Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Found this neat little box of noodles recently at 99 Ranch Market and thought oh yeah I’m trying this. The name is kind of hard for me to say – pretty long too. I don’t always like to share which has been a failing of mine I’ll admit. Maybe my daughter will try it. Then I can say I shared, but I won’t say I love to share.
I was contacted in July 2020 about a new variety of noodle hailing from Taiwan. I was very interested in trying and gave the company the go ahead. Fast forward to mid September and I’m going to give it a try – they arrived last week. These sound interesting; they’re Vegan friendly and have a minced pork sachet which is made with so protein, mushrooms, white fungus, celery and other vegetables. A chewy noodle and a ‘secret sauce’ with Sichuan pepper is mentioned in the promotional sheet that accompanied these. Let’s give it a try!
I was told this one’s their most popular product! I’m very curious – I recently tried a nice seafood tonkotsu so I’m curious how a fresh one’s going to be. Let’s check it out!
The second of four reviews of Myojo USA products – garlic miso. This again is one you’ll find in the refrigerated section. Excited to try this – let’s check it out!
Today, we have the first of four varieties from Myojo USA, a shio tonkotsu. That pic on the from of the pack says it all – this should be a milky and savory pork bone broth with really good noodles. Let’s check it out!
I had this one a while back but the packaging was a little different, so this one gets a new review. I’ve been incredibly impressed with the laksa and ton yum kung flavor profiles coming from Sau Tao – so much that they’ve been on the Top Ten for 2 years now. What’s more is they pair them with a myriad of noodle varieties. Let’s do up some laksa!
My initial though was ‘wow – what a good price!’ Found these at 99 Ranch Market for 99 cents! However, I did notice they expire in 4 days and immediately realized why they’re so cheap! Let’s give them a try.
As promised yesterday, here’s another one we found up in Canada at Smart’n’Save at the Lansdowne Centre mall. My daughter Mimi asks every once in a while these days ‘can we go to the Hello Kitty store, Papa’ and Miles immediately says ‘no Mimi, Canada is closed.’ Pretty sad. Man, I hope they come up with a vaccine for COVID-19 soon! I miss the wonders of the land to the north…
Okay so this one comes with an included… story! One day, the family went up to Canada to do the regular stuff – get some toys, peanut butter, hit up the Asian markets, etc. Well, we went to Smart’n’Save at Lansdowne Centre and saw these bowls. Got one and eventually drove home.
Here’s another one that came by way of an Exotic Noods subscription box – use coupon code RAMENRATER15 for a discount! So these are kind of fancy – higher grade of noodle and dry as well as liquid base. Let’s check it out!
Found this over at India Supermarket in Bellevue, WA. One of many ‘four-in-one’ packs. India. Curry. Let’s do this!
I like how the characters have wheels! This is another one of the ‘trolley noodle’ varieties – still unsure what kind of trolley they’re referring to. Let’s give it a try.
Here’s the second variety shipped by PLN Food Co. Ltd. of Taiwan. Really appreciate them going to all the trouble shipping these over – I can’t even imagine how much it costs to ship a 90 pound box express international via FedEx! This one’s got a spicy paste involved and sound really good – let’s check it out!
Here’s the first of two varieties that PLN Food Co. Ltd. of Taiwan sent over. This is not an instant variety – this is a frozen variety! They went to extreme lengths to send it over for my review and I’m really excited to try them! Let’s have a look.
You might be saying ‘gosh, you’re reviewing a lot of Sau Tao stuff!’ Well, yes I am – as I have a lot of different varieties in a couple boxes in our bedroom currently. I’m trying to review things that are big to shrink things down so they’ll fit in the hampers.
Hooray! Let’s go to India! Actually, I went to India Supermarket in Bellevue, Washington last month! They have a really great selection of varieties from India. It’s pretty common that Indian varieties come in these wide 4 packs. They had a ton I’d not tried and you’ll be seeing them rolling on through shortly. I got some neat stuff to add in as well Let’s go!
Recently, I finished a Meet The Manufacturer series with Sau Tao. They shipped a whole pallet of samples of a myriad of different styles and varieties. A PALLET! Well, the upshot is that I still have so many different styles and varieties to review! Here is one of them.
Today, we come to the end of this Meet The Manufacturer series of Thien Huong products. I want to thank John and C&T Produce Wholesale for sending over the samples and participating in this, the first ever Vietnamese spotlight series. Now, let’s give this beef variety a try and wrap things up.
I thought it fitting to start things off with probably the variety most familiar to people – pho, and in particular, pho bo. There are a ton of pho restaurants nearby me – haven’t been in a while and as I type this in after reviewing this one, I’m thinking I need to visit one. It’s been too long! Unfortunately, no restaurants open at this point – luckily, I’ve got a series of Vietnamese varieties to review! Let’s check this one out!
Here’s the third of this short series we’ll be checking out – spicy cheese! I’m totally unsure what to expect out of this; cheese and Indonesia aren’t at all synonymous in my reviewing experience. I want to thank Ni over at Fusion Gourmet for agreeing to partake in Meet The Manufacturer! Let’s give this one a try!
Probably the best known (and deservedly so) dish of Indonesia is mi goreng. A combination of sweet soy, a spicy sauce, and a myriad of additions make it such a delightful dish. Today I’ll cook up this one which comes in a cup.
This sounds really good – and spicy! It mentions using different amount of spice sachets to increase or decrease the heat. I’m hoping this is a real barn burner! Let’s find out.
Here’s another one from Sau Tao – a trolley noodle! I’m so curious about these… I want to go on a trolley and have noodles; it sounds enjoyable! Let’s give these a try!
Yeah I know – just did a Meet The Manufacturer series with Sau Tao. But they send a ton of different varieties and they’re taking up room in the bedroom so Going to be fitting a couple in every few days until I’ve gone through all of those too I think. It’s spicy time – let’s give these a try!
This is another one sent over by James of Lakeside, CA – thanks again, buddy! So man… It’s Wednesday at least. So Monday my wife Kit got a dreaded kidney stone so if you know what that is, your know what that is. I’ve never had one, but watching her go through dealing with one before, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Luckily, when I type here it’s generally 100 days down the road that it’s published, so hopefully that stone is long gone. Evil things, these stones…
This is a kind of rare occurrence. I reviewed this one yesterday. Usually the posts you see here every day are from at least 100 days prior – it’s nice being ahead of the game. But, this being a re-review, it doesn’t get a new review number or anything. I was at the store and thought it would be nice to have something easy to do up and post.
Hey look – another Unboxing Time With The Ramen Rater! This one came today and we brought it inside set up the lights, shot the video, edited it and boom here it is! Lots of neat stuff in this box! Check it out! Get yours here: http://bit.ly/UmaiCrate
Use coupon code THERAMENRATER for extra discount!
Still just surprised with all the different varieties. Here’s a nice wide-style noodle from Hong Kong – Let’s cook some up!
There are so many varieties these folks make and I’m glad because this has been one of the most varied Meet The Manufacturer series yet. This is a flavor however I could revisit with a different noodle pairing repeatedly with enjoyment, as well as their Tom Yum Kung. Laksa is a tasty thing! Let’s make this one and see how this pairing goes as we march towards review 4000.
I’m still just amazed how many different styles of noodles this company has – they sent so many! This is a unique pack, too. Ten packs, ten sachets. Shall we give it a try?
I’ve had a lot of Taiwanese dry noodles in my day, but never any hailing from Hong Kong as far as I can remember. Maybe, but I don’t think so. These noodles are without a broth – they’re from simple ingredients, too. You boil, drain, add in some ingredients, stir and eat. These are also considered mix noodles. Let’s mix it up and see what we get!
I thought it would be a good plan to look up Jiangnan cuisine in order to impart a little more info about this variety aside from the XO Sauce reference – if you’re interested in that, look at yesterday’s review – but I found that Shanghai is in Jiangnan and got a list of notable seafood dishes from there you might find interesting and truly wonderful from Wikipedia –
Hey this sounds neat – but what are Trolley Noodles anyways? All I can surmise after doing some research is that Trolley Noodles are akin to cart noodles. Basically, hawker style. Let’s open this laksa flavor variety up and take a look!
To start things off, I grabbed something randomly ou of the massive pile of samples I have here. These are ho fan rice noodles – thin and flat. Wikipedia had this to say –
Here’s the third of three new single pack offerings from Hakubaku. Miso is a style of broth is either love or hate. I have a feeling this one isn’t going to fall into the latter category. I’ve been trying a lot of instants for a long time and really hoping this one fits the ‘approval’ bill. Let’s find out!
The second of three new single pack varieties from Hakubaku. They’re a pretty neat company – they’ve sent me lots of different products. One I’ve really liked is their Mochi Barley. They also make barley tea as well. The ramen I’ve tried before, but not this specific flavor – it’s brand new! Let’s give it a try!
Check this one out! You ready for a spicy snack? These are snack noodles. You eat them dry without soup – kind of like potato chips.
Ah – it’s curry day. I love curry in every way, shape, and form. Curry noodles, curry chicken, curried lamb, curry kimchi… Yeah curry everything. This is a spicy curry – let’s give it a go!
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.
I’ll be honest – I really don’t know for sure where this one came from. I’m going to guess Uwajimaya but I could be totally wrong on that. Either way, noodles, yakisoba sauce – usually something good comes of this combination! Let’s find out.
