Category: * Stars 0 – 1.0

#3350: Nissin Miojo Cremoso Costela Barbecue – Brazil

#3350: Nissin Miojo Cremoso Costela Barbecue - Brazil

I really like it when readers send me a ton of varieties from somewhere I’ve never been able to get them before. This is one of those! I know there’s lots of cups and other brands out of Brazil to try as well. Brazilian varieties have very savory flavors, centering mostly on meat. This one’s barbecued ribs flavor! Let’s check it out. ...see full post

#3241: Acecook Super Cup Okinawa Island Soba – Japan

#3149: Acecook Super Cup Okinawa Island Soba - Japan

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 – ‘This super cup contains 1.5 times the normal amount of noodles! Okinawa has a few famous dishes but this one is the most unmistakable for anyone visiting the islands. Yummy chewy noodles in a slightly sweet and spicy dash is perfect for summer.” ...see full post

#3217: Bowlfull Beef Flavour Instant Noodle Soup – Canada

#3217: Bowlfull Beef Flavour Instant Noodle Soup - Canada

Found this at Dollarama, a dollar store up in Canada. A cup of beef. See the little microwave icon on the lower right? We don’t have a microwave currently. Our old one was 20 years old, give or take a year and I though ‘hey – we should get a new one.’ It seemed to be cooking things inconsistently so we went and ordered a new one. It was all screwed up so we returned it last night. Found another one which was really neat! Got it home, lugged it in, opened it up to see this – ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2019 Edition

It’s that time again – time to run down the worst varieties I’ve ever had. That’s no small task either – this list is current as of review #3180. These are the ten worst ones, in my opinion, leaving a lasting negative impression on my taste buds. With that, I again give you what you want. ...see full post

#3158: Simply Asia Singapore Street Noodles Classic Curry – United States

#3158: Simply Asia Singapore Street Noodles Classic Curry - United States

So near us we have this interesting grocery store called WinCo Foods. Everything’s pretty cheap there and they’ve got a pretty good selection. Last time when we were in the checkout lane, I noticed these sitting on the sideline. I’ve known some pretty serious people when it comes to Singapore street food and the heritage it portends. Not only that, when it comes to curry, I’m very particular. Could this little box hold within a reason for ex-pats and hawkers to stay home and not bother visiting Singapore again or going to work? Guess I’d better find out! ...see full post

#3133: Myojo Mellow Miso Ramen – Japan

#3133: Myojo Mellow Miso Ramen - Japan

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 -“Mellow and rich miso ramen with noodles which are easy to eat. Great smell of roasted vegetables and special flavor oil will fill your mouth!” ...see full post

#3129: Acecook Super Cup Pringles Sour Cream & Onion Yakisoba – Japan

#3129: Acecook Super Cup Pringles Sour Cream & Onion Yakisoba - Japan

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 – ‘To celebrate 50 years in business for the iconic chip brand, and 30 years for Japan’s instant noodle brand Super Cup, they collaborate as Sour Cream & Onion Pringles Yakisoba! A mouthful of soft noodles with the crunch of onion crates a fantastic textural sensation that works to enhance all the punchy flavors.’ ...see full post

#3093: Sichuan Baijia Green Curry Shrimp Flavor Instant Vermicelli – China

#3093: Sichuan Baijia Green Curry Shrimp Flavor Instant Vermicelli - China

Here’s one I found up in Canada – can’t remember where. Green curry is one of my favorite flavors, however not one that I think I’ve ever seen coming out of China. Sichuan Baijia has been coming out with more and more different varieties – and different little cartoon characters on their packaging. Let’s give this one a try and see how it fares. ...see full post

#2972: Bowlfull Vegetable Flavour Instant Noodle Soup

#2972: Bowlfull Vegetable Flavour Instant Noodle Soup

Oh yeah are you ready? Are you? Man, you’re going to think I’m nuts, but I’m a huge fan of store brand instant noodles. Why? Simple – I love the hunt. I really like to go somewhere and say ‘ah ha – I haven’t tried this one,’ put it in the handbasket and move on. Well a few weeks ago we went to Lansdowne Centre, a neat mall in Richmond, BC. We keep finding different places to visit up there which totally rocks. In the mall, there’s a bunch of store of course. The mall really is kind of a blast from the past – very Canadian and looks like it was built in the 70’s – lots of mirrored things abound. What got us there was that we saw this sign saying ‘Dollarama’ when we’d go up to Richmond every time and I thought ‘hmmm… A Canadian dollar store sounds interesting…’ So we check it out and they had their own store brand. They’re made in China for the chain of Dollarama stores and called Bowlfull. Sounds interesting. Yeah – if it sounds interesting, I’, all in. I don’t care if I like it or not – it’s something new, and that’s what my whole instant noodle journey has been about. Let’s crack open this 25 cent pack of noodles and see how things turn out. ...see full post

#2872: Chongqing Suanlabao Food Co., Ltd. Hot Pot Mala Seasoning & Sesame Oil Package

#2872: Chongqing Suanlabao Food Co., Ltd. Hot Pot Mala Seasoning & Sesame Oil Package

Hey it’s a self heating hot pot! I got this one at China World on St. Patrick’s Day this year. The weekend before, we drove up to Canada and checked out China World in Richmond, BC. It was amazing – awesome! Got two baskets of noodles. Went tot he front and boom – cash and Canadian debit only. That sucked. So we came back the next weekend! I found about eight different varieties of these hot pots and so here’s the first. I’ve reviewed two others in the past. Let’s open this thing up and see what makes it tick – yeah – it cooks itself! ...see full post

#2809: Acecook Shrimp Tempura Soba

#2809: Acecook Shrimp Tempura Soba

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! Here’s what they had to say about this one – ‘This healthy soba is low in sodium and moreover, it contains GABA, which helps lower the blood pressure, reduce the stress, and make you relaxed. Of course, it’s tasty too. Katsuo (bonito) dashi and shrimp adds a delectable flavor to it.’ ...see full post

#2808: Super Super Cup Signature White Curry

#2808: Super Super Cup Signature White Curry

I was surprised to find this one in Taiwan – had seen it in images online quite a few times before but yeah – Taiwan! I got this at the Hi-Life store at the Nangang Exhibition Center. I really didn’t think Malaysian food would be popular in Taiwan, but actually I went to PappaRich over there – a chain of Malaysian restaurants.  I’m pretty sure nowhere is immune to the White Curry craze! Strong flavors and spicy broth is pretty good anywhere you go. Let’s crack this cup open and look around! ...see full post

#2728: Vifon Hoang Gia Instant Noodles With Minced Pork

#2728: Vifon Hoang Gia Instant Noodles With Minced Pork Mi Thit Bam Vietnam The Ramen Rater Hen Long Market

We found this one at a place called Hen Long Market up in Surrey, BC on a trip a few months back. Thanks to my friend Ken for telling me about this place! So this one’s from Vietnam and I don’t often have come across Vietnamese varieties like this one. Usually, I see the same thing again and again and this one is definitely different. Let’s have a look at this minced pork variety! ...see full post

#2720: Mr. Noodles Pho Noodle Soup Simulated Beef Flavour

#2720: Mr. Noodles Pho Noodle Soup Simulated Beef Flavour - Canada

Well, here we are. This is one I found at Walmart up in Richmond, BC Canada. I’ve never had a lot of luck finding enjoyment of this brand but always gotten a lot of mail/questions about it. People have asked me many times how they can complain to the company that makes thes. I don’t know exactly why – I think a lot of the time people will store instant noodles and they’ll get banged up or the packs will get opened and after a long time will go bad. But my complaint usually has been that they’ve usually not had very strong flavors and the noodles come out funny when you follow the directions. ...see full post

#2711: Acecook Hakodate Shio Shrimp Ramen

#2711: Acecook Hakodate Shio Shrimp Ramen

Found this one at Osaka market up in Richmond, BC. We’ve been going on little day trips to Canada a lot lately and it’s a lot of fun! At this market, we go infrequently enough that they have some neat new stuff every time. They’ve got a special section by the hot food area that has special instant noodles. They’re almost all from Japan and usually on the pricy side. I want to thank Ryuuichirou Arai for helping me with the translation. Here’s a little about shio from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2678: Maggi Hot Heads Barbeque Pepper Noodles

#2678: Maggi Hot Heads Barbeque Pepper Noodles - India - The Ramen Raster - instant noodles

Here’s another from the spicy Hot Heads series from Maggi India. From the picture, it certainly looks tasty – although the picture doesn’t show a barbeque pepper but an onion or shallot. Regardless, I would have to say the onion is my favorite vegetable. I could eat onions on anything – Well, maybe not pie. Unless it’s a meat pie. I’m talking a dessert kind of pie – yeah, I wouldn’t prefer onions on that. But who knows. Alright, enough of this – let us have a look! ...see full post

#2636: Acecook Tonkotsu

#2636: Acecook Tonkotsu - Japan - The Ramen Rater - instant noodle soup

Here’s one of those ‘dilemma’ noodles. I don’t know what the heck it is called and the bar code yields absolutely no results which are annoying. Luckily, I do have the resource of my readers and asked on the Facebook page for The Ramen Rater. A few people got they were tonkotsu, which is very helpful, although usually, ones like this are some kind of tonkotsu – like a little more detailed. But people were of the belief this was just their standard tonkotsu. Thanks for the info! Let’s dig in ...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

The Ramen Rater’s Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2017 Edition

The Ramen Rater's Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2017 Edition

So today it’s the fifth annual The Ramen Rater’s Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time. On my other lists, I exclude varieties that no longer are on the market. On this list, everything’s fair game for the bottom ten. As I say in the video presentation, if you like some of these, there’s nothing wrong with you – I just find these detestable personally. These are my least favorite varieties of the over 2400 varieties posted to date. Without gurther ado, the bottom ten. ...see full post

#2426: Dr. McDougall’s Vegan Pad Thai Noodle Soup

#2426: Dr. McDougall's Vegan Pad Thai Noodle Soup - United States - The Ramen Rater

Well it’s been quite a while since I’ve reviewed anything by Dr. McDougall’s. Why? Well, the first one I tried was a disappointment. I saw this one recently and thought maybe I should give them another chance. I am not expecting this will be one I like very much though; the two lines in large print immediately contradict eachother: ‘Pad Thai’ and ‘Noodle Soup.’ This just sounds wrong. But hey – maybe this is really good stuff. Let’s give it a look. ...see full post