Tag Archives: non-fried

#3044: Sau Tao Laksa Flavour Ramen – Hong Kong

#3044: Sau Tao Laksa Flavour Ramen - Hong Kong

Here’s another one I got up at the new T&T Supermarket up in Richmond BC that’s at Lansdowne Centre. Or is it Lansdowne Mall? Either way, it’s a big T&T inside what used to be a Target store. Oh – and sad parents can rejoice – TOYS R US IS STILL IN CANADA. Also, if you go to the Walmart in Richmond, you will often see Teslas, Ferraris and the odd Buigatti. It’s like a mirror universe. Let’s check this one out!

Sau Tao Laksa Flavour Ramen – Hong Kong

#3044: Sau Tao Laksa Flavour Ramen - Hong Kong

The distributor/import sticker (click to enlarge).

Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Contains shrimp. To prepare, add noodles to 500mL boiling water and cook for 4 minutes. Add in sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!

#3044: Sau Tao Laksa Flavour Ramen - Hong Kong

One of the two noodle bundles.

#3044: Sau Tao Laksa Flavour Ramen - Hong Kong

A dry sachet.

#3044: Sau Tao Laksa Flavour Ramen - Hong Kong

Lots of powder.

#3044: Sau Tao Laksa Flavour Ramen - Hong Kong

A sauce sachet.

#3044: Sau Tao Laksa Flavour Ramen - Hong Kong

Thick stuff!

#3044: Sau Tao Laksa Flavour Ramen - Hong Kong

Finished (click to enlarge). Added fried onion, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, Dodo fishball, tofu puff, BonCabe Level 15 and coriander. The noodles are really great – nice roundness, good texture. Married to the broth which is thick and luxuriant with a spiciness and really nice little prawny hit to it with a keen sweetness, it works very well. 4.5 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 087303866847.

#3044: Sau Tao Laksa Flavour Ramen - Hong Kong

生麵皇Non-fried Ramen Instant noodle King Beef Soup Flavour 5-in-1 bag (12.35oz/350g)

Watch me cook this up on Instant Noodle Recvipe Time!

Meet The Manufacturer: #2880: Miandom Tasty Asia Green Curry Shrimp Flavoured Instant Noodles

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Meet The Manufacturer: #2880: Miandom Tasty Asia Green Curry Shrimp Flavoured Instant Noodles

Miandom’s Tasty Asia range currently has three options: a green curry shrimp pack and cup and a black pepper crab cup. Today I’ll be reviewing the pack version. You get 4 packs in this large bag. Green curry is good stuff! Let’s see how it does!

Miandom Tasty Asia Green Curry Shrimp Flavoured Instant Noodles – Singapore

Meet The Manufacturer: #2880: Miandom Tasty Asia Green Curry Shrimp Flavoured Instant Noodles

Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Contains chicken, crustacea and fish. To prepare, add everything to a bowl and add 600ml boiling water. Cover for 5-6 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!

Meet The Manufacturer: #2880: Miandom Tasty Asia Green Curry Shrimp Flavoured Instant Noodles

Here’s one of the four packs in the large package.

Meet The Manufacturer: #2880: Miandom Tasty Asia Green Curry Shrimp Flavoured Instant Noodles

The noodle block.

Meet The Manufacturer: #2880: Miandom Tasty Asia Green Curry Shrimp Flavoured Instant Noodles

The paste sachet.

Meet The Manufacturer: #2880: Miandom Tasty Asia Green Curry Shrimp Flavoured Instant Noodles

Thick stuff!

Meet The Manufacturer: #2880: Miandom Tasty Asia Green Curry Shrimp Flavoured Instant Noodles

A dry base sachet.

Meet The Manufacturer: #2880: Miandom Tasty Asia Green Curry Shrimp Flavoured Instant Noodles

Non dairy creamer.

Meet The Manufacturer: #2880: Miandom Tasty Asia Green Curry Shrimp Flavoured Instant Noodles

A vegetables sachet.

Meet The Manufacturer: #2880: Miandom Tasty Asia Green Curry Shrimp Flavoured Instant Noodles

Greenery and peppers.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added tau pok, hard boiled egg, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, chilli pepper, fried onion and coriander. The noodles came out very well – strong chew and gauge. The broth was a little disappointing. I think 600ml really was much too much water for this and perhaps 450-500ml would have done this justice. 3.5 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8885014850013.

Meet The Manufacturer: #2880: Miandom Tasty Asia Green Curry Shrimp Flavoured Instant Noodles

From Third World to First: The Singapore Story – 1965-2000

This is a video of the Asia Pacific Food Expo in November 2017.

#2869: Chencun The Flavours Of Yunnan China Torpid & Peppery Beef

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#2869: Chencun The Flavours Of Yunnan China Torpid & Peppery Beef

Alright so when I found this up at China World in Richmond, BC, I was curious. ‘What’s this torpid all about, anyway?’ Well, Thanks to my friend Kyle, that’s been cleared up. It’s a really bad translation. This really should be Sichuan Spicy Flavor. As far as torpid goes, here’s the definition –

tor·pid
tôrpəd/
adjective

mentally or physically inactive; lethargic.
“we sat around in a torpid state”

Spicy and lethargic beef flavor? Yummy! Translation is a seriously tough thing. It’s definitely an uphill battle for me – Google is of very little help. I’ve been asked in the past by companies what I would call a product and helped them with translating and making it sound like a good name for something sold in the west. I think that would be a neat job – helping companies with western translations. So I guess if you need help with someone proofreading a packaging bound to be on products for the west, contact me maybe I can help. Alright – let’s do up some spicy beef vermicelli!

Chencun The Flavours Of Yunnan China Torpid & Peppery Beef – China

#2869: Chencun The Flavours Of Yunnan China Torpid & Peppery Beef

Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add boiling water to fill line and sachet contents as well. Cover for 508 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!

#2869: Chencun The Flavours Of Yunnan China Torpid & Peppery Beef

Detail of the lid (click to enlarge).

#2869: Chencun The Flavours Of Yunnan China Torpid & Peppery Beef

An included fork!

#2869: Chencun The Flavours Of Yunnan China Torpid & Peppery Beef

Rice vermicelli in its own separate bag.

#2869: Chencun The Flavours Of Yunnan China Torpid & Peppery Beef

A dry base sachet.

#2869: Chencun The Flavours Of Yunnan China Torpid & Peppery Beef

A tan powder.

#2869: Chencun The Flavours Of Yunnan China Torpid & Peppery Beef

A paste sachet.

#2869: Chencun The Flavours Of Yunnan China Torpid & Peppery Beef

Thick and oily.

#2869: Chencun The Flavours Of Yunnan China Torpid & Peppery Beef

A vegetables sachet.

#2869: Chencun The Flavours Of Yunnan China Torpid & Peppery Beef

A nice little mix.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added spring onion. The rice noodle hydrated really well and ended up the perfect chew – just the way I like it. The noodles and broth worked together in harmony. The broth, with it’s deep red color and Sichuan peppercorn and beef taste has a nice oiliness and richness to it. 4.5 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 6911754102589.

#2869: Chencun The Flavours Of Yunnan China Torpid & Peppery Beef

Oxford English Dictionary: 20 vol. print set & CD ROM

My father had a full set of the Oxford English Dictionary. I remember looking in one of the volumes and just flipping to a random page, looking at the ceiling and dropping my finger on a spot. One time, I found the word nothing – which refereed to something called a nithing post. A nothing post would be erected in someone’s yard – someone who wouldn’t share their meat.

Meet The Manufacturer: Interview With Mr. Noodle

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Interview With Mr. Noodle * Product Samples From Mr. Noodle * Mr. Noodle Sichuan Flavor Spicy Hot Noodles * Mr. Noodle Spicy Sesame Paste Noodles * Mr. Noodle Barbecue Sauce Curry Taste Noodle * Mr. Noodle Pesto Sesame Taste Noodles * Mr. Noodle Onions Mushroom Spice Taste Noodle * Mr. Noodle Black Vinegar With Spicy Taste

I met a lot of people during my trip to Taiwan in November, 2017. One was a gentleman named Isaac Chen – he was at the International Food Expo and I spoke to him for a couple minutes about noodles and tried some of the products they had there. He wanted to give me samples but my luggage was already jam packed, so samples were sent later and a Meet The Manufacturer series was born. I asked a few questions – let’s see what he had to say –

Interview With Mr. Noodle – Taiwan

THE RAMEN RATER> Thank you for agreeing to this interview! To start, can you tell my readers about the history of Mr Noodle?

MR NOODLE> We are young generation in 1990s looking for products to sell online. Our friends’ parents are noodle factory in Tainan (kuan miao), Taiwan. Their noodles are sold worldwide. Due to food safety issue they faced their sauce are effected, and they took the plain noodle out and donate to orphanage and dump the rest, it was large quantities. I think we can help them with others good quality noodles selling online. Mr. Noodle was born at this timing.

TRR> Why the name Mr Noodle? Is Mr Noodle named after a person?

MR NOODLE> Since our noodles are famous in Taiwan and worldwide, we took MR. NOODLE as we are nice noodle producer. The logo was depicted under our founders’ image and slightly change with it’s hair and face shape- noodle shape.

TRR> What was the first product you made?

MR NOODLE> Our first product is “mushroom onion sauce flavor with plain noodle” (green package). Our first sale.

TRR> Your company is located in Taiwan. Can you tell us a little about your country?

MR NOODLE> Our country is on east Asian, located beside China and under Japan and Korea. Regardless of political issue with China and USA, we are nice and friendly people. We work hard and was a famous OEM country: Product MIT (Made in Taiwan) were famous. Now our business are enhanced high tech, semi conduct electronics products and cultural creative local products.

TRR> Can you tell us about the varieties of noodles you make?

MR NOODLE> In terms of noodle shape: we have line-shaped, width-shaped and butter-fly shaped
As sauces: we have 6 flavor sauces. According to taste and sauces characteristic, different shaped noodles are matched. For example, black vinegar sauces are more watery we use line-shaped increase its taste.

TRR> How many noodle products do you produce every year?

MR NOODLE> About 300,000 packages Mr. Noodle brand. Each package contains four sets of noodle and sauces.

TRR> How does your noodle making process differ from other instant noodle manufacturers?

MR NOODLE> Most instant noodle are oil-fired. Our noodle is dried with sun baked, instead of dry up in machine. In old way, we dry the noodle in yards, outside. Now we have an indoor warehouse with, still, plenty of sun light drying up. This process enhances our noodles’ specialty: long cooked and still very flexibility.

TRR> Can you suggest pairings for your products, like meats or vegetables?

MR NOODLE> We suggest parings for our noodle, such as salad, broccoli, cucumber, carrot and mushroom. Actually, our top sale product, spicy sesame paste (orange package), pair with cucumber and carrot are one of traditional Chinese cuision: sesame paste noodles.

TRR> Are there any other products you make?

MR NOODLE> Temporarily, none.

TRR> A lot of people are concerned with their sodium intake. How would you recommend people enjoy your product as part of a healthy meal?

MR NOODLE> Cook in our recommended way: cook in boil plan water 500cc for 3-5 minutes. Our noodle contains three different types of noodle and salt and water. As the noodle cooked, its salt dissolve into water.

TRR> Are you involved in in your local community or participate in charities?

MR NOODLE> Yes, we usually ship 3-5 boxes (240 sets noodles) to Taiwan Fund for Children and Families, and homeless organization.

TRR> Are there any new products coming soon?

MR NOODLE> Yes, it’s xo- sauces flavor.

TRR> In what countries are your products popular? Do people enjoy them differently in different places?

MR NOODLE> Our 6 flavors are really typical taste in Chinese cuisine so in most Chinese communities they love our top sale “mushroom and onion”. Japanese love this too! However, People from Hong Kong and Singapore enjoy our “barbecue and curry sauces” noodle. Westerners enjoy our spicy sesame paste flavor.

TRR> When you make noodles for yourself, what do you like to add to them to make them extra special?

MR NOODLE> Salad, eggplant and egg, very delicious!

THE RAMEN RATER> Thank you very much for this opportunity to learn about Mr Noodle and your products!

Thank you to Isaac Chen for making this Meet The Manufacturer happen! Let’s begin!

#2744: Myojo Charumera Non-Fried Tonkotsu Ramen

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#2744: Myojo Charumera Non-Fried Tonkotsu Ramen

This one comes by way of Japan Ramen Box. Japan Ramen Box is a new subscription box outfit with neat varieties to check out! Go visit their website and have a look!

So this is one of the Myojo Charumera varieties I’ve never seen. The noodle is dried and not fried, giving it a bit lower amount of fat. Charumera refers to the horn that is used by the street vendors in Japan to let people know ‘hey – come get your noodles!’ At least I think that’s the reference – it could be to the man blowing the horn, but I’m pretty sure it’s the horn itself – correct me if I’m wrong, pleasse!

As for tonkotsu ramen, here’s a little from Wikipedia –

The soup broth for tonkotsu ramen is based upon pork bones, and “tonkotsu” means “pork bones” in Japanese.^[1]^[2]^[3] The soup broth is prepared by boiling pork bones in water for a significant amount of time, up to eight hours, and the broth is typically cloudy in appearance.^[1]^[2]^[4] Additional broth ingredients can include onion, garlic, spring onions, ginger, pork back fat, pig’s trotters, oil and chicken carcasses.^[1] For service, cooked ramen noodles and slices of roasted or braised pork belly are added, and additional ingredients can include kombu, shoyu, chili bean paste, sesame seeds and others.^[1]^[2]

The traditional preparation method for the ramen noodles used in tonkotsu ramen is for the noodles to be hard in the center.^[4] Some ramen shops allow customers to select the level of doneness for the noodles, including futsu for regular or standard, barigane for very hard, barikata for al dente and yawamen for soft.^[4] Some restaurants also provide a second order of noodles if requested by the customer, in a system referred to as kaedama.^[4]

Ichiran is a Japanese restaurant chain that originated and is based in Fukuoka, Japan that specifically specializes upon tonkotsu ramen.^[5] Ippudo is a Japanese ramen restaurant chain based in Fukuoka that is well-known for its tonkotsu ramen, and has been described as “the most famous tonkotsu ramen shop in the country”.^[4]

Alright – let’s give it a try!

Myojo Charumera Non-Fried Tonkotsu Ramen – Japan

#2744: Myojo Charumera Non-Fried Tonkotsu Ramen

Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Contains pork. To prepare, add noodles to 500ml boiling water and cook for 1 1/2 minutes, stirring often. Add in powder base sachet contents and stir. Add in liquid base sachet. Finally, stir and ejoy!

#2744: Myojo Charumera Non-Fried Tonkotsu Ramen

Very thin noodles.

#2744: Myojo Charumera Non-Fried Tonkotsu Ramen

The soup base sachet.

#2744: Myojo Charumera Non-Fried Tonkotsu Ramen

Light, fluffy powder.

#2744: Myojo Charumera Non-Fried Tonkotsu Ramen

A liquid base sachet.

#2744: Myojo Charumera Non-Fried Tonkotsu Ramen

Oily stuff.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added spring onion, Salad Cosmo organic mung bean sprouts, chashu pork, hard boiled egg and narutomaki. The noodles are just awesome. They’re round and thin with a floury kind of hit to them. The broth is luxuriant and rich tonkotsu – Super tasty. Oiliness is on point and reasonable. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. JAN bar code 4902881071802.

#2744: Myojo Charumera Non-Fried Tonkotsu Ramen

Eye cube pack Myojo Charumera (japan import)

A Myojo TV spot featuring Ultraman!

#2618: KOKA Delight Curry Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles

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Another one from the recent KOKA Meet The Manufacturer. A curry from Singapore – can’t say I’ve met one of those I didn’t like. Let’s have a look.

KOKA Delight Curry Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles – Singapore

Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Packaging says ‘suitable for Vegetarians.’ To prepare, add noodle block and vegetable sachet to 450ml boiling water. Cook 2~3 minutes and add soup base sachet. Finally, stir and enjoy!

The noodle block.

The powder base sachet.

Sure enough, smells like curry!

The vegetable sachet.

Carrot and other veggies.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added baked chicken, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts and coriander. Really like the noodles in these Delight varieties – good gauge and chew. The broth has a kind of sweet and spicy curry which works really well and is unique. The vegetable assortment included with the pack is aptly chosen. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8888056000258.

Koka, Instant Noodles, Curry Flavour, 85 g (Pack of 5)

A commercial for their purple wheat noodle

Met The Manufacturer: #2445: KOKA Delight Laksa Singapura Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles

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Met The Manufacturer: #2445: KOKA Delight Laksa Singapura Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles - The Ramen Rater - Singapore - Tat Hui Foods

I’m reviewing this on March 14th and it’s actually my birthday today! I just got done doing a really big project on spicy noodles and though maybe it would be nice to do a review of something curry. I was looking through the samples and saw this one and realized I do have laksa leaves in my fridge so I’d better review it. So, what’s Laksa Singapura? Wikipedia has this to say –

Laksa is a popular spicy noodle soup in the Peranakan cuisine.^[1]^[2] Laksa consists of rice noodles or rice vermicelli with chicken, prawn or fish, served in spicy soup; either based on rich and spicy curry coconut milk, or based on sour asam (tamarind or gelugur). It can be found in Malaysia,^[3] Singapore, Indonesia^[4] and Southern Thailand.^[5]

Laksa is a food blend of Chinese and Malay culture. Singapore Laksa Lissio using 11 kinds of fresh herbs are formulated specially chosen by professional chefs and has been tested both locally and abroad. Interestingly, only here you can choose yourself of carbohydrates for laksa, noodles can, fried flat rice noodles or noodles. The contents of Singapore Laksa Lissio consists of slices of fresh fish, crunchy bean sprouts, boil eggs, chicken eggs, and tofu, which are then doused with coconut milk that is hot, and delicious.

I should note the second paragraph above was translated from Malay. So, yeah let’s give this one a try!

KOKA Delight Laksa Singapura Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles – Singapore

Met The Manufacturer: #2445: KOKA Delight Laksa Singapura Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles - The Ramen Rater - Singapore - Tat Hui Foods

Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Contains fish. To prepare, add noodle block to 450ml boiling water and cook for 2~3 minutes. Add in seasoning sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!

Met The Manufacturer: #2445: KOKA Delight Laksa Singapura Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles - The Ramen Rater - Singapore - Tat Hui Foods

The noodle block.

Met The Manufacturer: #2445: KOKA Delight Laksa Singapura Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles - The Ramen Rater - Singapore - Tat Hui Foods

A dual sachet/.

Met The Manufacturer: #2445: KOKA Delight Laksa Singapura Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles - The Ramen Rater - Singapore - Tat Hui Foods

Powder soup base.

Met The Manufacturer: #2445: KOKA Delight Laksa Singapura Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles - The Ramen Rater - Singapore - Tat Hui Foods

Seasoned oil.

Met The Manufacturer: #2445: KOKA Delight Laksa Singapura Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles - The Ramen Rater - Singapore - Tat Hui Foods

A coconut powder sachet.

Met The Manufacturer: #2445: KOKA Delight Laksa Singapura Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles - The Ramen Rater - Singapore - Tat Hui Foods

Has a nice coconut scent.

Met The Manufacturer: #2445: KOKA Delight Laksa Singapura Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles - The Ramen Rater - Singapore - Tat Hui Foods

Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts,tau pok, laksa leaf and chilli powder. The noodles came out nicely – good gauge and chew to them. The broth has a great taste – a little fish taste, a little creaminess from the coconut milk and a hint of spiciness. 4.25 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8888056000289.

Koka, Instant Noodles, L a k s a S i n g a p u r a Flavour, 90 g (Pack of 5)

A presentation about KOKA noodles.

#2380: Pulmuone Non-Fried Ramyun With Spicy Beef Broth

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#2380: Pulmuone Non-Fried Ramyun With Spicy Beef Broth - South Korea - The Ramen Rater

So here’s something new I found at HMart. This is going to be battle for me, however you might wonder why. Well, much of the package is shiny gold colored. Unfortunately, shiny gold and silver packages are evil. I mean, not really, but really at the same time. Indeed they look nice, but they add a bit of an issue to my process. Indeed, scanning gold or silver foil packs presents a real problem. No matter what, there are wrinkles in the packaging, and ones I usually can use Photoshop to get rid of. However, these wrinkles when in a shiny foil wreak havoc with the scanner and the images come out extremely light and dark in spots. Anyway, just a little behind the scenes on what I do when putting out a post.

But back to the noodles. Pulmuone is kind of a health-minded company. Furthermore, I’m pretty sure all of their instant ramyun is non-fried. Initially, I remember talking to someone from their company mentioning that they have a big farm in South Korea where their vegetables come from. Moreover, they mentioned their founder many times and revered him. Finally, let’s have a look at this Pulmuone Non-Fried Spicy beef!

Pulmuone Non-Fried Ramyun With Spicy Beef Broth – South Korea

#2380: Pulmuone Non-Fried Ramyun With Spicy Beef Broth - South Korea - The Ramen Rater

Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). I also include this image. The one above is a photo and the second is a scan with a lot of filtering going on. Contains beef (how I am unsure; importing Southeast Asian beef, chicken and pork is against USDA, however exporting US beef, processing it in SE Asia and re-importing it isn’t – a lot of work but a way to get beef in your products). To prepare, add package contents to 2 1/2 cups boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Stir and enjoy!

#2380: Pulmuone Non-Fried Ramyun With Spicy Beef Broth - South Korea - The Ramen Rater

The noodle block.

#2380: Pulmuone Non-Fried Ramyun With Spicy Beef Broth - South Korea - The Ramen Rater

The soup base sachet.

#2380: Pulmuone Non-Fried Ramyun With Spicy Beef Broth - South Korea - The Ramen Rater

A liquid base.

#2380: Pulmuone Non-Fried Ramyun With Spicy Beef Broth - South Korea - The Ramen Rater

The vegetables sachet.

#2380: Pulmuone Non-Fried Ramyun With Spicy Beef Broth - South Korea - The Ramen Rater

A colorful mixture.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, beef, spring onion and egg. Starting with the noodles, they have a thicker and wider gauge than ramyun. Moreover, this is the ‘new style’ it seems that all of the South Korean companies are going with. However, the style works very well and has an excellent chew. The broth had its points. So it was spicy and had a kind of beefiness, but it seemed like it was missing a salty taste. Finally, the included vegetables are excellent – the mushroom in particular. 3.75 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8801114132227.

#2380: Pulmuone Non-Fried Ramyun With Spicy Beef Broth - South Korea - The Ramen Rater

Pulmu one Non-Fried Ramyun Noodles with Spicy Beef Broth, 4.268 Ounce (Pack of 4)

A Pulmuone advertisement featuring (I believe) the winner of Master Chef Korea.

#2378: Sau Tao Non-Fried Mix Noodle Black Pepper XO Sauce Flavoured

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#2378: Sau Tao Non-Fried Mix Noodle Black Pepper XO Sauce Flavoured - Hong Kong - The Ramen Rater

Today, I’m reviewing something from Hong Kong. These are in 5 packs – and the individual packs haven’t got bar codes. Indeed, I have wondered why I couldn’t find individual servings of this one, but that definitely makes sense now; hard to sell a variety without a bar code. Why don’t they put bar codes on them? I don’t know, but they definitely want you to buy a pack. For those who aren’t in the know about XO sauce, here’s a little something from wikipedia:

Developed in the 1980s in Hong Kong for Cantonese cuisine, XO sauce is made of roughly chopped dried seafoods, including scallops, dried fish and shrimp, and subsequently cooked with chili peppers, onions, and garlic. This dried seafood-based sauce bears similarity to the Fujianese Shacha sauce. Spring Moon, the Peninsula Hong Kong’s Chinese restaurant, is often credited with the invention of XO sauce, although others claim the sauce’s origin in the urban area of Kowloon.[2]
The name XO sauce comes from fine XO (extra-old) cognac, which is a popular Western liquor in Hong Kong and considered by many to be a chic product there. In addition, the term XO is often used in the popular culture of Hong Kong to denote high quality, prestige and luxury. In fact, XO sauce has been marketed in the same manner as the French liquor, using packaging of similar colour schemes.[3]

Let’s have a look at this pack version. Alternately, I have indeed reviewed the bowl version.

Sau Tao Non-Fried Mix Noodle Black Pepper XO Sauce Flavoured – Hong Kong

#2378: Sau Tao Non-Fried Mix Noodle Black Pepper XO Sauce Flavoured - Hong Kong - The Ramen Rater

Here’s the detail from the large 5 pack outer wrapping (click to enlarge). Contains seafood. To prepare, first add the noodle block to a pot of boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Next, drain. Finally, add in sachet contents. Stir and enjoy!

#2378: Sau Tao Non-Fried Mix Noodle Black Pepper XO Sauce Flavoured - Hong Kong - The Ramen Rater

An individual pack.

#2378: Sau Tao Non-Fried Mix Noodle Black Pepper XO Sauce Flavoured - Hong Kong - The Ramen Rater

Here’s the back of an individual package (click to enlarge).

#2378: Sau Tao Non-Fried Mix Noodle Black Pepper XO Sauce Flavoured - Hong Kong - The Ramen Rater

The noodle block.

#2378: Sau Tao Non-Fried Mix Noodle Black Pepper XO Sauce Flavoured - Hong Kong - The Ramen Rater

A single sachet.

#2378: Sau Tao Non-Fried Mix Noodle Black Pepper XO Sauce Flavoured - Hong Kong - The Ramen Rater

A thick black sauce.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added spring onion, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, carved squid and fried onion. To start, the noodles were of a standard gauge. In addition, they’re not fried. Furthermore, they have a extra backbone which is nice. The flavor was a nice peppery seafood kind of to-do. The only problem I had was that it was very hard to get all of the sauce from the sachet, and the noodles when drained are very dry and this makes it hard to combine. However, this stuff is just plain delicious. 4.5 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 087303865390.

#2378: Sau Tao Non-Fried Mix Noodle Black Pepper XO Sauce Flavoured - Hong Kong - The Ramen Rater

Sao Tao – Chicken & Abalone Sichuan Noodle Soup 5.6 Oz (Pack of 1)

A TV spot for Sau Tao instant noodles.

#2267: Shirakiku Karami Ramen Spicy Chili Flavor Japanese Style Noodle With Soup Base

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Here’s another one sent by a reader named Colin from the east coast – thanks again! I’m giving this one not a re-review but a full new review. I tried it in the past – it was review #125. Why a new review and not a re-review? Well, I don’t see anything on the old one mentioning non-fried noodles and think that maybe this has changed. The packaging has changed, but unsure if that’s denoting a difference. The brand Shirakiku is one of Nishimoto. Basically, kind of think of Trader Joe’s – they source foreign/domestic brands and re-brand them for sale in the USA under their name. That’s the case usually with Shirakiku. Let’s have a look!

Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Contains fish, shellfish and crustacean. To prepare, add noodle block to 1 3/4 cups boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Add in sachet contents. Stir and enjoy!

The non-fried noodle block.

The soup base sachet (I forgot to take the picture before I put the contents into the little cup but used a little Photoshop to reconstruct the cut top left corner).

The soup base has a seafood scent.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, spring onion, narutomaki and ito togarashi. The noodles came out alright although they seemed a little foreign to the broth; they just didn’t seem like they wanted to be friends. The broth was a kind of spicy shoyu/miso-ish WTF which just screamed of something not being correct. I don’t know what’s going on here but it’s just kind of a wrongsalaught. I think I may go ahead and try other varieties in this range in hopes of a winner though. 2.0 out of 5.0 stars.

Finished (click to enlarge). UPC bar code 074410415167.

Shirakiku Japanese Style Instant Ramen Soy Noodle Sauce, 14.63 Ounce

A mom and her son go to an Asian grocery. I really like seeing things like this.

#2187: Pulmuone Non-Fried Ramyun Noodle (Crab Flavor)

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Crabby crab from South Korea! This one was sent to me by colin from the east coast – thanks! Not a lot of ramyun I’ve seen out there with crab as a main flavor. In fact, I think this might be the first ramyun I’ve seen in this vein. You might say ‘hey – you’ve reviewed noodle that have crab flavor before’ but this is ramyun. ramyun is strictly a South Korean thing – it’s really has to do with the noodle gauge and the chewiness. Originally it was beef broth and spicy, but different things have come into the mix during the years – like crab! Let’s give it a try!

Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Contains fish, crustacean and shellfish. To prepare, add everything to 3 cups of boiling water and cook for 4 1/2 minutes. stir and enjoy!

The noodle block.

The soup base sachet.

Looks like spicy ramyun seasoning to me!

The dry garnish sachet.

Quite a diverse mixture.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts and spring onion. The noodles are great – very good ramyun. They have this kind of two-tier texture to them like a lot of the non-fried noodles do. There’s a kind of gelatinous layer on the outside of the noodle and then more thick inwards with a sturdy chew. The broth had a nice spiciness to it indicative of South Korean variants as well as a nice flavor that teetered on the edge of crab and beef, free of the slight bitterness I have always found in many of the ramyun variants out there. The supplied garnish was good – nice sized pieces of vegetables and all garnish hydrated very nicely and was of good quality. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8801114124260.

Pulmuone Non-fried Ramyun Noodle 3.7 Oz Each – Pack of 4 (Crab)

A PR film by Pulmuone in English.

Meet The Manufacturer: #2080: Fuku Non-Fried Superior Soup Noodle

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On more than one occasion, I’ve been talking to someone from Hong Kong about instant noodles. It seems like every time, Fuku comes up. This is a really popular brand there and often mentioned as a favorite. Today I’m going to try their non-fried variety. Curious how the noodles differ from the standard instant. Let’s see!

Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add noodle block to 500ml boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add sachet contents. Stir and enjoy!

The noodle block. The noodles look to be very thin.

The soup base sachet.

Has a nice salty garlic scent.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added spring onion, chashu pork, hard boiled egg and narutomaki. The noodles came out great – they are indeed thin and have a round nature. Their chewiness is quite enjoyable. The broth is like a salty garlic affair with a little swetness. A nice and simple noodle soup. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4897878650217.

NISSIN FUKU SUPERIOR SOUP INSTANT RICE NOODLE 65gX5

Wow this look great – the video is titled “Hong Kong Street Food. The Fabulous Stalls of Temple Street, Yau Ma Tei.”

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