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Hadn’t seen this straight noodle ramen style before from Nissin. I’ve had quite a few now by different brand though, and they usually are quite nice! Let’s see how this tonkotsu fare. Tonkotsu is a pork bone broth soup served with straight noodles. It’s usually got a milky colored broth with a rich taste.
Last night, we went to a little Taiwanese restaurant nearby and I brought home some leftovers. I got some Hakka style fried tofu, squid and pork belly with vegetables; not covered in sauce but nicely seasoned. I immediately though ‘what noodles night this go well with for Meet The Manufacturer?’ This one sounds like a good bet! Let’s check it out!
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.
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!
Here’s the first in the special series I did for Apple Daily of Hong Kong. I’ve reviewed varieties from Four Seas in the past – in fact, this looks kind of like a bowl version I’ve had before. Beef and radish, huh? Sounds interesting – let’s check it out!
A while back, I was all but out of instant noodles and put out a call for some. One of the people who responded was Prima Taste – they sent some from Hong Kong and this is one of them – thank you! My wife is a big fan of Hello Kitty and we’ve tried the Curry flavor one in the past. Let’s have a look in this soy sauce flavor one!
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.
This one was sent to me by Jen from Australia – thanks again! So this is interesting; it’s made in Singapore for the Australian market. It boasts the use of 100% Australian wheat. Wheat is a big export for so many countries throughout the world; and of course instant noodles are a big part of why that is. Let’s open this one up and see what’s inside.
After quite a few years, its looking more and more like Kang Shi Fu (Master Kong) is definitely getting their products distributed into the United States. This one was sent to me by a reader named Colin (thanks again!) and is definitely different from most of the Mang Shiu Fu stuff I’ve seen. First, there’s a lot of English on the package; something very new to me. Stewed beef sounds good – let’s have a look inside.
A while back, I did a Meet The Manufacturer with CarJEN Foods. I tried their E-Zee Curry and thought it was quite good. It got 4 stars and CarJEN asked about putting my logo on their packaging. We made a deal and there it is! Now, they’ve changed the recipe. It seems this is a trend in the Malaysian market right now – kind of fun since it’s like a re-review but a second shot for these companies for a better score with a new recipe. Let’s check this one out!
The last of four varieties especially made for the Nine Emporer Gods festival time of year. During the festival, people take only vegetarian dishes – no meat! Let’s have a look in this one and give it a try, eh?
Here’s another one sent by Jen from Australia! Thank you very much! So I though hey – laksa! Sounds good to me! Such a safe looking package too – why not check it out?
One of the last ones I have from MAMA Myanmar! Been a lot of fun trying these. Looks like the only Myanmar, Cambodian and Bangladeshi varieties I’ve ever reviewed have been by MAMA. Let’s see how this chicken soup fares!
Here’s one from Colin of Arlington, MA! He sent a great big box of varieties after I called out to readers for new stuff to review! Thanks! This one surprised me; I haven’t reviewed anything by Doll brand in a very long time and I know it’s a popular brand in Hong Kong. It’s interesting that Colin has access to such a different range of products on the east coast… Anyways, from what I can surmise, mifun might also be known as maifun. These are rice vermicelli. Let’s check it out!
When I tried the cup version of this, I liked it so much it got on the Top Ten Cups List for 2015. I’ve been waiting for the right time to try this one; since there’s probably only one in all of the United States I’m guessing, I really wanted to make it the right day. Well, since it is soon to expire, it’s the right day. Let’s have a look and see if it’s as good as the cup.
Shrimp? Tom Yum? Indeed. Let’s crack it open! By the way this one’s made in Thailand for the European marketplace.
Here’s the last of the Bangladeshi varieties I was sent by Thai President Foods after my trip to Thailand in May 2015. Let’s take a look!
Here’s another one that the folks at MAMA in Thailand sent me. This one’s from Myanmar – chicken flavor! Let’s check out this chicken!
Here’s another one that was sent to me from Thailand by the Thai President Foods folks. This is made in Hungary. Let’s have a look!
The next to last Cambodian variety I got from the Thai President Foods folks back in May of ’15. Minced pork! Let’s crack it open!
At the local grocery store, they have this deal. It’s called ‘Cheep Chicken Monday,’ and you get 8 legs and wings for $4.99 on Mondays. It’s a pretty good deal – as long as the deli has a big mound of it, you know it’s fresh and hasn’t been sitting. It’s good stuff – thought I’d use some with this variety. Let’s check it out!
This is the third and final variety of the Juzz’s Mee I got from Prima a while back. So far, the other two were extremely good and I’ve been looking forward to this one. I’ve always been fond of creamy chicken instant noodles – a couple companies here in the Us have made creamy chicken variants that have been some of the best chicken varieties I’ve tried. I’m very curious about a Singaporean take on creamy chicken – so let’s have a look!
This is the second of three Juzz’s Mee varieties I have here to review. I’d never heard of them until Prima sent them my way! They’re the same company as Prima Tastem which makes a wonder Curry La Mian and Laksa Lamian that have both been on my top ten list for a few years now. I just found out last night that Juzz’s Mee is wordplay on ‘just me’ or ‘just for me.’ I got to find out as I had dinner last night with a couple nice folks who invited my wife and I to dine with them in Seattle! Check out this post I did about it on foofoomayo. Let’s have a look inside!
Another one from MAMA when I went to Thailand. They sent me a slew of different kinds made in their factories all over the world! This one’s from Myanmar. I haven’t seen the word ‘sichek’ before – and I can’t find anywhere that will translate it. I’m just going to infer that it might mean soup, but now that I look at the cooking method, this one is drained so perhaps it’s a term for a dry noodle? No clue honestly, but let’s give it a look!
Here’s one of the new ones sent to me by Prima Taste. I hadn’t heard about these before, so it was a really nice surprise! I immediate found the name interesting – I think it’s a play on ‘just me,’ but I could be wrong. Let’s look inside and see what this new variety is all about.
Here’s another one of these interesting snack noodles from Myanmar! This pack is very small – 15g actually! Let’s see what’s within!
Myojo sent this one along with their Meet The Manufacturer package – Myojo is part of Nissin Singapore and while this one doesn’t really belong in a Myojo Meet The Manufacturer, I figured it would be nice to try just after it.
Lobster instant noodle have always kind of solidified my thoughts on the instant noodle’s gourmetness. Here in the United States, lobster is a very expensive item on the menu, and seeing it in an instant noodle truly speaks to the versatility of instant nooldes to convey exotic and tasty flavors of many foods. Let’s see how this special variety from Myojo stacks up!
This is what looks to be Myojo’s pack version of their chicken flavor bowl. I’m having a little trouble withe the tern ‘tanmen.’ I see it is a Japanese ramen style, but I’m thinking in this usage, it’s just meaning noodle soup. Let’s have a look.
Well, this is embarrassing… From time to time I’ve accidentally pasted the watermark twice and one ends up in the middle of the image. Sorry about that! About a month or so ago my wife and I were at the Edmonds 99 Ranch Market and she noticed a whole bunch of varieties and asked if I’d tried them. I’m legally blind, which basically means my eyesight is there, but so poor that it’s hard for me to cross the street, would be a menace behind the wheel, and miss a lot of instant noodles that my wife catches at the store! Let’s check out this Tom Yam flavored mi goreng!
Here’s yet another one I got from the 7-Eleven next to our hotel from last May’s Bangkok trip. Like some others, this one got banged up pretty good, but still made it through in good enough condition to review. What’s a trip about this one is that it’s showcasing Manchester United. I’ve seen a few products with Manchester United footballers on them. Let’s check it out!
This is yet another of the samples I received upon returning from my trip to Thailand to visit the MAMA noodles company in May. These are for the Cambodian market. MAMA’s Green Curry hit the top ten in this year’s annual list – excellent stuff! I should note today is the first review I’ve done in a few days. Why? Well, I should start by mentioning that this will come out a few weeks after today – I am way ahead, which is nice. A couple days ago, we had a huge windstorm here. Gusts up to 70MPH – in some remote areas they were over 100MPH! Trees fell not only from the wind, but from all the recent rain which made the ground soft. In my county, at one point there were over 200,000 people without electricity. We were without power for 29 hours – everything in our refrigerator has gone bad – including all of my garnishes! Luckily, I hadn’t gotten anything new and was due to get some things, but still a lot of food will be getting thrown away. The only plus of the event was that I got to haul out my shortwave radio and was able to pick up broadcasts from Slovakia, Cuba and Japan to name a few! Usually there’s so much interference that I can’t receive anything. Anyways, power came back on last night! Hooray!
Here’s another one that was sent to me from Thailand by the Thai President Foods folks. This is made in Hungary. Let’s have a look!
I made some instant noodle the other day with beef balls in them and Kit really thought they were good, so I thought I’d make this one with some beef balls in it for her today! This one was sent to me after my trip to the Thai President Foods European Agent Meeting in May! It was really great – while I’m not a distributor for TF, they were super kind to invited me to come and check out Thailand and their factories. I did a travelogue you can check out here. I found out they don’t only make products in Thailand but have factories throughout the world. This one comes from Cambodia – let’s have a look!
Here’s another one my sister got for me while up in Canada a couple of weeks ago! Thanks, Sue! I’ve been really hoping to try more rice vermicelli lately but been having trouble sourcing any from around here and hoping to find some manufacturer who might want me to review some of their stuff! The top ten rice noodles list this year was a lot of fun and definitely want to make it a yearly kind of thing! Anyways, let’s check out these crab flavored noodles from Thailand!
As we come close to the end of this Meet The Manufacturer, we have the third bowl that includes an egg: the spicy flavor bowl. Let’s check it out!
Here’s one that should be familiar to instant noodle fans from almost everywhere, and especially those from Cambodia! This one is made specifically for the Cambodian marketplace. I got this sent to me after seeing it at the 2015 TF Eurpean Agent meeting I was invited to check out earlier this year in Bangkok, Thailand! Curious to see if it’s different than the one sold here in the US. Let’s find out!
Been a while since I’ve done a pho review. I would definitely say I’m a fan of pho, but definitely the beef varieties. Where I live, there’s no end to the pho restaurants – I’m guessing there’s probably at least 20 within 5 miles of here. Anyways, let’s check this one out.
Today’s the last day of my son’s two week vacation here. I usually have him every other weekend, and a special breakfast, I made him some noodles. He recently has found he likes beef a lot – usually he’s been a chicken fan, so that’s kind of interesting. He also likes fishcakes – kamaboko, narutop, fishball – something that’s not really popular in American kids his age. That could be though that they’ve never tried them… Anyways, here’s a bowl of noodles for Andy!
