Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Hippopotamus noodle, eh? No, no Moo Deng in here, sorry fans… It’s Vegetarian-friendly. This one’s interesting and took a bit of research to figure out how it ticks. The package is interesting too – lots of odd perforations going on. Let’s give it a go!
There are a lot of these bag style products – especially at Chinese-centric Asian grocery stores here in the US. I think they might get overlooked by my more exploratory community, considering they’re a little more spendy and hey – the price and not knowing the flavors may make one more risk averse insofar as liking them. That being said, you should try them – do it! This is a dry and saucy variety – let’s give it a whirl.
So I was thinking have I had this one before? Getting a variety 2x really isn’t something I like to do, but it does happen. Well, the name is the same as others but thiis is different. Let’s delve into this thing.
Wow. I didn’t know what I was in for with this one! The noodle has to be boiled for 40 minutes! That’s a long time. The other way is to soak the noodles for 12 hours then only boil for 15 minutes instead. Sheesh! Guess we’ll have to figure that out as far as time goes. It definitely sounds good! Let’s give it a try.
Found this one at 99 Ranch Market, Curious – usually it’s pickled cabbage beef, not fish. Let’s give it a try!
I think my first introduction to this brand was when I found it up at a store in Richmond, BC called Big Crazy. That place was pretty crazy. Anyways, Since then I’ve been a fan of almost everything of theirs I’ve tried. Let’s see what the little elephant has cooked up today!
A big thanks to The Fat Hipster for sending this my way. Yep – banana. That’s bananas. Well, it works for me – that sounds bizarre and IU like bizarre in a sea of just plain chicken varieties on the market. I expect cries of ‘dude I need to try this – where can I get it?’ Book a flight to China or spend a lot of money is my guess. This one seems to be made in South Korea, however it’s China-exclusive. There will of course be a cooking vid and a mukbang below. Let us delve into bananamonium.
Found this at 99 Ranch Market – sounds interesting and nice to find a spicy one from China. Guessing this will be kind of like a carbonara style. Let’s give it a try!
This one was hiding in my meager hamper stash – found it at S*Mart in Bellevue, Washington. First off, this is a cold noodle – good for during hot weather – which we’re getting toward as the day I’m reviewing this is the last day of spring. You can steam these or microwave them – and the latter sounds like the easier option. I am making this on the last day of school for the kids. Egad. Let’s get started.
The last of this range – found them at S*Mart in Bellevue, WA. I do like sesame paste – let’s give it a go!
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!
