#1572: Master Kong Artificial Seafood Flavor Instant Noodle

 Far and few between are the Master Kong varieties I find locally. This is one of them I got a couple months ago – a real surprise. I don’t know why so many of them aren’t available in the United States; I’m guessing possibly that many of their products contain chicken or beef, and import of chicken or beef into the United States from Asia is very hard if not impossible. Luckily, fish products are generally accepted for import quite easily and here we are. Let’s check out this  Master Kong Seafood instant noodle! ...see full post

#1573: Hao Way Penang White Curry Instant Bowl Noodles

I’m sure everyone has been noticing – I’ve been reviewing a LOT of Malaysian instant noodles lately. The reason for this is that I have a ton of different varieties with more on their way – but this one’s a first! This is the first Penang White Curry bowl variant I’ve tried. Let’s have a look! ...see full post

#1571: Econsave Choice Instant Noodles Curry Flavour

One thing that tends to baffle a lot of my readers is my fascination with ‘store brands.’ I often get ‘it nothing special’ and thoughts like that. To me however, any instant noodle I’ve not reviewed before is definitely fair game and believe it or not, store brands tend to be much harder for me to source than any others. The reason for this is that large supermarket chains are mostly regional and don’t distribute their instant noodle varieties to anywhere other than their own stores. This one is particularly special – I got this one on my trip to Malaysia, and got it at the Econsave grocery store in Butterworth, Penang! ...see full post

#1570: Maruchan Big Cup Ramen Corn, Salt & Butter Flavor

Once in a while, I get something a little different – something that contains something I’ve not seen before. This is one of those times. So it was kind of difficult to translate this one – it’s basically salt Butter and Corn flavor, although the translation I ended up with didn’t mention the corn. I decided to go ahead and add corn in the title anyways. Also, I saw lots of translations mention the word circle, although I’m not sure if that was just Google translate being weird.Anyways, this is a big bowl of noodles and I’m very curious to try them. Without any further adieu, let’s open this thing up and look inside! ...see full post

#1568: MAMA Instant Noodles Cup Beef Flavour

Recently, I did a Meet The Manufacturer with Thai President Foods, makers of MAMA brand instant noodles. They’re located in Thailand and have a quite enjoyable range of products. Well, I’m happy to announce that I’ve been invited to visit their factory and visit ThaiFex, a big fhood expo in May! I’ll have more on that soon. Very exciting! I’ll have more info about the trip soon, but for now, let’s check out this cup from Thailand! ...see full post

#1566: Nissin Cup Noodles Tomato Enjoy Noodles With Hot Soup

This one I got at a large Indian grocery in Bellevue a month of so ago. I had a couple from this line waaay back – a Pani Puri and a Manchurian one. This one sounds pretty good to me – also curious how must of the hot sour I’ll enjoy as I’m going to bet this sucks up almost all the liquid. Anyways, let’s see! ...see full post

#1565: Oyatsu Baby Star Snack Noodle Chicken Flavour

Here’s one of the ones I got when we went up for my annual birthday trip to Canada! So snack noodles are very popular around the world – Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan have quite a few companies making different varieties. They’re usually basically an uncooked instant with a seasoning to add or are pre-seasoned. Let’s check out this one from Japan – Oyatsu Baby Star! ...see full post

#1564: A-One Mì Ly Instant Noodles Mì Thịt Xào Pork Flavor

Last spring, I remember my son and I took a walk to the local Asian grocery when we were living in Edmonds, WA. We were getting something for my wife for Mother’s Day I believe! Anyways, as always I like to take a stroll down the instant noodle aisle (no big shock, right?). I found a few different varieties of these A-One cups and got them. This is a pork flavored one – from Vietnam. Let’s check out what’s inside! ...see full post

#1562: Koka Purple Wheat Noodles Soy & Vinegar Flavor

I must admit that in the past I haven’t been entirely fond of noodles with different colors. Not because I dislike the color (actually I find that fascinating), but because they tend to have an off taste to them and just seem kind of ‘gimmicky.’ It’s been about 300 or so reviews since I tried the Aglio Olio variety of this line. Let’s see how this Soy & Vinegar one goes! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater App – For Android & iPhone

For Android

Developed by Mike Koval, a reader of the blog for a long time, this app will let you browse and search the site easily. What’s more, by using the bar code scan option, you can scan the bar code of an instant noodle at the grocery store and get results (provided I’ve reviewed it of course). Enhancements will be coming soon as well! best of all, it’s free! Check it out now! ...see full post

#1561: Uncle Sun White Curry Noodle

Most of the instant noodles from Malaysia have been just that – sent to me FROM Malaysia by manufacturers. What’s kind of cool is that now I’m seeing more of them start showing up in the United States. I found this Uncle Sun White Curry a few miles north of here in Everett at a newer Asian grocery simply called Asian Grocery (great name). It’s actually a great place – they have two varieties of this one – the one you see here and one that looks identical but says it’s extra hot! They also had Milo, a popular drink from Malaysia – kind of like chocolate milk, but like dark chocolate milk. Anyways – sweet – more white curry! Let’s check it out! ...see full post

#1560: Kin-Dee Instant Rice Noodle Spicy Seafood

Here’s one I got up in Canada. Been kind of a spicy week and so spicy seafood fits the bill. In my last post, I mentioned having a sore tooth. Let me say that it got bad – really bad! The only relief I could find was to keep something cold next to it – my wife went out and got a bag of ice and I kept a little piece of ice in my cheek last night. I ended up pulling the tooth myself after taking a pain pill – take that, dentist bills! Anyways, your humble instant noodle reviewer is doing much better today! On with the show! ...see full post

Friday Video: Takeru Kobayashi Chugs Down A-Sha Noodles!

Takeru Kobayashi is one of the most famous competitive eaters in the world. For those who’ve never heard of competitive eating, yes – there’s such a thing! In this episode of a popular Taiwanese TV show, watch him scarf down what looks to be ten bowls of A-Sha noodles! Very impressive! He’s doing some special stuff with A-Sha Dry Noodle right now, and I will have more on that soon! For now, enjoy and Happy Friday! ...see full post

#1558: No Name Beef Flavour Oriental Noodles And Soup Mix

Here’s one I got from Justin M. from Winfield, BC up north of here in Canada! Thanks! This one’s rather fascinating to me as the brand name is literally ‘no name.’ It’s made in China for Loblaw’s, a Canadian grocery store chain. I’m crossing my fingers here; Canadian instant noodles haven’t really been my favorites – but this is a new one so we’ll have to see. With an open mind, let’s delve into No Name Beef Flavour Oriental Noodles And Soup Mix! ...see full post

Momofuku Ando Day Nissin Cup Noodle Photo Contest

Hey everyone! I’d like to announce the 4th Momofuku Ando Day here at The Ramen Rater will be on Monday, January 19th 2015. For those of you who aren’t aware, Momofuku Ando was the inventor of The instant noodle and he also started Nissin Foods. His first product, Chikin Ramen was sold in 1958. This year, I’m doing something a little different, and I’ll be featuring a couple video reviews dealing with Cup Noodles, which leads me to this year’s Momofuku Ando Day Photo contest! Here are the rules: ...see full post

Re-Review: Paldo Teumsae Ramyun Noodles With Soup Mix

I thought it was about time to re-review this one. When people ask me about hot and spicy instant noodles that they can possibly find at a local Asian grocery, I usually steer them towards Teumsae Ramyun. Many consider this one to be the ultimate spiciest, although I have had one or two I think that have been hotter. That’s not to say that this stuff won’t challenge even the staunchest of spicy fans. This is mean. Real mean. If you ate a spicy pepper, the best thing to get rid of the heat would be a crunchy chip – when you chew, it scrapes the heat off your palate. Or milk, or sugar. The last thing would be beer or water. Well, this is soup. It sinks that spicy heat right down into your taste buds even deeper! Let’s revisit this spicy Paldo Teumsae Ramyun again and see why it’s been on the Top Ten Spicy List since the list’s inception. ...see full post

#1556: Ching’s Secret Hot Garlic Instant Noodles

Have you ever taken a clove of garlic and eaten it straight? I would have to say that I’ve done it with a few different varieties. Some types of garlic are extremely hot and spicy, rivaling chilli peppers. They’re no joke and they burn like fire! I had a bite of this tiny little one once – I think it was a Himalayan variant – and it was so freaking hot! Well, I like spicy things and I like garlic, so this one really piques my interest. Let’s check out this Ching’s Secret Hot Garlic and see if we can find out if the secret is hot or not. ...see full post

Re-Review: Indomie Mi Goreng Fried Noodles

On my last trip to the Asian grocery store, I had a though. I thought maybe I ought to toss in some of the varieties I’ve not reviewed in a while that I’ve recommended quite a bit to people since they’re relatively easy to source and quite good. This one’s a perfect example. My first favorite instant growing up was the Japanese Nissin Chickin Ramen. After trying a few varieties, I found Indomie Mi Goreng line and was all about it. When we’d go to Seattle we’d come back with a couple bags full of them, and I don’t think my parents minded too much since it was around 25 cents a pack. I tried many different varieties in the Indomie Mi Goreng line – there are quite a few.  I used to go for the Satay flavor mostly, but then found the Barbecue Chicken one to my liking. Then there’s the Rendang which is a really great one, gracing the top ten list a couple times I think. This one today is the original version. If you’ve not tried this stuff, you’ve got to; it’s a real treat and easily modified to taste. There’s five sachets ioncluded- quite a few in an instant noodle pack and I’ll explain them all here. Anyways, let’s bring on the Indomie Mi Goreng! ...see full post

#1555: Ko-Lee Instant Noodles Taste Sensation Mixed Vegetable Flavour

Vegetarian instant noodles are ones I often get asked about. I often have been asked to do a top ten list on vegetarian and vegan varieties, gluten-free and others. The issue is that I’m neither a vegetarian nor am I someone requiring a gluten-free diet, and so I would definitely not want to come up with a list and say ‘these are great for vegetarian/vegan/gluten free folks’ and have someone eat what they don’t want or what they shouldn’t. One thing I can say is that foreign varieties coming into the United States that are chicken or beef flavored generally are free of said animal products, as the CBP/USDA/FDA are rather strict about their import. But there are always exceptions, of course. Many companies will also use things like bonito which is a fish in all their varieties. Anyways, when I say in my review ‘looks to be meat free but check for yourself,’ I’m saying that my poor-eyesighted, legally blind eyes have pored over the ingredients list, but I could be wrong and have missed something. Anyways, here are some mixed veg flavor instant noodles today by Ko-Lee. They’re made in Thailand and generally for the UK market. Let’s check ’em out! ...see full post

#1554: ICA Asia Fast Noodles Snabbnudlar Räksmak

Here’s another one that was sent by a kind reader in Sweden – thanks! This is my second or third Swedish instant noodle. It’s been interesting to translate the packaging too. The little dots over the ‘a’ in Räksmak are interesting. I tried it in Google and without the dots got straight flavor, and with them got shrimp flavor. Of course, once I opened the pack I found that the seasoning sachet said ‘prawn flavor,’ so that kind of sealed the deal on correct translation for me. Anyways, let’s have a look at this one! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time Hong Kong 2015 Edition

I thought to myself recently that it would be great to end 2014 and start 2015 with a new top ten list – but from where? A couple places came to mind, and Hong Kong sounded like a good one. I’ve found a lot of excellent instant noodles that have been from Hong Kong. Been hoping to see more arrive here in the United States, but many of the ones on this list I’ve found up in Canada. I would definitely like to reach out to instant noodle companies in Hong Kong to take part in Meet The Manufacturer; there’s not been a Hong Kong participant yet! With that, here’s the top ten instant noodles of Hong Kong – the best and most memorable – from the last 1,553 reviews. Enjoy and Happy New Year, Hong Kong! ...see full post