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This is one found during a Saturday hunt for more varieties for review. Found it at a store called S-Mart in Bellevue, Washington (yeah like in Army Of Darkness!). This is one by the same company that actually sent me a pallet – 400lbs of samples!!! Let’s check it out and give it a try!
Well, today it’s the second of the two Little Q varieties they sent. The non-spicy was absolutely wonderful stuff – curious how this one will be. The sheer amount of beef in the first one was really amazing – and it was really succulent. How spicy will it be? Let’s find out!
This one arrived in an Exotic Noods subscription box – check ’em out and use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount!
Here’s another Doll variety I’ve not had in what seems like millennia. Spicy pork from Hong Kong? Sign me up! Let’s give it a try!
Another one that I’ve not samples in many, many years – October of 2010. Curious how it’ll be – I generally remember liking all of these Doll brand ones so we shall see.
Haven’t had this variety in years and it looks to be a little different. There’s a fellow on YouTube named FirstNameLastName that’s been following my channel for quite a while, offering insightful comment and input on my episodes of Instant Noodle Recipe Time. He mentioned what I figure was this one, so seemed right to me to give it a go. Let’s check it out!
Detail of the packaging (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free, but check for yourself. To prepare, boil the noodles in 500ml of water or 3 minutes. Add in sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!
I thought it was a good time to do a post with a product from Hong Kong. As it turns out, Apple Daily has closed it’s doors. What’s Apple Daily? It was a pro-Democracy newpaper that I worked with a couple of times regarding my top ten lists and ramen in general. Really nice people and it’s sad to see that they’ve been put down by the mainland Chinese government. Makes me sad. So, I’m going to d something with some noodles from Hong Kong today.
I reviewed almost all the Demae Ramen – at least I thought. I used to get them on walks about ten years ago and then I did a Meet The Manufacturer with Nissin HK and they sent over 50 different varieties. Then this one comes in an Exotic Noods box (use coupon code RAMENRATER15) and there’s a new one to do. Let’s kick the tires!
Hey this sounds great – spicy seafood! I’m in; let’s give it a try!
Detail of the packaging (click to enlarge). Contains scallop. To prepare, boil noodle for 4 minutes in 500ml water. Add in sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!
Was going through the box of remaining Sau Tao varieties and found this one last night. The others (shallot and chili) were both really great so curious that original means – maybe soy sauce? Let’s find out!
You might be saying ‘gosh, you’re reviewing a lot of Sau Tao stuff!’ Well, yes I am – as I have a lot of different varieties in a couple boxes in our bedroom currently. I’m trying to review things that are big to shrink things down so they’ll fit in the hampers.
Recently, I finished a Meet The Manufacturer series with Sau Tao. They shipped a whole pallet of samples of a myriad of different styles and varieties. A PALLET! Well, the upshot is that I still have so many different styles and varieties to review! Here is one of them.
This one is new around these parts but it’s from somewhere completely different. The giveaway here is the omission of the letter u. There’s more though. This one’s made for the United States. It’s not because it has a UPC code vs a 13 digit EAN, though.
Two things about this one. First, this was got on our last trip to Canada which seems like forever ago. We used to visit the wonder of the north about once a month but now the borders are shut tight. Plus, this was one of the very few varieties I got up there that the border agents didn’t confiscate. They confiscated varieties that are now even sold here so that was kind of silly but oh well.
I’ve had a lot of Taiwanese dry noodles in my day, but never any hailing from Hong Kong as far as I can remember. Maybe, but I don’t think so. These noodles are without a broth – they’re from simple ingredients, too. You boil, drain, add in some ingredients, stir and eat. These are also considered mix noodles. Let’s mix it up and see what we get!
I thought it would be a good plan to look up Jiangnan cuisine in order to impart a little more info about this variety aside from the XO Sauce reference – if you’re interested in that, look at yesterday’s review – but I found that Shanghai is in Jiangnan and got a list of notable seafood dishes from there you might find interesting and truly wonderful from Wikipedia –
Hey this sounds neat – but what are Trolley Noodles anyways? All I can surmise after doing some research is that Trolley Noodles are akin to cart noodles. Basically, hawker style. Let’s open this laksa flavor variety up and take a look!
To start things off, I grabbed something randomly ou of the massive pile of samples I have here. These are ho fan rice noodles – thin and flat. Wikipedia had this to say –
I’ve had the pleasure of working with quite a few companies on these Meet The Manufacturer series over the years. This was a very unique experience – I’ve tried many products from the company in the past but never had access to such a wide range. They send an enormous 400 pound pallet of their products! This is an interview that I conducted with Sun Shun Fuk, makers of the Sau Tao range of products.
Yet another one of these cups! I think I actually have two more. It’s tough doing a series honestly; but it’s just something I have to do. Let’s see how this shrimp variety does.
If you didn’t know, Mamee Monster is a snack noodle. It’s all over – you should have known by now. You smash the bag, open it up and eat it. Yes, really. This is popular and common is Southeast Asia. Yup! Let’s take a look.
I haven’t reviewed something for Hong Kong in a little while and this one was sent by a reader residing over there – thanks again! I remember getting about 56 varieties from Nissin HK when I did the Meet The Manufacturer series – that was pretty intense! Let’s check the temperature on this spicy tonkotsu!
It’s like a parallel universe! Where am I?! WHO CAN EXPLAIN THIS??
Okay so what’s the problem? This is from Hong Kong. It says flavor not flavour. I don’t understand.
Well, what have we here? This one contains a broad flat noodle made with rice. The straight noodle ramen variety from this range is on the 2019 Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time – super tasty stuff! Let’s give it a try!
Alright so this one is made in Singapore, but it’s made for the Hong Kong market. It’s funny how products are made elsewhere for other countries, right? Well, you honestly should be used to it by now – Take the myriad of products in your home. If you have a Big Mouth Billy Bass on the wall, it’s made in China. Singing bass don’t seem like something very popular in China – could be wrong but who knows. Anyways, let’s crack this open and see what we have.
Okay so now that I’ve been doing a lot of weight loss and walking like a fiend (one might call me a White Walker – Game of Thrones reference, sorry), I’ve been running through shoes like crazy. I really like these $30 pairs I’ve been finding at Walmart up in Canada, but as you can guess, after a week there are holes in them. We went up in search for a new pair for me again (no luck grrr) and and during our time up there we hit Lansdowne Centre, a mall in Richmond. Well, there was a new store (at least I think it’s new but I don’t know how we could have missed it) that has a staggeringly wonderful noodle selection. The place is called Smart N Save and they’ve got some really neat stuff in there, including this one. Let’s check it out.
This is my list of my all time favorites (compiled up to review #3132). These are the best and most memorable varieties – some you’ll be able to find easily, some you won’t. In the images you see, you’ll see garnished bowls of noodles. Note – reviewing is done BEFORE products have anything externally added by myself, and I follow directions on the package – for better or for worse. I should also note that going forward, the official last day for companies to submit varieties to be considered for the annual top ten will be January 31st. That’s enough – let’s have a look at The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2019 Edition!
Here’s another one I got up at the new T&T Supermarket up in Richmond BC that’s at Lansdowne Centre. Or is it Lansdowne Mall? Either way, it’s a big T&T inside what used to be a Target store. Oh – and sad parents can rejoice – TOYS R US IS STILL IN CANADA. Also, if you go to the Walmart in Richmond, you will often see Teslas, Ferraris and the odd Buigatti. It’s like a mirror universe. Let’s check this one out!
Found this at the brand spanking new T&T Supermarket at Lansdowne Centre up in Richmond, BC recently. That place was a zoo the day we visited – so many people! But got out of there with a couple things. Anyways, a straight noodle tom yum sounds just bizarre – and possibly really good! Let’s find out.
Here’s the second variety from Nissin Hong Kong’s new Light Cup Noodles line. Spicy is good – let’s give it a try!
Here’s another potato chip variety from Nissin Hong Kong – thanks again! So they have a series of Cup Noodles showcasing flavors of Singapore and this is one of them. Black Pepper Crab is very popular in Singapore as is Chilli Crab. Here’s a little about Black Pepper Crab from Wikipedia –
Yep – it’s a bag of potato chips withj Cup Noodles Spicy Seafood seasoning from Hong Kong. I really like these kinds of things – really funny to see this – they did it once in the United States with Chicken Top Ramen Pringles (you didn’t think I missed reviewing that one, did you?) – they also have Cup Noodles chips in Singapore (like these). Anyways, let’s dig in to this bag and have a looksie.
Here’s one that came my way from Nissin Hong Kong – thank you! This looks interesting – a Korean variety from Hong Kong. It seems like Korean varieties are popular throughout southeast Asia – saw quite a few in November 2017 in Taiwan. Anyways, let’s have a look inside and give this Korean spicy one a try!
I believe this is the last of the new Straight Noodle/Bar Noodle Demae Ramen range from Nissin Hong Kong – really sad that I’ve tried them all! So let’s look at shoyu and then tonkotsu – Wikipedia if you please –
Day 1 & 2 *
Well, finally it was the day to depart. I really love Taiwan – all the sights, sounds, smells… But I definitely was really missing my wife and kids. That was the hardest part of the trip. Being a stay at home dad is so rewarding – not seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces was really killing me.I packed everything up and met Kyle to go out for some dim sum.
Here’s yet another of the Demae Ramen Bar Noodle series. These have not failed to impress since the first Straight Noodle Demae Ramen varieties I tried last year. This sounds really good and I like seeing the corn in the above image. One might be surprised, but butter and sweetcorn really go incredibly well with miso ramen. This promises to be bumped up by being a tonkotsu miso – wow I’m definitely curious about this one. Here’s a little about miso as well as tonkotsu from Wikipedia –
Here’s one of the new straight noodle varieties from Nissin – miso. So miso is one of the main varieties of ramen – here’s some info on it from Wikipedia –
Here’s one I found at PriceSmart Foods up in Richmond, BC in July 2017. They had a ton of these and they sounded interesting. These are from Hong Kong – not a place I would think of when it comes to laksa. Here’s a little about laksa from Wikipedia –
Today it’s tonkotsu from Hong Kong. This is part of the series that’s expanded since being in the 2017 top ten list with their black garlic oil tonkotsu. For those of you unfamiliar, here’s a little about tonkotsu ramen from Wikipedia –
