
Not a lot of instant noodles come in a box – sometimes tray varieties. This looks to be a very premium variety from Wugudaochang – very fancy! They include one of their Chef’s Grain varieties – there are five of them. Let’s check this one out – looks fascinating!
A couple years back, I did a Meet Ther Manufacturer with Paldo, a South Korean company. I was stoked to get a pack of this Rabokki back then and asked if it would ever be in the United States. It sounded like there weren’t any plans to bring it this way and I was bummed – really bummed. Well, bummed no more, I can happily announce that it’s gracing store shelves in the USA now! Rabokki is a fusion of ramyun and topokki Topokki is what you see there on top of the noodles on the package – finger length rice cakes that are chewy – about the consistency of string cheese, served most popularly in a thick sweet and spicy sauce. I will say it’s probably one of my favorite foods of all time – especially the way I’ve tried it lately at a local place called Chi-Mc n Hot Pot, with cream cheese – egad it’s really good. Let’s check out this ramyun-topokki fusion from Paldo!
Sauerkraut! Chanced are that if you walk down the instant noodle aisle, you’ll see some kind of purple packaged variant. It seems that there are certain colors for certain flavors; red for beef, yellow for chicken, green for pork, blue for seafood – and yellow for sauerkraut. Pickled cabbage is a very common flavor of instant noodles, especially in China and Taiwan. Let’s check these out!
This was sent to me by Anders E. from South Korea – thank you very much! For some time new, eMart’s Dare You! Habanero Ramen has topped The Ramen Rater’s Spiciest Instant Noodle Of All Time lists. There’s a really good reason for this too – it’s violently hot. Heat is measure in SHU – Scoville Heat Units. Here’s what wikipedia has to say about the Scoville test:
I’ve often wondered about this one. I’ve seen chand clear soup as well and not exactly able to find anything online about it. I did see what to add to it, but if anyone has any info of the origin of clear soup, please let me know. This is made in Thailand by President Rice Products, one of the factories I’ll be visiting on my upcoming Thailand trip!Let’s have a look at this one.
This one’s interesting – a Thai take on a Japanese classic! Tonkotsu! Here’s what wikipedia says about tonkotsu:
Here’s one of the ones sent by Marvin R. of Ft. Worth, TX – thanks again! So he originally asked me about identifying there. They look a lot like another Vietnamese brand, but the info on the back seems to show that it’s definitely not them. I’ve found in general that onion flavor is usually a good bet – but what about satay? Here’s what wikipedia has to say about satay:
Topokki time! Okay so you’re probably thinking ‘what? Yesterday he reviewed rice porrige and now it’s rice cake?!’ Well, this one has topokki (Korean rice cake) as well as noodles in it. One thing to note as well – see where it says to keep it refrigerated? I saw pallets of these where I got it that weren’t. To be honest, I think putting that on certain instant products that have these kind of fresh noodle packs inside is a way to give the illusory guise of something less shelf stable, making one think it’s higher quality. Honestly though, that kind of thing doesn’t really phase me. So! What is topokki? Wikipedia for ya –
I *think* this is the last of the varieties of Shan Shoop out there – I’m sure it’s the last in my hamper. So Bombay Biryani. What’s biryani? Let’s see what wikipedia has to say…
Ok, so I don’t think I’ve been bugged more by any company to try an instant variety before. I mean wow – daily asks of ‘have you tried it yet?’ The folks at MyOri are ultra excited about this one! Well, today is the day! I think I’m ready! I really like green curry, but never been a huge fan of rice vermicelli. However, rice vermicelli has been kind of growing on me in the last year, so we shall see. Let’s pop this sucker open and give it a go!
I’ve gotten a good amount of comments about this one. Ottogi Sesame Ramen seems to have filled an interesting niche in the noodle market! It’s pretty neat stuff – it has something called an ‘egg block.’ It is basically dehydrated egg that when introduced to the boiling water springs to life! I’ve had the bowl version (also known as a king cup) before, but never reviewed the pack. Let’s check out Ottogi Sesame Ramen!
The top ten instant noodles list is an annual post I do which is always quite a treat for me. I started reviewing back in 2002, but I really got going with it in June of 2010 – I’ve done nearly 1,600 reviews since then. It still boggles my mind that after trying so many, the industry continues to innovate and bring flavors forth that truly amaze me. With that, here are my absolute favorites – The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2015 Edition.
Here’s one I got this year up in Canada on my birthday! My wife spied this one on a lower shelf . She’s got a knack of finding ones that I don’t notice which is really quite handy! It’s also interesting how many spaghetti varieties come from Vietnam! Anyways, let’s check out this New Way variety.
This was sent to me by Anders E. from South Korea – thank you very much! I was aware of the regular habanero ramen – the one that’s been #1 on my spicy list for a while now. But this one – jjajang ramen – it sounds pretty dang spicy. Especially if it’s anything like the other Dare You! ramen. For those of you not familiar with jjajang, here’s what wikipedia has to say about it:
Here’s one that’s spent a little time in my noodle hamper. I’ve been wondering what flavor it might be, although it really doesn’t say. It’s manufactured in Thailand, but definitely for the US market. Let’s check out this microwavable instant ramen.
These tend to be a little hard to figure out; what flavor? What brand? Luckily, I had help from Bobby Y. on the first of these I found, and knowing some of the standard flavors of Taiwanese instants, the translation I got of a page that came up from the bar code on Google was logical. Anyways, Let’s try this onion oil flavor Taiwanese noodle offering.
Been curious about this masala from Shan for a while. Shan makes a lot of different seasonings as well as the Shoop line of instant noodles. I remember when I first found it and that it was made in Pakistan – I was really excited. Why? Well, I’d only reviewed one instant noodle from Pakistan before, and strangely enough, it was pizza flavored! Anyways, Let’s check out this masala flavour Shan Shoop.
Everyone (well maybe not everyone) has heard of tom yum, a very tradition Thai soup. If you don’t know about it, here’s something about it from wikipedia:
As I’ve said before, some companies will make products for different markets. Shoyu isn’t really a variety you’d generally see in South Korea, however Samyang Foods is making this one for the Japanese market. Shoyu is a very common variety of ramen in Japan – here’s a little about it from wikipedia:
Another one I got during our trip to Malaysia in October! I’ve heard Cintan was the first instant noodle company in Malaysia. This one looks to be fortified with protein – something I think is pretty cool. Adding some vitamins and protein to instant noodles can help make instants a little more healthy. Let’s check out this curry by Cintan!
It might be hard to tell from this image, but this is a very small bowl from Nissin’s Donbei line. I’d say it’s about 1/3 the size of a normal bowl. Kinda cool – a mini bowl! Let’s have a look.
I woke up this morning in the mood for something curry. I was looking in my stores of instant noodles today and found this Mamee Chef Gold Recipe. I’ve reviewed it before, but I thought it would make a good breakfast and would be neat to re-review. I really liked the name of this one – seribu rasa means a thousand flavors, which immediately makes me think of thousand island dressing. Of course, this isn’t anything like thousand island dressing. Let’s have a look inside and see what makes this instant noodle tick.
This is one you probably won’t find in the United States (I got it up in Canada). It’s made by Nongshim’s Chinese plant in Shaghai. I’ve found that sometimes the same product can taste a little different in different regions. This one’s interesting in that the packaging look is very much like Nongshim Ansungtangmyun, but the characters are very different. Let’s have a look at this Nongshim Korean Clay Pot Ramyun!
Here’s one I got from Justin M. from Winfield, BC up north of here in Canada! Thanks! Let’s see here: the instant noodle cup was invented in Japan. This one is sold in Canada under the name Azami and sold by Loblaw’s, a supermarket chain. It’s manufactured in China. The flavor is of kimchi, which is South Korean. Wow. I’ve got hopes that this will be a good one! Let’s check these Azami noodles.
I thought it was about time to review this one again. Prima Taste Simgapore Curry La Mian has been on my top ten lists for the last couple of years – it’s really great stuff! I remember when I first tried it tell my friends and colleagues that it was ‘a real game changer.’ I hadn’t seen but sachets like the ones found within before and though it was really neat stuff. I just found out about a couple new videos Prima Taste has made to prepare them as well – check them out here! Let’s have another look at Prima Taste Singapore Curry La Mian!
I thought today I would try this interesting variety. A lot of people are very health conscious these days and are looking for something that is also ‘Earth friendly.’ Well, here’s an option. This is a new brand I’ve never heard of before. There’s really no information about them online and their packaging has no information about where it’s made, nor a website to check out their company. Hmmm… Well, let’s have a look at this one – I’m really curious!
This is another of the Gonbuto bowls. Nissin Gonbuto Kitsune Udon has a unique preparation regime which was quite hard to figure out – I figured it out after a lot of research (to be honest, I read the side numbers). Let’s have a look at this Nissin Gonbuto Kitsune Udon bowl!
Quick2 is a new one from Nongshim America. The 2 has to do with the cooking time of two minutes. I find this one interesting; kind of a departure from their more premium lines and if you notice the color and lines, it more resembles a pack version of a Nongshim Bowl Noodle in graphic design. Let’s have a look at Nongshim Quick2 and see what’s inside!
