Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
I thought it would be cool since I got a set of those Egglettes things to make soft boiled eggs and I also have chashu and all my veg to make something from the cold case. I’ve been eyeballing these Myojo refrigerated varieties for quite some time now and thought hey – let’s get one and cook it up! So, that’s what I’m doing and here we go!
Hey look at this! A Tapatio instant noodle! I’ve seen people douse their instant noodles in this stuff for years on Instagram. Here’s a little about it from Wikipedia –
Here’s another one that was sent by a University student working on her master’s thesis. She asked me to review a set of six instant noodle varieties by Vedan. Sure! I’ve tried this before in an export version and really didn’t like it. Let’s give this local variety a try.
Yesterday, I needed a new pair of pants. I’m not into ultra fashionable stuff – like paying $100 for jeans, so we went to Walmart. Walmart is an interesting place – you’ll see some interesting people there – especially at the one in Lynnwood, Washington. When we got out of the car, there was the sound of some guy at the other side of the parking lot screaming obscenities at someone or some thing – unsure. But that was entertaining. In the store, we g ot to see a lady with a very small dog barking at everyone and every thing ( apparently, if you have an ’emotional support’ dog you can bring it with you, but this dog needed emotional support and was definitely not providing it for anyone). I did get some new pants, and they were extremely cheap. $16 for pants. It’s been a while since we’ve been to Walmart so I thought a trip down the domestic instant noodle aisle might be in order. Surprisingly, they had a very small amount of them, however they did have this pack. Creamy Chicken has been one of my absolute favorites for a very, very long time. I am curious to see whether or not they’ve changed the recipe as that seems to be a popular thing to do in the US instant noodle market right now. Let’s crack open this new package design and give it a try!
Here’s one of the six varieties sent by a Taiwanese university student. She asked if I could review a specific set of varieties as special research for her master’s thesis and I said absolutely. I’m not sure about this variety – insofar what Dynasty Beef is. I did some looking, but it seems that the word dynasty kind of takes precedent in search results and so that’s not very helpful. Anyways, let’s have a look at this fancy one from Taiwan.
Here’s a new one from Taiwan by A-Sha Foods. This is Dan Zai flavor – one of their new range of more high end products. Some differences are instead of a 75g block it’s 90g. Lots of sauce/paste too.
Spicy is definitely something that Samyang Foods is known for what with their ubiquitous Buldak Bokkeummyun spicy stir noodle line. This however, should also get some due attention. This is the spicy version of their first-ever product, and indeed the first ramyun to be produced in South Korea. What has come as bit of a surprise lately is that this is not a beef variety – it’s ham. Wait, what?! Ham? Yep. I thought beef was the focal point of this one, but from a TV spot Samyang Foods did, it’s pretty evident that it isn’t. Learn something new all the time. Well, let’s give it a try!
Here’s one I’ve not tried before – the wholegrain prawn. I’ve tried the regular prawn, but not the wholegrain. This version married the thick and hearty wholegrain la mian with their prawn soup base. Let’s take a look and see how it is!
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! This variety is a yakisoba with a cheese curry flavor! I tell ya, this sounds really quite good to me! Here’s a little about it from Wikipedia –
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.
