Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
It’s time for another top ten list and this time it’s The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2018 Edition! The first list debuted in 2013 – I can’t believe this is the sixth list! As always – if you are a company who would like me to review your products, please contact me via the contact link – I want to talk to you! These are my favorite instant noodle bowl selections from my over 2800 reviews to date. Let’s get started!
Well, today we’ve got the last of the cup versions. I thought ending up with beef sounded like a good way to go. Why? Oh, I don’t know. Actually, it just sounds nice to sample something beef flavored today to be honest. Let’s give it a try!
Beef flavor isn’t usually something I think of when I think about ramen. I generally think of pork, chicken, fish, seaweed, etc. Beef leads me more towards ramyun to be honest. But these are varieties catering to the taste of the United States – and beef is definitely a western kind of flavor as well. Let’s see how a beef noodle goes in this variety. Looks like I did a re-review ion 2017 and the first time I reviewed it was #205 in 2010! Okay – let’s get to it!
Well, here’s another one from Taiwan. I recently completed a Meet The Manufacturer series with Wu-Mu (you start seeing posts pretty soon) and now they’ve come out with two more products! Let’s crack open this package and have a look inside to see what’s what.
Today is the last of this great series! I want to thank the mighty nice folks at Mike’s Mighty Good for facilitating this Alright it’s beef pho. Very curious about what this one will be like. Let’s find out!
So Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen also comes in cups. Spicy beef sounds good. I’ve been a spicy fan for a long time. I just noticed on the pack reviewed yesterday it mentioned ‘insanely rich broth’ whereas today we have ‘rich broth.’ With a slightly mellower tone, let’s pop the lid and look within.
Interview With Mike’s Mighty Good * Product Samples From Mike’s Mighty Good * Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen Fried Garlic Chicken Flavor Ramen Soup * Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen Spicy Beef Flavor Ramen Soup * Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen Savory Miso Ramen Soup * Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen Vegetarian Vegetable Ramen Soup * Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen Spicy Pork Tonkotsu Ramen Soup * Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen Chicken Flavor Ramen Soup * Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen Vegetarian Kimchi Ramen Soup * Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen Pork Tonkotsu Ramen Soup * Mike’s Mighty Good Craft Ramen Beef Pho Ramen Soup
Another big meaty bowl I lugged back from Taiwan in November 2017. A reader on the Facebook page for The Ramen Rater requested I pick this one up and I found it I believe at FamilyMart.
This one’s got horns and flying saucers on the packaging – something that denotes… Well, horns and flying saucers I suppose. I guess it more likely denotes ‘hey look at me – I’m on the store shelf!’ The double bang is for the two noodle blocks. The other variety I reviewed in this series had two in it as well and called for (like this one) 700ml boiling water. Guess we will see how this one goes as well! I remember seeing these on store shelves – I think I got all but one of the varieties (sniff) but hey – got some pretty fascinating ones. Taiwanese beef noodles, it is your time to shine.
I received this as a gift from a representative of the Little Cook brand in Taipei, Taiwan at the Taiwan International Food Expo! Thank you very much! She also accepted the third place award from The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2017 Edition – Little Cook Green Curry – at the awards show.
Well, here we are. This is one I found at Walmart up in Richmond, BC Canada. I’ve never had a lot of luck finding enjoyment of this brand but always gotten a lot of mail/questions about it. People have asked me many times how they can complain to the company that makes thes. I don’t know exactly why – I think a lot of the time people will store instant noodles and they’ll get banged up or the packs will get opened and after a long time will go bad. But my complaint usually has been that they’ve usually not had very strong flavors and the noodles come out funny when you follow the directions.
I’ve been doing a lot of spicy noodle videos on YouTube recently. There’s a particular one that I tried and just couldn’t handle. The main reason for this is that first off, it’s ultra spicy. The second was that I attempted it when I was sick with the flu. I mean hey – it was from Japan and I thought I should be able to handle it; never run into any spicy noodle from Japan that I found too spicy to eat.
Woot, woot! This one comes by way of Jay from Taiwan – thank you! This is a meaty one! Big retort pouch inside. These things actually have some heft to them (they weigh a bit).
Today, it is beef. Beef is a flavor that’s very prevalent in instant noodle ranges from many countries, save a few. Very curious what this one will be like. Let’s find out!
So for this Meet The Manufacturer, things are a little different. Nona Lim makes noodles and broths, so you can mix and match them. First, we’ll start with these Pad See Ew Rice Noodles. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about Pad See Ew –
Colin from Massachusetts was kind enough to shoot this one my way! Thanks again! So Gomtang is a flavor I really like -it’s kind of like a creamy beef soup broth. What’s kind of funny is that I’ve only sampled Gomtang made by Paldo. I know there are other brands making it in South Korea, yet I’ve never found any here. Let’s look up[ Gomtang on Wikipedia:
This one was sent to me by Chef Ron of Mama Pat’s Foods – thanks again! This is the first Yum-Mie variety I’ve ever tried and hails from Ghana, a country in Africa. Really like the name ‘Yum-Mie!’Here’s a little about Ghana –
Here’s a new one from Samyang Foods – Pagaejang. It is similar to Yukgaejang. I looked up Yukgaejang and found this on Wikipedia –
It’s been quite a year of reviewing as far as Taiwan is concerned. I brought back a trove of varieties I’d never had the chance to try before. Really opened my eyes many varieties that people had recommended I try over the years. This is the top ten – the best Taiwanese varieties I’ve tried from the over 2,500+ reviews I’ve posted to date. As always, if I’ve not tried your noodles, please contact me! I’m interested! Let’s check it out!
This is the second variety I’m trying of the Very Veggie range from Nissin Foods of America. Soon as I heard about these products I was extremely curious. Will they have enough vegetables? Will these vegetables be good?
Got a box today from Taiwan – wasn’t sure what it was at first then realized it was one I’ve been expecting for a couple of months! These are Happy Noodle samples! Let’s have a look!
This one was sent to me by Chef Ron from Mama Pat’s Foods – hey thanks! This is from Ghana in Africa! Nice to be able to try varieties from Africa; I’ve had so few! Let’s give this beef one a try.
A guy named Mengzhe Z. from China sent me this – thank you again! I think the first time I saw the export version of this one it was called beef and sauerkraut. Cabbage is definitely popular in Asia – goes well with yakisoba, pickled in soup and fermented in ramyun. Let’s give this a look!
Here’s a bowl version clad in the trapping of olde. Samyang Ramen was the very first instant ramyun to come out in South Korea – in 1963. Here’s a little about it from Wikipedia –
I’m really stoked – Nissin Germany sent a few new Soba varieties! I like these – not only are they really good, they have neat plastic cups with draining lids. But Sukiyaki Beef – let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about sukiyaki –
The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2017 Edition is a list of the best bowls I’ve tried of the over 2400 reviews posted to date. Bowls are interesting insofar as they often contain extra things, since there is more room for sachets, spoons, fork, etcetera. As always, I implore instant noodle manufacturers to contact me – I would love to review your products and all it costs is sending some samples and your time! So sit back, grab a bowl, some hot water, peel back the lid, stir – and enjoy!
There are some varieties that I hear people raving out about a lot and I start thinking ‘I should re-review this one.’ Well, today’s the day. I even have a little story about these which is sort of funny.
Here’s one I picked up during my November 2016 trip to Taiwan. So I found this one at 7-Eleven I believe. Indeed for years I’ve been told by people from Taiwan to give this one a try. They’ve been downright exclamatory about it, but nobody ever sent me one to try. Moreover it took me actually bringing one home from Taiwan to get it and so here we are. This is part of Uni-President’s Man Han Feast range. Here’s a little about Man Han (short for Manchu Han) Feast from Wikipedia –
This is something new from MyKuali as part of their new MeeKuali line. It’s a beef flavor rice vermicelli! The packaging and everything is definitely a departure from their regular MyKuali line which is very popular and are some of my favorites I’ve ever tried. I looked up rempah on Wikipedia and found this –
Yet again, one of the waning few left from Meet The Manufacturer: Nissin Hong Kong. Last year was the 45th anniversary of Cup Noodles! Let’s see what wikipedia has to say about the history of Cup Noodles:
Well, it has been a long time coming but here it is. This is the one I’ve been looking for. For three years. Why so hard to get? It’s really popular in Taiwan – why couldn’t I get it? Simple. Beef. There’s a big pouch of beef in here – not artificial beef, but real beef. I got this in Taiwan and brought it back with me. It’s kind of stupid; if someone sent this to me in the mail, it’d get stopped by the USDA inspectors that check the mail. I go there and pack it in my stuff, it comes through fine. What’s nice too is that it is in perfect condition; like I went to the store here and bought it and brought it home. Let’s crack this thing open and take a gander at this huge pack of noodles.
Okay so here’s another one of the new recipe Cup Noodles from Nissin Foods USA – thanks again for sending ’em over! I did a kind of experiment a while back – one that ended pretty well. See, on Instagram I often see people enjoying their instant noodles alongside a beer as well as some form of Chee-Tos, whether they be regular, Flamin’ Hot or Flamin’ Hot Limon. What’s kind of funny about it is that it sort of makes sense. See, Chee-Tos kind of have the same effect on instant noodles as tempura. Weird but true – they’re crunchy but also work well in broth. It’s alright if you think I’m crazy, but I do find this somewhat poetic. Let’s check it out.
Ready? Set? Beef! Here again are the spoonable noodles, this time with a beefy flavor. Let’s give this cup a try!
I had always thought carne meant beef but I was wrong. Turned out carne means meat and res means beef – always learning something new about the world through the instant noodle and doing translations! Let’s check out this beef flavored instant noodle from Mexico!
Here’s the second of four short little looks at Prima Taste’s new Ready Meals line. This one’s beef rendang. Rendang is an Indonesian dish of beef that’s cooked in coconut milk with lots of seasonings. There is wet and dry Rendang – the wet is what I’m guessing we have here. Here’s a little more info from Prima Taste –
Yep, you guessed it! This is yet another one left from the Nissin Hong Kong Meet The Manufacturer. Thanks again to Nissin HK for sending so many varieties! Sounds simple enough – it’s spicy, it’s beef. Let’s check it out!
Thanks go out yet again to Jen from Australia! Beef? Beef. Sounds simple enough – let’s check it out!
Here’s another one sent by Jen from Australia – thanks! Although not an Australian brand, the distributor’s sticker mentioed Australian distribution and so here we are. Sounds good – been reviewing quite a few beef ones lately it seems. Let’s check it out!
When it says these are broad noodles, its definitely not an understatement. I’ve had mixed feelings about the offerings from this brand in the past – let’s see how this one pans out!
Let’s start with the brand name of this one – Farmer’s Heart. I think many of you will be surprised that it’s a translation of a brand that’s very well known – Nongshim. Usually Nongshim’s flavors lean towards Korean flavors – logically. But this one’s definitely Vietnamese. I’m really curious about it also because not only are these rice noodles, but they can be made in the microwave. Let’s check it out!
