Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
When we get boneless skinless chicken, the pieces are massive. So, I usually roll up my sleeves (I hate that term) and get all meat-mucky, cutting and bagging then tossing in the freezer. I do a lot of small pieces for reviews, but some not. Yesterday’s review employed a larger than necessary piece, so I have leftovers. I figured I’d better find a chicken variety and here’s the one I picked. Sounded nice – here we go!
You might be surprised, but this is a different version of this. Here is the version I got from an Australian friend. If you look at that review, you’ll notice a key difference; one that I’m sad and rather surprised was omitted as it was really the most unique part of it. Let’s give it a try.
Over the years, I’ve received different apparatus for cooking instant noodles. It started with the Rapid Ramen Cooker, a specially designed tray devised by a college student to make instant noodles easier to cook. More recently, the Ramen Now!, a Keurig-style machine for the kitched which heats from above and below. It got me thinking – I wonder if a company that makes one for commercial use might be interested in sponsoring one of their machines to show everyone. Well, they did. Today I’m going to show you The Touch On EZ Cook Ramyun Machine. This thing is quite fascinating, functional, and efficient. Here’s a video followed by a lot of information.
After hunting for ages for this one I looked it up on the Walmart website and boom – here it is. Why this wouldn’t be everywhere alongside the tonkotsu and Korean styled variants I’ve no clue. I figure this could go two ways and hopefully the direction it does go is a good one. Let’s boot up the microwave and give it a try.
Been wanting to try this one every since I saw it was out – saw it at 99 Ranch Market but ultimately got it at Boo Han Market in Edmonds, Washington. Dig that crazy font! It certainly looks like Shin from the imagery, however must be somewhat different. Let’s find out! Made in South Korea and packaged for US sale.
Found this at the HMart in Lynnwood, WA. This one is interesting; it’s an export version, but specifically for where isn’t clear – so it gets the Indonesia checkbox. It’s made in Indonesia, but labeling shows it being for the US market. Let’s cook.
I tried this right when it came out – it used to have different packaging to a slight degree – the logo as well has changed, and since my son wants to try every Buldak out there, here we are. Let’s check it out!
This was a score. Why? Well, I hit Grocery Outlet yesterday in search of noodles to review (it happens from time to time) and saw these. I had to do a double take – the multipack was $1.99. Why so cheap? Expiring next month. No prob lem there. I’ve not reviewed this in ages so I thought an update would be nice especially at that price point. Let’s cook it up!
Alright so I think this is it. I’ve reviewed the cups, the bowls, and the pack versions of this and the spicy version once this is done. They really did a sweeping rebranding – even the name., Let’s cook it up!
Hit a couple Asian markets last weekend and found this and its non-spicy counterpart. I’ve been trying to get my hands on everything in this new Otoki range. Not a super fan of the new labeling; I really liked the standard yellow style. But who knows this might be a bit of a recipe change. Let’s give it a try on this rainy day.
Well, well, well… My son now is very interested in trying tteokbokki. It will go one of two ways. I’ll do it up then we shall do a mukbang (both videos below. So he will either like it or barely try it and say I don’t like it. I guess we shall see. He does like carboinara Buldak, so it’s possible he’ll like it – we will just have to wait and see…
Here’s another Rap Snacks variety sent by The Fat Hipster – thanks! As usual, not expecting a lot from these but I guess we shall see. Let’s give ’em a try.
My son Miles is in full swing obsession with trying everything Buldak. This is an enormous switch for him. Miles is on the spectrum and doesn’t generally venture out of his comfort zone at all when it comes to foods. I’m impressed that he’s making such an effort here – there’s a mukbang below! Let’s give it a go.
This one is an absolute favorite of mine, however I and others have noted some changes in taste from some of the newly named Otoki vs Ottogi. Hopefully, this remains a wonderfully smoky and spicy seafood wonder. Let’s find out!
Okay, here’s another chicken that isn’t exactly right. It’s pork flavored. When as AI was asked about the idea of chicken in carbonara –
Found this one at HMart. The Otoki variants are for the US while Ottogi ones are for the Korean market – at least that’s what it seems like, but I could be wrong on that as I don’t have any official comment from the company. What I do know is that westerners saying Otoki is closer to the hard g/soft k kinda thing. Anyways, let’s have a nice kimchi bowl!
Previously we tried the Big Bowl version. Our local Albertsons affiliate has had tons of Buldak all of a sudden – would be nice if they do more exclusives as they’re going to be easy for me to get my hands on. Let’s check out this pack version – mukbang to follow as well!
Big thanks to James from Lakeside for this one! I recently got a comment on my reviews for my ‘poor sentence structure.’ Well, I write the way I speak (mispelling omitted of course). I used to try and flourish things a lot but I kind of left that behind as it seems ingenuine to me. I had a guy who used ChatGPT to reply to my emails – it was awful. So perky. Anyways, this is a cold one; that works well as its wintertime and this should post in the summer. Let’s cook!
Big thanks to The Fat Hipster for shooting this over. So I’ve sampled Rap Snacks instant noodles before with pretty low scores. I’m hopeful that this new set will be better, but I guess I’ll have to try them to know for sure. I do like trying things even when I really expect to be underwhelmed. The potato chip flavor these are based on is quite good, so hopefully this will follow suit.
Well, another Monday and another strange week. My kids have the day off due to teacher grading day. So many days off – just had winter break, then MLK, now this one. It’s strange – we didn’t get that many, nor did we get short days on Wednesdays like they do every week. I think they get out for summer break late June – we got ouy mid June as far as I can remember. Anyways, today we’re doing another mukbang. Continuing the era of my son Miles wanting to do mukbang, I’m adding a little twist to the mix. I’ve been doing just plain varieties without any garnish. Today I’m adding chicken and scallion in there – oh wait am I out of scallion? Crap. Well, we’ll try it out. with just some chicken. I don’t think I can remember him eating actual meat – this should be interesting, so check out the mukbang below for the results. I’m expecting a look of disdain, but who knows; he might go for it. I’ve not had this in years – do you remember when the original and the cheese both had dark backgrounds? Anyways, let’s kick it into gear.
So it’s been forever since we’ve had a date. We have two kids, 9 and 10 years old. The best we usually get is maybe if we have an appointment while the kids are in school and we get to hang out, and dinner after they’re in bed. We wanted to get honey walnuts prawns as that a favorite of ours, and we found a place with good reviews in Bellevue, Washington called Supreme Dumplings.
Another kind donation from James of Lakeside, California – thanks again! A day of being productive awaits me. Eggs are done, dragging the kids to the thrift store, doing reviews early… Good stuff – gettin’ ‘er done. This one translates to tangy and spicy – let’s give it a go.
Here’s the counterpart of the creamy Saucy Noods. I’ve only seen it once and that was at a liquidation style place so unsure if it still exists, but the creamy one was quite good so hopefully this is good and it is still around.
This is a special one – my daughter Mimi joins me in the Instant Noodle Recipe Time at the bottom so don’t miss that. This is slime. When I was a kid, my mother would have given me hell for playing with something like this and asked me what was wrong with me. Nowadays, there are actually gourmet slime shops and you can lay out a hundred bucks on boutique slimes. What is wrong with our world and what is coming next? Anyways, let’;s proceed with caution as this is slime.
This is a very interesting one and I believe it to be its third iteration. Way back, this was garlic teriyaki and it was a splendid variant – one my wife loved and she’s not the biggest noodle human. Then they came out with a version with a huge drop in sodium – about 35000mg down to 700mg. Then we have this one in the ‘carton’ version. Well, let’s give it a try.
We have a heat wave here – like it’s going to hit 60 degrees in mid January heatwave – which says one thing to me: get ready for the opposite. Seems like that happens often. But today it’s a review – and then a mukbang. My ten year old son Miles has all of a sudden decided he wants to try Buldak. So, I’ll do the review today and then on the weekend we’ll do the mukbang. It should be noted that the sprinkles that are candy and star shaped make me immediately think of Samyang Popeye snack which also have star shaped sugary bits. This one is a sweet and spicy – let’s give it a go!
I’ve wanted to review this one for a long time and I found it at our local Grocery Outlet store. That’s a place that stuff could possibly be being discontinued. I’m kind of surprised but who knows if that’s the case – just glad I was able to find it! Well, let’s cook it up and I’ll give you my thoughts.
Well it’s been awhile – probably doesn’t seem like it to you since I post daily, but for me it’s January 8th. Back to the regular thing after the holidays! Wheee! I thought I’d try this one to start things out. Let’s give it a go!
So another ‘this isn’t ramen’ however it’s a special vitamin and caffeine supplement to put in your soupy ramen! You can get it at ramen-aid.com. I tried the other version and what I was looking for is whether it changed the flavor of the broth and found it didn’t, so let’s see if this one does.
This isn’t ramen. That being said, here’s one I found at Evergreen Asian Market in Everett, Washington. Found quite a few gems at this place so that was rad. Pandan is a kind of nutty flavor – one of my favorite things is this little bubble tea joint we like that has pendan waffles – they’re green and quite tasty. Also the place is stupid expensive, so it is an exceedingly rare happening for us to end up in there. Anyways, pandan is great stuff. Let’s check this little rice cup out.
Welcome to another edition of Thunderdome! This is a list of my least favorite varieties; the list where if your product drops off of it, it’s a good thing. We’ve got two new ones for 2026 that are exceptionally vile. That being said, if you like them, then your problem,. Everyone likes different things – just don’t expect me to eat them with you. This list is current as of review #5505. All products are reviewed prior to external garnish. With that let’s check out The Ramen Rater’s Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2026 Edition.
Well, here we have the third and final variety from this range by Nissin USA and I am pretty sure it’s got the longest name of all. So far, I can give a qualified take it or leave it feel to these. They’re variations on a theme as they’re all beef and just have different flavors of the Bachan’s BBQ sauce. Well, let’s take it on a test drive and see how it goes.
This one looks interesting – never heard of this style before and I suspect iits a Filiino variant. Tamarrind and shriimp! Let’s give it a look.
This one is from a Taiwanese company but from their Vietnamese factory and packaged for the US market. I’ve tried a ton of these but not seen this before. Let’s give it a whirl.
I’ve been threatening this for awhile so I figure it’s time. You usually just crush it and sprinkle seasoning and shake it up. Not I think today – I’m going to make it as a dry noodle and boil it. This could destroy the known universe, but I have my doubts. It’ll ether work or it won’t. Let’ find out!
I remember when we’ve flown to Taiwan, when they ask what you want to eat, they’ll go up and down the aisles and say ‘pork porridge?’ I’ll admit, I usually got pork porridge. It was kinda funny. Anyways, found this one at Evergreen Asian Market in Everett, Washington. Let’s cook.
This one comes by way of James from Lakeside, CA. So it’s not ramen but I’m sure he found this right next to the ramen. Let’s try it!
Here’s the third of the three Protein varieties thanks to James from Lakeside, CA. The other two weren’t my favorite but we shall see with this one.
Time for something spicy from South Korea for the US market. Definitely a clone but I must say I’ve been rather impressed with the Harim varieties I’ve tried recently. Found this at Boo Han Market on 99 in Edmonds. Let’s cook!
I’m always curious to try new things – and this was something I’ve wanted to try. After a long tiome of changing things around, here we are with the www.noodlebomb.co ramen sauce line. I can say it’s great stuff – just watch the video. Check it out and if you want to try it yourself, get it here!
