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So here’s a new one from CarJEN – a new line called Otentiq. You might remember seeing CarJEN’s Nyonya Curry Laksa on this year’s big top ten list in the 4th place spot. I’ve seen very few cheese themed instant noodles in the past, and I believe this is the first one from Malaysia. Very curious how it will be – if the Laksa is any gauge, this could be really good! There’s also a CarJEN Otentiq Cheezy Curry coming soon as well! Let’s check it out!
Laksa is usually a fish soup with lots of strong flavor to it. This is a vegetarian alternative! Sounds like something good to try today. The weather here is sooooo hot – usually doesn’t get into the 90’s in Washington state. Ugh! This sounded good for today so let’s check it out!
Recently, I got sent a couple different varieties from Eric at The Kitchen Food – the kampua above and a dark soy version. Kampua is very popular in Sarawak – sounds like a nice lunch today. Let’s check it out!
Here’s one I got on my trip to Malaysia last October! I was really keen on getting something like this while over there – anything that has some kind of promotion for a contest or sports event – or movies and cartoons – are very fascinating to me, not only because that’s not something you really see here on instant noodle products, but that the possibility of finding an export version here is slim to none. This one mentions Brazil on it – football! Let’s have a look inside and give ‘er a try!
Here’s an interesting looking one from Malaysian company Twetnty-Twenty. I remember seeing this on Instagram and wondering who made it and if I could try it. I sent a message and it turned out the poster was the manufacturer, and so here we are. Let’s have a look at this curry rice noodle!
Got a big box delivered today! What’s inside? Let’s take a look!
Well packed!
Mi Goreng means fried noodles and Pedas means spicy – how can ya beat that? This is one that I picked up at the Econsave on last year’s trip to Penang, Malaysia. I gotta say – it’s weird to say that. I never thought I’d end up making it to Asia; now having been to both Malaysia and Thailand, it’s like I’ve got a different perspective of the world. So many of the people I met over there had visited the United States, either for work or schooling. How many folks do I know from here that have gone the opposite direction though? Definitely a lower ratio at least in my experience. It is quite expensive and I’ve been lucky that companies have said ‘hey! come visit us!’ Instant noodles – who would’ve thought. Anyways, I’ve been a big fan of Mi Goreng for quite a while. It’s combination of sweet and spicy flavors has always been so nice. This one promises to a bit further on the end of the spicy stick – hoping so! Spicy is always nice. Let’s check out this mi goreng by Vit’s of Malaysia!
Another year’s gone by and here we are again with the new bowls list. A lot of really interesting ones this go around and some old favorites. At the point of putting this list out, I’ve almost hit 1,700 reviews. Of those, these are in my opinion the best tasting and the most memorable varieties. With that, allow me to present The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls 2015 Edition.
When I was asked if I wanted to try some instant noodles from Sarawak, I was immediately interested. I’ve been trying to get my hands on some for a while but haven’t had any luck. Until now, that is! So first off, where is Sarawak?
Got this neat little box the other day – but what’s inside?
A postcard…
Got this one on my birthday trip to Canada! I wasn’t sure if I’d find any new white curry up there but lo and behold, there it was. One thing that’s interesting is that they also make a stir fry white curry as well which I got – I’ll be reviewing that one at some point in the neat future. Anyways, let’s check out this Aroi white curry!
Here’s one I got at the Econsave in Butterworth, Penang on my Malaysia trip last year! I looked up Emperor Herb Chicken on Google and found a recipe that lists the ‘Emperor Herbs’ – quite a list!
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:
Picked this one up this year at the PriceSmart foods in Richmond, BC in Canada during my birthday trip! This is definitely an export version. How do you know? Well, look at the myriad of languages here – French, German, Arabic and English are all here on the front. A lot of companies make export versions and sometimes they’ll make a spicy version which for their local market is spicier than for the export market. There’s so much that goes into figuring out how to tune flavors and such for different places. Let’s check out these Mamee Prawn Flavour instant noodles!
To wrap up this Meet The Manufacturer, we revisit our old friend the Penang White Curry. This one says it’s super spicy – something that always piques my curiosity. I’ve had some instant noodles that have said they’re really spicy and they’ve been almost bland (yeah, I’m looking at you Canada and England). Usually though, something that has a little mention on the pack of heat usually isn’t kidding around. Let’s check this one out and see how spicy it truly is.
Ok, so I don’t think I’ve been bugged more by any company to try an instant variety before. I mean wow – daily asks of ‘have you tried it yet?’ The folks at MyOri are ultra excited about this one! Well, today is the day! I think I’m ready! I really like green curry, but never been a huge fan of rice vermicelli. However, rice vermicelli has been kind of growing on me in the last year, so we shall see. Let’s pop this sucker open and give it a go!
Penang, home of some of the most amazing food and culture of the world. White Curry is one of the great things about Penang – spicy, full of flavor and fascinatingly exotic. There are quite a few White Curry Noodle variants on the market, of which I’ve tried many. It’s always really great to try a new one – I’m succh a curry junkie… I could eat curry every day! My first meeting with curry was when I was a kid – my mom made curried chicken livers over rice. I really liked it quite a bit – still kind of surprises me that I would have been so adventurous at such a young ago, but back then, dinner was what your parents made and that was that. Luckily, my mom always made tasty dinner! Anyways, let’s move from past to present and try this Myori Malaysia Penang White Curry Noodle!
Nothing better than a nice box showing up on a rainy day.
Awesome! Can’t wait to try them out.
You might have noticed that I haven’t reviewed a lot of chicken flavor varieties recently. The main reason for this is that Io haven’t had any chicken to go with my noodles – I usually cook some in the over and slice it up nicely and then I’ve got it for a couple reviews. Well, I’ve been lazy – a bag thing. So let’s check out this chicken instant from Ruski – laziness ends here!
This one is pretty special. When I traveled to Malaysia last year, we got to visit an island off the coast called Langkawi. We went to a couple of really nice Thai restaurants while there and I tried the tom yum soup. It was nothing like anything I’d tried previously; extremely strong broth, with a deep richness to it. It was one of the best things I got to try during my trip! I knew that MyKuali had a new Tom Yum variety and I was very keen on trying it. The day I left, I got a couple packs to bring home and try. That being said, let’s have another look at MyKuali Penang Red Tom Yum Goong and see what makes it so special.
The top ten instant noodles list is an annual post I do which is always quite a treat for me. I started reviewing back in 2002, but I really got going with it in June of 2010 – I’ve done nearly 1,600 reviews since then. It still boggles my mind that after trying so many, the industry continues to innovate and bring flavors forth that truly amaze me. With that, here are my absolute favorites – The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2015 Edition.
Here’s another bowl from Hao Way – this one a vegetarian laksa. Here’s a little about laksa from wikipedia:
Wasn’t sure what this box was that I received yesterday contained… Hmmm…
Ah! Ah Lai Penang White Curry! I reviewed this a while back – but this is the bihun version. Bihun (or beehoon) is the Malay name for rice vermicelli. Very curious about this one – will try it soon! Thanks!
Bihun (or beehoon) is basically rice vermicelli. Pama is a brand by President Rice Products of Thailnd and looks to be for sale in Malaysia. Make sense? Okay now on to the flavor: tom yam. Tom yam (or tom yum) is a very standard Thai variety – spicy, lemon/citrus, spicy, and usually shrimp. I was told that the creamy isn’t from dairy but from the boiling of shrimp! Let’s check it out!
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!
I woke up this morning in the mood for something curry. I was looking in my stores of instant noodles today and found this Mamee Chef Gold Recipe. I’ve reviewed it before, but I thought it would make a good breakfast and would be neat to re-review. I really liked the name of this one – seribu rasa means a thousand flavors, which immediately makes me think of thousand island dressing. Of course, this isn’t anything like thousand island dressing. Let’s have a look inside and see what makes this instant noodle tick.
Hao Way has made corresponding bowl version of their whole line of products. I reviewed the Laksa pack version a while back and now it’s time for the Laksa bowl! Let’s check it out!
MyKuali Penang White Curry Noodle was the number one instant on the 2014 top ten list. So what do they do? They’ve changed it to make it better. This is pretty fascinating, but not at all surprising. What I heard again and again while visiting MyKuali in Penang last year was that the hawkers will change their recipes all the time; improving them and refining them. It looks as though that’s what MyKuali is doing here with their product line. Let’s see what’s different about their Penang White curry Noodle!
Another new Malaysian variety! It seems like the Malaysian instant scene has really caught fire these days – and no complaints from me! This is asam laksa – asam means tamarind, so it has a sour taste to it. Couples with seafood flavors, Bihun is also known as rice vermicelli! Let’s have a look at this Premiere Gold Penang Asam Laksa!
During my trip last year to Malaysia, I got to try a lot of Hokkien mee. I think about 4 or 5 different restaurants. Here’s a little bit of info about it from wikipedia:
Here’s another Malaysian company now on my radar – MyOri! MyOri means Malaysia Original. Let’s see what’s inside!
FedEx came a knockin’ at my door but missed them. Then they came back a little later and brought me this!
Another one got during our trip to Malaysia! I think this is one of the first white curries that spun off of the craze that started in 2013. I’ve seen it many times, but never been able to try it. Well, no more! Today I’ll see what The Bridge has to offer!
Got a big box from MyKuali on Friday! Let’s see what’s within!
Lots of noodles! Awesome!
Here’s another new one from Hao Way – Penang Vegetarian Prawn instant noodles! I’m really quite curious on how you can make a vegetarian prawn flavor. Let’s have a look!
Another one I got during my trip to Malaysia! This looks like a really spicy curry, that’s for sure. All those little peppers on the package! Plus the guy on the package seems to be aghast at the level of spiciness as well! But what does kari letup mean? Well, the Google translation says ‘curry explosion.’ I gotta say I like the sounds of that! Let’s see if Maggi Kari Letup lives up to its name!
I saw a picture of some white curry noodle on instagram I’d never spotted before and thought to myself that I’d like to try them. I commented on the pic and it turns out the person who posted it was with the company. After a long trip across the Pacific Ocean, samples arrived today!
A few weeks ago, I reviewed Uncle Sun White Curry Noodle and noted that it was pretty darn spicy. Today, I’m reviewing the ‘more spicy’ version. If it’s a lot more spicy, it’ll be a really serious one, that’s for sure. Let’s delve into this Uncle Sun White Curry Noodle More Spicy and see if it’s got some serious bite.
Today we bid a fond farewell to the CarJEN Food Sdn Bhd Meet The Manufacturer. It’s really amazing how many different instant noodle companies there are in Malaysia. What got me was after so many years of exploring instant noodles, here’s yet another one I’d not heard of until they contacted me. Today’s final review is their ‘sayuran’ variety (sayuran translates to vegetarian). Let’s have a look!
