I know – call me crazy, but it seemed like something to try. So I did – and here you will find the experiments I’ve done. Some good, some horrible. ...see full post

Definitive Guide Series – Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup Samyang Buldak * Nongshim Shin Ramyun * Indomie Mi Goreng ...see full post

Something hit me – instead of baking the bread in the bread machine, just making dough in there and then baking in the over. With the fish mold to make an infused bread that way, I decided to branch out. Now, it’s pizza. The crust is pizza dough – not instant noodles. I’ve seen so many people making these nasty pizzas using instant noodles and when they take a bite, they get this odd look on their faces; kind of like if you walked into a room that you know is full of spiders, but you don’t think you’re going to walk into a big web, but not exactly sure either way. So, I decided to make pizza that includes all aspects of instant noodles. So far, they’ve been savory and wonderful. Here they are in all their glory. ...see full post

THE NEW LIST FOR 2023 SUPERCEDES THE PREVIOUS LIST – SEE HERE

It’s been twenty years since I started this crazy journey of reviewing instant noodles. I never even envisioned I’d be doing it for twenty years; it was just something to try out way back when. There have been ups and downs in the past – and recent past. I ended up getting COVID (as did the rest of my family) in early January this year. It wasn’t too bad in itself, but the repercussions were. I ended up in the ICU for blood clots in my lungs. It’s happened before when I slept ten hours on a cramped flight – but this time didn’t make sense as I walk a whole lot. Anyways, I’m better now, but it’s been a tough go to be sure. I hope all of you reading are happy and healthy! ...see full post

Definitive Guide Series – Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup Samyang Buldak * Nongshim Shin Ramyun * Indomie Mi Goreng ...see full post

I’ve been reviewing instant noodles since 2002, doing episodes of Instant Noodle Recipe Time, The Chocolate Break with my wife, Professional Mukbang, Unboxing Time With The Ramen Rater and more. Right now, we’re in a pretty crummy financial situation and hoping that some of the fans will be able to help out. I really loathe asking like this. I’ve set up a GoFundMe. It really is strange – you hear about statistics like ‘this percentage are one paycheck away from financial ruin.’ I love going to the thrift store and finding some trinket on the cheap. Right now, that’s a luxury I can’t even fathom, really. What’s crummy too is the time of the year that this is happening. Holidays plus my daughter’s birthday is a week before Christmas. Ugh. Here’s the link if you can help out. ...see full post

UPDATE: June 21st – Added Stuffed bread, fish shaped bread, and pizza

UPDATE: October 7th, 2021 – With the release of Red Chef Green Tom Yum Bread, the goal of making a loaf of bread completely from grinding a instant noodle block has come to fruition. ...see full post

Last year, I was way behind schedule on everything. This year however, it’s going to be the opposite. Last week, I kind of decided to go nuts on Top Ten Lists. I did more than one. I did up SEVEN OF THEM! So that should make 2021 a little better for everyone. I’m calling to all South Korean noodle companies – send me your stuff! I have been hoping to review more stuff from South Korea but it seems to be harder to come by – at least newer varieties as of late. Drop me a line! This list is current as of review #3,702. let’s check out The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten South Korean Instant Noodles Of All Time 2021 Edition. ...see full post

LIST HAS BEEN SUPERCEDED BY THE RAMEN RATER’S TOP TEN SOUTH KOREAN INSTANT NOODLES 2021 EDITION – SEE IT HERE

This year has been tumultuous for The Ramen Rater – busy and hectic, and so this, the first of many Top Ten Lists slated for release during the year is delayed – sorry about that. There are my absolute favorite varieties, current as of review #3400, of which 383 are South Korean in origin. I also want to mention – don’t wear a track jacket when recording with a lapel mic – it came out awful and worse than the audio that was used from the camera.  All varieties are manufactured in South Korea. If you are a company interested in having your products showcased, please drop me a line. Let’s begin! ...see full post

It’s January 2019, and so it is time for the first of many Top Ten Lists. I always start the year with the latest South Korean Top ten. This list was compiled as of posting 3,058 unique reviews of instant noodles, 349 of which are South Korean. All varieties are manufactured in South Korea. If you are a company interested in having your products showcased, please drop me a line. Let’s begin! ...see full post

Kicking off Top Ten List season, I bring you the South Korean Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time for 2018. I looked at how many varieties from South Korea I’ve reviewed to date and got 326 so far. South Korean varieties continue to evolve and innovate in different ways in order to satisfy the changing needs and tastes of the consumer – definitely keeps things interesting. As always, I ask any companies, whether in South Korea or elsewhere – that would like me to review their products to send me an email! I am happy to talk to you!  Without further delay, let’s have a look at the Top Ten South Korean Instant Noodles list for 2018 – the best South Korean varieties available out of the over 2,500 varieties of instant noodles I’ve reviewed thus far. ...see full post

A couple days after The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2015 Edition came out, I got to thinking. Every year, a lot of people enjoy my list, a lot also complain. They’ll say things like ‘how can this not be on here,’ or ‘you have no clue of what youre talking about’ – you can guess the rest but it sometimes gets downright rude. I usually tell people to go and review as many instant noodles as I have and make their own list and we can compare notes, but nobody’s ever taken me up on that. At the same time I thought of this, I came to the realization that although they might not agree with me, they’re still people who love their varieties of instant noodles. I thought that they (you) should have a voice. So, I started a poll. I didn’t want to make a list of varieties for people to pick from – that would sway things in those varieties’ favor. I told people to just write in the flavor they liked and what brand made them. A week or so ago, I ended up with a difficult task. See, a lot of them were listed as the brand name but no variety (six people put Maggi, but Maggi what? From India, From Malaysia? Which one?). Some got cut, but most got counted. There were almost 300 votes and here are the results. I’m going to start a new poll tomorrow and this will be an annual thing! Let’s begin! ...see full post

The instant noodle originated in 1958 in Japan, but since that time, they’ve expanded in popularity all over the world, including of course, the United States. Seeing this, instant noodle companies thought it wise to start building plants here in the 1970s. Since then, many brands operate factories here in the US, mostly in southern California. This is a list of my favorite varieties produced here, encompassing my 1,461 reviews to date. With that, here’s your top ten, America! ...see full post

The instant noodle originated in 1958 in Japan, but since that time, they’ve expanded in popularity all over the world, including of course, the United States. Seeing this, instant noodle companies thought it wise to start building plants here in the 1970s. Since then, many brands operate factories here in the US, mostly in southern California. This is a list of my favorite varieties produced here, encompassing my over 1,100 reviews to date. With that, here’s your top ten, America! ...see full post

Cups were the second instant noodle innovation that really took the world by storm. Nissin founder Momofuku Ando of Japan decided that a cup would be a really handy way to have instant noodles on the go. His creation came to the market in 1971. Forty-two years later, the instant noodle landscape is filled with many different cup designs and contents – some all inclusive only needing hot water,m and some requiring a little more with packets – and some even with forks! Of all the varieties I’ve tried to date, here are my favorite ten. ...see full post

Note – The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2014 is newer than this and is the current list – see it here. ...see full post

UPDATED 11/28/2012 – New #1!!!

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!

#10: Wei Lih Good Good Eat Super Ramen Hot Chili Flavor – Taiwan
Has decent noodles and a deep red broth that exclaims ‘beware of fire!’ The broth also has an oily texture and sweet notes that make it quite unique in its fire. Original review ...see full post

Plastic forks. Not usually something you spend much time about (I sure don’t). What’s interesting that I’ve noticed is that there are all sorts of them from all over the world that end up in different cups, bowls and boxes of instant noodles. Some fold up to conserve space while others are simply ready to use. Anyways, every time I find a new one in my noodles, you’ll see it here! ...see full post

I contact companies and do interviews by email and review samples they send me. Meet The Manufacturer is a lot of fun and lets you find all sorts of neat little tidbits about how different companies make their noodles and show pride in what they do. I review up to 15 different varieties from the same company one right after the other so you can learn a lot about them. Are you an instant noodle manufacturer? Please contact me by clicking the above contact link – you too could be part of Meet The Manufacturer! ...see full post

Every year I pick my favorites out of all the reviews I’ve done. In the past, I’ve had lists that have multiple companies with multiple entries. I decided this year that I would change that. Starting with this list, only one entry per company will be on the list. I’ll mention other noteworthy varieties in the text of each one which I think will give more opportunities for folks to try new things. This new way of doing things will be reflected in this list, the upcoming Bottom Ten, Top Ten Bowls, and Top Ten Cups lists. ...see full post