Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Here’s a pretty well known variety from Japan but actually made in Indonesia for Singapore and Malaysia. This one was sent to me by Nissin Singapore (thank you!) and has some big differences when you compare to it’s Japanese cousin – spicy mayonnaise to start with. Let’s unwrap this yakisoba and have a look inside U.F.O.!
Today, we say goodbye to the Olagafood Meet The Manufacturer series. Overall, it’s been a fun and tasty experience! I want to thank Davin over at Olagafood again for everything – also want to thank Jonathan at Waroeng Jajanan for supplying garnish and insight into this series! Much appreciated!
Here’s another vegetarian one from Maitri – this one being an instant noodle with broth. As I have to remind people, I won’t be coming out with a top ten vegetarian list. I wish I could, but it’s just a point of so much contention I should go a little into it.
I reviewed a Maitri Soto variety earlier in this series, and since Jonathan at Waroeng Jajanan gave me some Soto Betawi, I thought I ought to review the non-vegetarian version to take advantage of the niceties therein. Here’s a little about Soto from Wikipedia –
So you’re probably going to say ‘so what gives – this is the second Alhami Chicken Curry one you’re reviewing. Key differences I see from the packaging are the work flavor and the word flavour. To me, this denotes two different markets that these will be in most likely. The second is this one’s shiny back and the other isn’t. Shiny backs are tough to scan as you’ll see below. Well, let’s get to it – it’s chicken curry time!
Curry has and always shall be one of my favorite flavors in this universe. Today it’s kari ayam – chicken curry. Let’s have a look and a taste!
Today, it is beef. Beef is a flavor that’s very prevalent in instant noodle ranges from many countries, save a few. Very curious what this one will be like. Let’s find out!
Here’s another one of the noodle snack varieties – today it’s a barbeque flavored one. These are pretty neat – you get a long strip of these little packages. Let have a look at this and give the barbeque flavor a try!
Well hello there – extra hot! I like it spicy that’s for sure. Not a lot of varieties I’ve seen that are extra hot and also vegetarian. At least not having both variables mentioned on the packaging. I think this is interesting.
Whenever I see the word ‘corn’ on anything Southeast Asia, I always think of when I was at the airport in Penang, Malaysia. There was a little snack stall in there and it mentioned ‘corn in a cup.’ I thought this was the most fantastic thing; what could that possibly be? Our host looked at me like I was high and said plainly ‘it’s corn – in a cup.’
I really like prawns – especially the big ones. Mantis prawns are really big – had those in Malaysia. The river prawns in Thailand are spectacular and prepared right they’re just as succulent as can be. I don’t know much about prawns in Indonesia. Let’s ask Wikipedia –
Well, well, well, I do love me some curry. Especially when it mentions that it’s hot! Maitri is the range that Olagafood makes that has all vegetarian-friendly options. Here’s a little about this flavor in Indonesia from Wikipedia –
Not only does Olagafood make the vegetarian Maitri and the Alhami varieties, they also make snack noodles. Snack noodles are an interesting thing that’s found everywhere in Southeast Asia. Literally, they’re seasoned instant noodles which are crunchy and tasty, usually sold in small packets – often (like this one) in a strip of them connected by perforations. Here’s a little about Sambal Balada from Wikipedia – and some other sambals!
Another line from Olagafood is Maitri. All of these are vegetarian. Today we have some soto – let’s hit up Wikipedia about it –
Today we get this Meet The Manufacturer series started! It’s been a long time since doing one with an Indonesian company – in fact, I rarely get any new Indonesian varieties across my desk. We start with one of the most recognized dishes from Indonesia, Mi Goreng. Here’s a little about it from Wikipedia –
Here’s the second of two boxes of samples for this new Meet The Manufacturer. Let’s check out Unboxing Time With The Ramen Rater!
Interview With Olagafood * Product Samples From Olagafood (1 of 2) * Product Samples From Olagafood (2 of 2) * Alhami Mi Instan Mi Goreng Spesial * Maitri Vegetarian Rasa Soto * Mikka Noodle Snack Sambal Balado Chilli Sauce Flavour * Maitri Vegetarian Hot Curry Flavor * Alhami Instant Noodle Prawn Flavour * Mikka Noodle Snack Roasted Corn Flavour * Maitri Vegetarian Extra Hot Mie Goreng * Mikka Noodle Snack Barbeque Flavour * Alhami Instant Noodle Beef Flavour * Alhami Instant Noodles Chicken Curry Flavor * Maitri Vegetarian Mie Goreng * Alhami Instant Noodle Chicken Curry Flavor * Alhami Instant Noodle Soto Flavor * Maitri Instant Noodle Vegetarian Soup Flavor * Alhami Instant Noodle Chicken Flavor
Here’s one that Kamran from Ramen Regret Rater sent over from Australia – thanks again! He got this one on a recent trip to Bali. It’s crazy – everything is so far away from here but all sorts of awesome places are just a quick hop from Australia.
Here’s one sent by Kamran R. of Australia – thanks again! He’s part of Ramen Regret Rater – they review ultra spicy instant noodles and see if they end up with horrible gastrointestinal difficulties. Yes, really!
This is one that Kamran R. of Ramen Regret Rater sent me from Australia – thanks! I believe this is the first variety I will review from Nissin Indonesia. Looks like it will be spicy – rasa pedas means ‘spicy flavor,’ and it has a big angry pepper in the picture on the front of the package. Indeed, Indonesia has a lot of spicy instant noodles on the market – and for the most part I’ve enjoyed them very much.
This was sent to me by Ippin, a purveyor of wonderful Japanese items! Thank you again!
Here’s something a little different. So Nissin has a series of Cup Noodles with flavors from around Southeast Asia. Laksa from Singapore, Tom Yum from Thailand and here we have Mie Goreng from Indonesia. I’m very curious how this on will be. Indeed, it looks interesting enough and a decently sized cup. If you don’t know about Mie Goreng, you should! Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about the dish:
I reviewed this probably over 1000 reviews or more ago, but I noticed on this one it says it’s got a new formula. So bihun is rice vermicelli. But baso sapi – what’s that? Wikipedia, if you please:
This one came by way of Kamran R, from Australia – thanks again! He went with hie family on vacation to Bali. I read about these a while back and definitely have been wanting to try them. I mean c’mon – pizza cheese flavor mi goreng? Here’s a translation about the My Noodlez line of products –
Here’s one I got in the Jason’s Market on the first floor of the Taipei 101 in Taiwan last November. I believe this World O’Noodles line is from a big grocery store chain in Southeast Asia – not 100% sure on that, but pretty sure. Garlic Mi Goreng? Oh yeah – sign me up! I’m hoping that this will be a delightful and delicious instant from Indonesia. Let’s have a look at this World O’Noodle variety.
Seems like it wasn’t that long ago I came out with the first Top Ten Rice Noodles list – was thinking I might not do an update since I hadn’t reviewed a ton of new ones in the last year but since a couple were definitely worthy, here it is. Here’s The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Rice Noodles Of All Time 2016 Edition!
Here one of the more unique varieties Nissin Hong Kong sent. Mie goreng is definitely an Indonesian dish – not something that jumps at me as something from Hong Kong. However, it tastes quite nice anywhere you are, and so I imagine that’s why they’ve added it to their lineup. Let’s have a look at this one from Nissin Hong Kong!
Time for some mi goreng! So this is another one I found at the Uwajimaya in Renton, WA by where my son goes to Pokemon League. Today’s a weird day; the local power company has been going from apartment building to apartment building and repairing these big green power boxes outside. I’m guessing that the power could go out at any minute! I guess We’ll see – let’s get started!
A couple weeks ago, we took my son Andy to a special Pokemon card event south of here in Renton, Washington. We had some time to kill as he was battling other kids (he won all three battles – a sweep!), and we ended up noticing there was a Uwajimaya very closeby. I’d never been to this one, so we walked over. I was floored – ended up with a couple bagfuls of instant noodles I’d never seen around before which was really great! Anyways, this is one of them. Let’s check it out!
The last of the Mi Sedaap varieties I got quite a while ago at Asian Food Center down on Aurora and 130th. Let’s crack this one open – so few Indonesian varieties cross my desk these days!
I reviewed the original version of this a long time ago and really liked it. This is a new version for export – has gotten quite a facelift since review #725! This was sent to me by Michael C. of Eastland Foods! Thank you! Let’s check it out!
Sweet! An Indonesian variety I’ve not tried! I wish there were more that I could get around here. I rarely get any from Indonesia – one reader sent a couple of packages a while back full of all sorts of wonderful varieties – maybe someone will again? I hope so! Let’s check out this one from Mie Sedaap.
It’s been really nice having some Indonesian varieties to review again! Seemed like it almost went a whole year without any until recently! This one might confuse Westerners that see it on the shelf so I’ll help you out. Let’s break down Mi Kuah Rasa Soto. It directly translates to noodle soup, soto flavor. Now, soto is a popular Indonesian soup and seems to usually have a lime aspect to it which is very nice. This cup has a lot of stuff going on inside – let’s walk through it.
It’s been really hard to find new varieties from Indonesia lately and I was really stoked to find a total of four of them the other day! I always try to keep things mixed up – reviewing a different product from a different country every day if possible. It can be tough sometimes but lately I’ve been ending up with quite a range of varieties which is great. Anyways, let’s check out this one from Indonesia!
Here’s the second of two Salam Mie products I got at the Econsave we visited in Butterworth, Malaysia during our special trip to visit the makers of MyKuali last October. I’ve seen a lot of people commenting on the other variety lately, so I thought I’d give this one a try. Abon is a powdered meat – usually pork or beef (in this case beef) seasoned with spices. Sounds good – from what I see, it’s used as a topping like fish floss is used on Chinese porridge. Anyways, let’s check out this Salam Mie Mi Goreng Abon!
So I get this email asking me my thoughts on a particular instant noodle from Indonesia from this guy named Seth. I’ve tried another variety, but not this one. There’s a little dispute at his house whether it’s good or not and he wanted me to review it and get my opinion on it. So he sent me some, all the way from Indonesia. The package had some bumps along the way (mainly because I made a typo in my address) but it did get here, and so here I am, about to review this variety for the health conscious. It’s an interesting concept – low fat noodles and all. Grilled chicken does sound good as well – but let’s let the noodles speak for themselves. Let’s check out Tropicana Slim Grilled Chicken!
I got an email from a guy names Seth from Indonesia recently asking if he could send me some noodles that he has been having a difference of opinion on at his house. He likes them and others aren’t so sure, and he wanted my opinion. You got it! So I gave him my address and he expedited a package out – only one problem – I mistyped my address! Luckily, the person who got it hadn’t eaten the noodles and when DHL came to recover the package and redeliver had no problem doing so. So, after a crazy journey, the noodles are here!
In my spare time, I like to search hashtags on Instagram – and one day I decided to look up sambal. Sambal is a spicy mix which is a very popular condiment in Southeast Asia. I found a company I’d never heard of and asked if they could provide a sample for me to use in reviews.
On my last trip to the Asian grocery store, I had a though. I thought maybe I ought to toss in some of the varieties I’ve not reviewed in a while that I’ve recommended quite a bit to people since they’re relatively easy to source and quite good. This one’s a perfect example. My first favorite instant growing up was the Japanese Nissin Chickin Ramen. After trying a few varieties, I found Indomie Mi Goreng line and was all about it. When we’d go to Seattle we’d come back with a couple bags full of them, and I don’t think my parents minded too much since it was around 25 cents a pack. I tried many different varieties in the Indomie Mi Goreng line – there are quite a few. I used to go for the Satay flavor mostly, but then found the Barbecue Chicken one to my liking. Then there’s the Rendang which is a really great one, gracing the top ten list a couple times I think. This one today is the original version. If you’ve not tried this stuff, you’ve got to; it’s a real treat and easily modified to taste. There’s five sachets ioncluded- quite a few in an instant noodle pack and I’ll explain them all here. Anyways, let’s bring on the Indomie Mi Goreng!
During the trip, I got a lot of instant noodles in Malaysia! Unfortunately on the journey home, the baggage handlers are moving fast and not super worried about luggage with instant noodle in them, so some cups got a little banged up. This one has been on my list to find for a long time – Indomie’s Pop Mie. It’s a basic chicken noodle cup, but it’s been hard to find it or get a sample. Well, here it is! Let’s have a look at Pop Mie and give it a try! I should mention also that this is my first instant noodle I’ve had since September 26th – so long!
If you like it hot, you’re in for a real treat here. These are the spiciest instant noodles you can get that I’ve reviewed from my 1,446 reviews thus far. If you can’t handle spicy foods, these definitely aren’t for you – these are serious! Many of these were so hot, I couldn’t finish the bowl – and I can handle a decent amount of heat! I used to review hot sauces! Anyways, Hope everyone is having a great summer and here are the spiciest instant noodles of all time for 2014!
