Category: Taiwan

A-Sha Sends $200 Crazy Rich Ramen!

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Yeah, you heard that right – $200! Actually, $199 – but close enough. This is an ultra premium variety. I generally tell people that one of the best thing if you’re sick with the flu is to curl up with a bowl of noodles. Well, that’s influenza. If you’re suffering from the needs associated with affluenza, this might be the noodle you’re looking for. I should mention that at the time of this posting, they’re running a sale of it, so it’s $99 bucks and free shipping. Good timing with the holidays and all. The day after this posts, the review for this will come out. Big thanks to A-Sha for sending this over – let’s check out the unboxing! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2023 Edition

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The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2023 Edition

Usually, The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese list gets posted mid September. This year it’s been pretty busy around here. Better late than never, I say. These are my absolutely favorite Taiwanese varieties I’ve tried. All ratings are on the base product – before I add anything to make them look nice. This list is current as of review #4300. Want me to review your product? Contact me! Let’s check out The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2023 Edition! ...see full post

#4294: Mom’s Dry Noodle Spicy Goose Oil With Shallot – Taiwan

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#4310: Mom's Dry Noodle Spicy Goose Oil With Shallot - Taiwan

It’s probably a surprise to you, but I haven’t done a regular review in about a month. Why? Well, for almost two months I was doing 3 reviews a day, almost every day. So, I got way ahead of myself and decided to take a break. I also ran out of noodles and thought maybe I’d let my noodle supply grow a little bit, which it has. This is a variety that came in the last month. I did an interview for a fancy food publication called Magazine F from South Korea – they did a ramen themed issue. They hired a local photographer to do a photo shoot and I made some of this for it. It’s Friday right now – June 23rd. I’m guessing it’ll be late autumn when it comes out. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

#4281: Wu-Mu Mandashi Sesame Paste Flavor Noodle – Taiwan

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#4281: Wu-Mu Mandashi Sesame Paste Flavor Noodle - Taiwan

The last one of these I tried was quite good. This one is a sesame paste flavor. Many would liken it to peanut butter, but it’s a bit different usually. It’s really a nice way to liven up dry noodles, that’s for sure. I’ve had it cold on the streets of Taipei – and it was really delicious. I have to say, visiting Taiwan has been a highlight of my days on Earth. It’s a vibrant place full of new things to try. Yeah – don’t be a square – visit the beautiful island of Taiwan. ...see full post

#4264: A-Sha Dry Noodle My Melody Mandarin Style Noodles With Friendly Scallion Sauce – United States

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#4264: A-Sha Dry Noodle My Melody Mandarin Style Noodles With Friendly Scallion Sauce - United States

Here’s the second in a series of four Hello Kitty & Friends varieties from A-Sha Dry Noodle of Taiwan. This one’s made for the US market. So far, impressed as the soy sauce one was excellent. Let’s continue on with some friendly scallion sauce noodle – should be able to find them at www.ashadrynoodle.com. ...see full post

Instant Noodle Recipe Time – Episode 1500

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Instant Noodle Recipe Time - Episode 1500

A number of years ago, I thought I’d see what would happen if I cooked up some noodles and ran a camera as I did it. It’s kind of funny – a lot of the large projects in my life have started with ‘let’s see what happens.’ I had thought for years the idea of shooting video while I cooked noodles for reviews was a purely idiotic idea; I would have to edit every video, which would take so much more time than the way I did things. Well, I found a way around that. ...see full post

A-Sha x LINE BT21 Collab Noodle Inspired By BTS

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Okay so if you’re me, you probably don’t know what’s going on here. I’ll admit it – I’m 47 and not hip to current things as I suppose I should be. So here goes – there’s a K-POP band called BTS. Them, I’ve heard of, although I don’t know if I’ve heard their music. Then there’s LINE, which I think is a social media or messagiong platform? Then there’s BT21 which from what I’m getting are emoji/sticker characters from LINE inspired by BTS. Please correct me if I’m wrong and my apologies – I’m acronym challenged. But what I do know is I do like A-Sha noodles, so these should be pretty good and I’m really looking forward to reviewing them. Let’s check out the unboxing. ...see full post

Little Couples Sends Alishan Tea Dry Noodle

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I’ve tried a lot of different Taiwanese dry noodle varieties over the years, but this one is very different. It contains Alishan Oolong Tea which sounds exotic and fancy. The folks who run Little Couples are from Chiayi, Taiwan where the tea is meticulously cultivated. Let’s check out this new variety! ...see full post

#4193: Bull Head Dry Noodle Spicy Sichuan Pepper Flavor – Taiwan

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#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! ...see full post

#4191: Kung Fu Noodle Spicy Duck Blood With Mung Bean Noodle Soup – Taiwan

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#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! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2022 Edition

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The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2022 Edition

Lots of people enjoy bowls full of noodles from around the world. They often come with a utensil, and all you need it hot water. For a quick meal, they’re hard to beat insofar as convenience. Some bowls however go above and beyond a utilitarian sense and are truly gourmet. This list is comprised of my favorite bowl varieties from all reviews up to #4120. All scoring is done prior to garnish being added. Do you want me to review something I haven’t? Drop me a line! With that, let’s peruse my top picks on The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2022 Edition! ...see full post

#4155: Kung Fu Noodles Premium Braised Beef Noodle Soup – Taiwan

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#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. ...see full post

#4143: Charming Couple Biang Biang Garlic Oil Fermented Tofu – Taiwan

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#4143: Charming Couple Biang Biang Garlic Oil Fermented Tofu - Taiwan

Wow – I can’t believe I’m still awake and actually being productive. You see, I did an interview for Arirang Radio in South Korea last night – at 2am and then got up around 5:30am… It’s about 6pm now and I’m sincerely beat. Was worth it though – fun interview! Anyways, Just got done editing images for three reviews and now readying posts. Tomorrow is Friday and seems like I ought to do some reviews, so I think I will. I get ’em ready to go the night before, you see. Well, let’s give this one a try! ...see full post

#4109: Hi-Lai Foods Lai Noodle Vegan Sesame Paste Flavor – Taiwan

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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! ...see full post

#4080: Ve Wong Artificial Peppered Beef Flavor – Taiwan

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#4080: Ve Wong Artificial Peppered Beef Flavor - Taiwan

September 8th, 2010. That was the last time I tried this one – it was review #132. I’ve been reviewing instant noodles since then – it’s kind of crazy. I mean, over 11 years ago  and almost 4000 reviews later, I’m still into reviewing instant noodles. Let’s revisit these – it’s not a re-review since in that amount of time, a lot of things can happen. For one thing, the packaging has changed. Another thing is that the same ingredients from suppliers may have changed. After 11 years, a lot changed in a product’s lifecycle. Let’s check this one out. ...see full post

#4052: Shin Horng Pot Burn Noodles Taiwanese Style Minced Pork Flavor – Taiwan

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#4052: Shin Horng Pot Burn Noodles Taiwanese Style Minced Pork Flavor - Taiwan

Here’s one I found while at 99 Ranch Market in Edmonds to get my weekly Salad Cosmo Mung Bean Sprouts. Always such a long shelf on the ones there. It’s truly a wonderful thing! I’ve found this brand makes some really top-notch stuff in the past so figured I’d better give these a try. Let’s check ’em out! ...see full post

#4011: Ve Wong Artificial Chicken & Pork Flavor Instant Noodle – Taiwan

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So my daughter Mimi and I were at the local 99 Ranch Market and she saw this one and asked if I’d tried it. Honestly, I don’t think I have and if I have, it was over ten years ago, so looks like a good shot for a new review. I should point out that this brand, Ve Wong, isn’t pronounce ‘vee’ wong, but ‘way’ wong. Found that out in Taiwan! Let’s check it out. ...see full post