Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
After a few decades, Nissin decided they wanted to make some changes to one of their flagship products here in the United States, Cup Noodles. They’ve lowered sodium and now there is no added MSG and no artificial flavors. I thought this was kind of interesting as last year they came out with these new cups, but it looks like they’re not available anymore. Let’s have a look at this iconic domestic instant noodle in a cup.
This is another one sent to me from Australia by a reader named Jen – thank you very much! Well, pretty much every company has a chicken flavored something – usually a pack or cup, and it usually tends to be one of the first products they introduce to the market. Let’s give this chicken variety a look.
Here’s another one from the Meet The Manufacturer I did with Nissin Hong Kong. So vongole is a kind of clam and pasta dish very popular in southeast Asia. Let’s check it out!
Here’s one of the many I still have left from the Nissin Hong Kong Meet The Manufacturer. They sure have a lot of SKU’s! Sesame Demae Ramen is a classic favorite around the world and especially in Hong Kong. Let’s check out the cup version!
Most of you have probably heard of tom yum soup, but tom saab you might not have heard of. Tom Saab is a spicy pork soup from northern Thailand. Let’s give this a try!
Here’s one my sister got me from up in Canada for my birthday! Thank you! Walmar instant noodles!
Here’s another one of the many cups that Jen from Australia sent a few months back – thank you again! Very curious about this one – how hot and spicy will it be? Let’s find out!
Walked to get the mail today and the mailman gave me this box. Wasn’t sure what it was and then remembered! Nissin Thailand has a line of Winnie The Pooh themed noodles I saw a few times on instagram. I asked my contact Ms. Janenate about getting some samples and here they are! You might remember her name from the Nissin Thailand Meet The Manufacturer (check it out here). The neat little cups have little Winnie The Pooh fishcake in them! Let’s look inside!
Before I start, I wanted to thank Happiness Engineer Anne and the folks at Automattic, makers of the Jetpack plugin for WordPress. There was a bug in the way it handled mobile themes with their newest release and I asked for help. In less than 2 days, a fix was out and everything’s looking nice again!
Found this one at the Uwajimaya in Renton, Washington. Never had seen it before and by what it looks like on the label, this is a private label for a big distributor here in the USA by a company in Singapore. Unsure which company makes it though. Let’s check it out!
Thanks again to Jen from Australia for sending this and myriad of other Australian varieties! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a chicken and sweet corn flavored instant noodle before. Let’s crack it open and see what we have here!
I previously reviewed the pack version of this one a couple days back – now it’s time for the Cup Noodles version. The Cup Noodles usually have a few extras in there – let’s have a look!
The third and final of the cups I received from MyKuali – thanks again! The Hokkien Prawn (aka Spicy Prawn Noodle) was #2 on this year’s The Ramen Rater’s top Ten Instant Noodles Of all Time 2016 Edition. I recently read a little about these cups – the noodle they are using is referred to as ‘shabu noodle.’ Just a little something you might be curious about. Anyways, let’s see how the sweetness of Hokkien Prawn translates with this new noodle! Let’s crack it open!
Here’s one of Nissin HK’s standard sized Cup Noodles, and in a flavor I’ve never heard of – pork chowder! My first thought when chowder is referenced is clam chowder; will it be like clam chowder but instead of clams just be pork? I think maybe not. I really don’t know! Let’s check this one out.
Today, we delve into a rice vermicelli cup. Mifun is just one name for rice noodles – here’s some more from wikipedia:
Well this looks interesting – Italian inspired pasta in a take out box style package. Reminds me of the Cup Noodles Pasta Style from Japan a reviewed before – at least in color scheme and design on the package. It looks like it stops there though! Let’s see what we’ve got here!
If you’ve followed my reviews for a while, two things you’ll probably have realized – I like curry and I like beef. I don’t think I’ve tried a curry instant from outside of South Korea before and this one looks pretty neat. This is the first cup version of the Demae Iccho line I’ve ever gotten my hands on! Let’s have a look inside!
Today I think we’ll take a look at this bigger Cup Noodles. Spicy seafood sounds tasty to me! What’s also interesting about this one is that it can be microwaved, although my microwave is 1100W so unsure how to try it at 800W. It has different power levels, 1-12 (which seems kind of illogical since I wuld think they’d number 1-11). Boiling water time! Let’s go!
So I’ve been chatting with the DHL guy lately – especially since he’s been coming by quite often. Today he brought a huge box from Nissin HK! I often give him extra noodles – I’ve got so many at this point it’s kind of overwhelming! This batch though is all ones I’ve never reviewed and only one of each! Let’s open it up!
Interview With Nissin Hong Kong * Product Samples From Nissin Hong Kong * Special Items From Nissin Hong Kong * More Special Items From Nissin Hong Kong * Nissin Demae Iccho Black Garlic Oil Tonkotsu Flavour * Nissin Cup Noodles Big Spicy Seafood Flavour * Nissin Demae Iccho Curry Beef Flavour Instant Noodle * Nissin Nupasta Carbonara Flavour Instant Noodle * Fuku Non-Fried Superior Soup Noodle * Nissin Cup Mifun Spicy Beef Flavour * Nissin Cup Noodles Pork Chowder Flavour * Nissin Taisho Fried Noodle Sesame Paste Flavour Instant Noodle * Nissin Demae Ramen Straight Noodle Kyushu Tonkotsu Flavour Instant Noodle * Fuku Superior Soup Instant Rice Vermicelli * Nissin Demae Ramen Sesame Oil Flavour Instant Noodle * Nissin Mie Goreng Indonesia Stir Noodle Original Flavour * Nissin Demae Iccho Beef Flavour Instant Noodle * Nissin Cup Noodles Big Seafood Curry Flavour * Nissin Nupasta Salmon In White Sauce Flavor Instant Noodle
Here’s another one sent to me by Colin from the eastern US – thanks again man! He went to Mexico and picked up a slew of different varieties to send my way. It still boggles my mind that with Mexico so close, it’s been so hard for me to get Mexican instant noodles. Let’s have a look!
Here’s another one from the big batch of cups that Jen from Australia sent – thank you again! Curries prawn eh? That sounds good – let’s have a look!
Here’s something new – found this at the Uwajimaya in Renton, Washington. It’s funny; we go a little out of our normal sphere of shopping and boom – all sorts of new things! Actually, found quite a few new Maruchan varieties – a Chipotle Instant Lunch as well as three new Bowl varieties – Miso, Sukiyaki and Tonkotsu! Those will be coming up for review soon. Until them, let’s check out this neat little cup.
Here’s the second of three cup versions of MyKuali’s line I got a while back – this time it’s the tom yum! Really excited to check it out – so without further ado, let’s get started!
Another one sent by Jen from Australia – thanks again! So a favorite destination of Australian tourists is Bali and Borneo – pretty nearby and full of tasty fare. One such common food you’ll find in these places is mi goreng, or fried noodles. Usually a cooked and drain noodle is stir fried and condiments such as sweet chilli sauce and sweet soy sauce are added as well and vegetables and meats. Let’s see how this cup variety of mi goreng tastes.
Here’s another one sent by Jen from Australia – thanks again! So this one’s an Australian brand. I’ve seen these around for a long time but never before have been able to get any to try. Today, it’ll be Oriental flavor. Okay, so what is Oriental flavor? Of course I should know; I’ve tried over 2,000 varieties! I’m The Ramen Rater! Well, hate to break it to you folks, but I haven’t the slightest idea what Oriental flavor is. My best guess would be a flavor that’s good, but not really definable. Another guess is a vegetarian accessible variety that shouldn’t make meat eaters say ‘eww – that’s for the plant eaters.’ What odd about this flavor is that the term Oriental evokes racist tones that offend some people from Asia. So, either the companies don’t know this or don’t care. Anyways I’m not a fan of offending people – if I ever start a noodle company this flavor won’t be on the menu. Alright enough with the pleasantries – let’s crack this cup open and see what we’ve got here.
yKuali
First it was in packs. Then, rice vermicelli bowls and now cups! I’m really curious about a couple things in this one. How well will it translate to a ‘steeped cooking’ form? Also, what kind of noodles are in here? Easiest way to find out is to give it a try! Let’s tear this one open!
Here’s another one that was sent to me by Javier over at Box From Japan – thanks! Box From Japan is a subscription service – you can get a box sent to you every month with some great noodles within! Today, we have a nice little cup – pork tonkotsu! Let’s crack it open and see what is inside!
Another one my sister picked up for me in Canada – thanks again! Today, my boy Andy’s feeling a little under the weather, so I thought some Canadian chicken noodles would do him good. Well, I should say my sister sourced them in Canada; the package says they are a product of the United States. I really wonder who private labels these for Walmart. I’m sure someone will let me know! Anyways, let’s see what’s up with this cup.
Nissin Chikin Ramen’s mascot Hiyoko Chan is wearing earmuffs! Is this is cold noodle? Nope – this is a Winter noodle. This variety is sold during the Winter months to give you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside when it’s cold outside. Let’s have a look!
Here’s one that the folks from Prima Taste in Hong Kong sent – thanks you! So Tan Tan – what is it? Wikipedia, if you please:
Here’s another of the many varieties sent recently by Colin from Michigan – thanks! Cheese curry? That sounds really good – you can get cheese curry at Indian restaurants – I’m wondering what a South Korean cheese curry might be like. Let’s find out!
Wow okay so I have been wanting to get my hands on noodles from Brazil for a while now – at least a couple of years. Luckily, my cousins Mike and Adriana frequently visit Brazil and brought me some back! Thank you so much! While these are Cup Noodles, they’ve got some interesting flavor. This one, calabresa (aka linguica) is sausage flavored! Here’s a little about linguica from wikipedia:
I’ve got to say – it’s been quite a while since I’ve had this one – #1167! Seems like it’s been forever since I’ve reviewed anything from the UK as well. Well, let’s kick this Meet The Manufacturer off with one of their first varieties, miso! Here’s something to note – over in the UK, these aren’t commonly referred to as ‘cup noodles’ – they refer to these containers as ‘pots.’
Yesterday, I reviewed a chilli chicken offering from Kabuto Noodles. Today, its just chicken ramen. I’m curious if it will just be a less spicy taste or something completely different (yesterday’s pot mentioned it having a lime element while this does not). Either way, sounds good to me. By the way – in the United Kingdom, they refer to noodle cups as noodle pots! Let’s go!
Chilli chicken, eh? This sounds interesting – not a flavor I think I’ve seen coming out of the UK before (and I’ve seen a lot of interesting ones). By the way – if you’re wondering what coriander is, it’s the same thing as cilantro. Okay – let’s have a look inside this neat ‘pot’ of noodles!
Wow – samples for the first UK Meet The Manufacturer!
Six cups (click to enlarge) – they call them ‘pots’ in the UK – and a card!
When I asked for people to send donations recently, Prima Taste offered to pool their resources around the world and help me out! Here’s some sent from Hong Kong- a second box of the same samples. Two of each helps with reviewing – makes things a lot easier – plus a better chance of making it through customs!
This is a special one sent to me by the kind folks at Thai President Foods – thanks again! In October, there is a special festival that takes place in Thailand and other places in Asia involving vegetarianism. Here’s a little info on it from wikipedia:
Ahh the last one of the new cup versions from Nissin Foods, USA. Thanks again to the folks over there for sending them along! We’re all familiar with the old style cups – they had a cardboard outer packaging with the foam cup underneath in plastic wrap. This is much different – a little bigger and free of all the extra cardboard and plastic wrap, making it a little more eco-friendly. I still haven’t spotted this one in the ‘wild’ yet – I hear that they’re only available to start with at the Super Walmarts – the ones with the regular big Walmart stuff and the grocery store as well. Anyways, chicken’s baking in the oven to add to this one, so let’s check it out.
