Category: * Stars 1.1 – 2.0

#4773: Kang Shi Fu Artificial Soyed Beef Flavor – United States

#4773: Kang Shi Fu Artificial Soyed Beef Flavor - United States

Found this one the other day at 99 Ranch Market. This one is interesting as the range is very easy to find here, however there was a lot of confusion whether it was another brand – Master Kang. Master Kang translates to Kang Shi Fu, and also has a little chef guy for it’s logo. I remember getting a phone call from a lawyer about it a long time ago asking my opinion on it. It’s been such a long time though that I’m guessing that whatever legal issues were involved are probably kaput at this point, so here we are. Soyed beef – is that like corned beef? Interesting. Let’s cook this stuff up. ...see full post

#4764: Nissin no Assari Odashi ga Oishii Donbei Nikudashi Udon – Japan

#4764: Nissin no Assari Odashi ga Oishii Donbei Nikudashi Udon - Japan

Here’s one that came in a Zenpop box. Here’s what they had to say about it – ‘This line of noodles let you try regional variations from all over Japan, with its base being “W Dashi”: a deep flavored soup made with bonito. This noodle series is famous for udon and soba. This time we have one of the udon bowls, with donbei beef flavor.’ ...see full post

#4749: Knorr Shrimp Broth Quick Serve Macaroni – Hong Kong

#4749: Knorr Shrimp Broth Quick Serve Macaroni - Hong Kong

But that’s not ramen! The throng of people screamed in unison! They wept openly. Well, that was silly – this one could be found on the instant ramen aisle . This is popular stuff in Hong Kong and I found it locally and figure hey why not. Macaroni only seems to enjoy the company of cheese here, but not elsewhere. Let’s cook. ...see full post

#4728: Bulramen Artificial Spicy Chicken Flavor – South Korea

#4728: Bulramen Artificial Spicy Chicken Flavor - South Korea

This is the third one of these. They’ve all been kind of Buldak copycats but definitely not the same heat level by any means – the extra spicy was spicy indeed, but not as spicy as 2x, yada yada yada. I really dislike comparing any individual variety to another, however this is such an obvious copy of a well known product that I’m going slightly rogue. I’m curious though – since this looke to be about the same style as the original Buldak, will it be as hot? Will it taste good? Well, let’s find out. ...see full post

#4685: Bulramen Artificial Spicy Chicken Flavor Carbonara – South Korea

#4685: Bulramen Artificial Spicy Chicken Flavor Carbonara - United States

Usually I try to track down the manufacturer and this one if rather difficult. It seems that Seoul Trading is distributing it, but not the manufacturer. It’s made in South Korea, however. There are three varieties of these – this carbonara, a spicy, and a fire spicy. This one gets a South Korea label since it’s an export version for many countries.  Let’s see how spicy this stuff is. ...see full post

Cold As Ice: Frozen Ramen – Your Holiday Gift

Cold As Ice: Frozen Ramen - Your Holiday Gift

Today is December 25th, 2022. I thought the perfect gift to all of you nice people that look at my reviews and experiments would be to add a lot of stuff to a plastic bowl and put it outside and let it freeze. So, that’s what I did. It is your holiday gift! For free! You are very welcome! Hope everyone seeing this is having a great holiday season and that it ends soon and that 2023 is lacking a lot of insanity that the previous year contained. ...see full post

#4287: Annie Chun’s Korean Style Spicy Ramen Soup Bowl – United States

#4287: Annie Chun's Korean Style Spicy Ramen Soup Bowl - United States

It’s been a rough go for brands from the US I’ve not reviewed a ton of before. It really surprises me how many zero star scores I’ve given lately. I have a feeling (and hope) this one’s different. See where it says CJ Foods next to the Annie Chun’s logo? That’s a Korean company. If they’re making this line, I would think that they could make a great spicy Korean ramen. Then again I see corn is an ingredient which is very odd. Ah well – come on let’s give it a go! ...see full post

#4283: Dragonfly Premium Hot & Sour Instant Vermicelli – United States

#4283: Dragonfly Premium Hot & Sour Instant Vermicelli - United States

This one’s an interesting specimen . You might be a hardcore instant noodle fan and notice the font of ‘premium’ and the color scheme. Definitely might remind you of something completely different. This one’s definitely packaged for US sale. I’ve had quite a few varieties from Dragonfly and found them generally to be quite good. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

#4216: Ocean’s Halo Organic Vegan Thai Coconut Big Bowl Of Noodles – United States

#4216: Ocean's Halo Organic Vegan Thai Coconut Big Bowl Of Noodles - United States

My wife went to Whole Foods the other day (not a place we usually frequent, however she’s trying out the gluten free thing) and she came across three of these Ocean’s Halo varieties. The first I’m trying if this Thai coconut. Sounds pretty good in theory at least. I guess we should take a look! ...see full post