Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Here’s another one from HongKongFoodies.com! Go check ’em out as they’ve got a treasure trove of hard to find Demae Iccho variants! This is instant macaroni andyes, it’s not a noodle. It’s gonna be okay. This is something you’d find on the ramen aisle. Let’s cook it up and give it a try!
Big thanks to James from Lakeside for this one! I recently got a comment on my reviews for my ‘poor sentence structure.’ Well, I write the way I speak (mispelling omitted of course). I used to try and flourish things a lot but I kind of left that behind as it seems ingenuine to me. I had a guy who used ChatGPT to reply to my emails – it was awful. So perky. Anyways, this is a cold one; that works well as its wintertime and this should post in the summer. Let’s cook!
Big thanks to The Fat Hipster for shooting this over. So I’ve sampled Rap Snacks instant noodles before with pretty low scores. I’m hopeful that this new set will be better, but I guess I’ll have to try them to know for sure. I do like trying things even when I really expect to be underwhelmed. The potato chip flavor these are based on is quite good, so hopefully this will follow suit.
The tteokbokki train keeps a rolling! I even got kimchi! Let’s cook it up!
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Contains fish. To prepare, add in sachet contents and hot water to line. Microwave at 1000W for 90 seconds. Finally, stir and enjoy!
UPDATE – When I originally posted this, it was review #2023. I thought it a fitting throwback for today. Happy 4th of July – the 250th anniversary of the country, aka the semiquincentennial
Here’s one of those varieties that really makes ne scratch my head. Says it’s made in Vietnam, but it’s got Chinese on it. I remember going down the rabbit hole on this one and finding it was made for the Taiwanese market, however that text on the front is Japanese. Whatever. It’s a kimchi noodle cup. Let’s give it a shot, eh?
This this one came by way of James from Lakeside, CA – thanks! There are a lot of iterations of these noodles and this one I’ve not sampled. It’s cold outside today so shrimp sounds good. Let’s cook.
This is a special one – my daughter Mimi joins me in the Instant Noodle Recipe Time at the bottom so don’t miss that. This is slime. When I was a kid, my mother would have given me hell for playing with something like this and asked me what was wrong with me. Nowadays, there are actually gourmet slime shops and you can lay out a hundred bucks on boutique slimes. What is wrong with our world and what is coming next? Anyways, let’;s proceed with caution as this is slime.
Here’s another one from HongKongFoodies.com! Go check ’em out as they’ve got a treasure trove of hard to find Demae Iccho variants! This one sounds interesting – but what is takana? From what I see it’s giant mustard green and has a peppery flavor. That sounds good – especially in tonkotsu. Let’s give it a go.
This is a very interesting one and I believe it to be its third iteration. Way back, this was garlic teriyaki and it was a splendid variant – one my wife loved and she’s not the biggest noodle human. Then they came out with a version with a huge drop in sodium – about 35000mg down to 700mg. Then we have this one in the ‘carton’ version. Well, let’s give it a try.
The last Korean review I did involved a spicy and sweet noodle served hot I kind of think might have been better cold. Well, here’s a cold noodle. Sounds good – let’s check it out!
We have a heat wave here – like it’s going to hit 60 degrees in mid January heatwave – which says one thing to me: get ready for the opposite. Seems like that happens often. But today it’s a review – and then a mukbang. My ten year old son Miles has all of a sudden decided he wants to try Buldak. So, I’ll do the review today and then on the weekend we’ll do the mukbang. It should be noted that the sprinkles that are candy and star shaped make me immediately think of Samyang Popeye snack which also have star shaped sugary bits. This one is a sweet and spicy – let’s give it a go!
Here’s one from James of Lakeside, California – thanks! This looks kind of interesting – says there’s coconut in it. Lets try it!
Here’s one found at Evergreen Asian Market in Everett, Washington. This looks like another Korean style out of Vietnam. Let’s give it a shot.
I’ve been threatening this for awhile so I figure it’s time. You usually just crush it and sprinkle seasoning and shake it up. Not I think today – I’m going to make it as a dry noodle and boil it. This could destroy the known universe, but I have my doubts. It’ll ether work or it won’t. Let’ find out!
Here’s the last one from James of Lakeside, California and the last one I’ve got on hand. Curry sounds nice – it’s actually Halloween today as I review this – just shows how far ahead I’m at. Anyways, let’s give it a go.
Here’s the third of the three Protein varieties thanks to James from Lakeside, CA. The other two weren’t my favorite but we shall see with this one.
A few languages on this export version. I half expected this to have come from their Turkish factory. Despite the multiple languages (and use of the word flavor spelled flavour), this is for the US market as you can see the long distributor list with US telephone numbers. Let’s cook!
Looked all over for these and finally found them. Now we will see how it goes.
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge).Contains shrimp and beef. To prepare, fill to line with room temp water andmicrowave at 1000W for 2.5 minutes. Let stand 3 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!!
Here’s one made in China and packaged for the US – as well as other countries. Shrimp. Fish. Let’s do it.
I’ve tried the local version from overseas previously, and here’s one version packaged for sale in the United States. I love tom yum and it so happens we have some shrimp – let’s get this one going!
Found this at Boo Han Marrket in Edmonds, Washington. I thought since I’ve tried a lot of tteokbokki, I’d try out this one. The rice cake in this is just a different shape – sliced like little medallions. Kind of looks like what you’d find in a box of escalloped potatoes. Let’s give it a try!
Here’s a new Geki variety I found at Fred Meyer in Woodinville. What’s kinda funny is that I tried this flavor before, although it was from Indonesia! Let’s try the US version.
I’m really happy about finding this one at Boo Han Market in Edmonds, Washington! If you’ve not tried it, I highly recommend it – as long as the new packaging doesn’t mean new recipe at least. This came out quite a while back after a Korean comedian – Lee Kyung Kyu I believe – mentioned it. This is a jalapeno and chicken flavored broth variety. What’s interesting is that it does not have chicken in this one where it once did. It’s made in South Korea – so they would export US chicken to Korea, process it, then send it back in the product. Crazy, eh? Anyways, let’s cook it up!
Found this one at Boo Han Market along with another one. Rapokki is a great thing I really enjoy – a pairing of tteokbokki (cylindrical rice cake) and ramyun (Korean instant noodle). That texture combo alongside a sweet and spicy sauce is really wonderful. Let’s try this variety.
Okay, this is a big deal I think. I know – it looks very generic; very plain. But this isn’t what Ii see. This is a product of Brazil. It’s a Kroger store brand. Who is making this for them? I’ve no idea. I look at the big players in the Brazilian instant noodle market and mainly see a lot of Nissin Miojo stuff. However, the noodle and sachet style doesn’t lean me in that direction. A six pack – and it’s cheap – I think it was $4 for 2 of these – so I got both this and the chicken yesterday. I’ve also noticed that on the directions, it’s referring this noodle as pasta. Pasta? Hmm.
Another one that came by way of James from Lakeside, California – thanks! This Nora Kitchen outfit sure makes a lot of interresting varieties – but what is kare kare? Wikipedia says –
Here’s another one from James – thanks! So, Smoko? Hmm – Gemini says…
‘A “Smoko character” is a character from Smoko, an LA-based company that sells cute and whimsical products, such as plush toys and office supplies. The name “Smoko” itself is Australian slang for a short break from work. The company’s characters are based on food, animals, and other adorable concepts, with popular characters including Tayto Potato, Pearl Boba, and Lil B Dumpling’
Okay what is this MEP thing all about? Gemini says “MEP is a new brand of instant ramen by Samyang Foods, standing for Maptaeng (매떵), which is a Korean term that combines “map-da” (spicy) and “taeng-ha-da” (firm, chewy texture).” Ah okay. – now it’s a little more logical, however I think it could have a little more accessible name… Anyways – garlic and clams. Let’s do this.
Found this one at Saar’s Super Saver on Aurora in Seattle. This one was a little tricky to translate but the bar code weas the main help here. Let’s give it a try.
So this is an interesting deal here. I’ve had the Korean version of this before. It was noted that the Rose US version reminds me of Chick Fil A sauce while the Korean version was amazing. Hmm… I’m curious how this will be… Let’s dive in!
Here’s another from James of Lakeside, California – thanks! Macaroni… Soup? I think this is a Filipino one yet again. Thewse are interesting and so far not bad. Let’s cook it up!
Big thanks to Jame from Lakeside, California for sending this one! So this brand is interesting. Mainly in that they make as lot of Filipino varieties, however it says they’re product of the USA. Are they made here? I dunno I guess they must be? Pancit Canton usually is pretty darn good – let’s give it a try!
Nothing like Korean ramyun – this one is from a brand that makes some nice varieties. Found this one at Boo Han Market in Edmonds, Washington. Let’s cook it up!
The second of two I got from Japanese Snack Republic before they stopped shipping to the United States. I feel like I really scored on these – very curious! Let’s cook it up!
This is another that came by way of Hong Kong Foodies – they’ve got some really great stuff I’ve never seen and so far what I’ve tried has been really great! This is tonkotsu – ooby dooby! Let’s cook it up!
Found these at Saar’s Super Saver on Aurora in Seattle. I really like these; it’s neat to get stuff from that part of the world. Granted, it’s still Indomie, but definitelyt more geared for a local market. Let’s give it a try.
This one comes by way of Jammes of Lakeside, California – thanks again! So, porridge? Instant porridge is very often found on instant noodle aisles in Asian grocery stores. I try to stick to noodles, but when there’s other things adjacent to the might noodle, it bears investigating. With that, let’s give it a try.
Recently, I got an Instagram message from someone interested in this variety. Not to see what I thought of it, but asking if I had a recent scan of the packaging. They make rad little keychains for sale at events and Etsy soon, so I figured I haven’t done this newer packaging version, so why not? I’m in the mood I think, let’s give it a go.
I’ve tried these before. This one is fat free though. I found it while on a long walk looking for something else. I like it when that happens. Let’s try this out; it’s made in Singapore.
