
Here’s the last one of these, sent by James of Lakeside, California – thanks again! This is a prison ramen – lots of clear pack everywhere. Time to cook it up!
Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002

Here’s the last one of these, sent by James of Lakeside, California – thanks again! This is a prison ramen – lots of clear pack everywhere. Time to cook it up!

I’ve really liked the other two from this range and rather bummed that this is the last one… I’m curious how it’ll be – buckwheat eh? Let’s give it a try!

Okay – so no, you can’t really get this outside of a rison. Why? It’s just the deal. The clear packs don’t allow contraband. Who makes these? Maruchan. Who distributes them? Folks who want nothing to do with you so don’t bother them. I got some from a person who works for a prison as an employee. No. He’s anonymous. Anyways, there’s a lot of interest in these varieties. So, I’ll review it. They’re pretty good and different.

Found this one at 99 Ranch Market. Looked interesting and it’s not only got a brand ambassodor tie-in (no clue who this guy is though) and a sweeepstakes for what looks like an iWatch. Also, a TON of sachets. Let’s give it a go.

It’s only been a couple of times I’ve been sent instant noodles that are available only if you get in trouble and go to prison. Both times have been from folks who work in correctional institutions and want to remain anonymous, so thank you anonymous donors! This video below will go over four varieties you might have never heard about unless you have been to jail/prison. They have a lot of clear space on them to dissuade folks from trying to hide stuff in them to bring in – drugs, weapons, etc. I’m really excited to receive these and not have to go to prison to try them – I’ve tried contacting Maruchan’s distributor in the past and gotten a firm ‘no’ as to getting samples. ‘You’re saying I have to go to prison to sample the product?’ ‘Yes. We won’t send you any.’ Rude! Well, again thank you to my anonymous friend who sent me these and didn’t make me adopt a life of crime to give them a taste. If you’ve had to be on ice for a period of time and tried these varieties, how did you prepare them? I’ve done prison ramen burritos aplenty, but I kind of want to do something different. Please comment below with the particular variety and what you did with them. On with the video!

So my sister is really into German stuff and when I review these, I save the plastic cups for her knick knack shelf. Just noticed this appears to have a Vegan logo on the lower right there. This morning, my wife is flying to the memorial service for her grandfather in California, so I’ve got a few days solo with the kids which will be nice but we’re already missing her. Her grandfather was quite a guy – I did a slideshow for them with music if you want to check it out. He was a 3 time purple heart recipient and was in WWII. He was a neat guy and will really be missed. Anyways, let’s cook up some yakisoba!

Thanks again to Pher Engi for this crazy train of neat Indonesian varieties, of which I’ve barely scraped the surface! This is a shrimp paste flavored mi goreng – and it’s not like anything I’ve seen thus far in my reviewing – look at everything in this thing! Let’s get cooking!

Lately, I’ve been getting noodles in the mail. A lot of noodles. I’ve kinda got a stack of them and need to get through reviews, and so I’m doing a bunch in a row. Well, the last sentence I wrote about two hours ago and guess what? More noodles arrived. That’s how it works I swear! This most certainly isn’t a complaint though – the more the merrier – especially if I’ve not reviewed them. Well, let’s hit it!

This is an interesting one. It appears this is a variety made just for the United States by Taiwanese company A-Sha, however it is produced in Vietnam. What’s more interesting is that it’s a Hello Kitty licensed product and it’s spicy – better do a mukbang! How spicy could it be with the cutesy factor? We’ll find out.

I got two of these in quick succession – the first from James in Lakside, CA and the other from a subscription box out of California as well from Exotic Noods. If you want to get one of their boxes, head over and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER and get a nice discount – thank to you both for sending these!

Here’s one that’s specifically made for a store chain called PX Mart. Sesame and a peppery oil sounds like a good one – let’s check it out!

Today, we have one that was part of Japan Crate’s Umai Crate. So Japan Crate is a subscription service which has all sorts of different options for you. pretty neat stuff from Japan! There’s a coupon code for you too – just use THERAMENRATER to get a special discount at check out.

Here’s something new from Taiwan! I really like spicy and definitely like shallot. Let’s check it out!

Today, we’ve got a nice one from Taiwan’s Wu-Mu. This is a newer variety that uses wide gauge noodles for a soup – something I find really interesting and not done nearly enough. Although these noodles are absolutely excellent in a dry noodle (without broth) setting, I think in soup they really excel too. Let’s see how these end up!

These were sent by some nice folks called the Butlers earlier this year – thank you very much! It’s rare (actually their package were the first) that I get to try Italian instant noodles! It’s been interesting sampling them – let’s give this one a try!

It kind of confuses me on this one – I mean, yeah, it says ‘the original’ and doesn’t really say that there’s been a recipe change. But there has – now there’s no MSG and no artificial flavors., plus a reduction in sodium. These aren’t bad things at all of course, but I’m just kind of left wondering – so shouldn’t it say new and improved instead of ‘the original?’ Anyways, let’s see what’s in this, one of the Vegetarian varieties in the Top Ramen range.

This was one I couldn’t leave Taiwan without. I saw this at RT Mart during my trip and passed it up since it was a 4 or 5 pack. But when I saw it again at Carrefour, I realized I’d better snag this one.

Many, many years ago, there was a company that made an instant noodle called Smack here in the United States. This is completely unrelated – although great to know the name still is around and in a new form! This one’s supposed to be spicy – let’s find out!

Purple – the color of royalty. It’s also the color of eggplants, grape candy and Barney the dinosaur. But these are purple noodles. So how do they get this hue? These noodles have Anthocyanins in them. Indeed, I needed to turn to Wikipedia to learn more –

A lot of people these days are giving up meat and switching to the Vegan lifestyle. So, what’s the difference between Vegetarian and Vegan? It seems like there are many different ‘flavors’ of Vegetarianism. For example, I have a friend who claims to be vegetarian, however he eats bacon, eggs and Jack In The Box fast food tacos. Here’s what wikipedia has to say about Veganism:

To kick things off for Meet The Manufacturer: Nissin Thailand, I thought how could I go wrong with some spicy tom yum? Tom Yum is the signature flavor of Thailand; lemongrass, spiciness, shrimp – they all go together in a harmony that I really enjoy. Let’s give this one with an extra spicy hit a try!

This looks absolutely awesome. Chili cheese Cup Noodle? Not only that, it’s big – and it has the Mexican wrestler guy on it! I wonder how it would go with corn chips… Anyways, let’s crack it open and have a look!

Here’s another one James B. sent me from The Netherlands – thanks again! I’ve reviewed these varieties in cup form, but not the packs and I’m really pleased to be able to. These come from Nissin Germary! Let’s have a look!

In the past year, I’ve tried quite a few varieties with Sichuan Pepper in them and really gotten a feel for this kind of flavor. In a way, Sichuan Pepper has almost a minty taste to it; it’s really quite different and unique. Let’s check it out!

Today’s a very big day for people living in Asia as well as the rest of the world! It’s Chinese New Year! I thought today would be a good day to have this new Mom’s Dry Noodle from Taiwan. I have the honor of taking part in a special Chinese New Year gathering in Seattle this year with a Singaporean group! I’ll be posting about that on Sunday. For those of you unfamiliar with Chinese New Year, here’s a little about it from Wikipedia:

Lucky Me! Spicy Beef Mami is a newer product I’m pretty sure. A couple neat things about this one is tyhat they use Labuyo pepper. It’s also known as Bird’s Eye chilli as well a cili padi (chilli paddi) in Indonesia and Malaysia. What’s more, this is another instance of instant noodles being referred to as ‘mami.’ As far as I know, this in a purely Filipino thing; never seen instant noodles called mami anywhere else (although there is a Malaysian company called Mamee, (a play on mee and MAMA) and a Thai brand called MAMA (for the same reason). I thought I’d see what Wikipedia has to say about the various meanings of mami and got this list:

It’s been a while since I had any Lucky Me! Pancit Canton. This is a re-review of the 40th instant I ever reviewed! That puts it around 2002 or 2003 being the last time I tried this one. Not only that, it’s been about 1,000 reviews since I had any Pancit Canton. So what’s Pencit? Wikipedia has this to say:

This is the last of the Nissin Soba varieties that were sent to me by Scott over at Nissin Foods USA a while back – thanks again, man these have been fun! These are made by Nissin Germany and are really neat. Let’s get to it!

Got a box today from a reader! What’s inside?

Sweet – I’ve been very curious about this one! Thanks to Robert F. from Hoboken, NJ for sending this along!

This is a Meet The Manufacturer that’s been a long time in the making – and well worth it! Prima Taste is a company out of Singapore that makes all sorts of meal kits and now ‘LaMian,’ which is a line of instant noodle products. Here’s the interview I conducted with them via email.

Here’s another one of the great varieties sent by Joe & Gill of the UK – thanks again! Chilli Beef Pot Noodle. Looks interesting to me!

NOTE – This was originally catalogued as a ‘Re-Review’ but actually hadn’t reviewed it before. Therefore, I am correcting this and making it the next successive review, which is #937.

I reviewed this one a little while back – was review #787. Use this link to see everything about it. By the way, emart has informed me that they have a new product that just launched – should be here soon! Can’t wait to review it!

Spicy beef! This was sent by Bo H. of China! Thanks again! These have all been a lot of fun and quite good! Let’s see how Master Kong’s Spicy Beef goes.

Yep – another new one from Indonesia that was sent by my friend in Jakarta! Thank you very much! I haven’t tried this brand’s noodles before, but I am familiar with ABC’s Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce).

Today I received a big box full of instant noodles from South Korea! These are made by emart. If you can imagine a Korean version of Walmart, you’re on the right track – these are super huge superstores over there. Anyways, a fellow from emart contacted me about reviewing this new product of theirs and of course I said yes. They sent a box with some nice hats and 8 of these 6 pakcs – yep – 48 packages of noodles! Wow!

Here’s something really new and very different from a lot of the instant noodles I’ve reviewed before. Jinjja Jinjja translates to “Really Really” (Spicy Spicy) – and I suppose in this review we’re going to find out how really really spicy Jinjja is! I should say that I sampled this one at Nongshim America while I was down there, so I have tried it before – but not a while bowl of it. I found out that the flavor comes from boiling pork bones for a long time, black beans and peanuts! It also turns out that the wheat flour used to make these has some red pepper powder added to them – heat in the noodle as well as from the dry seasonings! Let’s give this a try!

Here’s another one sent to me by Carter B. of Lancaster PA! This is another one he got in Mali (a country in west Africa), and this brand hails from Dubai! Let’s check it out!

Ahh – this is the next to last of the Pot Noodle cups that were sent to me by Cindy C. of England – thanks again! It has most certainly been quite a culinary journey! Bombay Bad Boy eh? Let’s check this oddly named cup of noodles out!

You like it hot? This stuff is good and it delivers some decent heat too. I’ve had the cup, the pack and now, the big bowl. Wonder if there’s a regular sized bowl? Hmm…