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It’s tough. I got a bunch of great new varieties from Mamee Doubledecker and Mamee Shinsegae recently. I’ve loved this one for a very long time and I’m really quite excited to mave it – thank you! It’s tough though as I want to make this look as lovely and perfect as it deserves. Malaysian varieties are among the finest in the world.
Today, I’m trying the second variety of the samples that Ramen Talk sent recently. I should mention that I’ve made an error here. This image above is the back of the package… My mistake… It sounds really quite good – let’s check it out!
Back in March of 2017, I reviewed this one for the first time. In November, I ended up going to Taiwan for the second time and it was really quite amazing. The first day there I think, I got to visit a little restaurant called ‘Love Instant Noodles.’
I think this is the last of the varieties that Maruchan sent for the Meet The Manufacturer series. Haven’t had this since it’s initial launch many years ago. These look very much like Maruchan Seimen, a range which is very popular in Japan. So, what’s the different? No pork. Let’s give it a go!
Another one found at Asian Family Market on 130th & Aurora . I’ve had Lan Zhou noodles before – and a few Shoo Loong Kan varieties (those were good). During my research on this variety, I’m bombarded by images of lovely beef and coriander aplenty, in really great bowls I wish I had. It makes me really want to go to China; definitely want to try Lan Zhou, the food of Henan, the food of Chongqing… Pretty much every province has their delicacies. Someday I hope. But today, I have this interesting box with a taste of China in it. Let’s give it a try.
Been lagging on doing top ten list editing – my apologies. The weather’s been really good for walking, and in May I did over 500 miles. I included a special post at the bottom about it. I also included something of a change from how I’ve been doing things as well involving AI. Anyways, this is the annual The Ramen Rater’s Global Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls – these are my favorite varieties out of review up to #4440 which are in the bowl style. Hope you enjoy! Top Ten Cups and Bottom Ten lists should be coming soon!
Behold! I was contacted by a fellow on instagram who follows my reviews and asked if I’d tried these as he has, loved them, but couldn’t source them. I looked around and found ramentalk.us and let him know he could get them there, so he was really happy. I also contacted Ramen Talk to hopefully arrange for some samples. I’m certainly glad I did! These look really quite fascinating – they have a few varieties that I’ll be reviewing in short order as well, but this tonkotsu style sounds great – comes with lots of garnish – including a 7cm slice of chashu. On with the show!
Eventually, I’ll get through everything I want to do for the Maruchan Meet The Manufacturer series – there’s a lot of them to go through and then unite all together. I’m cobbling everything together slowly. I got this one at the Kenmore, Washington Safeway store – your standard American domestic grocery store. In these stores, there are two areas you will commonly find instant noodles. There’s the soup aisle, and the ethnic foods aisle. These are in the soup aisle. They’ve got a few varieties of trays – some Maruchan, and some by a competitor . I think I’ll have to see what other Maruchan ones they’ve got, but thought this might be a good one for the trays. Let’s check it out!
New clothes for the classic! Originally, it was a foam bowl with a paper lid in shrinlkwrap. Then, they reformulated for microwave and had a cardboard sleeve. Now, it’s a plastic wrap with the graphics on that. This is classic – ubiquitous with gas stations and little corner shops, many o which are run by Korean Americans. I used to live in a place that had a little grocery/deli mini mart across the way. The fellow there was Korean American and he had these in there, but with a ridiculous markup. I asked him why once. ‘Because that’s my lunch!’
Here’s something different – corn vermicelli! I’ve tried a different gauge of this paired with Ciptarasa mi goreng seasoning and it was really quite nice. This time I’ll try doing up a soup with Ciptaras onion chicken flavor. Let’s give it a go!
This is a review I’m rushing out as kind of a special ‘grand re-opening.’ For the past couple of months I haven’t done more than a small handful of reviews. I’ve been dieting and walking a lot – like over 500 miles in May a lot. With the kids ending their school year today and a couple of months with them at home, I’m back to attempting to do three reviews a day Monday through Friday. I thought I would push this one through because it’s brand new and I know a lot of your will be interested. There’s something else brand new here I’m very excited about which you will be seeing in a while. The finished picture here has a background I created using AI. The ability to make my own backgrounds this was is really something else – I’m stoked. Spent an hour yesterday trying different things – prompts like ‘tranditional Malaysian style wallpaper centered with dark colors’ – things like that. You’ll see them regularly in the fall as even though I’ve taken all this time off, I’m still almost 150 reviews ahead. Yesterday I make a ton of new intros and outros for Instant Noodle Recipe Time, plus a new set of music for the show. So that’s coming up. On with the review!
While we’re knee deep in 2023, I reviewed this one on January 4th – and actually it’s the first review I’ve done in 2023. Big thanks to the nice folks at A-Sha for sending this over – they said it’s available at Costco. Let’s give it a shot.
It’s a couple days after Christmas and one of the last reviews of 2022. Obviously, it’s not coming out in 2022, but that’s when I did this up. I used some things I got for Christmas, including leftovers from dinner – let’s give this one a try – I reviewed it quite a while back but figure it’s due another looksie.
What we have here is a noodle and a seasoning combo – both by the same company. Should be pretty good – in the mood to try. Let’s check it out!
Toyomansi is a combo of soy sauce and calamansi flavors. Calamansi is a kind of citrus kind of similar to lime. This is great – rarely come across Filipino varieties and they’re some really good ones to try. Found this one at HMart with my daughter after her birthday party this year. We took her to Chuck E. Cheese – what an interesting place – very throwback. Let’s check this one out!
Found this one at HMart recently. Looks to be a Vegan version of Jin Ramen and that sounds neat as a change of pace. I’m in the mood for something different – haven’t done a lot of Korean varieties lately. This one is of course made in South Korea but packaged for sale in the United States. Let’s give it a try!
This came out of a box from Frank over at 5amRamen! Check out his stuff over at www.instantramen.jp – use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount! Super premium stuff!
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
Here’s another one from Vite Ramen – another cup! Really liking these new v3.0 variants they sent – this is an older flavor I’ve liked in the past. Is it good? Should be interesting. Let’s find out!
So this is a noodle with no seasoning, however the company that make this makes seasoning as well, so that works out great! These are made by Suprama of Indonesia – the same folks that make Best Wok – a great line of mi goreng varieties I really like. Let’s try this noodle in concert with some special onion chicken seasoning!
This came out of a box from Frank over at 5amRamen! Check out his stuff over at www.instantramen.jp – use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount! Super premium stuff!
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
This came out of a box from Frank over at 5amRamen! Check out his stuff over at www.instantramen.jp – use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount! Super premium stuff!
Big thanks to Pher Engi for sending this along. Have you seen this one? Figured I should get it out there soon as possible for everyone to see. Definitely a departure from the multiple creamy and cheesy flavors as of late. Let’s give it a try!
I just finished reviewing NoodleMix’s konjac noodle bowls – now time for their dry noodles. This is their ‘signature’ flavor – let’s give it a try!
So, what is a konjac noodle? It’s chief ingredient is a root which it is made from – one that has little tro no calories – so it’s great for people looking for a low calorie variety. This one sounds interesting. I do like sesame, however lion’s mane mushrooms are something I’ve no experience with. I suppose its time to give it a try!
Here’s another new one made here in the US! Plus, its tantanmen! Enough of me talking – let’s make this!
This is another that came by way or James from Lakeside, California – thanks again! Haven’t seen/heard of this one before… Looks interesting – a dry variant from Vietnam! Time to cook!
I can’t remember where I found this but I’m stoked. I never find anything from the Philippines I haven’t reviewed which is weird since instant noodles are so popular over there. You might be wondering what is this pancit canton – well, think mi goreng; extremely similar. What’s that chilimansi?! Well, it’s spicy and calamnsi – kind of like a lime. Okay with that out of the way, let’s give it a go I’m stoked!
First – this doesn’t taste like roses. This was sent by The Fat Hipster – thanks man! So, rose is like a chili-cream kind of thing. I tried a rabokki that was rose before and loved it, so we’ll give this a try with high hopes. I want to also thank Samyang Foods for something very exciting to hear – from the Korea Times: ‘For customers who are blind or visually impaired, the company for the first time printed Braille dots on the packaging of Rosé Buldak Stir-fried Noodles.’ This is referring to the cup versions. I think this is truly excellent. I’m legally blind and while I don’t read braille, I think some day I may need to. Really top notch of them – high marks from me. Let’s see if the flavor matches this kind innovation.
Here’s one of the last two from The Fat Hipster – check him out on YouTube as he has eaten pumpkin spice cup noodles, topped with pumpkin spice spam, with whipped cream atop. This is really great. So these noodles are like an extra creamy carbonara as far as I can tell without knowing anything about them. But, I will cook them up and then do a mukbang where I eat them and I will let you know how they taste. Let’s get started.
Well, it’s time to revisit a variety that grazes through my mind from time to time. This is creamy chicken and the name delivers. Definitely has been my favorite Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup flavor in the past, but how is it going these days? It’s been since 2018 – so much has happened in the world since those salad days. Let’s give it another go.
I figured out – I’ve never reviewed the cup version of this one, nor the export version either. So, let’s do it!
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
Here’s another export version for the United States. Four cheese Buldak! What are the four cheeses you ask? Mozzarella, gouda, cheddar, and camambert. It says so in the ingredients. I’ve had the pack version of this and was very impressed. Let’s give the bowl version a try – time for a spin in the microwave.
Another new one from the Vite Ramen folks – thanks again! If you don’t know about this brand, check out the nutrition facts below. Tons of fiber, lower sodium, packed with protein, and a ton of vitamins. Let’s cook it up!
This came out of a box from Frank over at 5amRamen! Check out his stuff over at www.instantramen.jp – use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount! Super premium stuff!
Yep – another Vite Ramen. This has been really neat trying all these new versions and varieties! You should take a look at the image below of the nutrition facts – they’re very impressive. Curry. This is a serious thing for me – let’s tale a look.
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
Here’s one that came in a really neat box from Singapore’s arm of Nissin Foods – thank you! This is a limited edition variety and it sure sounds good. Tom Yam and Tom Yum? Same thing – just a different spelling – as far as I can tell – guess I should look that up – one moment.
