Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Mr. Lee’s Noodles started out in the UK. Priding themselves as a healthier option, they use freeze dried ingredients to give a better taste and freshness which is really quite a nice departure from the norm. Their varieties of noodle products are rice noodles, so they made the connection to offer congee varieties as well – let’s check them out!
Here’s the second of the three Aces / Huy Fong Sriracha sauce varieties (after this there’s still the beef too). The original was very nice – let’s see how the chicken fares!
Every day, I get more views and comments on these from the unboxing I did. This one has drawn much ire with just jabs as ‘it smells like cat piss’ and more. Well, let’s give it a try.
I first found Baixiang products up in Richmond, BC a number of years ago. Good stuff – always like to try new ones they make. A reader mentioned this one – I’d seen it before, and I’d thought I’d bought the chicken one and the pork one, but instead I’d gotten two pork ones. Well, when asked if I’d tried it I decided to grab the chicken one. Only one pack this time though. Let’s check it out!
Here’s another cup I found locally hailing from far away – this one’s made in Pakistan. I really like finding stuff from places I’ve not done a lot of reviews. Let’s give it a try!
Recently, Nissin USA sent an unannounced box, which has a take out bag with a stapled receipt and new varieties of their popular Cup Noodles Stir Fry range. Hot garlic sounds really good – and I have some chicken! Let’s hit it! By the way – 2021 is the 50th anniversary of Cup Noodles!
This is one of the varieties sent by a reader named Daniel from Montana – thank you! He mentioned that at the local Walmart, these had replaced all of the MAruchan product. I’ve got a couple theories about this stuff. First, maybe it’s actually a rebranding of Maruchan product; that logo mentioning the 0g Trans Fat looks pretty much like the same logo does on Maruchan’s packs. Not only that, there are a lot of flavors that sound identical to Maruchan varieties. The yellow banner kind of reminds me of the one on the MExican Sopa Maruchan varieties. I dunno – I could be way off on this.
Thanks to Cian from Ireland, I now understand what quality hails from Irish supermarket chains. I really haven’t enjoyed any of these up until now and not a lot of hopes for this one. But then again, how can a chicken instant noodle be all that bad, right? Let’s find out.
These come by way of Yukhong at Golden Bay Supply – thanks! Hey sent me some neat Thai products to try recently to try out and so here we are. Very curious about this one and the noodle block looks different than most rice noodles. Let’s check it out!
These come by way of Yukhong at Golden Bay Supply – thanks! Hey sent me some neat Thai products to try recently to try out and so here we are. Let’s give this one a try!
Here’s another one of the cups the folks at the company sent – thanks you very much! The Tapatio guy always seems so awake and well rested. Let’s see if the spicy heat will wake me up!
This one arrived in an Exotic Noods subscription box – check ’em out and use coupon code RAMENRATER15 for 15% off your order!
The first thing I noticed about this one was toward the top where it mentioned it has real beef and real pork. I so seldom come across varieties from the Philippines that this was a real score. I think I found it up in Canada but I’m not sure. Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about La Paz Batchoy real quick –
Alright so this one’s a little confusing. The bar code on this correlated with review #3035, however there are some distinct differences in the packaging. #3035 doesn’t have side panels and the lid is different. I’m unsure about this one so it’ll get a new review. Let’s give it a try!
There’s been a lot of comment in the Instant Noodles – The Ramen Rater Facebook lately concerning ramen vs pasta. This most certainly is pasta. However, a chicken macaroni soup from Malaysia definitely an interesting thing. Plus it’s instant. Let’s give it a try!
Thanks again go out to The Fat Hipster on YouTube for sending these along. This one feature a rapper that I’ve never heard of. Boosie is on the lid so you’ll see him below. Anyways, I’m hoping this is really a spicy one. Let’s find out!
This is your basic chicken instant noodle. It’s from ABC who I just did a short series on. We’ve been out of chicken lately and this morning I ducked out of the rain into the store and got some. $1.99/lb! That’s not bad, really. Let’s chicken it up!
You might be saying ‘gosh, you’re reviewing a lot of Sau Tao stuff!’ Well, yes I am – as I have a lot of different varieties in a couple boxes in our bedroom currently. I’m trying to review things that are big to shrink things down so they’ll fit in the hampers.
The second of three new single pack varieties from Hakubaku. They’re a pretty neat company – they’ve sent me lots of different products. One I’ve really liked is their Mochi Barley. They also make barley tea as well. The ramen I’ve tried before, but not this specific flavor – it’s brand new! Let’s give it a try!
Well, this appears to be the last of the Peruvian contingent I’ve had on hand. Thanks to the reader that sent it in! So this is basically a chicken noodle soup variety and sounds pretty nice for today. Got chicken thawing right now and so it should be a nice diversion. Let’s give it a go!
Here’s one fro Jame in Lakeside, CA – thanks again! This is an interesting one – oatmeal soup? Hmm!
This is one that came from a My Ramen Box. My Ramen Box (www.myramenbox.com) is yet another of the ramen subscription boxes out there and features varieties from around the world as well as neat little add-ons. Use coupon code THERAMENRATER for 50% off your first box!
Today’s the third and last say I’ll be reviewing three varieties brought to me from Israel by my brother Moshe. I didn’t know I had a brother until I took an Ancestry DNA kit my wife got for me (I was kind of hoping I might be 1% Asian descent, but that was most certainly not the case). Well, I got to see him for the second time in person yesterday, and this visit, our mother came and visited with him as well – something we never had expected. He was adopted in 1955 and my sister and I didn’t know anything about it – so this is a big deal for us!
This one came in a special ‘First Taste Club’ box from Nissin Foods USA – pretty snazzy. So, what’s the big deal? Well, it’s Top Ramen, in a bowl. It also comes with vegetables. It also comes with… teriyaki sauce? I’m very curious about this one – let’s cook it up and ruminate on this…
I can’t thank my readers enough. When one went on a visit to Europe and kept updating m on varieties he’d found and asked if I wanted to try hem while I was there – that’s really jumbling. Thank you! This is from Spain. Barbecue chicken flavor. Let’s give it a go!
This is an interesting one. Made in China for the US market. I found this one at a Fred Meyer supermarket here in Lynnwood – the last place I’d expect to see something like this. It’s nice to see stores expanding these kinds of things. Let’s give it a try!
This came by way of Robert over at www.dadbert.com – thanks! I’ve never seen hide nor hare of this variety ever before – anywhere. Test market in Kentucky? Perhaps. It looks like these are a meat version of the Very Veggie really; lots of meat instead of vegetables. My thought – screw it – I mean put lots of meat AND vegetables in there. In fact, screw that – do a retort pooch with meat and vegetables – now you’re talking! Nissin – you’re here in the United States already – use real meat! Retort pouches are the salvation – they shall bring a whole new age to the domestic instant noodle industry in America! At least that’s my vision. Let’s check it out!
Here’s the second of the two initial varieties of the Momosan Ramen range from Sapporo Ichiban. These feature a collaboration with Iron Chef Morimoto , one is a tonkotsu and this is the Tokyo Chicken. Let’s crack into it and give it a try!
Here’s something really cool thanks to one of you great and kind readers! This came from Chris of Pennsylvania. He recently took a trip to Europe and got me some noodles – totally didn’t have to do that, so it is much appreciated – thank you! Let’s crack open this box and have a look inside!
It’s been so long since I’ve seen a Nongshim product that’s been in an individual pack I’ve not tried it’s making my head spin. I used to get samples from them all the time, but not in quite a while. I miss them! I found this at a Fred Meyer store in Lynnwood, Washington last night! This looks like an interesting new concept for them – make it wet or dry. The name was a little confusing to me at first – I thought it was just called Pop then looked a little closer and thought Pot Por Pan? Ahhh – Pot OR Pan.. That makes more sense. I think I’m going to try pot today. Let’s check it out!
This one might be a bit of a surprise to you – insofar that I haven’t reviewed it, that is. Well, two other brand have these ‘bowl noodle’ style products from South Korea as well. This is Samyang’s entry into the fray of this form factor and style. Don’t get me wrong – one that’s been popular for years is their Yukgaejang bowls which look almost identical – except the name. They recently sent a bunch of these in different flavors – let’s give chicken a try!
Found this one up in Canad at a market in Richmond, BC called China World. I’ll be the first to admit that I like chicken, but abalone just isn’t my thing usually. Hopefully this one will be pretty good. Let’s find out!
So it happened. A date night. These are pretty rare for us and a lot of fun! So we decided to give another ramen joint a try. Tonight, it’s Jinya Ramen Bar in Bellevue, Washington.
The second review in this series was the bowl version of this one. Steeping vs non-steeped. Let’s take a look!
Well, here we are again. I goit one of these bowls a long time ago and guess what happened? I opened the retort pouch and spilled it all over my leg and on the floor! Was crushed; hard to find this one and I had only one of them. Egad! Luckily, TTL sent all of these for Meet The Manufacturer (thank you again!) and now I can give it another go. I should note I didn’t spill anything this time – let’s give it a go!
I thought I ought to start at the beginning. I’m pretty sure this and the rice wine spring chicken varieties are the first that TTL shared with the world and it just made sense to go with those to begin Meet The Manufacturer. Here’s a little about Shaoxing wine, featured in this variety from Wikipedia –
When I think of rice wine, my mind immediately goes to sake from Japan. I was surprised to find that there are many different kinds of rice wine – here’s a pretty extensive list from Wikipedia –
Interview with TTL * Product Samples from TTL (1 of 2) * Product Samples from TTL (2 of 2) * TTL Hua-Diao Dongpo Braised Pork Instant Noodle * TTL Sesame Oil Chicken Flavor With Rice Wine Instant Noodle * TTL Bolognese Red Wine Sauce Instant Noodle * TTL Spring Chicken With Hua-Diao Liquor Instant Noodle * TTL Hua Diao Pickled Vegetable Beef Instant Noodle * TTL Carbonara White Wine Carbonara Instant Noodle * TTL Spring Chicken With Hua-Diao Liquor Instant Noodle * TTL Sesame Oil Chicken Flavor With Rice Wine Instant Noodle * TTL Pickled Vegetable Beef With Hua-Diao Liquor Instant Noodle
I know a lot of people are really into Trader Joe’s. What I’ve seen is that they find brands and products they think would be good with their packaging and then get the company that makes it to do a private label for them and sells it under their name. I think that’s what it looks like here. In fact, maybe these should be known not as Trader Joe’s but Trader Mike’s – as everything looks about the same as this one. Yup – I’m pretty sure these are made by Mike’s Mighty Good. Anyways, let’s have a look and give it a try!
Today I review the last of the three Vite Ramen varieties. The first two were quite good and actually quite fascinating! Definitely something different – and good different. Let’s check out the third variety from Vite Ramen – Soy Sauce Chicken.
