Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Got a package yesterday! I was recently in California and saw my cousin Mike O. I asked him if the next time he visited Brazil if he could possibly look for some noodles I’ve wanted to review. As it turned out, his wife Adriana O. was currently down there and he’d let her know. Well, turns out she found some and he sent them to me once she returned!
Here’s another one I got from Casey in Hong Kong – thanks! Nissin’s Raoh is a premium line of fancy Japanese ramen. Shio translates to salt – here’s a little about shio from wikipedia:
Here’s another one sent by Casey P. from Hong Kong – thanks again! So bolognese… Wikipedia?
Here’s another one that was sent to me by Javier over at Box From Japan – thanks! Box From Japan is a subscription service – you can get a box sent to you every month with some great noodles within! It says in the leaflet sent with the box that this has a duck flavor and a sweetness to it. Let’s check it out!
Here’s a new one from Nissin – a lower sodium version of their Hot & Spicy chicken bowl! Not many lower sodium varieties cross my desk usually – this one is 30% lower than the regular Hot & spicy chicken bowl. Let’s check it out!
Hey check it out – Nissin Cup Noodles got a big facelift.
Here’s how they used to look – cardboard outer packaging is now gone. Less packaging and different materials have been used to make them more environmentally friendly. Also, they’re now microwavable! Yes, I’m sure many of you microwaved them before, but you weren’t supposed to. The new cups also have a little extra room so you can add veggies and meats or whatever you want to oomph up your noodles! Let’s check this new cup out!
Here’s another one James B. sent me from The Netherlands – thanks again! I’ve reviewed these varieties in cup form, but not the packs and I’m really pleased to be able to. These come from Nissin Germary! Let’s have a look!
Every January 19th for the past 5 years, I’ve done a special post in homage of Momofuku Ando. Who was he? Just the guy who invented instant noodles in 1958. If it weren’t for him, my world would be a whole lot different – and many other people’s as well. Actually, I should thank Mr. Ando’s wife as well – the story is that he was attempting to make an easily prepared, shelf stable instant noodle, but couldn’t figure out how. He tried many different techniques, but it was when he saw his wife making tempura in the kitchen one night that it dawned on him – fry the cooked noodles. This leaves holes in the noodles and extrudes the water. Not only that, the oil keeps the noodles shelf stable for a long time. His vision of a way to create and easy way to feed the masses has been a huge success and considered one of the great innovations of the 20th century. I think he deserves a day in his honor, and that day is today, January 19th.
Today I’m reviewing something new that the folks at Nissin Foods USA sent recently. Pad Thai is a popular dish people get at Thai restaurants – pretty accessible for people in the United States since it’s usually not super spicy and is kind of like an Asian alfedo. Well, technically, it’s nothing like that but I think you know what I mean – it’s something that people aren’t extremely scared of, and a lot of the time, the first time Thai food taster will try it, like it, and decide they like Thai food but only order it when they go out for Thai food. Sad but true, especially when there are so many amazing flavors of Thai food out there. But it’s kind of like Chinese food – it’s Americanized so they get repeat customers. Americanized Thai food is very tasty though – I will definitely say I enjoy it. Let’s give this Pad Thai a try!
Here’s another one that was sent to me by Javier over at Box From Japan – thanks! Box From Japan is a subscription service – you can get a box sent to you every month with some great noodles within! Today it’s a tonkotsu variant, Kumamoto style. Javier’s leaflet about this one mentions a chewy noodle with sesame notes and mincemeat – sounds interesting – let’s tear into it!
Here’s another one Casey P. sent me from Hong Kong – thanks again! There are lots of different kinds of curry in the work – British, Indian, Malaysian, Korean, Japanese – I’m sure there are more as well. Well, Japanese curry is what we have here. It tends to be on the sweeter, mild side, usually leaving the spicy elements behind. Let’s give this one a peek.
Got an email a couple months ago from Casey P. in Hong Kong. He’s been following the blog for years and wanted to send some things for me to review and this is one of them – thanks again! Today, we have Nissin Cup Noodle Sio. Sio is also known as Shio, a classic ramen variety. Let’s have a look and see what’s going on under the lid.
It’s pretty rare for me to hit a regular old supermarket here in the USA and find something I’ve not reviewed before, but it happens from time to time. I found this one at a WinCo Foods in Edmonds, Washington. It used to be a Top Foods a while ago but I think they’ve all but gone out of business and WinCo moved in. WinCo is kind of weird – imagine a big grocery store but kind of like Costco but not Costco and kind of cold and you have to bag your own groceries. Oh – and there are tons of signs everywhere in this really basic font. It almost seems like a weird government experiment – but I digress! This is a new one from Nissin – looks tasty for this cold weather. Let’s check it out!
Myojo sent this one along with their Meet The Manufacturer package – Myojo is part of Nissin Singapore and while this one doesn’t really belong in a Myojo Meet The Manufacturer, I figured it would be nice to try just after it.
Hooray! A box arrived today! I haven’t gotten one that I’ve had to sign for in a while. I’ve had a bag of instant noodles set aside for our postman and was able to hook him up – it’s great – when he comes to the door, he always says ‘more instant noodles!’ Let’s see what’s inside!
Here’s yet another one I got from the 7-Eleven next to our hotel from last May’s Bangkok trip. Like some others, this one got banged up pretty good, but still made it through in good enough condition to review. What’s a trip about this one is that it’s showcasing Manchester United. I’ve seen a few products with Manchester United footballers on them. Let’s check it out!
Here’s another one James B. sent me from The Netherlands – thanks again! I’ve reviewed these varieties in cup form, but not the packs and I’m really pleased to be able to. These come from Nissin Germary! Let’s have a look!
I got some new samples from Nissin USA a few weeks ago (thank you!) of some varieties of Nissin’s Raoh from Japan that are now available in the USA. Raoh (meaning King( is a premium line. At this point, you can only get them on Amazon. Not sure if that will change though. So Umami. This is something interesting – first, let’s have a look at what wikipedia has to say about umami –
Got an email a couple months ago from Casey P. in Hong Kong. He’s been following the blog for years and wanted to send some things for me to review and this is one of them – thanks again! Today, we have a pasta style Cup Noodle. There are a lot of instant in Japan that have a kind of Italian skew to them – tarako spaghetti, napolitan and peppercino are popular variants. Let’s check out this pasta style Cup Noodle!
I got some new samples from Nissin USA a few weeks ago (thank you!) of some varieties from Japan that are now available in the USA. At this piont, you can only get them on Amazon. Not sure if that will change though. So Umami. This is something interesting – first, let’s have a look at what wikipedia has to say about umami –
Here’s a new one that you should be able to find pretty easily in the store if you’re in the United States. Nissin has been coming out with a few new varieties lately and this is one of them – let’s have a peek under the hood of this tray!
Here’s another one that was sent to me by Javier over at Box From Japan – thanks! Box From Japan is a subscription service – you can get a box sent to you every month with some great noodles within! Today it’s one from Seven-Eleven in Japan. Seven-Eleven does partnerships with different companies (this on is made by Nissin) and has varieties they make only available there. This is Sumire Ramen, a miso variety. Let’s take a look!
A lot of people have come to my site from the United States, knowing only a couple varieties, those usually being chicken or beef, pack or cup. If that’s you, this is kind of a beginner’s guide to exploring the different brands and varieties that are pretty easily sourced here in the States. You can find many of these in your local grocery store, although some might require a trip to the Asian grocery, or to Amazon. But all of them can be found here, unlike many I review that only are sold in their local countries. Many of these have even been on my top ten lists, past and present – so get ready to have some of my favorite and most memorable varieties that you can easily find here in the United States!
Got a very unexpected knock on the door this morning and the FedEx guy was there!
I wonder what they could be?
Here’s another one James B. sent me from The Netherlands – thanks again! I’ve reviewed these varieties in cup form, but not the packs and I’m really pleased to be able to. These come from Nissin Germary! Let’s have a look!
Hey check it out – Nissin Cup Noodles got a big facelift.
Here’s how they used to look – cardboard outer packaging is now gone. Less packaging and different materials have been used to make them more environmentally friendly. Also, they’re now microwavable! Yes, I’m sure many of you microwaved them before, but you weren’t supposed to. The new cups also have a little extra room so you can add veggies and meats or whatever you want to oomph up your noodles! Let’s check this new cup out!
James B. sent me a box a while back with some great stuff in it and here he strikes again with even more! Thanks, man! Let’s see what’s inside!
Here’s a new one from Nissin Foods USA – Sriracha flavor Chow Mein! Sriracha is kind of interesting. First, the way to pronounce is ‘sir-racha’ drove me nuts for the longest time, but I finally have conformed (under protest). Also, Sriracha is a place in Thailand (went there in May), however the Sriracha sauce me know here in the states isn’t a popular condiment there. It’s a bit of a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Wikipedia had this to say:
Hey check it out – Nissin Cup Noodles got a big facelift.
Here’s how they used to look – cardboard outer packaging is now gone. Less packaging and different materials have been used to make them more environmentally friendly. Also, they’re ot microwavable! Yes, I’m sure maky of you microwaved them before, but you weren’t supposed to. The new cups also have a little extra room so you can add veggies and meats or whatever you want to oomph up your noodles! Let’s check this new cup out!
Here’s yet another one I got from the 7-Eleven next to our hotel from last May’s Bangkok trip. Like some others, this one got banged up pretty good, but still made it through in good enough condition to review. What’s a trip about this one is that it’s showcasing Manchester United. I’ve seen a few products with Manchester United footballers on them. As far as the flavor, I looked aoround and it sounds like Moo Manao is a popular dish with pork and lime. Let’s check it out!
Here’s one I got in the package sent by Javier over at Box From Japan – thanks! So shio is a classic style of ramen – here’s what Wikipedia has to say about it:
I recently had the fortune to meet a guy on facebook named James B. who wanted to send me some instant noodles from The Netherlands! A very kind offer which I took him up on!
Here’s one of the ones I picked up on my recent trip to Thailand at 7-11. It’s made by Nissin, and has Nissin logos on it, but it’s like a private label for 7-11; kind of different. Anyways, tom yum sounds good – let’s see what dwells within!
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.
It might be hard to tell from this image, but this is a very small bowl from Nissin’s Donbei line. I’d say it’s about 1/3 the size of a normal bowl. Kinda cool – a mini bowl! Let’s have a look.
This is another of the Gonbuto bowls. Nissin Gonbuto Kitsune Udon has a unique preparation regime which was quite hard to figure out – I figured it out after a lot of research (to be honest, I read the side numbers). Let’s have a look at this Nissin Gonbuto Kitsune Udon bowl!
Yet another variety got during our trip to Malaysia last year! Got it at the Econsave in Chain Ferry, Butterworth which Thomas from MyKuali! Thanks again! Let’s have a look at this interesting Singaporean variant.
Another one I figured I ought to get to before we move. This one is from Hong Kong and one of a line of interesting flavored macaroni instants by Nissin. Amongst them are seafood, chicken and abalone and many more. Let’s check out this mushroom vegetable flavored Nissin Demae Iccho variant!
For a long, long time, I’ve been hunting the elusive Top Ramen from India. I remember at n Indian grocery where I used to live that they had a few curry varieties, but never was able to find it again. Well a few weeks ago I found a large Indian grocery in Redmond, Washington that had this stuff and was happily surprised. So to start off with, this isn’t your domestic United States Top Ramen. This is from India, made in India by Indo Nissin for the people there and so the flavor will be much different. This is a 4 pack – four noodle blocks, four seasoning sachets. Let’s look inside and see what we have.
I had some leftover chicken and thought it’d be a good idea to make use of it. I reviewed the old version of this one quite a while back. This is the one with the new premium label on the package. It sounds good, but how does this Nissin Chow Mein taste? Let’s find out!
