Category: * Stars 3.1 – 4.0

#2397: Samyang Foods Buldak Bokkummyun Cheese Flavor (Black Bowl)

#2397: Samyang Foods Buldak Bokkummyun Cheese Flavor (Black Bowl) - South Korea - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

Wait a second – this looks familiar. So there are two versions of the Samyang Foods Buldak Bokkummyun cheese flavor bowls. Indeed there are two versions of the packs as well. Here’s the orange version I reviewed – #2291. What’s the difference? I’m going to guess that they came out with the black one first and people mistook it for the regular version and were annoyed. Kind of makes sense since the black one definitely looks like the standard Buldak Bokkummyun bowl. Well, except for the chicken with the cheese. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about the original variety: ...see full post

#2387: Nissin Demae Iccho Sesame Oil Flavour Instant Noodle

#2387: Nissin Demae Iccho Sesame Oil Flavour Instant Noodle - Hong Kong - The Ramen Rater - instant noodle

This one is a left over from the Nissin Foods Hong Kong Meet The Manufacturer – thanks again for sending so many! So lately I’ve noticed quite a few of the Demae Iccho varieties in local stores around where I live. I’ve also found them in the past in Canada including this one. What’s the difference? Well, it all comes down to meat. ...see full post

#2383: Nissin Cup Noodles Beef Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup (New Recipe)

#2383: Nissin Cup Noodles Beef Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup (New Recipe) - The Ramen Rater - USA - instant noodles

Okay so here’s another one of the new recipe Cup Noodles from Nissin Foods USA – thanks again for sending ’em over! I did a kind of experiment a while back – one that ended pretty well. See, on Instagram I often see people enjoying their instant noodles alongside a beer as well as some form of Chee-Tos, whether they be regular, Flamin’ Hot or Flamin’ Hot Limon. What’s kind of funny about it is that it sort of makes sense. See, Chee-Tos kind of have the same effect on instant noodles as tempura. Weird but true – they’re crunchy but also work well in broth. It’s alright if you think I’m crazy, but I do find this somewhat poetic. Let’s check it out. ...see full post

#2380: Pulmuone Non-Fried Ramyun With Spicy Beef Broth

#2380: Pulmuone Non-Fried Ramyun With Spicy Beef Broth - South Korea - The Ramen Rater

So here’s something new I found at HMart. This is going to be battle for me, however you might wonder why. Well, much of the package is shiny gold colored. Unfortunately, shiny gold and silver packages are evil. I mean, not really, but really at the same time. Indeed they look nice, but they add a bit of an issue to my process. Indeed, scanning gold or silver foil packs presents a real problem. No matter what, there are wrinkles in the packaging, and ones I usually can use Photoshop to get rid of. However, these wrinkles when in a shiny foil wreak havoc with the scanner and the images come out extremely light and dark in spots. Anyway, just a little behind the scenes on what I do when putting out a post. ...see full post

#2372: Liu Quan Instant Spicy Rice Noodle

Today we have a variety I found locally. Specifically,I got them at Asian Food Center on 130th & Aurora in Seattle. In any event, this store is actually kind of new and pretty awesome. What’s more, we got to see a shoplifter try to escape a security guard and slink out of her coat and backpack to make a getaway! Exciting, yes – but stupid. I don’t understand why people go and do this. Understandably, many people are poor, but this kind of action will result in more problems. In fact, stealing drives up prices for everyone. Hence, let’s crack open this Liu Quan bowl and see it’s innards! ...see full post

#2368: Samyang Foods Cool/Ice Type Buldak Bokkeummyun

#2426: Samyang Foods Ice Type Buldak Bokkeummyun - South Korea - The Ramen Rater

Part Of The Ramen Rater’s Definitive Guide To Samyang Foods’ Buldak Bokkeummyun

HOT Chicken Flavor Ramen Cool/Ice Type / 쿨불닭볶음면 / Cool/Ice Buldak Bokkueummyun Launch 2016.8 / SHU 4,404

Today it’s the cold variety. Indeed, cold noodles with spicy sauce have long been around in South Korean ramyun varieties. However I’m guessing while cold in temperature, these will probably surpass most other in their hot flavor. This particular one is the export version, sent by a reader named Colin from Massachusetts. I noticed that the liquid sachet didn’t say ‘ice’ but ‘cool.’ Was this to be the original name? Well, I asked! ...see full post

#2367: Samyang Foods 2x Spicy Haek Buldak Bokkeummyun

#2425: Samyang Foods Haek Buldak Bokkeummyun - South Korea - 2x spicy - hot fried chicken

Part Of The Ramen Rater’s Definitive Guide To Samyang Foods’ Buldak Bokkeummyun

GET AN ASSORTMENT OF THE SPICEST INSTANT NOODLES IN THE RAMEN RATER’S SPICY PACK FROM GOURMET RAMEN CLUB – CHECK IT OUT HERE!

2X Spicy HOT Chicken Flavor Ramen / 핵불닭볶음면 / Hack/Haek Buldak Bokkueummyun / Launch 2016.1 / SHU 8,808

Alright. Today’s the day. I heard about the double spicy Buldak Bokkeummyun a couple of months ago. After hoping to simply find it at the store with no luck, I received a few of these packs – first, I got one from Anders from South Korea which is a reader who’s sent varieties in the past – thank you! Since I wanted to try these as soon as possible, I (for the first time) ordered some from an eBay seller called 1theKorea – they’ve got all sorts of neat South Korean varieties, and lots of the spicy ones that aren’t the easiest to find or are unavailable in the USA. I also got a ton of varieties from Samyang Foods – including the bowl versions of this one and the Stew as well as a couple snack variants. ...see full post

#2364: Samyang Foods Cheese Buldak Bokkeummyun

#2422: Samyang Foods Cheese Buldak Bokkeummyun - South Korea - The Ramen Rater - Fire Noodle Challenge

Part Of The Ramen Rater’s Definitive Guide To Samyang Foods’ Buldak Bokkeuymmyun

HOT Chicken Flavor Ramen Cheese / 치즈불닭볶음면 / Cheese Buldak Bokkueummyun

Launch 2016.3 / SHU 2,323

This one came by way of eBay seller 1theKorea – they’ve got all sorts of neat South Korean varieties, and lots of the spicy ones that aren’t the easiest to find or are unavailable in the USA. . ...see full post

#2363: Samyang Foods Buldak Bokkeummyun (New Packaging)

#2363: Samyang Foods Buldak Bokkeummyun (New Packaging) - South Korea - The Ramen Rater - fire noodle challenge

Part of The Ramen Rater’s Definitive Guide To Samyang Foods’ Buldak Bokkeummyun Series

HOT Chicken Flavor Ramen / 불닭볶음면 / Buldak Bokkueummyun

Launch 2012.4.16 / SHU 4,404

This one came by way of eBay seller 1theKorea – they’ve got all sorts of neat South Korean varieties, and lots of the spicy ones that aren’t the easiest to find or are unavailable in the USA. This is the variety that set off the Fire Noodle Challenge. In reality, Buldak Bokkeummyun is spicy fried chicken flavor. In South Korea as well as many places in Asia, fried chicken is extremely popular. Korean fried chicken is great; double coated and comes in violently spicy, regular and honey garlic to name a few. ...see full post

#2362: Chuan Wei Wang Bowl Instant Noodles Artificial Spicy Beef Flavor

#2362: Chuan Wei Wang Bowl Instant Noodles Artificial Spicy Beef Flavor - China - The Ramen Rater

Here’s another one from a reader named Colin from the east coast – thanks again! It amazes me how many varieties he can find from the other side of the USA that I can’t get here. Fascinating; you’d think you could get most things anywhere but apparently companies distribute different things in different places. Anyways, this sounds good – spicy beef! Let’s check it out. ...see full post

#2348: Ripe’N’Dry Hokkaido Salt Ramen

#2348: Ripe'N'Dry Hokkaido Salt Ramen - Japan - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

Here’s one I got at Jason’s Market at the bottom of the Taipei 101 in Taiwan. I’d been very curious about this line as I’ve seen them before; hard to miss with the angry bear on the front! I’m very curious about how ripe and dry correlate with instant ramen. Lately when I use the term ripe, it’s referring to needing to change a diaper as in ‘ooof Miles – you’re ripe!’ Dry as far as flavor I usually think of when it comes to wine. I’m hoping this doesn’t smell like loaded diapers or taste like wine – I’m guessing it won’t. Let’s give it a go! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2344: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor A Pollo

Meet The Manufacturer: #2344: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor A Pollo - Mexico - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

Well folks, today is the last day of Meet The Manufacturer. It’s been a definite departure from the flavors I’m used to and it’s been a different way of thinking about noodles. I usually include mung bean sprouts in everything, but that really wasn’t an option. Indeed don’t know if my application of queso fresca was correct, but I had to try. However I tried to find other varieties of Mexican cheeses, however couldn’t find any melty ones – just crumbly. It was fun and something different for me, and I want to thank the folks at Nissin Mexico for the opportunity to try all of these! Let’s check out the chicken Cup Noodles to wrap things up. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2341: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor A Carne De Res

Meet The Manufacturer: #2341: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor A Carne De Res - Mexico - The Ramen Rater - fideos instantanea

Time for some beef! I’ve noticed that kind of like in the US, there are only a scant few pack noodle varieties and most varieties are in cups. Cups are great since they’re portable, have their own container to eat out of, and are easily disposed of. Let’s check out this beef variety. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2339: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor Camaron, Habanero Y Limon

Meet The Manufacturer: #2339: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor Camaron, Habanero Y Limon - Mexico - The Ramen Rater

Here’s the second of the Nissin Mexico fiery hot Habanero line. Habanero peppers are definitely not to be messed with; I’ve made hot sauce a few times using them. The worst was when I hadn’t used rubber gloves and later in the day rubbed my eyes – burned really good even after multiple hand washings! Yeah – no fun. But, they deliver a great heat – let’s give this shrimp variety a try! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2338: Nissin Sopa Nissin Sabor A Pollo Sopa Instantanea Tipo Ramen

Meet The Manufacturer: #2338: Nissin Sopa Nissin Sabor A Pollo Sopa Instantanea Tipo Ramen - Mexico - The Ramen Rater - chicken noodle

Okay folks, what we have here is the baseline. Every company has a chicken flavored instant noodle, and this is Nissin Mexico’s. I should actually say not every company has a chicken flavor – but most do. Chicken is pretty open to interpretation and I don’t think (other than vegetarians and vegans) there are any cultural groups that don’t eat chicken. I could be wrong and if I am let me know. Let’s have something chicken flavored and dress it up Mexican style! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2336: Nissin Maxi Sopa Nissin Cuchareable Sabor A Camaron Picante

Meet The Manufacturer: #2336: Nissin Maxi Sopa Nissin Cuchareable Sabor A Camaron Picante - Mexico - The Ramen Rater - fideos instantanea

Felix Navidad! It’s actually Christmas morning today – I got up at 5am to get some reviews ready to go – don’t know if I’ll do any sampling today but it could happen! I’m about 60 reviews ahead of myself currently – pretty nuts, but helpful when I can’t review, there’s always one ready to go. Anyways, today it’s another one of the Maxi Sopa Nissin variants. Camaron picante is spicy shrimp. Let’s have a look! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2334: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor Mariscos, Habanero Y Limon

Meet The Manufacturer: #2334: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor Mariscos, Habanero Y Limon - Mexico - The Ramen Rater - fideos instantanea

Check this one out – HABANERO! This is another one that comes with a sachet of hot sauce! Awesome! Mariscos means seafood – something I’ve always dreamed of doing is visiting the coastal areas of Mexico and trying the seafood dishes there! Let’s give this one a try! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2333: Nissin Maxi Sopa Nissin Cuchareable Sabor A Pollo

Meet The Manufacturer: #2333: Nissin Maxi Sopa Nissin Cuchareable Sabor A Pollo - Mexico - fideos instantanea

Here we have a big cup of noodles! I did a little translation on this one for you – ‘maxi’ means ‘big,’ ‘sopa’ means ‘soup,’ ‘cuchareable’ means ‘spoonable,’ and pollo means chicken.  Basically, this is a chicken noodle soup one can enjoy with a spoon instead of a fork. Got it? Let’s check it out! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2331: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Hot Sauce Sabor A Pollo

Meet The Manufacturer: #2331: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Hot Sauce Sabor A Pollo - Mexico - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

To start things off, I thought it would be interesting to try one of these Cup Noodles that come with hot sauce. Definitely not uncommon around the world to find a Cup Noodle variety with a sauce sachet, however it seems to be a little less common in the Americas. Let’s give it a try! ...see full post

#2330: Ve Wong Little Prince(ss) Brand Snack Noodles Artificial Mexican Pizza Flavor

#2330: Ve Wong Little Prince(ss) Brand Snack Noodles Artificial Mexican Pizza Flavor - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater - noodle snack

As I’ve said in the past, I’m usually about 50 or so reviews ahead of myself. Well, today is the actual day our daughter Miriam will be born and by the time this comes out she’ll be close to two months old. Wow! It’s early in the morning – although it’s just a few hours away. Really excited! This one seemed interesting enough for a day of birth – Mexican pizza from Taiwan? I think a fiesta is in order; although I wish these were called Little Princess – but hey look at the title I think that works at least a little! Let’s check it out! ...see full post

#2326: Nissin Demae Iccho Tokyo Shoyu Tonkotsu Flavour Instant Noodle (Cup Type)

#2326: Nissin Demae Iccho Tokyo Shoyu Tonkotsu Flavour Instant Noodle (Cup Type) - Hong Kong - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

Another left over from the Nissin Hong Kong Meet The Manufacturer. I’ve reviewed many Nissin HK tonkotsu varieties thus far, and today we have yet another variety! This is a Tokyo Shoyu Tonkotsu. Shoyu translates to soy sauce, so this seems like it will be a kind of milky soy kind of thing? Let’s find out!! ...see full post