Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Here’s one that was sent to me from Australian by Jen – thank you very much! It’s pretty rare that I get anything from Australia and her package a while back was a trove of neat stuff! This one’s sold in Australia and elsewhere and made in Singapore by the folks at Tat Hui. Let’s check it out!
Okay now this – this sounds good. I absolutely love a few things in this world. Curries, Korean BBQ, dim sum… Something new has been anything braised and Taiwanese. We’ve got a little restaurant nearby called Looking For Chai and their braised pork and braised beef is so good – tender and so full of flavor. Just a nice slab of it on a bed of rice and that’s all you need – well, that and a little milk tea. Let’s check out this spicy braised noodle!
Here’s another one sent by reader Colin – thanks again man! So it’s been a while since I’ve had any of these Vietnamese Acecook variants. Sounds like a good one for today – let’s check it out!
Here’s a new Jjamppong from Paldo of South Korea sent by Yongmin Park of Paldo. Thank you very much! I really like jjamppong so let’s check it out!
Here’s one sent to me by a reader from fort Worth, TX named Marvin R. – thanks again! This pack is from Pakistan and has some neat languages all over it including Russian! Let’s give this masala favor instant a try!
Tonkotsu is probably my favorite traditional ramen flavor. This and creamy broth with pork. Can’t beat it. Well, it’s now available from Maruchan in the USA in this bowl form! Let’s see how it fares!
I saw this at the local supermarket the other day and just couldn’t pass it up. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an instant noodle showing such patriotism before! Also, before anyone starts sending me comments saying ‘how dare they use our flag – that’s made in South Korea,’ I have news for you. Nongshim America is down in Rancho Cucamonga, California and employs a LOT of Americans! Yep – chances are that if you’re living in the USA and enjoy Shin Ramyun or Shin Black or any of the Bowl Noodles, it was most likely made here in the states. Make sure to check out the factory tour video at the end of this post – I went on it in 2012 and it was a blast! Anyways, let’s check this one out!
We start today with a seafood variety. I do believe this is the first instant noodle I’ve reviewed with the words ‘kick-ass’ on the front – hopefully a good sign, especiallywhen it comes to how spicy they truly will be. Let’s have a look at this, the first of six varieties I’ll be reviewing for Meet The Manufacturer this go around!
Here’s another one lkeftover from the Nissin Hong Kong Meet Tehe Manufacturer! I used to think there was only one variety of Fuku instant noodles in existence but there’s a whole slew of them! This one’s chicken and look – Hiyoko Chan on the pack! Let’s have a look!
I was contacted by someone from a Taiwanese company called Choumama asking if I’d try their noodles. A few weeks later, these arrived. The packages certainly look fancy – very interested to see how they come out. Let’s give ’em a look!
Here’s one of the many I still have left from the Nissin Hong Kong Meet The Manufacturer. They sure have a lot of SKU’s! Sesame Demae Ramen is a classic favorite around the world and especially in Hong Kong. Let’s check out the cup version!
Here’s another one that was sent to me by a reader named Colin from the east coast – thanks again! Still amazes me how many varieties of instant noodles are available in the United States I’ve not sampled yet. Let’s dig in to some seafoodiness today!
I thought the first thing to do would be to look this up on Wikipedia. I found an entry for nam tok and here’s some of what it said:
I’ve always been curious about the clear soups; where are they enjoyed and who enjoys them and with what? Well, let’s find out what it’s like!
Here’s the third of the more European varieties in this series. Chicken! Let’s check it out!
A few days back I reviewed the flat noodle version of this one. What will this one be like? Let’s find out!
It’s been a while since I’ve done any re-reviews and there will be a couple in this Meet The Manufacturer. This is from a long time ago – last time I had this bowl was in review #304 which I posted February 20th, 2011. Yep – very old review and should be interesting to see how I like it now as opposed to back then. I know it’ll look nicer than back then – I used to drop two fried eggs in with EVERYTHING and a lot of the time it looked like a hideous trainwreck. Let’s revisit this one!
Here’s another from the line that looks to be for export to northern Europe. Vegetables! Let’s give it a try!
By looking at the front of this package, it looks to me like it’s definitely for the European marketplace – northern Euope in particular. Time to take some beef out and make some noodles!
It’s kind of neat – this is the first Meet The Manufacturer I’ve done with only rice noodle varieties! Today, it’s Phnom Penh style. Phnom Penh is the biggest city in Cambodia and this variety purports to take the flavors of the place and bring them to the rice noodle. Let’s give it a try!
I have all the noodles that MAMA sent in a big bag and going to blindly pick them out every day! Today, I pulled out this rice noodle – wide! Plus, tom yam flavor – definitely a good foot to start out with. Tom yam has a spicy and citrussy flavor to it – crisp and refreshing and tasty! Let’s have a look!
This is one that the folks from Prima Taste sent me when I did a call for instant noodles to review when I was running low a while back – thanks again! I always love to find new varieties to review – and what surprises many is that I like trying different store brands. Many will say ‘oh – these aren’t special, they’re common!’ Well, they’re often not common where I live – and if I’ve not tried them, they’re definitely diamonds in the rough! Let’s have a look at this one!
Purple! Nothing like purple. Purple crayons, The Color Purple, Purple Rain… Actually, I’m not really a fan of any of those; but when I see the color of purple on an instant noodle package, especially from Taiwan, Hong Kong or China, it usually denotes something pickled. Indeed, here we have sour pickled cabbage. This isn’t quite like sauerkraut but kind of like it. Anyways, let’s crack into this one – another kindly send by colin. Thanks again!
Here’s one sent by Colin after a trip to Mexico – thanks! Translating shouldn’t be hard, but for thoes who can’t, this is tomato chicken soup with noodles. Sounds like it should be pretty good! Let’s find out!
Here’s one sent to me by Colin – thanks again! So these have been a real conundrum for me for quite a long time. The little chef on the logo is definitely different from the regular Master Kong chef, but I can’t get to the bottom of the exact name of this brand and so it’s Master Kong?
Today, we bid a fond farewell to Jingqi at the end of this Meet The Manufacturer. Lots of great flavors and the noodles! Well, let’s delve into this final variety!
For thje past four days, I’ve been enjoying a noodle lunch with my son Andy – today’s our last one for this Meet The Manufacturer, He’s really been enjoying them a lot! Let’s check out the sesame flavor sauce and original noodle in the thinner gauge.
I liked the black eyes beans noodle version of this one with the basil sauce quite a bit, however I’ve been excited to try it with this style noodle as well! Let’s check it out!
I always like looking at the purple sweet potato noodles when I come across them. Something interesting about eating food in a shade of purple. Spicy and purple? Sign me up! Let’s check these out!
Here’s soimething I’ve never seen before – smoked chicken ramen! This one hails from Japan and was sent by Javier over at www.BoxFromJapan.com. You can subscribe to receive a box with 4 different Japanese ramen bowls every month – it’s pretty awesome and honestly since it includes the shipping pretty cheap. Let’s see what Javier has to say about this one:
Here’s one of the last two sent to me by my cousins Adriana and Mike O. – thank you very much! Picanha is considered to be the best cut of meat in Brazil – let’s give it a try!
Here’s another one sent by a reader named Colin – thanks! He’s sent quite a few! This one’s from Vietnam – haven’t reviewed many from there in a while… Let’s have a look!
Here’s another one of these interesting new Maruchan Taste Of Asia bowls… These are really interesting; such a departure for their traditionally domestic flavors that are sold here in the United States. I like it! Let’s give it a try!
Here’s a special one sent by Apple Daily news of Hong Kong. They asked if I’d do a comparison between this, the Thai version and the Vietnamese version of the Fuku Superior Soup for a special news story. Now these are both made in different places, but they’re for the Hong Kong market. anyways I figured hey – why not? This sounds interesting – let’s take a look!
Here’s another I reviewed as part of a collaboration with Apple Daily news. Nothing like a good beef instant noodle! I remember a couple years ago being told that Chinese sausage is popular to put in with beef instant noodles, so I think that’ll be what gets put in today – haven’t used it in a long time. Just to reassure you, nothing gets scored after I put any external ingredients in. That’s the way I always review; I think you’ll agree that’s the only fair way to do it. anyways, let’s get started!
Another one from the series of Hong Kong reviews I did for HK’s Apple Daily news. They sent a few varieties for me to try and review for a feature story – what’s nice is I haven’t reviewed any of them before so that’s pretty cool! Anyways, this one’s chicken flavored – let’s crack it open and see what we have here.
Here’s a new variety from Myojo – Thai Tom Yam! Mee Goreng is a dry noodle – no broth here. It also promises an extra spicy punch. Let’s check it out!
Here’s another one from BoxFromJapan.com. They’re a subscription service where you can get a box of noodles from Japan every month (they also have neat candy boxes from Japan as well). Still to this date I haven’t gotten a repeat or anothing I’ve ever reviewed in the past – pretty awesome! Here’s what they have to say about this one:
A while back I asked people to send me some noodles as I was really running low on varieties to review. Well, many people did – including some companies. Prima Taste sent these from Singapore – thank you! These look like a store brand perhaps – let’s take a look!
Today, we bid farewell to this Meet The Manufacturer series. This is a special one made for 7-Eleven in Thailand! Let’s have a close look as wel say goodbye to Nissin Thailand – for now.
