Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
The very last one from James B. of the Netherlands – thanks again, buddy! Kind of interesting to note that this review is the same number as the year I was born. I remember when I hit review #500 and #1000 – seems so long ago! Let’s check out some yakisoba from Germany!
Here’s another of the many varieties sent recently by Colin from Michigan – thanks! Cheese curry? That sounds really good – you can get cheese curry at Indian restaurants – I’m wondering what a South Korean cheese curry might be like. Let’s find out!
Very curious about this – let’s pop it open.
Wow (click to enlarge) – that’s one angry looking pepper!
I knew CarJEN was sending some samples, so I asked if maybe they could send me a box of the ones with my logo on them – I think this is it!
What have we here?
Hmmm – a tablecloth?
Wow (click to enlarge) – a couple big banners! I’ve seen then use these in their promotions before. Pretty cool!
Hmmm – what have we here?
Hey (click to enlarge) – something new! Will have to give this one a try soon! Thank you!
Wow okay so I have been wanting to get my hands on noodles from Brazil for a while now – at least a couple of years. Luckily, my cousins Mike and Adriana frequently visit Brazil and brought me some back! Thank you so much! While these are Cup Noodles, they’ve got some interesting flavor. This one, calabresa (aka linguica) is sausage flavored! Here’s a little about linguica from wikipedia:
Here’s one from Colin of Arlington, MA! He sent a great big box of varieties after I called out to readers for new stuff to review! Thanks! This one surprised me; I haven’t reviewed anything by Doll brand in a very long time and I know it’s a popular brand in Hong Kong. It’s interesting that Colin has access to such a different range of products on the east coast… Anyways, from what I can surmise, mifun might also be known as maifun. These are rice vermicelli. Let’s check it out!
Here’ds another sent by Casey K. of Hong Kong – thanks again! So far, I’ve tried the Snow Crab, King Crab and now Horse Crab! Crabalicious! Let’s hit it!
Really excited about this one! I think you’ll understand why when you see the back of the package! I’ve taken an offer by MyOri to be their brand ambassador! I’m honored do to so – not only is it a really neat gig, it’s for products I honestly enjoy and find innovative and a real compliment to the market. I reviewed these last year as part of a Meet The Manufacturer with MyOri. Ther’s a difference now – they’ve changed the name to red curry, given the packaging a real facelift and now the noodle are not fried – the first white curry featuring the healthier noodle. Let’s give ’em a look!
There are a few different iterations of this one – I reviewed one a long time ago and I think I liked it, and then they came out with a newly packaged version that I never ended up trying. Now in it’s (at least) third set of clothes, I think it’s definitely time for a new review. If you take a look at the package from the old review, you’ll notice the nutrition facts are indeed different – a definite mark of being a different recipe. Let’s dig in!
A year or two ago, Nissin Foods USA started putting a new, updated package on their classic Top Ramen products. I haven’t really done any new reviews of them, but I figured why not. This one’s probably one of the most ubiquitous instant noodles found in the United States. Let’s have a look.
This is the first I’ll be reviewing from Wesley N. He sent a box in mid December that arrived mid February from Japan – we’d thought it might have been lost, but it showed up – and in immaculate condition! Thank you again!Tokushima prefecture is on Shikoku island in Japan, and these varieties from Tokushima Seifun aren’t widely known and very localized. Seifun literally means ‘manufactured powder,’ referring to the flour mill. Wesley let me know that this is Tokushima Seifun’s very first product. Let’s have a look at this exotic regional instant noodle from Japan!
Here’s another one I got down in Pleasanton, California a month or so ago. GGE is an abbreviation for Good Good Eat, as in ‘everybody loves good good eat.’ Kind of strange but we are talking about Taiwanese snack noodles here (see Leisure Meatballs). Anyways, let’s rip this bag open and check this snack out.
MyKuali has been tinkering with upgrading their recipes during the last year or two. One thing they told be when I visited in 2014 was that the hawkers are always fine-tuning their recipes, and that they planned on doing the same thing. When I asked what the difference is with this new iteration, I was told that an aspect of the shrimp powder has been altered to give it an even more authentic taste. I found tha the Hokkien Mee I had in Penang a couple years back was very close to what I got from the MyKuali Hokkien Mee. Let’s see how this one tastes.
Hey – another box from A-Sha Dry Noodle! Let’s check it out!
Here’s what I saw when I opened the box (click to enlarge).
When I tried the cup version of this, I liked it so much it got on the Top Ten Cups List for 2015. I’ve been waiting for the right time to try this one; since there’s probably only one in all of the United States I’m guessing, I really wanted to make it the right day. Well, since it is soon to expire, it’s the right day. Let’s have a look and see if it’s as good as the cup.
Usually I ask for companies that have been in the previous year’s top ten to send some samples that I’ll re-review ahead of the new list. MyKuali did this, but there’s a difference. They’ve changed the recipes for their three products that were on the list last year, so I have to cram some new reviews in before it’s too late! Lukcily, I really like this stuff so that shouldn’t be too hard! Let’s see what’s inside.
Today, we bid a fond farewell to the Kabuto Noodles Meet The Manufacturer. These have all been very unique and innovative products. As I’ve said before, most of the instant varieties I’ve sampled from the UK have been, in a word, bland. Flavorless is another word. These have all had good flavor and great quality. Today, it’s laksa, one of my favorite Southeast Asian flavors. Let’s check it out.
Up until now, I’ve been reviewing some of Kabuto Noodles’ egg noodles – now it’s time to take a look at their rice noodle varieties to wrap up Meet The Manufacturer. It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed any pho varieties. Pho is a traditional (and wildly popular) Vietnamese noodle soup. Pho involved cooking broth with lots of spices like cinnamon, star anise, stewing beef bones for hours, and with rice noodles. Usually when you get it locally, it comes with jalapeno slices, sweet basil, mung bean sprouts, a little Huy Fong Sriracha sauce and Hoisin sauce. Oh – and there’s a lot of different kinds of meats to choose from – beef flank, tendon, ribeye – and chicken. Let’s check this one out!
I’ve got to say – it’s been quite a while since I’ve had this one – #1167! Seems like it’s been forever since I’ve reviewed anything from the UK as well. Well, let’s kick this Meet The Manufacturer off with one of their first varieties, miso! Here’s something to note – over in the UK, these aren’t commonly referred to as ‘cup noodles’ – they refer to these containers as ‘pots.’
Yesterday, I reviewed a chilli chicken offering from Kabuto Noodles. Today, its just chicken ramen. I’m curious if it will just be a less spicy taste or something completely different (yesterday’s pot mentioned it having a lime element while this does not). Either way, sounds good to me. By the way – in the United Kingdom, they refer to noodle cups as noodle pots! Let’s go!
Chilli chicken, eh? This sounds interesting – not a flavor I think I’ve seen coming out of the UK before (and I’ve seen a lot of interesting ones). By the way – if you’re wondering what coriander is, it’s the same thing as cilantro. Okay – let’s have a look inside this neat ‘pot’ of noodles!
Wow – samples for the first UK Meet The Manufacturer!
Six cups (click to enlarge) – they call them ‘pots’ in the UK – and a card!
Here’s another one sent by Casey P. from Hong Kong – thanks! I’ve always thought this one looked interesting – the guy tooting his horn, the little cat. I tried this years ago – new package, new review though. Let’s check it out.
Got this package in the mail yesterday – let’s look inside!
MyOri’s new packaging (click to enlarge) – looks really snazzy!
This is the last of the IbuRamen tray varieties I’ve seen available. I really didn’t care for the other two, but hey, it’s curry day! Let’s see how this one fares with a curry fanatic.
When I asked for people to send donations recently, Prima Taste offered to pool their resources around the world and help me out! Here’s some sent from Hong Kong- a second box of the same samples. Two of each helps with reviewing – makes things a lot easier – plus a better chance of making it through customs!
When I asked for people to send donations recently, Prima Taste offered to pool their resources around the world and help me out! Here’s some sent from Hong Kong!
This is a special one sent to me by the kind folks at Thai President Foods – thanks again! In October, there is a special festival that takes place in Thailand and other places in Asia involving vegetarianism. Here’s a little info on it from wikipedia:
Here’s another one sent by Casey P. from Hong Kong – thanks! I want to especially thanks Casey P., Jef M. and the folks on dpreview.com for all your help with figuring out all the settings and ways to use my new camera. It’s been an uphill battle for me, but I think I’m almost at the summit. This one looks particularly interesting – it mentions salsa on the label but the sticker mentions tomato. Not only that, the colors denote either Italy or Mexico. I’m going to guess Mexico, especially with salsa mentioned. but I guess we’ll see!
Here’s the last of the three different Nissin Raoh varieties Nissin Foods USa sent me – thanks again! These have been availble overseas for a very long time, however they are now being imported and distributed in new packaging and with slightly different ingredients for easy import into the United States. This would be known as shoyu over in Japan (shoyu translates into soy sauce). Shoyu is a very popular variety of ramen – here’s a little on it from wikipedia:
Got another box from Javier over at BoxFromJapan.com today! You can subscribe and get a neat box like this every month! Not only that, he also has Japanese snack boxes – lots of neat candies that I don’t think you can find here. For sure, these bowls of ramen aren’t available here in the states. Let’s look inside!
One of the last from James B. of the Netherlands – thanks again!Most of these Loh Thai varieties have been rather bland – although I think I did very much like the last one I tried. Let’s see what we have within!
I’ve been wanting to try this one for a really long time and the folks at Prima Taste were kin enough to send it to me recently! Thank you very much! Pretty sure this has been around just as long as the curry and laksa la mian varieties – been a long wait! As I don’t have any fish really, I’m going to go with a little assortment of seafood – sounds good to me! Let’s dig in!
Prima Taste saw my call for donations/samples and asked if they could help – and I said absolutely!
Here’s one I thought would be a re-review. I was on the 99 Ranch Market noodle aisle and though ‘hey this would be an interesting one to check out to test my new camera setup.’ Well as it turns out, I’ve never reviewed this one – very strange! As for my new camera setup, it’s been a rough go. I’ve never used DSLR in the past – only point and shot. It’s a pretty steep learning curve and the first day I had this thing I was ready to chuck it out the window! But after some time I’m starting to get the hang of it. Lightbulbs, lenses, f-stops, ISO settings and shutter speeds. It’s a lot to juggle and I still don’t think I’ve found the sweet spot yet. But I’m still working on it! Anyways, let’s check out the interesting looking beef variety from Taiwan.
Ahh the last one of the new cup versions from Nissin Foods, USA. Thanks again to the folks over there for sending them along! We’re all familiar with the old style cups – they had a cardboard outer packaging with the foam cup underneath in plastic wrap. This is much different – a little bigger and free of all the extra cardboard and plastic wrap, making it a little more eco-friendly. I still haven’t spotted this one in the ‘wild’ yet – I hear that they’re only available to start with at the Super Walmarts – the ones with the regular big Walmart stuff and the grocery store as well. Anyways, chicken’s baking in the oven to add to this one, so let’s check it out.
Here’s another one that Casey sent from Hong Kong – thanks again! I tried one that was snow crab last time, but this one’s red king crab. Curious… Let’s check it out!
