Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
I had this one a while back but the packaging was a little different, so this one gets a new review. I’ve been incredibly impressed with the laksa and ton yum kung flavor profiles coming from Sau Tao – so much that they’ve been on the Top Ten for 2 years now. What’s more is they pair them with a myriad of noodle varieties. Let’s do up some laksa!
This is your basic chicken instant noodle. It’s from ABC who I just did a short series on. We’ve been out of chicken lately and this morning I ducked out of the rain into the store and got some. $1.99/lb! That’s not bad, really. Let’s chicken it up!
My initial though was ‘wow – what a good price!’ Found these at 99 Ranch Market for 99 cents! However, I did notice they expire in 4 days and immediately realized why they’re so cheap! Let’s give them a try.
Time for more lobster from Sau Tao! This is one of the many varieties that came to my door a couple of months ago on a pallet. Yes, a pallet. Four hundred pounds of noodles. That’s a lot! Let’s crack it open and have a look.
Still have a ton of these varieties of Sau Tao noodles. This one features a huge pack of noodles with two blocks. Made in a process that includes soda water which causes the noodles to end up quite large. Let’s check ’em out!
As promised yesterday, here’s another one we found up in Canada at Smart’n’Save at the Lansdowne Centre mall. My daughter Mimi asks every once in a while these days ‘can we go to the Hello Kitty store, Papa’ and Miles immediately says ‘no Mimi, Canada is closed.’ Pretty sad. Man, I hope they come up with a vaccine for COVID-19 soon! I miss the wonders of the land to the north…
Okay so this one comes with an included… story! One day, the family went up to Canada to do the regular stuff – get some toys, peanut butter, hit up the Asian markets, etc. Well, we went to Smart’n’Save at Lansdowne Centre and saw these bowls. Got one and eventually drove home.
Found this over at India Supermarket in Bellevue, WA. One of many ‘four-in-one’ packs. India. Curry. Let’s do this!
I found this at a large Asian grocery in Bellevue, Washington recently. It was the last one – I’m guessing part of a special promo for Lunar New Year. My guess is that this is going to be in the vein of the hot spicy stir fried noodles of South Korea, but in a Chinese way? I don’t know for sure, but it sounds interesting. Let’s give it a try!
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop box. Zenpop is a subscription box service – check em out and use coupon code RAMENRATER for a discount!
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.
This yeah has just been rough – for everyone I know. After the hardest part of it for me – the passing of my mother – I took a week off from walking after doing 1,000,000 steps on my Fitbit in June and dove in to working on top ten lists. I did four of them, all current as of review 3545. This list hasn’t been updated since 2017. I’ll be rolling out lists here and there for the next couple of months and maybe do this again a little ways down the road. Here’s The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Rice Noodles Of All Time 2020 Edition.
Here we have the second of two varieties (one spicy, this one not), clad in paper. Pretty neat – they have character, that’s for sure. Let’s give this non-spicy variety a try!
Those crab claws there look really nice. Man, that sounds so good right now! I remember when in Penang, Malaysia, sitting around a table which was on a little dock – one of many that were roped together and you picked the seafood you wanted and they prepared it. It was amazing – and we got crab. The meat was so good! We also had duck and sea cucumber – that’s an interesting thing. They work well together, but sea cucumber by itself wasn’t my favorite thing. Anyways, I digress – black pepper crab it is!
As I ready this, the first post of the week, I’m a little worried. You see, I don’t have any ground pork. I hope they have some at the store tomorrow morning. I’m kind of unsure what kind of garnish to do on this one other than that. Hmmm… I don’t think eggs really are suitable… I’ll have to figure this one out! Let’s begin.
I really like this packaging – paper with a protective inner liner. It’s definitely unique and I must say I wish more companies would do things this way. It’s so much easier for me to take pictures of the packaging – much less glare! Let’s give the contents a try!
I thought it fitting to start things off with probably the variety most familiar to people – pho, and in particular, pho bo. There are a ton of pho restaurants nearby me – haven’t been in a while and as I type this in after reviewing this one, I’m thinking I need to visit one. It’s been too long! Unfortunately, no restaurants open at this point – luckily, I’ve got a series of Vietnamese varieties to review! Let’s check this one out!
Here’s the third of this short series we’ll be checking out – spicy cheese! I’m totally unsure what to expect out of this; cheese and Indonesia aren’t at all synonymous in my reviewing experience. I want to thank Ni over at Fusion Gourmet for agreeing to partake in Meet The Manufacturer! Let’s give this one a try!
Probably the best known (and deservedly so) dish of Indonesia is mi goreng. A combination of sweet soy, a spicy sauce, and a myriad of additions make it such a delightful dish. Today I’ll cook up this one which comes in a cup.
This sounds really good – and spicy! It mentions using different amount of spice sachets to increase or decrease the heat. I’m hoping this is a real barn burner! Let’s find out.
I thought to myself last night that I should get going on these spicy reviews. Felix at Mamee was so nice to send over a box – twice since there was a kerfuffle with customs the first time. So I resigned myself that today I’d probably be doing a mukbang. But…
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop box. Zenpop is a subscription box service – check em out and use coupon code RAMENRATER for a discount!
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.
Here’s another one from Sau Tao – a trolley noodle! I’m so curious about these… I want to go on a trolley and have noodles; it sounds enjoyable! Let’s give these a try!
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.
This is another one sent over by James of Lakeside, CA – thanks again, buddy! So man… It’s Wednesday at least. So Monday my wife Kit got a dreaded kidney stone so if you know what that is, your know what that is. I’ve never had one, but watching her go through dealing with one before, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Luckily, when I type here it’s generally 100 days down the road that it’s published, so hopefully that stone is long gone. Evil things, these stones…
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop box. Zenpop is a subscription box service – check em out and use coupon code RAMENRATER for a discount!
Today, we have one that was part of Japan Crate’s Umai Crate. So Japan Crate is a subscription service which has all sorts of different options for you. pretty neat stuff from Japan! There’s a coupon code for you too – just use THERAMENRATER to get a special discount at check out.
Here we go again. It always surprises me that I have to put out a new list of these every year. I guess the redeeming fact is that some varieties get to be pushed out of the list, which I’m sure they’re happy about. Anyways, these are my least favorite instant noodle varieties from over 3500 reviews. This list is current as of review #3545. Let’s check out The Ramen Rater’s Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2020 Edition.
Here’s one Daniel from Exotic Noods brought me back from Taiwan – thanks! This product is produced by Paldo Vina, a Vietnamese branch of Paldo Food of South Korea. It is for sale in Taiwan (formerly called Formosa), and has a South Korean parent company, so KORMOSA is a kind of play on the fusion of companies and distribution. Let’s check it out!
Today, we have one that was part of Japan Crate’s Umai Crate. So Japan Crate is a subscription service which has all sorts of different options for you. pretty neat stuff from Japan! There’s a coupon code for you too – just use THERAMENRATER to get a special discount at check out.
We come today to the last of this series for now. It’s crazy though – I have so many more varieties I still need to get to that I think I’ll be switching back and forth with them for a bit o time honestly. This one’s hot and sour – let’s give it a try.
Still just surprised with all the different varieties. Here’s a nice wide-style noodle from Hong Kong – Let’s cook some up!
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!
QQ is an interesting term when it comes to noodles. Michelin defines it as “QQ is the bounciness associated with fresh handmade fishballs, glutinous rice balls, and certain types of noodles. The term originated from Taiwan, where Q sounds similar to the local word for “chewy”, but it’s evolved to mean a little more than that.”
Bowls, cups, , trays, packs, and boxes. Well, I haven’t done a list of boxed or tray-style instant noodles – maybe that will come soon. But I think that separating these is important. The experience that a cup is meant for is different than a cup or bowl. Cups are more for a snack on the go, packs for when you’ve got a stove, and bowls are, well, for lunch. Although in the finished shots of these you’ll see them plated here, generally people will be looking at the bowl they came in, possibly using the plastic fork they came with, and tossing everything once they’re done. These are my favorites, current as of review #3545. Let’s have a look at The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2020 Edition.
This is the next to last one of these I’ve got. They’re been fun to be honest! Freaky dude freaking out on the packaging – that’s fun. But what I enjoy is trying new varieties, especially from China. Let’s give this one a go!
Here’s another one from James of Lakeside, California – thanks again! Sounds interesting – let’s give it a go!
I got this one up in Canada just like the one yesterday. I’ve seen a lot of these ice cream pint style noodle cups lately from China… I like them they’re pretty neat. Unsure who Mr. Meng is, but I found it at the Osaka Market in Yaohan Centre up in Richmond, BC. Now, let’s give it a go.
Hey look – another Unboxing Time With The Ramen Rater! This one came today and we brought it inside set up the lights, shot the video, edited it and boom here it is! Lots of neat stuff in this box! Check it out! Get yours here: http://bit.ly/umaicrate
Use coupon code THERAMENRATER for extra discount!
