Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
The last time I reviewed Kiki noodles was quite a while agoi. I remember that I really enjoyed them quite a bit – high quality noodles and good tasty flavor. Well, now they’ve come out with two new dry varieties – this one is aged vinegar and the other has a young vinegar. Sounds interesting to me – let’s give it a try!
Here’s another neat one from Zenpop.JP. Thank you! So Zenpop has all sorts of monthly boxes including ramen boxes. Nine instant ramen in one box for a good price – check ’em out and use coupon code RAMENRATER at checkout for a discount! Here’s what they had to say about this one –
Brought this one back with me from Taiwan last year! Time to crack it open and give it a try, that’s for sure. Something about a beef noodle sounds like a good idea today. Let’s do this!
Here’s another neat one from Zenpop.JP. Thank you! So Zenpop has all sorts of monthly boxes including ramen boxes. Nine instant ramen in one box for a good price – check ’em out! Here’s what they had to say about this one – ‘Simple, classic shouyu ramen will never be boring. Flavorful vegetables, roasted garlic, and black pepper boost the savory taste of shouyu based chicken soup. The toppings include chopped roasted pork, shrimps, scrambled eggs and green onions.’
When the Very Veggie line came out, my first thought was that it would just be varieties for Vegans and Vegetarians. Surprisingly, there was no option for this crowd. Well, it seems that that has changed! This one was sent to me by Robert Z. from Kentucky – thanks man – go check out his cooking blog www.dadbert.com! He found this at a local grocery store – nothing about this and the other new Cup Noodles he found and sent on their site or mentioned on Instagram. This has led me to think that perhaps he’s in what’s called a ‘test market.’ In some areas, a product will be introduced to meter how it’s received by the public – if it sells really well, it’ll go nationwide. If not, it might be pulled. Let’s pop the lid and look under the hood.
Alright so today we have one that was sent by Daniel from Brazil – thank you again so much! This one looks to be a bolognese and from the colors of red, white and green, an Italian-themed variety. Sounds good to me! Let’s take a look.
Here’s a big tray of yakisoba I found up in Canada at Osaka Market in Yaohan Centre, Richmond, BC. Yeah, that’s a mouthful. Anyways, sometimes they’ll have a special on Japanese varieties that are somewhat new and this is one of them. Here’s a little about yakisoba from Wikipedia for you –
Lugged this back from Taiwan in November of 2017. After talking to my friend about what this was called, this is what we came up with. Let’s crack it open and take a look!
Here’s one sent to me by Ippin, a purveyor of lots of different Japanese products. This is definitely a fancy variety from a set of Kanto region varieties based on popular ramen shops. Not a lot of boxes come across my desk so this should be interesting! Here’s what the Ippin website had to say about this variety:
Okay so this one was found up in Canada at China World. It was apart from the instant noodles and looked really odd where it was sitting to be honest. So let’s crack it open and give it a try.
So this one is made in Indonesia and I got it from Nissin Singapore – thanks! The last one of these I tried was ‘Japanese Sauce’ flavor – and definitely was very Indonesian in flavor and quite amazing. Very curious about this one – let’s take a look.
Here’s one that came by way of Japan Crate’s Umai Crate – thanks! You can get nice boxes of instant noodles all the way from Japan to your door every month – check em out! Here’s what they had to say about these in the pamphlet that comes with the box:
Shallots are one thing I have always enjoyed. Kind of like an onion, really oily and strong flavor. This one says it’s got shallot flavor to it – and I’ve had a lot of shallot flavored Taiwanese varieties to date. Let’s see how it is!
It seems like every dry noodle company has a spicy one. Usually these are Sichuan peppercorn-infused, logical and tasty. Let’s have a look in this brown bag and see what is within!
Today, we part ways with Miandom and their Tasty Asia range. I have a feeling green curry and black pepper crab might not be the only products we see from this new company. This is the green curry cup version. Let’s take a look!
When I first noticed these on Samyang Foods’ Instagram feed, I was really curious. I’ve had the hot Samyang Ramen in the past and liked it. But I thought I should give it a look, especially with the new red look to it.
Well this is very nice to see. This is a popular variety in Japan. Cup Noodle Seafood has been around for some time. Well, Nissin USA has brought it here to the United States in a microwave form with no added MSG and no artificial flavors. Here’s a little tidbit from Wikipedia about Cup Noodle –
It seems like almost everything that comes from South Korea is spicy, doesn’t it? Well, let’s break that concept right here. Gomtang isn’t spicy at all – it’s milky and beefy! Herte’s a little about it from Wikipedia –
Here’s one sent to me by Ippin, a purveyor of lots of different Japanese products. This is definitely a fancy variety from a set of Kanto region varieties based on popular ramen shops. Not a lot of boxes come across my desk so this should be interesting! Here’s what the Ippin website had to say about this variety:
I received this as a gift from a representative of the Little Cook brand in Taipei, Taiwan at the Taiwan International Food Expo! Thank you very much! She also accepted the third place award from The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2017 Edition – Little Cook Green Curry – at the awards show. I’ve been waiting for the right time to have this one! Let’s take a look!
Alright so when I found this up at China World in Richmond, BC, I was curious. ‘What’s this torpid all about, anyway?’ Well, Thanks to my friend Kyle, that’s been cleared up. It’s a really bad translation. This really should be Sichuan Spicy Flavor. As far as torpid goes, here’s the definition –
Here’s one sent to me by Ippin, a purveyor of lots of different Japanese products. This is definitely a fancy variety from a set of Kanto region varieties based on popular ramen shops. Not a lot of boxes come across my desk so this should be interesting! Here’s what the Ippin website had to say about this variety:
After a long time, it’s finally happened. I’ve thought for ages that a product with these broad noodles and a soup would be really interesting! Here’s what they have to say about it –
Another Man Dashi variety today – this time it’s BBQ! Here’s what they have to say about this one –
I remember when I was at the Taiwan International Food Expo 2017 and seeing the Wu-Mu booth. Two gentlemen were sitting and talking and I came over and introduced myself. They gave me a sample of this product and I haven’t had the chance to review it yet – which works perfect as it’s now being reviewed in a Meet The Manufacturer series./ Here’s what they have to say about this variety:
Here’s another one of the straight noodle varieties from Wu-Mu’s Man Dashi Noodle Master range. Here’s what they have to say about it –
Today I try a straight dry noodle in the Man Dashi (mian da shi) range . The name translates to ‘noodle master.’ Here’s a little info from Wu-Mu about this one –
We start this series with a classic flavor – jah jan. Here’s a little about it from Wikipedia –
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 one –
A little while back, the kind folks at Yum Yum in Thailand sent me a box just packed with varieties I’d never tried before – thanks again! Today we’ve got one of them. What is tom klong pla krob you ask? Well, it’s a sour and spicy smoked fish soup. There, that wasn’t too hard, was it? Let’s pop it open and give it a try!
Here’s one sent by a fellow named Jay from Taiwan – thanks! I did see these and another variety at Uwajimaya in Beaverton, OR on our way back from California a couple of months ago. So these are dry noodles. Dry noodles are prepared by cooking, draining, then adding sauce and stirring. Pretty easy to do. These sound interesting – basil! Let’s have a look and give these a try.
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!
Hey look at this! This came by way of Hobby Link Japan, a great site that has all sorts of amazing Japanese things including instant noodles! Thank you very much! Here’s what they had to say about this unique variety on their website –
Spud noodles! I’ve liked pretty much every potato noodle variety I’ve tried. Potatoes are a good way to increase the chewiness of noodles in a pretty inexpensive way. Potatoes are pretty easy to produce I’m guessing – just find some land and throw stuff in the ground and sooner or later – hey – potatoes. Well, let’s check this one out!
Hey look at this! This came by way of Hobby Link Japan, a great site that has all sorts of amazing Japanese things including instant noodles! Thank you very much! Here’s what they had to say about this unique variety on their website –
Well, this was something that upon hearing about, made me extremely happy. Curry. From Nissin Foods America. I mean wow – this is something now made and available in the United States! How awesome is that? Not only this one, but the Seafood Cup Noodle is available too. They’ve changed the recipe a little and now have no artifical flavors and no MSG. Plus, you CAN MICROWAVE IT! Wow – pretty awesome! The lid says these are the #1 curry cup noodles in Japan. I’m going to go out on a limb and say these are the same for the United States as I do believe they’re the ONLY curry cup variety in the United States. So let’s see if these are good – I really, really hope they’re going to stick around for a while!
Here’s one sent to me by Ippin, a purveyor of lots of different Japanese products. This is definitely a fancy variety from a set of Kanto region varieties based on popular ramen shops. Not a lot of boxes come across my desk so this should be interesting! Here’s what the Ippin website had to say about this variety:
Here’s one that’s new to me – my ramen. my ramen is a range of Japanese instant ramen that are Vegan, HALAL, animal free, dairy free, shellfish free, fish free, alcohol free, and dairy free. That’s a lot of bases covered. But of course the question is: is it good? Well, let’s find out!
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 one -‘Dashi is essential for most Japanese dishes including udon. This healthy udon is low in sodium and moreover, it contains GABA which helps lower the blood pressure, reduce the stress, and make you relaxed. Of course, it’s super tasty too.’ Alright – let’s crack it open!
I really the enjoy that I have the opportunity to review products from a lot of different countries. This really makes things interesting every day. Today, we’ve got one from Yum Yum of Thailand. This is tom yum kung – let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about it –
