Tag: lienesch

The Ramen Rater Humbly Asks For Your Help

UPDATE – I want to thank everyone who donated – you really helped us out a great deal and made it possible to get through this difficult time! At this point, our heads are pretty much above water, so as far as a pressing need for donations, we’re good. I would say though that if you appreciate what I do and want to say thanks, that’s always truly appreciated, so I’m going to leave this up as an option. Thank you!

I’ve been reviewing instant noodles since 2002, doing episodes of Instant Noodle Recipe Time, The Chocolate Break with my wife, Professional Mukbang, Unboxing Time With The Ramen Rater and more. Right now, we’re in a pretty crummy financial situation and hoping that some of the fans will be able to help out. I really loathe asking like this. I’ve set up a GoFundMe. It really is strange – you hear about statistics like ‘this percentage are one paycheck away from financial ruin.’ I love going to the thrift store and finding some trinket on the cheap. Right now, that’s a luxury I can’t even fathom, really. What’s crummy too is the time of the year that this is happening. Holidays plus my daughter’s birthday is a week before Christmas. Ugh. Here’s the link if you can help out. ...see full post

Tokyo Treat Valentine’s Day Chocolate Break!

I recently was contacted by Tokyo Treat about trying their box and thought it would be neat to do an episode of The Chocolate Break with it – so we did! Check it out and hey – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount – something great for Valentine’s Day! ...see full post

Happy Holidays From The Ramen Rater!

It’s been quite a year! I just wanted to send a big thank you to all my readers, folks who’ve sent in noodles, companies I’ve worked with and for all the help everyone has been on translating and everything else. Every day is such an enjoyable one because of you! From my family to yours, Happy Holidays! ...see full post

#2073: Great Value Spicy Ramen Noodles

Awesome. Spicy instant noodles my sister got me for my birthday – from Walmart in Canada! Thank you again! So far these have been pretty good – the beef one tasted like beef and the chicken tasted like chicken. The operative word here is tasted; so many Canadian varieties don’t have a lot of flavor to them. However I should note these are manufactured in the United States. Not a slam on Canada though – I really like Canada! Let’s check this one out! ...see full post

Momofuku Ando Day: Andy’s Special Review

Tomorrow is Momofuku Ando Day and I thought it would be fun to let my son Andreas do a video review. Just a reminder – today (January 18th, 2014) is the last day to enter the Momofuku Ando Day Photo Contest! The winner will be announced tomorrow. My Momofuku Ando Day  video will be up tomorrow! ...see full post

#1110: GS25 Gonghwachun Jjajangmyun

This was sent to me by Kristina W. of Arizona – thank you! Jjajangmyun is basically a noodle that is coated in a black bean sauce. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater Noodle News #28

Here we go with the 28th edition of The Ramen Rater Noodle News! I scour the Internet for articles about ramen and instant noodles and bring them to you! Here are some recent stories you might find interesting! ...see full post

A Message To The People Of Taiwan From The Ramen Rater

In the last week, I’ve had a lot of traffic from upset Taiwanese that none of their country’s beloved instant noodles made the list. I saw videos like this one and then this angry one. I felt a video message would be appropriate, and here it is. ...see full post

#1047: New Touch Yakisoba Noodle

Another one from my March birthday trip to Canada. I tried to translate this one but no luck – the name I got from the distributor’s sticker, so if anyone knows for sure this is the wrong name, please let me know. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

#1046: Myojo Stir Fry Noodles Japanese Style Noodles With Sauce

Found this one at Uwajimaya in Bellevue and thought it was worth a try. I do like Worcestershire sauce! ...see full post

#1045: Nissin Chow Mein Chicken Flavor Chow Mein Noodles

This is one you can probably find quite easily in a grocery store here in the United States. Let’s have a look. ...see full post

#1044: Nongshim Shin Ramyun Noodle Spicy Mushroom Flavour

Another from my trip to Canada for my birthday. Wow – what a past two days here! The Top Ten 2013 list came out to a clamor of Taiwanese disapproval – Taiwan didn’t make the list. But, hopefully out of it all I’ll get contacted by one of the companies in Taiwan, but so far nothing. On to other things though – that being this interesting bowl by Nongshim. This one’s made in Shanghai, China. Let’s check it out. ...see full post

The Ramen Rater Movie: Almost Two Hours Of Instant Noodles

If you watch this from beginning to end, not only proven yourself a true fan of the instant noodle, but also seen pretty much every single instant noodle review and re-review I’ve ever done. Clocking in at an hour and forty-nine minutes, this is pretty heavy duty. Enjoy! ...see full post

#1043: Chewy Rice Vermicelli Satay Chicken Flavour

Yep – another one from my Canadian birthday trip! Let’s check this one out.

 

Export sticker (click image to enlarge). ...see full post

#1042: Nongshim Potato Pork Ramyun

Another one I got while in Canada for my birthday. I’m sure many folks will immediately ask ‘where did you get this’ and ‘where can I get it,’ and I’ll just say I’ve only seen this in Canada. See, they get stuff in the Vancouver area from not only the Nongshim plant here in the states but the one in Shanghai, China. Got a couple more coming down the pipe of reviews soon that hail from China. Let’s check this out! ...see full post

#1041: Ko-Lee Instant Noodles Super Chow Mein Flavour

One of the last that Joe & Gil from the UK sent a while back – thanks again! I like chow mein, but what’s ‘super’ chow mein? Let’s see! ...see full post

#1040: Western Family Instant Noodles Vegetable Flavour

Another from my trip to Canada on my birthday! Vegetable! Let’s check it out.

Back of the packaging (click image to enlarge). Says it contains wheat and soy and may contain trace amounts of egg, fish/shellfish, nuts and sulphites. ...see full post

#1039: Maruchan Bowl Hot & Spicy Shrimp Flavor Ramen Noodles With Vegetables

Here’s the last of the three product samples sent by the nice folks at Maruchan – thanks again! Spicy shrimp sounds good – let’s check it out. ...see full post

#1038: Itomen Chanponmen

Here’s one that the folks from God Of Patena sent – thanks! Very little English on here – searched and translated via UPC code and kept coming up with ‘chanpon’ over and over so I’m calling it that. Also found it called ‘champon’ too, but more often than not it was ‘chanpon.’ Most things show it as a seafood broth, but as you can see on the package, it looks like ham or smoked pork. I also saw mention that this was a borrowed noodle soup from Chinese culture; like jjamppong perhaps? Let’s check it out! ...see full post

#1037: emart Dare You Habanero Jjamppong

Time for some extremely spicy noodles! This is another one from eMart, makers of Dare You Habanero Ramyun. Dare You weighs in at 5,930SHU (Scoville Heat Units) – the hottest I’ve had thus far. This one’s 3,960SHU – not as fiery hot, but definitely not to be trifled with! Jjampong is a seafood soup. You ready? ...see full post

#1036: Golden Wheat Korean Style Shrimp Noodle Soup

Another one from my Canada trip! Needed something I could make quickly today so thought this would do the trick. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

#1035: Wei Lih Spicy Sichuan Flavor Steam Instant Noodle

Here’s another one found in Canada on my birthday trip there. I’ve had Sichuan flavors before and not a big fan, but I’ve been pretty happy with Wei Lih’s products in the past – looks interesting! Let’s check it out. ...see full post

#1034: Western Family Instant Noodles In A Cup Spicy Chicken

Here’s another one from my birthday trip to Canada in March! Let’s check ‘er out. ...see full post

#1033: Nissin King Cup Noodle BBQ Chicken & Onion

Check this sucker out – this is one huge Cup Noodle! Scott from Nissin got this one for me during a recent trip to Asia – thanks! Let’s see what’s going on here… ...see full post

#1032: MAMA Authentic Thai Cuisine Pad Thai

I reviewed the instant in a smaller pack quite a while ago. It’s got a few seasoning packets and this one only has one big packet. Definitely not instant as the instructions ask for an interesting preparation method. Let’s dig in! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater On Japan’s MBS TV Show ‘God Of Patena’

Ealier this year, I got a call from Japan, asking if I would like to be interviewed for a TV show. I answered in the affirmative! They were interested in my Top Ten list, but something shorter. I picked three varietiesand did the interview via Skype. The guy interviewing me is Charles V. Lee. He told me he’s the most popular comedian in Japan. He’s originally from Oregon! So how the show works is a random topic is picked and a question is asked. Then they find someone who knows the answer and they interview them. The term ‘patena’ means random. With that, here’s the video! ...see full post

Thank You Package From Japanese TV Show ‘God Of Patena’

I was on Japanese TV at the end of February! The folks there were very kind to send some ramen from Japan! ...see full post

Prize From The Nongshim America Easter Contest!

Got a call from the office at my apartment complex about a package…

Awesome! So Nongshim America had a contest around Easter on their Facebook Page and I was one of the winners! ...see full post

A Neat Donation From Nongshim America!

The FedEx guy knocked on my window the other day with a package!

Holy cow – a flat of Neoguri and a flat of Chapagetti! I did a review of Chapaguri a couple weeks ago and to say thanks, they made sure I can make it whenever I like! Thanks! ...see full post

New Varieties From Nissin Foods

A package from Scott A. over at Nissin Foods USA!

Scott recently traveled to Asia and brought some really neat varieties back for me! Notice that cup on the lower left? That’s a King Cup Noodle – it’s friggin’ huge! The trays on the right are a new line from Nissin Foods USA called Pan Asian Kitchen. Thanks! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1031: HoMyeonDang Premium Noodle House Don Ramyun

Today is the last review of the Samyang Foods Meet The Manufacturer spotlight. Rest assured, there will definitely be more of their products reviewed in the future – I only do a maximum of 15 reviews in a row for a company during a Meet The Manufacturer and they sent more than 15, so lots of neat stuff coming! I want to thank Samyang Foods for their samples and everything else – really nice people! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1030: Samyang Foods Assorted Vegetables (60 Ingredients) Ramyun (SK Version)

So here in the US, this is simply called Assorted Vegetable – although I think the 60 Ingredients is definitely important. I’d love to know what all of the ingredients are… Let’s check this one out! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1029: Samyang Foods Nagasaki Crab Jjampong

Most people who are keen on South Korean ramyun have heard of the craze for ‘white broth’ ramyuns. Nagasaki Jjampong was Samyang Foods’ entry into the white broth realm, but they made another variety – Nagasaki Crab Jjampong – that has a milder taste. Let’s check it out. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1028: Samyang Foods Buldalk Bokkeummyeon (Hot Fried Chicken Ramyun)

Well this one looks to be extremely spicy. Samyang Foods sent some instructions along as everything on the back of these packages are in Korean. Well, they also added a little advice: ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1027: Samyang Foods Yukgaejang Beef Ramyun

Here’s Samyang Foods’ spicy beef ramyun bowl. Let’s give it a peek!

Close-up of the top (click image to enlarge). ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1026: Samyang Foods Bajirak Kalgugsu

Okay folks – here’s something I’ve never seen before. This is bajirak kalgugsu. I’ve had kalgugsu before, but this has a special ingredient: actual clams in shells! Here we go! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1025: Samyang Foods Hot Chacharoni

Okay so what’s Hot Chacharoni? Well, its a form of jjajangmyeon. What’s jjajangmyeon? Wheat noodles with a black bean sauce! Pretty much every South Korean instant noodle company has their own take on the popular dish, but this is the only one that I’m aware of that is spicy! Let’s check it out. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1024: HoMyeonDang Premium Noodle House Tofu Fried Noodle

Here’s another of the HoMyeonDang private label varieties. This is a stir noodle – drain the noodles after cooking and add the sauce and stir. Let’s check it out. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1023: Samyang Foods 三養라면 (Samyang Ramyun) (South Korean Version)

First, I want to wish my wife a Happy Birthday! Love you! Well folks, here it is. This is the ramyun that started it all. Here’s an except from my interview with Samyang Foods about their first product: ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1022: HoMyeonDang Premium Noodle House Crab Jjampong

This sure looks fancy! This is a premium private label variety made by Samyang Foods. HoMyeonDang is a restaurant in South Korea – here’s their website. They’re a organic noodle bar! Crab jjampong! Let’s check it out… ...see full post