Category: United States

New Product Samples From Nongshim America!

Today I got a big box in the mail from Nongshim America! Wonder what’s inside…

Bowl Noodles! But wait – Chapagetti in a bowl? Yep! This is one of the things I got to try while at Nongshim America in May. Not only did I get to try these new bowl products in their R&D department but was able to watch them being made – from raw ingredients to wrapped bowl all in an efficient straight line. Twas amazing! I’ll be reviewing these very soon! Keep your eyes peeled! Thanks go to Mr. Ray Adams and everyone else at Nongshim America for sending these along! ...see full post

#849: Nissin Top Ramen Cucharealo Home-Style Tomato Chicken Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup

Here’s another one of the new varieties that Nissin Foods USA sent me earlier this month to review. I got a comment from someone saying Cucharealo means ‘spoon it up.’ Makes sense – Nissin has a similar product called ‘Spoon it’ with flavors like chicken, beef and beet stew while the Cucharealo line is more hitting the Mexican flavors. The last one I tried was awesome – let’s give this one a try! ...see full post

#843: Nissin Top Ramen Short Cuts Beef Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup

Hey look at this! Something new the folks at Nissin Foods USA sent. I’ve never seen anything like this is the instant noodle world before; it’s kind of like instant potatoes meets instant noodles. You scoop out as much or as little of the noodles as you want (which have the flavoring already infused into them), and then add the mentioned water amount, and there you go! Let’s have a look under the hood of this new product. ...see full post

#837: Nissin Top Ramen Cucharealo Home-Style Picante Chicken Flavor

Here’s one of the new one Nissin Foods USA sent recently. Cucharealo, eh? Couldn’t find out what that exactly means, but it looks like it’s something new and geared towards the Latino market. Interesting that it says Top Ramen on it too – brand recognition! Awesome – let’s give it a go. ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time

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* UPDATE * See here.

A couple of days ago, I received an email from a man who was angry. He was angry that the instant noodles he bought said that they were spicy Chicken flavor but weren’t spicy whatsoever and that I needed to change the seasonings ASAP. Every once in a while, I get a comment or email from someone who thinks that I make instant noodles or am affiliated with an instant noodle company. I decided to reply and do a review of the product he had problems with, adding some hot spices, sauces and peppers from around the world to really heat it up. It then occurred to me that a lot of people really like spicy instant noodles and that there’s really no list of the hottest ones out there. I figured I’d better do something about that, and so here’s the Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time! ...see full post

Re-Review: Meet The Manufacturer: Nongshim Jinjja Jinjja (Really Really) Ramyun

Since my last review of this product, I found out that I made it wrong! Yup… I suppose if I could read Korean I would’ve made it right. It turns out that the red packet goes in first with the noodles and cooks, and the peanut and veggies go in last after everything’s cooked! I’m hungry – gonna do it exactly as I’m supposed to this time! Here’s the old review. ...see full post

#750: Meet The Manufacturer: Nongshim Bowl Noodles Spicy Kimchi Flavor (New Version)

I figured for Meet The Manufacturer Week: Nongshim, I would start with a Bowl Noodles I saw get made while I was at their plant! They were cranking them out en masse! I’ve reviewed the old packaging / version in the past and these new ones are very different. They’re made to be cooked in the microwave, so that’s how I’ll cook them. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Nongshim America Visit

Here we go with another Meet The Manufacturer week! This one’s a little different of course since my wife and I actually took a trip and met the people who are Nongshim America! It was an amazing and fun visit – so without further adieu, here’s what happened. By the way, if you click on the images they get much bigger. ...see full post

#748: Naengmyeon Combo at Hosoonyi In Edmonds, WA

Okay I know – I don’t usually review restaurant food but I thought I would this time. After our trip to Nongshim and learning about Korean food and culture, we were curious about this local restaurant. I looked through the menu and decided I should give their noodles a try! I found Naengmyeon combo and thought that might be good. I had no idea what it would be about, except that noodles were involved and that it was ‘good in the Summer.’ Here’s what Wikipedia says about Naengmyeon: ...see full post

#745: Nongshim Jinjja Jinjja (Really Really) Ramyun

Here’s something really new and very different from a lot of the instant noodles I’ve reviewed before. Jinjja Jinjja translates to “Really Really” (Spicy Spicy) – and I suppose in this review we’re going to find out how really really spicy Jinjja is! I should say that I sampled this one at Nongshim America while I was down there, so I have tried it before – but not a while bowl of it. I found out that the flavor comes from boiling pork bones for a long time, black beans and peanuts! It also turns out that the wheat flour used to make these has some red pepper powder added to them – heat in the noodle as well as from the dry seasonings! Let’s give this a try! ...see full post

Back From Nongshim USA!

Well, we’re back from outr trip to Nongshim USA! It was absolutely amazing! The people were so nice, seeing how noodles were made amazing, and the new flavors I tasted were great! I’ll be posting a bit about the trip very soon! For now, I’d like to thank Ray Adams for introducing my wife and I to the world of Nongshim USA! His boss Ray Kim made us feel very welcome and it was so much fun talking with them and everyone else there about noodles and the Nongshim culture. We are so lucky to have been afforded this opportunity and really appreciated it! Can’t wait to do Meet The Manufacturer: Nongshim week! Until then, I’ll be posting a bit of info about the tour and what happened while I was there. Keep your eyes peeled! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater Really Meets The Manufacturer On Nongshim USA Trip!

Tomorrow, my wife and I are headed to the airport to fly down to the Nongshim USA plant in Rancho Cucamonga, California! There, we’re going to do a plant tour, a noodle tasting, and a videotaped interview for the next Meet The Manufacturer, which (you guessed it) will feature Nongshim. We’ll return on Saturday with stories and pictures – I might do a post while we’re down there from my phone possibly.  I want to say thank you to the wonderful folks at Nongshim USA for this opportunity to learn more about their company and instant noodles! We’re really looking forward to this! Next stop, southern California. ...see full post