Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Found this at Fred Meyer the other day (Kroger). It wasn’t in the Asian foods area, but with the domestic stuff which was interesting. I wasn’t a big fan of their initial variety (standard ultra spicy dry clone) but this has promise. Says it’s spicy too – let’s find out.
Found this one at Boo Han Market along with another one. Rapokki is a great thing I really enjoy – a pairing of tteokbokki (cylindrical rice cake) and ramyun (Korean instant noodle). That texture combo alongside a sweet and spicy sauce is really wonderful. Let’s try this variety.
Big thanks to James from Lakeside, California for this one! Should be interesting – the seafood version was really quite nice. Let’s give this a try!
Okay, this is a big deal I think. I know – it looks very generic; very plain. But this isn’t what Ii see. This is a product of Brazil. It’s a Kroger store brand. Who is making this for them? I’ve no idea. I look at the big players in the Brazilian instant noodle market and mainly see a lot of Nissin Miojo stuff. However, the noodle and sachet style doesn’t lean me in that direction. A six pack – and it’s cheap – I think it was $4 for 2 of these – so I got both this and the chicken yesterday. I’ve also noticed that on the directions, it’s referring this noodle as pasta. Pasta? Hmm.
This came by way of the creator of Slurp Now, Crunch Later – a blog dedicated to Korean food! Thanks again! I’ve seen this on Amazon and been fascinated. Let’s see what’s within!
Here’s another one from James – thanks! So, Smoko? Hmm – Gemini says…
‘A “Smoko character” is a character from Smoko, an LA-based company that sells cute and whimsical products, such as plush toys and office supplies. The name “Smoko” itself is Australian slang for a short break from work. The company’s characters are based on food, animals, and other adorable concepts, with popular characters including Tayto Potato, Pearl Boba, and Lil B Dumpling’
I got an email from the creator of Slurp First, Crunch Later asking for my thoughts on tteokbokki. If course, I’m a big advocate; it’s one of the best things to ever exist. So, she mentioned these noodles from Nongshim and sent some over! New to tteokbokki? Watch the video and I’ll explain. Thanks!! FYI – you can find these on Amazon.
Herre’s one from James of Lakeside California – thanks! This appears to be one of the first new varieties from Indomie to be sold in the US – in at least 15? 20 years? More? All I’ve seen during my tenure as The Ramen Rater arre Indomie varieties being plucked from the lineup herre – rendang, special curly noodle, others like skipjack tuna… This is a new one here! Let’s give it a try.
I know many have loved the export version of this one for a long time but this one’s different. The Hokkaido flour seems to impart more chew and firmness. I haven’t reviewed this profile in a long time – let’s hit it!
Okay what is this MEP thing all about? Gemini says “MEP is a new brand of instant ramen by Samyang Foods, standing for Maptaeng (매떵), which is a Korean term that combines “map-da” (spicy) and “taeng-ha-da” (firm, chewy texture).” Ah okay. – now it’s a little more logical, however I think it could have a little more accessible name… Anyways – garlic and clams. Let’s do this.
Found this one at Saar’s Super Saver on Aurora in Seattle. This one was a little tricky to translate but the bar code weas the main help here. Let’s give it a try.
Here’s yet another from HongKongFoodies.com! Lots of hard to find Hong Kong Demae Iccho over there! I’ve really liked tori paitan before – a creamy chicken profile. Let’s give it a whirl!
So this is an interesting deal here. I’ve had the Korean version of this before. It was noted that the Rose US version reminds me of Chick Fil A sauce while the Korean version was amazing. Hmm… I’m curious how this will be… Let’s dive in!
I was contacted recently by a gentleman from Mae Mai, a company making garnished. Alas, I screwed up – I did an unboxing video of their product, but I accidentally deleted the video! Well, I did it over and here it is. I’m in love with this garnish. It’s sweet, garlicky, onion, crisp, savory, and a little spicy. It’s my favorite recent discovery – try this stuff! You can get it on Amazon, or check out their website.
Here’s another from James of Lakeside, California – thanks! Macaroni… Soup? I think this is a Filipino one yet again. Thewse are interesting and so far not bad. Let’s cook it up!
Here’s a very wide distribution export version – lots of languages here! Let’s give it some attention and boil it up.
Another one from Bibigo that’s certainly for the European market yet slap a distribution sticker on with US standard nutrition facts and there you go. Let’s give it a try!
Big thanks to Jame from Lakeside, California for sending this one! So this brand is interesting. Mainly in that they make as lot of Filipino varieties, however it says they’re product of the USA. Are they made here? I dunno I guess they must be? Pancit Canton usually is pretty darn good – let’s give it a try!
Here’s one sent by the folks at Hong Kong Foodies – thanks again! This sounds interesting – a Shin spicy flavor from Hong Kong! Let’s get to it with this variety I’ve never seen before.
Tried this awhile back in the pack form. It was really quite decent – tasted like taco seasoning and sauce and noodle. It works. Let’s see how it is in this configuration.
Here’s the last of these sent by The Fat Hipster – thanks! So this is camping ramen. I must say the prior varieties were quite bland. I guess we will see on this one.
Nothing like Korean ramyun – this one is from a brand that makes some nice varieties. Found this one at Boo Han Market in Edmonds, Washington. Let’s cook it up!
This is rad and came by way of the folks at Hong Kong Foodies – they’ve got a lot of Demae Iccho varieties I’ve never seen before and were kind enough to send them my way! Let’s try this classic variety which uses Hokkaido wheat flour.
You may have seen my review of this one’s creamy counterpart. That one was really good – curious how this will be. Nope – not ramen, but should be nice. Let’s give it a whirl!
The second of two I got from Japanese Snack Republic before they stopped shipping to the United States. I feel like I really scored on these – very curious! Let’s cook it up!
Haven’t seen this one in a long time. Looks like new packaging to some degree as well. A seafood ramyun sounds good – getting colder here. It’s the tail end of September 2025 as I type this. Lewt’s give it a try.
Another one from Saar’s Super Saver. I tell ya, that place was a real score. Alas, my trove is dwindling as it does… But no matter – time to cook!
This is another that came by way of Hong Kong Foodies – they’ve got some really great stuff I’ve never seen and so far what I’ve tried has been really great! This is tonkotsu – ooby dooby! Let’s cook it up!
I was super stoked to see that Ramen Bae has come out with their own range of instant noodle products! Some really neat stuff in this box – check ’em out!
If you didn’t know, the Tapatio hot sauce folks have their own ramen varieties – in pack, cups, and bowls. These are the current varieties in pack form that they sent and I’m really interested in reviewing them! Big thanks to Tapatio Ramen for sending them along – let’s check ’em out.
Found these at Saar’s Super Saver on Aurora neat Seattle. So it is just vexing me – those little words by the hammer kid – don’t boil it – smash it. I’ll follow the rules, but honestly, I have to try this as a dry noodle soon. Boil it, drain it, add seasoning, stir it up. I bet it’s good! I’ll get one next time at a store. I will reveal the upshot to you! For free! I am happy to! Anyways for now, let’s smash it.
Found this one at Boo Han Market in Edmonds, Washington. This is very interesting as it isn’t a standard export for the US market – in fact, what’s interesting here is that while there’s English on the package, it’s prefixed with GB – Great Britain. This is an export version for Europe – so they slap a distro sticker with req’s for US sale and all done. I haven’t come across something like this before I don’t think. Interesting – Let’s give it a try.
Hey look! I sure remember my children losing their minds over Baby Shark, that song endlessly playing over and over, the hand gestures mimicking the chomping of sharks… I’m so relieved it’s over. Well, here we are. I must admit, shark shaped topokki sounds fascinating and this seems doable. Granted no, it’s not ramen. But it was at Boo Han Market in Edmonds, Washington next to ramen. Let’s cook it.
Found these at Saar’s Super Saver on Aurora in Seattle. I really like these; it’s neat to get stuff from that part of the world. Granted, it’s still Indomie, but definitelyt more geared for a local market. Let’s give it a try.
This one comes by way of Jammes of Lakeside, California – thanks again! So, porridge? Instant porridge is very often found on instant noodle aisles in Asian grocery stores. I try to stick to noodles, but when there’s other things adjacent to the might noodle, it bears investigating. With that, let’s give it a try.
Hippopotamus noodle, eh? No, no Moo Deng in here, sorry fans… It’s Vegetarian-friendly. This one’s interesting and took a bit of research to figure out how it ticks. The package is interesting too – lots of odd perforations going on. Let’s give it a go!
Recently, I got an Instagram message from someone interested in this variety. Not to see what I thought of it, but asking if I had a recent scan of the packaging. They make rad little keychains for sale at events and Etsy soon, so I figured I haven’t done this newer packaging version, so why not? I’m in the mood I think, let’s give it a go.
I’ve tried these before. This one is fat free though. I found it while on a long walk looking for something else. I like it when that happens. Let’s try this out; it’s made in Singapore.
I was told by a colleague about a website called Japanese Snack Republic. The have a slew of instant noodle varieties and you have a couple choices – free shipping with no tracking or expedited you pay for. I thought I’d take a shot at the free and get a couple packs and this is one of them. The package was sent literally one day before the Japanese Post decided with the inconsistencies and day to day tumult of the US Government’s tariffs, etc, they would stop accepting packages to be shipped to the United States. They’re not the only ones – South Korea, Australia and plenty more have joined them. Anyways, this was one of those in a little box that went out a day before they shut it down. It arrived! I’m stoked! Let’s cook it up!
There are a lot of these bag style products – especially at Chinese-centric Asian grocery stores here in the US. I think they might get overlooked by my more exploratory community, considering they’re a little more spendy and hey – the price and not knowing the flavors may make one more risk averse insofar as liking them. That being said, you should try them – do it! This is a dry and saucy variety – let’s give it a whirl.
