The Definitive Source For Instant Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Here’s a Vietnamese beef pho, found at HMart recently. This one is a little interesting as instead of a rice noodle it’s a wheat noodle. Also, note that it’s not called pho, but it is a noodle soup. Mi means noodle and bo means beef. Pho? That means soup. Anyways, let’s see what happens.
Here’s one made in South Korea for the US market. GS25 is a convenience store chain in South Korea – and I believe all their instant noodles they have as a house brand are made by Paldo. Let’s give this one a try.
Here’s something not seen before – a bowl from the folks at Mom’s Dry Noodle! Not only that, it’s got a pop-top – you’ll see that below. Let’s give this soup with scallop a try!
I tried the shoyu variety recently and it was pretty good. Both are definitely packaged for sale in the United States. Let’s try the miso today!
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!
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.
The last one of these I tried was really quite good. It had a ton of noodles, and an excellent chicken flavor which was perfect for Western palates. I’m curious how the spicy element will go with this one. Shall we find out? I should add that if you look in the ingredients, it mentions habanero!
This sounded interesting enough. Well, hopefully it’s alright. I dunno. I haven’t had all that much luck with this brand lately so we shall see. The last one was a shoyu and really kind of tame/bland. Hoping this will be a nice luxuriant and creamy tonkotsu with a lot of flavor.
Here’s another sent by James from Lakeside, CA – thanks again! This one I haven’t tried – I’ve tried the same flavor but in their restaurant style straight noodle version. Let’s give the bowl version a try.
I thought I would do three reviews in a row from China. Why? Well, it’s January 3rd here and I just got done with the arduous Christmas and New Year’s happenings and I want to show off my new musical instrument. You can watch the video below and on the next two reviews. Be kind – never played a bowed instrument before in my life and never a traditional Chinese instrument.
For the longest time, I only thought there was a single variety of Nongshim’s Tonkotsu bowl – the spicy one. Lo and behold, there’s this one with black garlic oil as well. What’s more, I think both exist concurrently. The spicy one has a five star rating from me and is at the top of the USA top ten. Let’s check this new one out!
This one came by way of Sugoi Mart – thank you very much! This is a fancy one – very popular – and kind of spendy anywhere you’ll find it. Ichiran pioneered the ‘spendy ramen’ world with their $80 multipacks. Yeah – $80 bucks! I think they’ve come down a bit over time though but wow. Let’s see how this one is!
Here’s one that came via Exotic Noods – check ’em out and use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount!
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
Found this one at Evergreen Asian Market up in Everett, Washington. I don’t often make my way that far north for instant noodles but I did find one or two things there (including Chocolatey Tree Stumps). This one is made in the Russian Federation for the US market – even says on the label which I find interesting. Anyways, let’s check this one out!
Here’s one that came in a box from Exotic Noods – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount!
This one arrived in an Exotic Noods subscription box – check ’em out and use coupon code RAMENRATER15 for 15% off your order!
The Tapartio guy is flanked by flames this time! But wait – who is he? How did they end up with this guy on this ramen and of course the zillion bottles of hot sauce bearing the name Tapatio?
I first tried Baixiang noodles a few years ago when I found the little elephant’s brand up in Richmond, BC on one of our early visits before it became a regular thing to do.
QQ is an interesting term when it comes to noodles. Michelin defines it as “QQ is the bounciness associated with fresh handmade fishballs, glutinous rice balls, and certain types of noodles. The term originated from Taiwan, where Q sounds similar to the local word for “chewy”, but it’s evolved to mean a little more than that.”
Hey this sounds neat – but what are Trolley Noodles anyways? All I can surmise after doing some research is that Trolley Noodles are akin to cart noodles. Basically, hawker style. Let’s open this laksa flavor variety up and take a look!
Here’s something that came from a Zenpop box – check out www.zenpop.jp – use the coupon code RAMENRATER for a discount!
Here’s one from an Umai Crate subscription box! Go to https://bit.ly/UmaiCrate and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount.
Sriracha is a place I’ve been to in Thailand. It was very hot and the sky was a deep azure blue. Telephone poles were packed with wires – you’d have to see it. Looking out my window right now it’s cold, windy, and the forecast is calling for a week of snow here, just north of Seattle. I miss Thailand.
These are made in Hong Kong for the US market. I found a myriad of cup varieties at 99 Ranch Market recently. These also are complimented by a full line of pack versions, but I’ve reviewed most of those over time from varieties sent by a reader back east.
Here’s one of a bunch that I found at a 99 Ranch Market near me. I have seen quite a few articles with folks saying that the correct name is Ranch 99 Market. This is incorrect. The store is called 99 Ranch Market. People will debate anything even though they are incorrect, shown data proving they’r incorrect, and just stupid. But year. Let’s look at this one.
Hey look – something totally new and different from MyKuali! They told me that fish noodle is a hawker stall staple over in Penang. Very curious about this one, as this isn’t supposed to be spicy which is a departure from all their other varieties which do have a strong spiciness. Let’s give it a go!
Yeah – check that out why don’t you?! Little devils all over it and a wallop of sachets! I found this at our local Edmonds 99 Ranch Market yesterday along with the next one I’m reviewing. Let’s give it a try!
This one comes by way of James in Lakeside, CA. Thanks! Okay so yer it’s made in Japan but this is obviously packaged for US sale. I generally classify things for the country you’ll be able to buy them in. If it’s an export product that would go to a region, say Europe, it’d get given the originating country’s name at the end of the title. So there.
Well, Merry Christmas! Hochi has her Santa hat on for this one. Meat spaghetti, huh? Sounds interesting. Christmas is over, but they must have had some leftovers – got these last week and thought hey – maybe some burning would do me good. Let’s give this new variety a try!
Kimchi is really great stuff – and it’s not just cabbage. There’s lots of different vegetables that can be kimchi – radish kimchi is my favorite. Now I want some Korean BBQ! Okay, okay – let’s give this one a try.
Here’s one I found at Walmart. They were kind of expensive in the past, but I believe this one was 99 cents when I found it so figured I’ll give it a try. It mentions it’s got bone broth, something imparting extra protein usually. Let’s check it out!
I’ve honestl been hoping to find this one for a long time – and I finally did up in Richmond, BC at the HMart in Aberdeen Centre. I was getting the stuff to do the Shin Ramen Prison Burrito! Anyways, Gomtang is a horse of a different color in the realm of Korean instant noodle soups. It’s never spicy (although a spicy Gomtang sounds kind of neat). It’s a kind of creamy beef soup – stick to your ribsy and comforty. Good stuff! Let’s give Nongshim’s offering a try!
This is an interesting name. I have a feeling lid might be hat? I’m unsure so if anyone’s got better please let me know. I’m guessing this will be a spicy beef in the traditional style. Let’s crack this open and have a look!
This is the third and final variety of the new Top Ramen bowls – Soy Sauce. Originally called oriental flavor, Nissin decided to change it over to soy sauce flavor. It’s kind of interesting; I’ve been to Asia a handful of times and seen the term oriental all over the place, however here in the states I’ve heard of some discontent with the term, possibly the impetus for this change. Anyways, let’s give this one a try!
Here’s another one the folks at Maruchan were kind enough to send over – thanks! This is a late comer to the ultra spicy category – at least it looks like that. I’m very curious as to how spicy it is exactly though; I’m guessing it won’t throw me down and kick me, but I could be wrong – time to find out.
Found this interesting one up at FoodyWorld in Richmond, BC. They’re all geared up for Mid-Autumn Festival and so the mooncakes are out in force! They have display ones that are the size of a huge car tire!
Here we have the last of the three bowls sent on ice by Nona Lim – thanks again! The first two were pretty good – green curry was great and the dan dan was alright – how will this one be? Let’s give it a spin in the microwave and find out!
During my 2017 trip to Taiwan, I visited a 7-Eleven in Taipei. I pointed out a variety and my friend corrected my speech. I thought for years this brand was Ve Wong – pronounced vee wong. Actually, it’s more like way wong. It appears I was way wrong on this. But now I know! Yeah, poor joke. Roll your eyes and let’s have a look at this neat variety!
The second in the trifecta of Suimin Origins varieties I’ll be trying is Beef Massaman. If you’re unfamiliar with the flavor, here’s a little snippet from Wikipedia –
