For those who aren’t familiar, a ‘spread’ is a term referring to a special meal made in prison by inmates. Here’s what Wikipedia had to say about them –
Category: * Stars 4.1 – 5.0
#4211: MAMA Pad Thai Meal Kit – Thailand
About seven years ago, I had the fortune to be invited to visit MAMA’s instant wheat and rice noodle factories in Thailand. It was so amazing; these places are so amazingly clean and full of the most fascinating people I’ve ever met. By the time this is released, my guess is that my Definitive Guide To MAMA Tom Yum will be out. They’re celebrating their 50th year and that’s pretty darn cool. I’m really excited about it! Let’s check out this Pad Thai though – I’m guessing it will be quite good.
#4207: Xijiu XO Sauce Noodle – China
This is a tricky one to translate. Big thank you to Kyle over at Mom’s Dry Noodle for your help! I found this one 2 days before Lunar New Year – fancy stuff. XO sauce is really nice stuff too. Let’s give this a go.
#4201: Itsuki Kumamoto Red Spicy Ramen – Japan
This one was in an Umai Crate – a monthly subscription box from the folks at Japan Crate! If you order one, be sure to use coupon code THERAMENRATER to get a nice little discount!
#4200: John’s Beautiful Hot And Sour Noodles – Taiwan
This is the third of three varieties from this company and I’m very curious. This one has a lot of sachets with it – a lot. Check them out below! Let’s give it a go!
#4199: John’s Taiwanese Fried Sauce Noodles – Taiwan
Here’s a big box with two servings. This looks really fancy – curious about it – let’s give it a try!
My Mom’s Instant Noodle Recipe
My mother died two years ago on June 30th. I thought I’d share the recipe she came up with that honestly is why I started reviewing instant noodles. It’s very basic, but it’s really good and as a young child it was a special treat.
#4194: Igarashi Seimen Kitakata Curry Flavor Ramen – Japan
Here’s one that came from an Umai Crate – they’re subscription boxes full of all sorts of Japanese ramen and DIY stuff! Check ’em out at Japan Crate and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount!
#4193: Bull Head Dry Noodle Spicy Sichuan Pepper Flavor – Taiwan
Here’s one that came from Daniel over at www.exoticnoods.com – check ’em out – you can use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount, too! So I saw these at a local Asian market and was curious, but didn’t want to buy a multipack, so receiving this was really great. Taiwanese dry noodles. Let’s check ’em out!
#4191: Kung Fu Noodle Spicy Duck Blood With Mung Bean Noodle Soup – Taiwan
The guy in the corner says ‘hey check this out’ and hey I will buddy just hold on a second! I’ve had duck and pork blood many times in the past. While many Westerners might think this is far too exotic and wouldn’t ever think of trying a dish with blood as it’s main feature, let me tell you a little something about it. Pork blood cake in Taiwan is exquisite. It’s a little wonderful square with a very rich and tasty flavor. Duck blood is a bit different, but very, very rich. Coagulated duck blood is popular in white curry in Malaysia as well, and pork blood is popular in dishes from Thailand and Vietnam too. The last Taiwanese duck blood noodle I tried was exquisite; let’s see how this one is!
#4189: Kings Noodle Chongqing Instant Pea Noodles – China
Another one found just before Lunar New Year at a local market. These have all been fun to review as they’re all very mysterious; the way to translate and research these is always different and usually requires a lot of digging. Let’s check it out!
#4182: MAMA Singapore Noodles Meal Kit – Thailand
I think I was able to try the non-export version of this when I was in Thailand at the MAMA rice noodle factory. I was part of an Iron Chef judging competition where a contestant from Iron Chef Thailand was there and she made all the varieties from this range.
#4180: Maruchan QTTA Tarako Butter Cream Flavor – Japan
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
#4175: Peyoung Noodle – Japan
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
#4169: Maruchan Fuji no Miya Yakisoba – Japan
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
#4166: SesaOle Sesanood Say Spicy – United States
Hey look! It’s a Taiwanese product specifically for the US market. This one is a spicy sesame paste dry noodle – this should be good! Let’s give it a try!
#4164: JTM Food XO Sauce Seafood Noodle – China
This is another one I found a couple days before Lunar New Year. The bar code came up with nothing which was a little troublesome, but I did manage to find the website on the packaging. The XO definitely is a reference to XO sauce, and it being blue and pics of the bowl definitely mean it’s gotta be XO sauce seafood. At least, I think so. Let’s check this one out!
#4163: BAMAN Rice Noodles, Hot and Sour – China
Another one I found during sales on Lunar New Year products. Very curious about this one and kind of confused as to how to prepare it, but I’ll figure it out. Let’s give it a look!
#4162: I’m E Choice For You Spicy Min Saeng Ramen – United States
I found this yesterday while looking for Lunar New Year specials at a big Asian grocery store. I immediately knew what I was looking at when I saw the font. These are from eMart. They’re a really big hypermarket chain in South Korea which now is opening stores in the United States. Now, this is a private label product, so one of the big companies in South Korea is making it for them . Not sure which one, but in the past it’s been Samyang. Let’s check it out!
#4160: Lin Jia Ya Tou 2x Spicy Salted Egg Yolk Flavour – China
I’m getting this post ready to go the day before Lunar New Year – – we went to a big Asian grocery just north of Seattle yesterday and shopped for noodles. They usually have some really neat things in store for the special holiday! This is supposed to be an extra spicy salted egg variety – very curious about it – let’s check it out and see if it’s truly ultra spicy! I should note that I had no clue my lens was so greasy – which is a bummer since I did three shows and a mukbang while it was like this… So, forgive me. It’s clean now, although a little late…
#4155: Kung Fu Noodles Premium Braised Beef Noodle Soup – Taiwan
From the folks that brought you the unique goose oil dry noodles, we now have a braised beef variety. This looks really quite fancy – definitely a super premium range. It’s joined also in this range by a Duck Blood Mung Bean Noodle variant which also sounds good – let’s give this one a try from Kung Fu Noodles, a newcomer to the Taiwanese Top Ten.
#4151: MIT Ginger & Sesame Oil Noodles – Taiwan
Here’s a Vegan variety that was sent by James from Lakeside, CA – thanks again! So these are very thin dry noodles from Taiwan. Usually they’ve been hit or miss, but we shall see. The sick continues. At some point soon, we’ll know if we have the COVID or not. Let’s give these a try.
#4149: Myojo HYBRID X Scallop x Chicken NOODLEVOICE Rich Scallop Soba – Japan
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
#4141: Sichuan Baijia Lanzhou Artificial Beef Flavor Noodle – China
I think I recently did another version of this a little while back – that’s usually means it’s been months. Anyways, pretty crazy here now what with Omicron – so I’ve gotten two emails from the kiddos school district saying be prepared if things get worse they’ll be back home with their school tablets again. That would be incredibly unfortunate; they get so much out of socializing. Then again I don’t want my kids getting sick. My son’s fully vaccinated and my daughter got her first one a day after her 5th birthday just before Christmas.
#4134: FreshRamen4All.com Curry Miso Ramen – United States
Check this out! Ramen delivery service! I got some samples from www.FreshRamen4All.com – they make everything in these kits and ship them to your door fresh! If you want to try them out, don’t forget to use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount!
#4133: FreshRamen4All.com Nagoya Ramen – United States
Check this out! Ramen delivery service! I got some samples from www.FreshRamen4All.com – they make everything in these kits and ship them to your door fresh! If you want to try them out, don’t forget to use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount!
#4132: Nissin Cup Noodles Fish Head Curry Flavor – Singapore
This is an interesting review. Usually, the reviews I post daily have been done months in advance. However today’s review was probably done the day prior. It’s Monday night right now, the kids are having dinner, the guinea pigs a weeping waiting for theirs. I’m writing this framework for review #4235. The thing is that this product was introduced in Singapore on April 4th and only made for 3 weeks, so they’re already running out. They sent me a special box with some samples and I posted the unboxing today. So I’m going to review it tomorrow (Tuesday), and release it on Wednesday. So that being said, I’ll have to switch the number of this review with the one that was going to come out on Wednesday. Should be fine. Since this is so limited edition, I just want people to see it while it makes sense for them to see it. Anyways, there you are. I hope it’s good!
#4131: Soupply Chicken Pho Bowl With Real Meat & Collagen – United States
Here’s the second of two products from Soupply containing retort pouches. This is really quite awesome – something I’ve wanted to see for a long time. Retort pouches are like flexible cans that can contain meats, vegetables, broths and more. This gives a serious boost to noodle soups that are shelf stable. Let’s check it out!
The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2022 Edition
It’s been twenty years since I started this crazy journey of reviewing instant noodles. I never even envisioned I’d be doing it for twenty years; it was just something to try out way back when. There have been ups and downs in the past – and recent past. I ended up getting COVID (as did the rest of my family) in early January this year. It wasn’t too bad in itself, but the repercussions were. I ended up in the ICU for blood clots in my lungs. It’s happened before when I slept ten hours on a cramped flight – but this time didn’t make sense as I walk a whole lot. Anyways, I’m better now, but it’s been a tough go to be sure. I hope all of you reading are happy and healthy!
#4129: Soupply Filet & Brisket Pho Bowl With Real Meat & Collagen – United States
For a long time now, I’ve thought something that would be really quite amazing would be if instant noodles in the US would take a cue from the outside world. That cue is the retort pouch. Retort pouches are basically like flexible soup cans; metallic pouches that can hold meats and vegetables, sauces and more to give a noodle dish a serious boost while retaining shelf stability. I’m really curious about these – I reached out to the company to find out about samples and that worked out well as I’ve got some to try. There are two versions – a beef and a chicken. Let’s start with this beef one and in a couple reviews, the chicken.
#4128: Paldo Teumsae Cheese Tteokbokki – South Korea
Here’s one from James in Lakeside, CA – thanks again! Wow – this looks burly. I had to read around to verify cooking instructions and they aren’t hard to cook – just wanted to do it right. This will be my first mukbang I’ve done in ages – not only that, I’ve been hardcore on diet and exercise lately, so not only will it be spicy, it’s going to be a gut buster. Egad. Let’s give it a shot!
#4124: Charming Couple Biang Biang Vegan Sichuan Pepper Sesame – Taiwan
I’m really excited to try this one – I love sesame paste and I love spicy things – unsure if this is sesame paste or sesame oil though – but we shall see! The last variety was really good so we shall see. Let’s go!
#4121: SesaOle Sesanood Sesaiginal – United States
This one sounds interesting. So, this is a Taiwanese made product specifically for the US market. This sounds as if it’s full of sesame with the sesa prefix to all the parts of the product’s name and maker! Let’s check it out!
#4119: Sapporo Ichiban Tonkotsu Ramen Japanese Style Noodles – United States
This one came from Exotic Noods! Exotic Noods has great monthly subscription boxes with products from around the world. Worth a look! Use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount!
#4117: Charming Couple Biang Biang Scallion Chicken Sauce – Taiwan
Recently got a huge box of these from Charming Couple – thanks! So this is biang biang, a very wide belt noodle. They sent 4 varieties and will be trying them soon – they all have really funny graphics on them. Let’s check this one out!
#4115: Nan Chuan Dao Sheng Wuhan Sesame Hot Sauce Konjac Rice Noodle – China
Konjac noodles generally are very chewy and rubbery – unless they have a gauge that works well with them. That being said, they’re also quite low in calories – extremely low. This one seems to marry konjac and rice together for the noodle. However, if it were simply konjac, it would be much lower. Anyways, let’s see what we have.
#4112: Red Chef Hae Bee Hiam Dried Noodles – Singapore
This one was on the global top ten list last year, but under a different brand name. This time, it’s by Red Chef. But does it taste the same? One easy way to find out! I remember a strong prawn flavor that was just relentless – and if you like sweet prawn sauce like me, you’re going to really lose it over this. Let’s check it out!
#4109: Hi-Lai Foods Lai Noodle Vegan Sesame Paste Flavor – Taiwan
Definitely excited about this one – today I got home from a ten mile walk and found a big box at my doorstep. I haven’t even edited the unboxing video yet – and here we are. This as far as I can tell, is their Pepper Sesame Lai Noodle – it also sounds like it’s the favorite of an influential lady in Taiwan. Let’s check it out!
#4108: Nissin Menya Itto Ramen – Japan
This looks like a fancy one – it came in a 5am Ramen subscription box! Check em out at www.instantramen.jp and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount!
Meet The Manufacturer: #4106: Best Wok Mi Goreng Black Pepper Seafood Flavour – Indonesia
It’s really great when I get something from Indonesia – it happens so infrequently! Some of my favorites are from Indonesia and some are from this brand, Best Wok. This is a variety I’ve not seen before – looking forward to trying! Let’s hit it!