Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
This is a special one I’m posting today – it’s the subject of a short film I’m doing as I type this about how I review! I want to thank a fellow instant noodle enthusiast named Andres who was kind enough to donate this to me yesterday – he’s a local who has visited a lot of places in search of instant noodle varieties! This one was found up in Canada.
Here’s one that came in an Exotic Noods subscription box. Use coupon code RAMENRATER15 for a discount! So this is an Indonesian curry variety – today’s going to be a windy, rainy, cold day and it just sounded like a good pick. Let’s give it a go!
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Today we’ve got one from Sarawak! I’ve reviewed only one other by this brand before. I found this at China World up in Richmond, BC. I tell ya, if you’re a noodle fan, Richmond is the place to go. Let’s crack this one open and see what we have.
Usually when there’s a big list coming up, I’ll ask companies to send samples along for re-review. Well, here are a couple from CarJEN Foods of Malaysia! Both of these have graced Top Ten Lists, both past and present. Let’s get to it!
Ah, MyKuali white curry. You know, I think one of the biggest ‘aha’ moments was when I first tried MyKuali Penang White Curry Noodle back in 2013. They contacted me and asked if I’d like to try it. I’d only had a few scant Malaysian varieties and really didn’t know much about Malaysian foods or food culture at all. I think seeing that big sachet of paste made me do a double take, and the fact that the curry flavor was nothing like I’d tried before.
It’s that time of year again! Actually, this is the first time the list is coming out in July although at the tail end of July. I usually have the lists come out on the Monday closest to the date it came out the prior year. So this list is a compilation of absolutely hottest and spiciest varieties I’ve had out of the 2,500+ varieties I’ve tried thus far. Something you think belongs on this spiciest of lists? Let me know – I’ll give it a try. Let’s get started!
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!
I knew CarJEN was sending some samples, so I asked if maybe they could send me a box of the ones with my logo on them – I think this is it!
When I visited Malaysia last October, I was asked by a newspaper reported when I thought a Malaysian top ten list might come out. I figured once I got to around 70 reviews I could probably put something together. As of today, I’ve reviewed 100 different varieties from Malaysia. What’s more, I am releasing this top ten list on Malaysia’s Independence Day! Hari Merdeka! Happy Birthday, Malaysia! I hope everyone enjoys this list, in my opinion the best of the best instant varieties Malaysia has to offer that I’ve tried yet.
Here’s a box I’ve been waiting to see! Let’s see what’s inside!
Here’s Andy showing off the new packaging for CarJEN’s E-Zee Kari instant noodles! I rated this one 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. A nice little pack of noodles!
A while back, Ah Lai sent me samples of their regular white curry noodle. Today, It’s their rice vermicelli version! Here’s a little about rice vermicelli from wikipedia:
Another one I got during our trip to Malaysia in October! I’ve heard Cintan was the first instant noodle company in Malaysia. This one looks to be fortified with protein – something I think is pretty cool. Adding some vitamins and protein to instant noodles can help make instants a little more healthy. Let’s check out this curry by Cintan!
The first review of this Meet The Manufacturer was Mi E-Zee Perisa Kari. The difference here is that this is one for vegetarians. Let’s check it out!
To start things off, I felt it would be great to try this Mi E-Zee Kari. Kari (curry in english) is one of my favorite flavors since I was a kid. My mom used to make curried chicken liver over rice and it was some seriously delectable stuff. Over the years, I’ve experienced a great many kinds of curry: Japanese curry which is usually sweet, Indian curry, Thai curry and my current favorite, Malaysian curry. Let’s see how this Mi E-Zee Kari measures up!
One thing that tends to baffle a lot of my readers is my fascination with ‘store brands.’ I often get ‘it nothing special’ and thoughts like that. To me however, any instant noodle I’ve not reviewed before is definitely fair game and believe it or not, store brands tend to be much harder for me to source than any others. The reason for this is that large supermarket chains are mostly regional and don’t distribute their instant noodle varieties to anywhere other than their own stores. This one is particularly special – I got this one on my trip to Malaysia, and got it at the Econsave grocery store in Butterworth, Penang!
Most of the instant noodles from Malaysia have been just that – sent to me FROM Malaysia by manufacturers. What’s kind of cool is that now I’m seeing more of them start showing up in the United States. I found this Uncle Sun White Curry a few miles north of here in Everett at a newer Asian grocery simply called Asian Grocery (great name). It’s actually a great place – they have two varieties of this one – the one you see here and one that looks identical but says it’s extra hot! They also had Milo, a popular drink from Malaysia – kind of like chocolate milk, but like dark chocolate milk. Anyways – sweet – more white curry! Let’s check it out!
Here’s one I’ve been most eager to try. The Ramen Rater is also on Instagram, and I peruse for instant noodle related things. I’ve seen these cups quite a few times and people seem to enjoy them! They come in other varieties such as chicken and tom yam aside from this curry one. This Hot Cup was sent by Maggi Singapore, but made in Malaysia by Maggi Malaysia. Let’s have a look at this one and see what’s inside!
More curry! Man, I really like curry – a lot. This is one people refer to as ‘Maggi Mee’ an awful lot. ‘Mee’ or ‘Mi’ means noodles in many Southeast Asian countries. Sounds good to me – let’s check it out!
A big long box – let’s see what’s within!
Somebody spent a long time crumpling up paper – it was very well packed!
Here’s one a friend in Indonesia sent me a while back – thanks! So these are rice noodles – which are called bihun over in Indonesia. Rasa Kari ayam Pedas translates to spicy curry chicken flavor. This looks like a tasty one – let”s see how it comes out.
Here’s another one that Annie T. over at MyKuali sent me! Thank you very much! Curry seems to be a regular flavor over in Malaysia – and with good reason. Malaysian curry noodles are out of this world good! I’ve always liked curry, but curry from Southeast Asia are just superb. Let’s see how this one fares.
Today’s the last of the Mamee Double-Decker Meet The Manufacturer. It’s been really neat trying all these varieties – not a single re-review – really shows how few of their products I’d tried previusly. Today I thought I’d go with one of my favorite all time flavors in the world – curry. There are so many different takes on curry in the world – Malaysian, Singaporean, Japanese, South Korean, Indian and British to name a few. Let’s check this one out as we bid a fond farewell to this 15 day journey through some of Mamee’s products.
Mamee makes two extra spicy curry varieties – this one and one called Xtra Pedas which I reviewed a short while back. Of the two, this Berapi is not as spicy, but looks like it’s pack a punch! Curry sounds good – let’s dig in!
Pinky sent me a tracking number and I waited. Packages containing food products from overseas are often scrutinized by the Department of Agriculture, and more than once I’ve found they’ve not made it through. Happily, this big, awesome box of goodness came through! Let’s see what’s within!
Here’s another one sent to me by Annie T. over at MyKuali – thanks again! As I’ve said before, I love curry. There are so many different curries out there – sweet, spicy, slightly bland. Pastes, powders, sauces… It’s pretty enjoyable! I’ve been really enjoying reviewing curries from this region – Malaysia and Singapore – wonderful places that make some awesome curry instants! This one purports to be ‘xtra pedas’ which translates to extra hot. Let’s see if this stuff is really spicy or not.
Here’s another that Annie T. from MyKuali in Malaysia sent me to try – thank you! It’s big – and it’s curry! Not only that, there’s still turkey left! Let’s give it a go!
My son went and picked out a bunch of instant noodles at the Asian grocery a couple weeks ago and today he would like to try this one. A good pick – nothing’s more interesting than curry! I put curry up there with garlic, bacon and kimchi… Indescribably tasty.
Here’s what I had for lunch (click to enlarge). Some Daddy Kari 365 Curry Flavour Instant Noodles (here’s the original review) that were sent by Jerry W. of Malaysia (thanks again!), sweet onion, thin sliced ribeye, a 2 egg omelet with a slice of processed cheese and some Tabasco Jalapeno sauce and a little bit of Dua Belibis chili sauce on top. Really tasty stuff! By the way – I started a new facebook page here. It’s in protest of the ridiculously large amount of election signs everywhere that look so nasty. Like the page if you agree!
Here’s the stuff that Jerry W. sent from Sarawak, Malaysia! Thanks again! Ahhh curry – there are very few things I’ve found to be absolutely perfect and one of them is the flavor of curry. Curry’s up there with bacon, hot sauce and garlic! Let’s check out this unique curry noodle variety from Malaysia!
Here’s something that came from Sarawak, Malaysia from Jerry W.! Thanks! What could be inside?
Here’s another new one, sent by a friend in Indonesia! Thanks again! This looks interesting; a curry flavored mi goreng? I’m down with that!
Yesterday I went to HT Oaktree Market on 100th & Aurora in North Seattle. I went to get some things to make a batch of my curry soup and of course hit up the noodle aisle. Was thinking of re-reviewing the Mi Sedaap curry I’d had before as well, but as it turns out, I snagged a new one I hadn’t reviewed yet. Then this morning, I noticed a lot of people coming to The Ramen Rater from a forum on a Singapore website – they were all coming because of a link to Mi Sedaap Perisa Asli, something I’d reviewed a while back. I thought I should review a new Mi Sedaap today, so here we go.
So today we went and looked for noodles at the HT Oaktree on 100th & Aurora in Seattle. Found these new Indonesian noodles! Sweet! Kari translates to curry!!!
