Category: * Stars 3.1 – 4.0

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Sapporo Ichiban Shrimp Flavor Oriental Noodle Soup

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Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Sapporo Ichiban Shrimp Flavor Oriental Noodle Soup

Sapporo Ichiban offers four standard pillow pack style noodles, four special varieties, and four cup varieties. It makes it easy to do a different one every day during this Meet The Manufacturer series. I have, however, reviewed them all before, but it was a very long, long time ago. I usually don’t like to do re-reviews, but I think in this case I’m very happy to make an exception. I’ve been wanting to do a Meet The Manufacturer with Sanyo Foods America for years and getting the chance to has been a lot of fun! ...see full post

#2815: Sapporo Ichiban Pokemon Shoyu Ramen

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#2785: Sapporo Ichiban Pokemon Shoyu Ramen Japan Ramen Box

This one comes by way of Japan Ramen Box. Japan Ramen Box is a new subscription box outfit with neat varieties to check out! Go visit their website and have a look! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2813: Little Couples Q Noodle Oyster Sauce Taste

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Meet The Manufacturer: #2813: Little Couples Q Noodle Oyster Sauce Taste

Today it’s an oyster sauce variety. I like oyster sauce – has a nice blend of flavors to it and I’m very curious about how it will meld with a noodle. Let’s find out! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2810: Little Couples Q Noodle Spicy Taste

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Meet The Manufacturer: #2810: Little Couples Q Noodle Spicy Taste

The place I usually like to start with a dry noodles company is their Sichuan style spicy noodle. They usually have one and so it’s kind of a good baseline. Let’s have a look! ...see full post

#2805: Maruchan Umaitsuyu Tempura Soba

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#2705: Maruchan Umaitsuyu Tempura Soba - zenpop zenpop.jp japan ramen

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 variety: ...see full post

#2804: Acecook Chinese Style Yakisoba

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#2804: Acecook Chinese Style Yakisoba

Here’s one I found up in Canada at Osaka Market in Yaohan Centre, which is in Richmond, BC. Sometimes they’ll have a bunch of interesting varieties that are there for a short period and this is one of them./ Let’s see what’s going on here – wasn’t able to find a whole lot about this one. At least I know how to cook it, right? Let’s begin! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2794: Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen Vegetarian Kimchi Ramen Soup

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Meet The Manufacturer: #2794: Mike's Mighty Good Craft Ramen Vegetarian Kimchi Ramen Soup

Here’s another vegetarian friendly variety from Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen. This one’s inspired by Korean kimchi. Here’s a little about it from Wikipedia – ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2793: Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen Chicken Flavor Ramen Soup

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Meet The Manufacturer: #2793: Mike's Mighty Good Craft Ramen Chicken Flavor Ramen Soup

Last time it was fried garlic chicken and this time it’s just chicken. Let’s give it a try! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2792: Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen Spicy Pork Tonkotsu Flavor Ramen Soup

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Meet The Manufacturer: #2792: Mike's Mighty Good Craft Ramen Spicy Pork Tonkotsu Flavor Ramen Soup

So today’s variety is one I’ve been curious about. This is a pork tonkotsu from the United States – something I don’t usually think is going to be great. But if it does as well as everything else has, I think it’s going to be good. Here’s a little about tonkotsu from Wikipedia- ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2790: Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen Savory Miso Ramen Soup

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Meet The Manufacturer: #2790: Mike's Mighty Good Craft Ramen Savory Miso Ramen Soup

Okay now I’m seeing a pattern. The cups exclaim that they have rich broth while the packaged versions contain insanely rich broth. All I can say is in the last two, I liked the broth. Now to the topic of miso – here’s a little from Wikipedia – ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2789: Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen Spicy Beef Flavor Ramen Soup

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Meet The Manufacturer: #2789: Mike's Mighty Good Craft Ramen Spicy Beef Flavor Ramen Soup

So Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen also comes in cups. Spicy beef sounds good. I’ve been a spicy fan for a long time. I just noticed on the pack reviewed yesterday it mentioned ‘insanely rich broth’ whereas today we have ‘rich broth.’ With a slightly mellower tone, let’s pop the lid and look within. ...see full post

#2787: Samyang Foods Mala Buldak Bokkeummyun Bowl

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#2787: Samyang Foods Mala Buldak Bokkeummyun Bowl

I’ve been kind of on a weird crusade lately. It has come to my attention that the popular Mala variety of Buldak Bokkeummyun is being touted by many people across the Interwebs as 4x Spicy. This is totally untrue – it’s really more like 0.5x. I did an informative video presentation about it – check it out here! ...see full post

#2784: Samyang Foods Jjajang Buldak Bokkeummyun

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#2873: Samyang Foods Jjajang Buldak Bokkeummyun 짜장불닭볶음면

Alright, folks! Today I bring you the brand new Samyang Foods Jjajang Buldak Bokkeummyun. 1,920 SHU is the heat level. But wait – what’s jjajang? Let’s find out with some info from Wikipedia! ...see full post

#2783: Samyang Foods Buldak Bokkeummyun Hot Chicken Flavor Squid

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#2783: Samyang Foods Buldak Bokkeummyun Hot Chicken Flavor Squid

What we have here is a squid snack – what’s that you ask? Well, they dehydrate squid somehow and seasoning it. I read once there was a a package of this kind of thing that said ‘chewing gum of Asians. Here’s some background on this from Wikipedia – ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2778: Mr. Noodle Spicy Sesame Paste Noodles

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Meet The Manufacturer: #2778: Mr. Noodle Spicy Sesame Paste Noodles

Today, it’s a spicy sesame paste variety. For a long time, I thought anything sesame flavored would be from sesame oil. This most certainly is not the case. Sesame paste is much different – a much different flavor. It’s almost like a peanut flavor.  Let’s take a look. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2777: Mr. Noodle Sichuan Flavor Spicy Hot Noodles

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Meet The Manufacturer: #2777: Mr. Noodle Sichuan Flavor Spicy Hot Noodles

Sometimes it’s hard for me to pick what I want to review. I mean, I have quite a few options sitting next to me in the high security noodle vaults… So I took the box of samples over to my wife and opened it. There are six in all and the tops have different colors but no mention of what they are on top. I asked her to simply pick three. Well, here’s the first one. ...see full post

#2774: Nissin Cup Noodles Yuzu Flavor

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#2774: Nissin Cup Noodles Yuzu Flavor

Here’s another one I found up in Canada a few months back. The graphics on this one are pretty awesome I think – but wait – what is yuzu? Help, Wikipedia! ...see full post

#2773: Vedan Minced Pork Noodle

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#2773: Vedan Minced Pork Noodle taiwan

Brought this back from Taiwan. Pretty much everything I brought back came through the rigors of baggage handling unscathed; but not every single thing did. Alas, this was one of them that didn’t. To be quite honest, it did better than some I’ve brought back before from abroad – a little crushing of noodles isn’t bad – I’vbe had ones whose noodle blocks were reduced to crumbs. Let’s have a look at this one – I found it at RT-Mart in Taipei. ...see full post

#2772: Happy Noodle Noodles With Minced Beef Sauce In Spicy Oil & Pickled Mustard Greens

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#2680: Happy Noodle Noodles With Minced Beef Sauce In Spicy Oil & Pickled Mustard Greens - Taiwan

Here’s the second of the Happy Noodle varieties sent to me from Taiwan. The first one was really quite good and so curious about this second one. The box is interesting – kind of looks like a tissue box in a way but definitely nothing like that inside. There are four packages inside and they are accompanied by four sachets. Let’s take a look at this unique variety from Taiwan! ...see full post

#2769: Ottogi Kimchi Ramen

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#2769: Ottogi Kimchi Ramen

Another one I found in Taiwan. This one is quite interesting as far as the packaging goes. Not only do you see Korean print but Chinese as well. This product is definitely for sale in Taiwan only – an export version. As far as the recipe changing from place to place, I have no clue. Here’s a little about kimchi from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2768: Wei Lih Yi Du Zan Beef Instant Noodles

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#2768: Wei Lih Yi Du Zan Beef Instant Noodles

Another big meaty bowl I lugged back from Taiwan in November 2017. A reader on the Facebook page for The Ramen Rater requested I pick this one up and I found it I believe at FamilyMart. ...see full post

#2766: LeeZen Sesame Oil Angelica & Sinensis Instant Noodles

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#2766: Leezen Sesame Oil Angelica & Sinensis Instant Noodles Tasiwan dong quai

Found this one up in Canada at a place called FoodyWorld – awesome! Okay so this is an odd variety so let’s hit up Wikipedia for some info on what this is all about: ...see full post

#2764: Vedan Double Bang Thick Beef Broth Noodle

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#2764: Vedan Double Bang Thick Beef Broth Noodle - Taiwan Taiwanese

This one’s got horns and flying saucers on the packaging – something that denotes… Well, horns and flying saucers I suppose. I guess it more likely denotes ‘hey look at me – I’m on the store shelf!’ The double bang is for the two noodle blocks. The other variety I reviewed in this series had two in it as well and called for (like this one) 700ml boiling water. Guess we will see how this one goes as well! I remember seeing these on store shelves – I think I got all but one of the varieties (sniff) but hey – got some pretty fascinating ones. Taiwanese beef noodles, it is your time to shine. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2763: Red Chef Sesame Clear Soup Noodles

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Meet The Manufacturer: #2852: Red Chef Sesame Clear Soup Noodles

Today, we bid adieu to Red Chef with this, the last review. I’ve had quite a few clear soup varieties in my day – and they’ve always kind of confused me, to be honest. The name kind of brings up the thought of something thin and kind of bland to be honest, but they’re generally never that. With what I’ve sampled from Red Chef thus far, I’m going to guess bland isn’t going to be what I find here. Let’s check out this clear soup, the last of the four reviews for this Meet The Manufacturer! ...see full post

#2759: Nissin Cup Noodles Rasa Gulai Ayam Melayu

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#2759: Nissin Cup Noodles Rasa Gulai Ayam Melayu

Here’s another one I picked up at Osaka Market up in Richmond, BC in Canada. I’d seen this variety on Instagram plenty of times and was pretty stoked to see it available. First, here’s some info from reader Sara Adam de Souza about it – thank you! ...see full post

#2755: Vedan Wei Wei ‘A’ Seafood XO Sauce Noodle

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#2755: Vedan Wei Wei 'A' Seafood XO Sauce Noodle

I’m sure you can guess – I found this one in Taiwan. Got this at RT-Mart, a huge grocery and department store in November of 2017. So XO sauce – here’s a little about it from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2754: Acecook Rich Miso Ramen

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#2754: Acecook Rich Miso Ramen - Japan zenpop zenpopjp zenpop.jp www.zenpop.jp

Here’s another one from Zenpop.JP. Zenpop offers a lot of diverse Japanese boxes – lots of assorted things like ramen and also stationary among other things. Here’s what they have to say about this variety – ...see full post

#2753: Maruchan Tempura Udon

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#2753: Maruchan Tempura Udon Japan Crate Umnai Crate https://bit.ly/UmaiCrate

Today, we have one that was part of Japan Crate’s Umai Crate. So Japan Crate is a subscription service which has all sorts of different options for you. pretty neat stuff from Japan! There’s a coupon code for you too – just use THERAMENRATER to get a special discount at check out. ...see full post

#2752: Ve Wong Instant Noodles Braised Beef Flavor

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Here’s one I dragged back to the United States from Taiwan. I know I’ve seen close to the same thing here in the USA, but I wanted to see if the non-export version could be better. I have a feeling it will be. Here’s a little info about braising from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2751: Acecook Pork Wantan Men

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#2751: Acecook Pork Wantan Men

This variety comes by way of Japan Ramen Box. Japan Ramen Box is a new subscription box outfit with neat varieties to check out! Go visit their website and have a look!  This is wantan men – let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about this variety – ...see full post

#2747: Nissin Cup Noodles Kyushu White Flavour (Open Sesame)

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#2747: Nissin Cup Noodles Kyushu White Flavour (Open Sesame)

Okay so I’ve reviewed this one in the past, however they’ve changed the recipe. Nissin Singapore sent me samples for review (thank you!) and so I’ve been going through many of these new version cups. ...see full post

#2746: Ve Wong Fried Noodles With Mexican Chili Flavor

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#2746: Ve Wong Fried Noodles With Mexican Chili Flavor

This was one I couldn’t leave Taiwan without. I saw this at RT Mart during my trip and passed it up since it was a 4 or 5 pack. But when I saw it again at Carrefour, I realized I’d better snag this one. ...see full post

#2743: Nongshim Korean Clay Pot Ramyun

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#2743: Nongshim Korean Clay Pot Ramyun

Here’s one I got up in Canada a few months back. Yeah – lately we go up to Canada almost once a month. It’s fun up there – I’m thinking though we’re going to have to venture outside of just going to Richmond and hitting Vancouver one of these days. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2740: Meimen Hot & Sour Noodles Soup

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vegan Meet The Manufacturer: #2740: Meimen Hot & Sour Noodles Soup vegan taiwan

Today, we say goodbye to Meimen and their trifecta of instant noodle varieties as we take a look at their hot & sour variety. As I mentioned previously, all three are Vegan-friendly varieties. Let’s dig into this, the final noodle from Meimen for Meet The Manufacturer. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2739: Meimen Noodles With Soy Bean Paste

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Vegan Meet The Manufacturer: #2739: Meimen Noodles With Soy Bean Paste Taiwan Vegan

Here’s another one – the second of three varieties from Meimen of Taiwan for this Meet The Manufacturer series. As mentioned previously, all of these are Vegan-friendly. I should also mention – I really like the artwork on these! Let’s take a look at this soy bean paste variety. ...see full post

#2737: Wei Lih Chicken Flavor

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#2737: Wei Lih Chicken Flavor - Taiwan the ramen rater

I found this one at RT Mart in Taipei., Taiwan. Okay so RT Mart. It’s big – I mean big. The aisle with instant noodles was probably the largest I’ve seen to date not only lengthwise, but height as well. ...see full post

#2736: Kaset Instant Vermicelli Spicy Seafood Salad Flavour

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#2736: Kaset Instant Vermicelli Spicy Seafood Salad Flavour - bean thread thailand the ramen rater

Found this one at the Jason’s Market grocery store in the bottom of the Taipei 101. I thought it looked interesting; first, it’s from Thailand. Second, it’s bean thread. I haven’t reviewed anything with beat thread in a very, very long time! ...see full post

#2735: Myojo Chicken Abalone Flavour

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#2735: Myojo Chicken Abalone Flavour

Alrighty so here’s another one of the Myojo varieties I have from Singapore. These are new formulations of longstanding popular varieties. Indeed, they invoke the term ‘yummy’ on this packaging and I will admit that although I rarely use it, it’s an important term. Let’s see if it’s fitting to include it in this one. ...see full post

#2734: Lipton Soup Secrets Extra Noodle Soup Mix With Real Chicken Broth

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#2540: Lipton Soup Secrets Extra Noodle Soup Mix With Real Chicken Broth - The Ramen Rater - cup-a-soup

So what we have here is something from the United States I haven’t really delved into much. I reviewed their Cup-A-Soup on review #2544. I thought this was a Cup-A-Soup, however, it’s a Soup Secrets variety. It’s getting cold outside – better eat your soup! Wait I shouldn’t have told you that because it’s a secret… The soup secret. Don’t tell anyone… Let’s have a look. ...see full post

#2733: Jinbo Selection SOul Spicy Noodles

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#2733: Jinbo Selection SOul Spicy Noodles

Was emailed in October 2017 by a representative of this company about trying their samples. I thought hey – of course, I’ll try them. I don’t know if I’ve ever turned down samples – the only time I do usually is when there’s a variety that’s just noodles – no flavoring. Although I’ve done reviews of just noodles and just broths that can be mixed and matched though. ...see full post