This one is definitely a trip – so it’s made in Vietnam for the South Korean market. Found it of course at the famed S*Mart – that’s right kids – shop SMart – shop S*Mart! I really don’t think any people in that Korean store have seen Army Of Darkness, but honestly I think they’d get a kick out of it. Anyways, let’s commence.
Tag: ラーメン
The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten South Korean Instant Noodles Of All Time 2024 Edition
This one usually comes out in January, but a little late this year on edits. However, this one’s ready to go! This is my list of favorite South Korean varieties from my reviews up to number 4,650. Definitely want to try more South Korean varieties – especially those only found in South Korea – not export versions if at all possible. Anyways, let’s boil some water and check out The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten South Korean Instant Noodles Of All Time 2024 Edition!
#4724: MAMA Oriental Kitchen Instant Noodles Mala Beef Flavour – Thailand
This one was brought over and mailed to me – thank you! Very nice and excited to try it! I’m going to guess this will be a beef and Sichuan pepper kind of affair, but who knows – it’s a Thai brand so it should have a special spin on it. Let’s give it a try!
#4723: Indomie Mi Goreng Aceh – Indonesia
Definitely haven’t tried this one in the past, but I’ll review it today thanks to Pher Engi from Australia – thank you very much! Aceh is a region of Indoesia – that being said, here’s a little blurb about this one I found online –
#4722: Nongshim Premium TanTanMen Ramen With Chili Oil – United States
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!
#4721: Mom’s Dry Noodle / Surfmama Mapo Century Egg With Meat Sauce – Taiwan
Fancy new packaging going on here. Mapo century egg with meat paste sounds really quite exquisite – this sounds great – I’m on it!
#4720: Trader Joe’s Garlic Sauce Thai Noodles – United States
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.
#4719: Indomie Mi Goreng Rasa Rendang – Indonesia
Big thanks to Pher Engi for sending this all the way from Australia! This is a variety that used to be available in the United States, however this and a couple other have disappeared from our shelves here over the years – and it bums me out. Bring them back, please! Not sure what rendang is? Wikipedia says –
#4718: Bulramen Extra Hot Stir-fried Ramen – South Korea
Well, hmm. I think it’s time for something spicy. It’s early August 2023 and you know – spicy food. It’s funny – the chicken here kind of looks like Terminator with a chili pepper machine gun or something. I should note that this is the first review using my new tool – the RPFD – the ramen packaging flattening device. What’s that? Well, it’s a suction cup shower handle attached to a clear piece od thick Plexiglas which does a great job of flattening packs of instant noodles on the scanner. After over 4,000 reviews and trying different things to aid in scanning problem wrinkly packs, this came to me after using a tablet screen to hold down a metallic pack a few reviews back. You can see the post I did about it here. By the way, while it’s definitely got export info for the US, it’s got it for many countries, so this isn’t specific for the US and so it gets a South Korea label. Let’s try some fire?
#4717: Yamadai Shoyu Ramen Japanese Style Noodles – United States
Looks like Yamadai/New Touch is getting into the export market game with this and another one I found at S*Mart. Shop smart. Shop S Mart. You may have noticed I keep saying that – it’s where the main character in the film Army Of Darkness works before he’s launched into a bizarre comedic hellscape. Anyways if you’ve not seen that movie you should. Let’s make some shoyu ramen.
#4716: Nongshim Premium Udon Style Noodles With Shrimp Tempura – United States
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!
#4715: Pink Rocket Rapokki Mac & Cheese Rapokki – United States
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.
The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten American Instant Noodles Of All Time 2024 Edition
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!
#4714: Hezhai Lo Mein Pepper Chicken Flavor – China
Definitely found this at 99 Ranch Market. They’ve had a ton from this brand lately. Time to cook!
#4713: Pulmuone Crab Ramen – United States
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!
#4712: Little Sheep Signature Soup Noodle – China
Man, where did I find this one. Hmm… I think I found it at 99 Ranch Market in Edmonds, Washington, but I could be totally wrong. It looks as Sichuan Baijia is making this one, however they’re making it in Inner Mongolia which I find fascinating. I’m really curious about this one, that’s for sure. Let’s give it a a try!
#4711: Wai Wai Quick Zabb Hot & Spicy Shrimp Flavour – Thailand
Big thanks to Pher Engi for sending this over from Australia! I haven’t reviewed one of these in such a long time, and I remember they were pretty darn good. I’m also going to guess this is pretty spicy as well. Let’s cook it up and give it a try.
#4710: Itsuki Kurume Tonkotsu Ramen – United States
Here’s one I found in an Umai Crate from Japan Crate! They have boxes full of neat Japanese varieties! Check out www.japancrate.com and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER to score a sweet discount and get some neat noodles!
#4709: Nissin Hot & Spicy Fire Wok Volcanic Mongolian Beef – United States
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!
#4708: Pink Rocket Carbonara Rapokki – United States
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.