Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
This is one I tried when it debuted way back. There were a couple of versions as well. This one is made in South Korea and packaged for sale in the US market. Jjambbong is like a spicy seafood stew. This on the other hand is the same but with a more milky broth. This is a really great one when I’ve had it in the past – let’s visit it again!
Got this one at HMart recently. This one’s made in Vietnam but packaged for the US market. I’ve not tried a lot of Vietnamese varieties that blow me away, but I have high hopes for this dry noodle variant. Let give it a go!
Here’s the last of the Vite Ramen varieties, and this one sounds like a departure from the other. Bun Rieu is a Vietnamese soup – this is made in California and boasts crab flavor. We shall see how it goes!
Found another one of these! This time, not at S*Mart but at the Lynnwood, WA HMart – along with quite a few other things. Usually don’t find a lot there but it was a good haul the other day. I also found a pair of ‘chopsticks for kids that my daughter went crazy for and since she accompanied me in the store, I figured why not. Tonkotsu is one she likes as well, so maybe she’ll get this. Let’s give it a try.
Alright – so if you like plants – in particular, eating them – this is for your. Definatly one for the Vegan crowd. I know a lot of non-Vegan people who poo-poo Vegan foods. I must say though – Vegan stuff is really quite good. Gluten Free stuff is excellent as well. I eat a lot of meat and glutenous things, but I’m totally open to these other things, and often like them more. I’ve enjoyed this flavor before that they make and the v3.0 stuff is really great thus far – let’s cook some up!
Found this one the other day at 99 Ranch Market. This one is interesting as the range is very easy to find here, however there was a lot of confusion whether it was another brand – Master Kang. Master Kang translates to Kang Shi Fu, and also has a little chef guy for it’s logo. I remember getting a phone call from a lawyer about it a long time ago asking my opinion on it. It’s been such a long time though that I’m guessing that whatever legal issues were involved are probably kaput at this point, so here we are. Soyed beef – is that like corned beef? Interesting. Let’s cook this stuff up.
After a hunt for instant noodles, here’s one I found locally at Boo Han Market in Edmonds, Washington. This style of noodle is interesting – while a rice noodle, it’s got a kind of different thing going on. Let’s steep ’em up.
Protein and vitamins and fiber and low sodium and pretty low calories for the size of the serving. Let’s begin.
Okay so this is all new to me and required a bit of research to figure out a couple things. What’/who is Onigiri in this one?
Hey check out the new packaging on the Vite Ramen! This is version 3.0 – I tried the cup version which was pretty cool previously, and here is the new pack 3.0. They sent a slew of new stuff – let’s check it out!
I tried the shoyu variety recently and it was pretty good. Both are definitely packaged for sale in the United States. Let’s try the miso today!
Well, here we are. The standard stuff. This was found at GMart in Lynnwood, Washington. So, what is it? It’s a combination of ramyun and tteokbokki – which are tubes of rice flour that are chewy and truly wondrous. Anyways, these really have been hit and miss on preparation – either dry or exploding in the microwave. Let’s give it another try.
A reader asked if I’d tried Ramen Bae recently and I hadn’t, so I reached out to the company. I got a reply from founder Jonathan Tan and a nice note mentioning he’d send some samples, and here we are. Since this unboxing, I’ve tried both and they’re really quite wonderful – if you’re looking for something like this, this is great stuff. I should also mention he sent another box with the Spicy Garlic version which I’ll share soon! Let’s check this one out.
Yet another packaging design – it should also be noted that this one doesn’t say spicy masala and just masala. I found this at Indian Sweets & Spices in Shoreline, Washington yesterday. Yesterday was a day of finding particular things. I’ve been doing a lot of curry lately and I got some nice basmati, some noodles, some black cardamom and mango pickle there. I also went and got a half pork belly at Double DD Meats, a great butcher shop and holy grail for hot sauces and all things spicy. I must note that while this is made in India, it’s certainly an export version specifically for sale in the United States. Anyways, time to cook.
Here’s one I’ve wanted to get my hands on for quite a while. I like tantanmen – usually thick and spicy stuff – a denser, sloppier ramen. Let’s give it a go!
Well folks, this is the last of the Trader Joe’s stuff I had. Honestly, these pouch noodles and sauce bowls have been surprisingly decent. The only problem are the bowls – you can’t just cut it up and scan it before you use it – rather irritating for yours truly, however my issues with the bowl itself probably aren’t an issue for 99.99% of those eating this. Let’s see how the garlic one is.
Well, dang. I really would have loved to been able to review this sooner but tough to get samples from companies in the United States for some reason. Ah well. I found this at S*Mart – yup – shop smart, shop S Mart. Not sure if they just did a repackaging of the old version or not, but I’m guessing it’s a bit more than that. Let’s give it a try!
Made in South Korea and packaged for US sale. I’m curious if this one will work better than the last one which just kind of exploded in the microwave. Hopefully this one’s a gem.
This list is coming a bit late this year, but I figure late is definitely better than never. This one’s comprised of varieties made in, and specifically for the US market. Some really tasty stuff here is your backyard if you didn’t know! These are my favorite US varieties out of reviews up to review 4,650 that are currently on the market. Got something I’ve not tried? Hit me up! Anyways, let’s check out The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten American Instant Noodles Of All Time 2024 Edition!
This one came from James of Lakeside, California – thanks, man! Pulmuone leans towards the healthier end of the stick when it comes to food manufacturing. I believe I read a while back about how there is in fact a large farm Pulmuone runs that is also a school on heritage farming for students in South Korea – pretty cool. Let’s make some crab ramen!
Man, I’ve been itching to get my hands on this stuff for quite awhile and finally it showed up at my local grocery store. This is a pretty good range – especially the sizzlin’ rich pork – that one’s excellent. Let’s see if the Mongols can conquer them all!
I reviewed the bowl version of this quite a while back and they were pretty good, so when I saw the cups, I decided to give them a shot. Here’s the first one I’ll be doing. This is made in South Korea and packaged for the US market.
This is manufactured in South Korea, yes – but this one’s specifically for the Us market. I’ve had the pack version and it was really great. Let’s cook up a bowl!
Found this one at GMart – that’s yet another Korean grocery, one in Lynnwood, Washington. Cool place actually – especially since I’ve not been there awhile so found some groovy stuff. Let’s try this, the pack version – made in South Korea, packaged for the US market.
Another one from James of Lakeside, CA – thanks! He noticed me reviewing the Norita products and that I was curious about more, so he sent this. Let’s see what we have here.
Here’s the second variety of these Trader Joe’s Thai noodles. The last one I tried was the red curry, and it wasn’t bad. Let’s see how they approximate peanut satay.
For those who crave spicy things, here’s Paldo’s Teum-sae. It didn’t used to be hyphenated, but it is now. There’s the soup version, and then this, the dry noodle version. Let’s do this.
This is the second of two pack versions of Nissin Fire Wok, this time a beef variant. This one’s supposed be hotter than the chicken one I reviewed prior – I guess we will see.
I was contacted by Nissin USA a few weeks ago and learned about this one and it sounded interesting. Indeed, their Fire Wok bowls are quite good – especially the Sizzlin’ Rich Pork. Pack versions? Interested! So I hit them up and they provided. There’s this one and another. Let’s give it a try!
When Nissin USA contacted me about pack versions, I was very interested – and they were kind enough to send some! Today we’ll unbox – and following this one I’ll share a review of the chicken variety as well as a mukbang, so stay tuned!
It’s time for some of the old ‘Fun&Yum’ (Paldo’s motto) with a bowl of Teum-sae ramen. It used to be just Teumsae I swear but now it’s hyphenated. These newly packaged varieties feature this woman on the package and it appears she has trouble getting her jacket over her angular shoulders or something. Well, let’s give it a try!
Here’s another one I found at 99 Ranch Market recently. Again, Vietnamese flavor, new Chinese authentic style, and packaged for sale in the United States. It’s almost as if it’s got some kind of flavorful identity crisis! But it sounds interesting so let’s get to it.
Kimchi is awesome stuff and I picked some up today as I’ve got quite a few Korean varieties I’ll be reviewing this week. Last week was crazy – last day of school for the kids, did 21 reviews, our dog Pepper got adopted by a nice couple from west Seattle… It’s cool but a lot. You’ll see this a long time from last week. It’s June 25th today and you’re probably seeiing this is October I’m guessing. Anyways, kimchi ramyun is good stuff – let’s check it out.
Time for some more fare from Trader Joe’s. I’m really curious about this but honestly don’t know on this one. Why? Well, the other day I did a review of a variety which looks identical and was just horrible. I really hope that this does indeed taste like red curry – that would be great. However, I’v got my doubts. Let’s find out.
Rapokki is a combination of ramyun (Korean instant noodle) and tteokbokki (rice cake tubes). This one has a black bean sauce. I have a feeling this will be wonderous. Let’s find out. Oh, and this is made in South Korea, however packaged for US sale.
Here’s one made in China for the US market. It’s got a cat on it – people like those. It’s also got an AI background. I did this review awhile back and continued to use AI for backdrops on the finished images. How’s it going to taste? Let’s find out.
Everyone I know seems to enjoy stepping foot into Trader Joe’s. Personally, I’m loathe to enter it. The silly bells, the caffeinated out overly engaging checkout people, the haphazard design of the aisles, the customers hanging out in groups here and there, oblivious to others and impeding travel through the place… Yeah, I don’t like going in there usually. However, I went in there recently with my wife and it was somewhat enjoyable as I found some noodles there. Now, Trader Joe’s makes nothing – nothing at all. They get companies to do private label products for them. This is one of those – made in Taiwan. These are Taiwanese dry noodle, a time-honored cuisine. Well, let’s just call ’em squiggly fun time noodles! Egad. Well, whoever manufactured them, I hope they’re getting paid good. Hopefully these are good, too. Let’s find out.
Well, here’s this. The last time I tried something from these folks I came up with only one thing to say; that’s not Asia. I’ve an open mind, but guessing I’m in for disappointment. But I’ve got an open mind, dammit! I think chicken should pair rather well with this and I do have chicken. Well, it’s made in Thailand for the Us market. That being send, let’s That’s.
Found this one while looking for something completely different recently at HMart. I could tell they had the new noodle type (flat/broad) and thought that could be interesting, so here we are with today’s review. I should mention I have a special guest on today’s Instant Noodle Recipe Time at the bottom, so check it out. Anyways, let’s cook it up and give it a try!
So here’s one I’ve really enjoyed for a long time. Indeed, it has also been in exitence for quite awhile as well. It’s the original variety that was introduced to the South Korean market back in 1963. Initially, it was mistaken as a textile which is kind of funny, but that didn’t last long at all. This is the packaging for export, but it’s the same as what you’ll find in South Korea.
