
I’m not usually a big fan of buckwheat noodles, however this piques my curiosity. Not much else to do but give them a try!
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I’m not usually a big fan of buckwheat noodles, however this piques my curiosity. Not much else to do but give them a try!

I tried another one of these recently – found at S*Mart in Bellevue, Washington. Anyways, they’re thick things. Red oil? Sounds ominous – let’s do it.

I’ve had golden pea variants and they’ve been good – but mashed pea? Maybe this is liked the mashed potato one I reviewed recently. Let’s give it a try!

Here’s one I found in a Project Ramen box! They’ve got quite an array of international varieties – good stuff! Use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount. Soyed beef? I’m guessing perhaps like corned beef? I really couldn’t find anything about it but that’s my guess. Let’s cook it up!

Another from S*Mart! When I opened this pack the smell of garlic was real strong – curiosity has me in its grips… Last time I had a crayfish flavor variety from China it was violently spicy… Let’s give it a whirl!

This one looks interesting – check out that yelling guy! Mashed potato and tomato – alright that’s different. Let’s go!

I’m really not sure about this one. It’s rather heavy and I’m having trouble finding instructions on its preparation – but I’ll get t the bottom of it.

Frank over at 5am Ramen sent me this in a box of varieties – thanks! He’s got some really premium stuff like this for sale – and he does guides and tours over in Japan as well! This a spicy dandan variety, so should be thick stuff! Let’s give it a try.

We found this one at the new T&T Supermarket in Bellevue, Washington. It was out first visit and found some neat stuff there, although I really expected their noodle aisle to be so much more impressive than it ended up being. Did find a nice array of things, though. Let’s try this interesting little box.

Here’s one I found at S*Mart – shop smart, shop S*Mart! Awhile back I reviiewed some varieties that were much like this and were incredibly good. Fingers crossed. Actually, today is a big day – this week, I shot the video for six top ten lists – all in one session. Just got the 2025 global top ten all ready for release as I type (it’s 4/17/25 today so you can see it already), and the last time I did a regular review was twenty days ago. So, I’m pretty stoked to do some reviewing again. Let’s give this one a try!

Big thanks to Pher Engi for sending this along! These are really neat varieties and they come with braised egg or braised quail egg! Let’s see what is in there!

This is the last of this range sent by James from Lakeside, California – thanks again! They’ve been pretty decent and I must say 6 minutes is the right timing to use. Let’s try it out.

First, big thanks to James from Lakeside California for sending this. So, I’m generally not a huge fan of river snail noodle, however this one seems like it’s been very popular. There’s a tom of sachets. A ton. Let’s give it a go.

Here’s one sent by James of Lakeside, California – thanks! The first of these was good as I remember and this one sounds very good. While made in China, everything is done specificall for the USA. Let’s give it a whirl!

Another one from James of Lakeside, CA – thanks again! These are made in China, but everything of the packaging shows me its only made for US sales. Sounds like it’ll be decent – let’s find out!

Big thanks to Pher Engi for this one! When she was at a noodle shop, she asked if I’d like to review it. It had zero english on it and so of course I was game. Turns out there’s english info on the bottom of the bowl. This one has two types of noodle – vermicelli, wheat noodle as well. Not only that, it’s got an egg! Stewed egg isn’t my favorite, but it’s quite interesting to see. Let’s give this neat one a try!

Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These boxes are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – ” Let’s see what they had to say about this one – “Is there any better way to start the Year of the Snake than with Chinese food ramen? This cup from the famous shop Sisen is inspired by their famous Mapo Tofu! With tasty non-fried noodles in a Sichuan Mapo soup, this cup is packed with flavor and (pleasant) spice!”

Thank you to Exotic Noods for sending this along! So, this is the North American version. Overseas, it’s a duck blood vermicelli. It’s kind of funny – on the front of the box it has a cartoon like image and then it says serving suggestion. I don’t think I’ll be able to find a duck winking with a thumbs up – I could possibly find a rubber duch… I think I’ll just cook it and appreciate the suggestion and decline.

When I get to review a Baixiang variety, I get a little excited. I’ve always liked these – and this one’s unique – mutton! Wish I had some for garnish… But that’s okay it should be good stuff. I actually emailed Baixiang last night in hopes of a collab, so that could be happening. For now, let’s give this a try!

Big thanks to Noodle Journey for sending this along! I did a bunch of Ramen Talk reviews previously, but this one’s very new to me. These are really quite good in general and we shall see how this one goes. Tomato meatball seems very much like spaghetti soup… Hmmm…

Big thanks to James from Lakeside, California for sending this one! He also included a tin of something called krill meat he recommended for seafood varieties, so gonna give that a try. Let’s cook!

Big thanks to Noodle Journey for this one! This is a new variety and it’s all in Korean. What might confuse people here is that they may have thought this would be the flavor of it the whole time. This is not. The flavor of Buldak is the flavor of the sauce that goes on Korean Fried Chicken. Original Buldak doesn’t taste like chicken. I have fought with people over this misconception. ‘But there’s chicken seasoning in it!’ Yes, perhaps in some, however in another Korean variety – a beef flavor, there’s pollock (fish) and no beef. Is it fish flavor? In Pumpkin Spice cup noodle, there’s garlic. Is it garlic flavored? No. These different ingredients are part of the arsenal of food scientist ingredients used to approximate different flavors. Anyways, let’s give this a try!

Whoa check this out – I’ve never seen Fan’s Kitchen varieties in anything but cups before… Curious what it’s all about. Well, let’s try it!

Big thanks to Daniel over at ExoticNoods.com – this one sounds good! Sour spicy Chinese variety, here we go!

This one definitely has potential to be good – real good. That noodle on the package looks superb and so I’m crossing my fingers. Let’s crack it open and give it a try!

Found this one at S*Mart. Shop smart! Shop S*Mart! So all I know is that at the end it says it’s xiao mian (chow mein) so it’s brothless. Peppers floating in the aether imply heat. Chongqing is regional. Okay, let’s muddle…

Hey big thanks to Daniel over at Exotic Noods for sending this over! I am a big fan of coriander (cilantro) and this one seems to have a lot of it. It’s funny; the coriander we get here in the stores is so dark and I try to find it a lighter shade but it’s never very healthy stuff. I don’t know why. Anyways, Let’s give this a try.

Well, I think it’s time for a break. I’ve done quite a few reviews this week and I’m so far ahead. As I write this it’s May 2nd, 2024. Weather’s getting nicer. I might do some more soon though as there’s a lot of rain in the forecast… But anyways, I had one the other day that mentioned Shaxian style noodles and this one sounded interesting as that one the other day was incredible! Well, let’s give it a go!

Big thanks to James from Lakeside, California for this one! Yeah these are big, that’s for sure – really big. Like huge. Let’s cook it up!

Here’s one sent by James from Lakeside, California – thank you! Wasn’t sure if I’d had this one however the other I’ve had from this range was udon with seafood flavor. Let’s toss in some chashu and give it a go!

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!

Found this one at 99 Ranch Market recently. Man, I just have to say what a week. Got COVID (granted this is August so hopefully I don’t have COVID when I’m posting this) and it’s just been hell. Lots of headache, dizziness. When I got COVID in January of 2021, I ended up with a blood clot in my lung. The second time (first was after going to Taiwan). So my doc put me on a blood thinner , effectively for the rest of my life. Well, headache and dizziness can be indicative of a blood clot. Well, not this time – usually that has to do with the fact that you’re not getting enough oxygen. Usually your heart rate will go up as well. So, it’s just the sick beating the heck out of me. It got bad enough to go to urgent care yesterday and they were like yeah you have COVID – no reason to think it’s a blood clot in your lungs or anything. So that’s good, however I still feel like crap. It’s Tuesday. I took picture of this and the last two varieties on Tuesday – of last week. It’s literally taken me that much time to get these post frameworks done before I’m even close to cooking. I might cook tomorrow, I dunno. But I think I’m coming out of the funk. I sure hope so… Anyways, let’s see about this one.

Big thanks to Daniel over at ExoticNoods for sending this over! Well, this will publish way later, but at the moment, I’m sick. It’s mid August. Just a crummy deal. Especially today – it’s my son Miles’s birthday today! Wanted to do a bunch of fun stuff but can’t stand for very long – hoping its a sinus infection . Started with COVID the other day and was feeling better then egad whomp. Anyways, Happy Birthday to Miles!

Big thanks to Daniel at www.exoticnoods.com for sending this! This looks rather plain but I’m going to tell you right now I am seriously excited about it. Nan Jie Cun is also known as Nan Jie village. So what? So this –

This one came by way of James from Lakeside, CA – thanks! This is a fancy one – with booze! Yup – there’s alcohol in one of the sachets. Let’s cook it up and see how it goes.

This one took a little digging, but found what it was eventually. It’s a pan mee – a flat noodle. Curious what a Chinese pan mee will be like – guess we’ll find out!

It’s been awhile since my last roundup of Chinese varieties and I thought a new one would be good. There’s been a flood of great Chinese varieties that I’ve found here in the US lately. I do know that there’s a lot I’ve not had the chance to try and would very much like to. If you’re a manufacturer or distributor of instant noodles from China, I’d love to hear from you and sample your products. With that, let’s take a look at The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Chinese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2025 Edition.

Here’s one sent by James from Lakeside, CA – thanks! This one’s kind of funny – I’ve reviewed products by Dujosoo before, but this is like My Little Pony meets Pokemon meets onions! Let’s see what happens!

Here’s one found at S*Mart a couple of months ago. It looks like the fellow on the cup is Tan Xiao Ai, maybe a drama actor, or a professional go player, but I’m guessing the former. Lots of sachets in this one – let’s get to it.

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.