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Here’s one sent by Chef Ron from Mama Pat’s Foods – thank you! So I’ve reviewed a LOT of Indomie in the past, yet it’s hard to come by new varieties to try. Luckily, here’s the first of hopefully more from Indomie’s product line from Nigeria! As far as continents go, Africa has been just the toughest for me to get varieties from. Here’s a little about Indomie from Wikipedia –
These came by Way of my sister Sue – thanks! She found them up in Canada – I believe at PriceSmart Foods in Richmond, BC. Been a couple of years since I made the trip north in search of instant noodles for my birthday. The way I look at it, I have to lay off Canada for a little while to let the big stores up there percolate; then they’ll have new stuff I’ve not tried. Well, hopefully. Last time I found a lot of the same stuff from the time before.
Here’s a bowl I got at a local Korean store – Boo Han Market – in Edmonds, Washington. I was looking for something else and found this. So there’s a company that makes this style but in instant noodles, not udon. Curious to see how they differ insofar as the heat and flavor. Indeed, let’s give this one a go!
Here’s yet another one from Colin – thanks, bro! So this is an export version (obviously from all the languages on the front) and a very standard taste – chicken. This one is by CG which stands for Chaudhary Group. Here’s a little info from Wikipedia –
Animal noodles! Animal noodles? Yup – animal noodles. That’s at least what I used to call these – there are two of them very popular in Japan – kitsune uson and tanuki soba. Kitsune refers to a fox and has fried tofu with it. Tanuki soba usually has either a round disc of tempura or little bits of it. Here’s a little more info from Wikipedia –
Here’s one I got at 7-Eleven in Taiwan. I’ve seen these for so long with the stripes and they’re very popular in Taiwan. Here’s a little about Uni-President, the company that makes these – from Wikipedia –
Here’s another one sent by a reader named Colin from the east coast – thanks again! I’m giving this one not a re-review but a full new review. I tried it in the past – it was review #125. Why a new review and not a re-review? Well, I don’t see anything on the old one mentioning non-fried noodles and think that maybe this has changed. The packaging has changed, but unsure if that’s denoting a difference. The brand Shirakiku is one of Nishimoto. Basically, kind of think of Trader Joe’s – they source foreign/domestic brands and re-brand them for sale in the USA under their name. That’s the case usually with Shirakiku. Let’s have a look!
Penang. It’s a place I really miss, specifically because friends and flavors live there. some of the most amazing things that I’ve ever tasted are from Malaysia and specifically Penang. I decided to save this for last as I wanted to see how everything else was before I tried something that promises to be good. Today we say hello to this exotic variety and goodbye to the Meet The Manufacturer for Mr. Lee’s Noodles. Here we go!
Another one I reviewed as part of a series of Hong Kong varieties in conjunction with an interview by Apple Daily news of HK. I have a feeling if you dig through my reviews for the word abalone, you’re not going to find scads of varieties I’ve been very fond of. I’m hoping this might be one I enjoy, but I have my doubts. I guess the only way to find out it to try it with an open mind and mouth. Let’s give it a go!
This came in the mail a week or so ago. Wasn’t expecting it but sure appreciate it! I don’t think I’ve had a seaweed dry noodle before from Tiawan. Sounds like fun – let’s check it out!
Here’s the last of the Tokushim Seifun varieties sent to me by Wesley, a reader from Japan at school in Canada – thanks again! This last one is negi – green onion! Let’s check it out!
Today, we have the last of this Meet The Manufacturer. I’ve really enjoyed most of these quite a bit – I’ll say one thing – they’re not bland like some UK products I’ve had in the past! Today it’s chow mein – let’s give it a try!
We were out doing grocery shopping and thought ‘hey there’s that Red Robin over there – wonder if they have those Red Ramen Burgers.’ Well, after a quick phone call to make sure they did, we swooped in to give them a try.
The last of four varieties especially made for the Nine Emporer Gods festival time of year. During the festival, people take only vegetarian dishes – no meat! Let’s have a look in this one and give it a try, eh?
Here’s another one sent by Jen from Australia! Thank you very much! So I though hey – laksa! Sounds good to me! Such a safe looking package too – why not check it out?
One of the last from James B. of the Netherlands – thanks again!Most of these Loh Thai varieties have been rather bland – although I think I did very much like the last one I tried. Let’s see what we have within!
I’ve been checking out a few of these Baijia varieties recently, and they’ve been interesting. When I first started reviewing, I generally found the flavors and varieties to be pretty horrid, but after a few years , I’m starting to come around. Pickled cabbage and fish, eh? Well, let’s have a look.
The last of the Mi Sedaap varieties I got quite a while ago at Asian Food Center down on Aurora and 130th. Let’s crack this one open – so few Indonesian varieties cross my desk these days!
Another one from James B. over in The Netherlands – thanks! I thought this one looked really interesting; it’s made in Singapore specifically for Koh Thai brand in The Netherlands. Let’s crack this one open!
Here’s one I got from the folks at Exotic Noods, the first subscription instant noodle service I’d heard from! It’s one big bowl, that’s for sure – and heavy, too! I looked into Buddha Jump on wikipedia and found this –
So my sister got me a neat plate a couple weeks ago at Shipwreck Day. Shipwreck Day is like a big citywide garage sale up in Anacortes, Washington – my hometown. The plate was part of a set and the lady didn’t want to break up the set, but my sister came back a little later and the lady gave in and let her buy one after she mentioned what I would use it for. The lady was originally from the Philippines and was a travel agent. I decided maybe I ought to do a review of something from the Philippines in honor of her relenting, and that’s what today’s review is about. Bihon is like bihun – it’s rice noodles. I reviewed this one originally almost 5 years ago – and really didn’t like it. Wondering if my palate might be a little more interested, I thought it’d be nice to try again, and so here we are – let’s check it out.
Another one from the bottom of the hamper! A very plain looking label – but how’s it taste? Let’s check out this variety from Vietnam.
Paldo Foods is a South Korean company, and it looks like they’ve expanded to Vietnam with Paldo Vina. Now mushroom isn’t generally my favorite flavor, but I’ve been surprised in the last year or so at how much I’ve liked many mushroom instants. Let’s see how this one pans out.
Picked this one up this year at the PriceSmart foods in Richmond, BC in Canada during my birthday trip! This is definitely an export version. How do you know? Well, look at the myriad of languages here – French, German, Arabic and English are all here on the front. A lot of companies make export versions and sometimes they’ll make a spicy version which for their local market is spicier than for the export market. There’s so much that goes into figuring out how to tune flavors and such for different places. Let’s check out these Mamee Prawn Flavour instant noodles!
Here’s another bowl from Hao Way – this one a vegetarian laksa. Here’s a little about laksa from wikipedia:
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.
Here’s one I got from Justin M. from Winfield, BC up north of here in Canada! Thanks! This one’s rather fascinating to me as the brand name is literally ‘no name.’ It’s made in China for Loblaw’s, a Canadian grocery store chain. I’m crossing my fingers here; Canadian instant noodles haven’t really been my favorites – but this is a new one so we’ll have to see. With an open mind, let’s delve into No Name Beef Flavour Oriental Noodles And Soup Mix!
I believe my wife got me this one for Christmas last year – thanks sweetie! What’s so nice about instant noodles is that they have such a long shelf life, and so they can sit in my noodle hamper for a while before I have to get to them. Anyways, here’s one that sounds good today – Thai Pavilion Pad Thai. This one is made in Thailand but made for the US market. Let’s check it out!
I figured since I have some cabbage I need to use before it goes bad, yakisoba would be a good call for today. This is one of those interesting ones. The product is from a Hong Kong company called Chewy, made in South Korea, and a Japanese flavor. Yakisoba is great stuff – vegetables and meats fried with noodles and oil and some flavoring. Time to have some breakfast – let’s check out this one from Chewy.
Here’s one that Joe B. and Sarah B. sent me from Nottingham, UK – thanks! I think I’ve only got one more they sent – been fun doing these British varieties! Curry is a really popular British flavor. I’m calling it a British flavor, because there are so many interpretations of curry; the British make curry powders and cook with them – they’re usually less spicy and exotic than something you’d find in Southeast Asia. Anyways, I thought I’d make some chicken to go along with this and use some of the curry leaf that’s growing in my wife’s garden. What’s interesting is that curry leaf isn’t used in curry! It smells like curry powder though. Should be interesting! Let’s check it out.
Here’s one I got up in Canada a while back. These noodles are made with oats. A lot of different ways to make noodles – different gauges, lengths, colors – and ingredients make them all different. Oats sound like a logical way to go – wondering if anyone has ever heard of a soybean noodle ever made? Hmm… I bet someone’s made one! Anyways, let’s try these ones – abalone flavor!
Here’s an interesting one. Myojo does this premium Chukazanmai line and there are quite a few different varieties! This one has me a little worried though. I haven’t really liked Szechuan style much of anything in the past. Hopefully this will turn the tide! Let’s check it out.
Here’s one that Joe B. and Sarah B. sent me from Nottingham, UK – thanks! Very curious about this one as I really like curry. But it’s from the UK – will it be strong or weak? Let’s check it out.
British noodles! Thought maybe this would be a good one to let my son try today. Not spicy (at least I don’t think it will be) and pretty mellow. Right now he’s knee-deep in LEGO blocks and listening to a video game documentary. A good day! Let’s check this one out.
Here’s one that is made in one country for sale in another. This is made in Malaysia, but most easily found in the UK. Anyways, let’s check this one out!
Today we have a big bowl of noodles! These were found up in Canada for my birthday trip – last year. I must say that the shelf life of instant noodles is really quite amazing and helpful – especially when I review one every day. I’ve got quite a lot of instant noodles here, which should be no surprise! I remember in November of 2012 – I was in a bit of a panic. I did a bunch of re-reviews and had a real problem finding new varieties. Then boom – found tons and got a bunch sent to me. Anyways, let’s have a look at this big pork bowl!
Here’s one that Joe B. and Sarah B. sent me from Nottingham, UK – thanks! I’m getting towards the end of the noodles that they sent – been a lot of fun trying all sorts of British varieties! I usually get some cues on what I’ll ad at the end from a picture on the front of a package, but this one doesn’t have any ‘suggested serving’ or anything like that, so I have to go with my gut. I looked around on Google for ‘peppered steak British’ and found quite a few leads. The peppered steak there looks to be basically steak with a decent amount of black pepper. Sound simple enough. Of course, things like a dash of brandy aren’t readily available, so I think pepper is going to be my friend for this one. Anyways, let’s see what’s within.
Here’s one I got up in Canada in July of last year. Looks like a very basic chicken noodle cup. This one’s from Vietnam, and they usually put some interesting things inside. Let’s have a look!
This is one I got for my birthday last year when my wife took me to Canada – thank you, Kit! I’m going to be blunt: I don’t have high hopes on this one. These Golden Wheat varieties are pretty good, as they’re JML products in camouflage. As you can see from this JML Mushroom Chicken bowl, the sachets are identical. Don’t get me wrong – I’ve really enjoyed a lot of the Golden Wheat and JML varieties, but I really didn’t like the Mushroom Chicken previously. Time to see if this one warrants a low score or if it’s a pleasant surprise. It’s go time.
Here’s another one my wife for me on my trip to Canada on my birthday last year! Gonna let the kiddo try this one out – he likes chicken flavor anything. Let’s check it out!
