
Big thanks to Noodle Journey for this one! So it turns out this is based on a dish served at Outback Steakhouse called Toowooba pasta. I asked my friend Paul who lives in Australia what Toowoomba was and its a place. Anyways, let’s give this a try.
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Big thanks to Noodle Journey for this one! So it turns out this is based on a dish served at Outback Steakhouse called Toowooba pasta. I asked my friend Paul who lives in Australia what Toowoomba was and its a place. Anyways, let’s give this a try.

Here’s one I’ve wanted to get my hands on for quite a while. I like tantanmen – usually thick and spicy stuff – a denser, sloppier ramen. Let’s give it a go!

Found this one at GMart – that’s yet another Korean grocery, one in Lynnwood, Washington. Cool place actually – especially since I’ve not been there awhile so found some groovy stuff. Let’s try this, the pack version – made in South Korea, packaged for the US market.

Here’s one made in China for the US market. It’s got a cat on it – people like those. It’s also got an AI background. I did this review awhile back and continued to use AI for backdrops on the finished images. How’s it going to taste? Let’s find out.

While I tried this in May of 2022, I heard through the grapevine that there may be some changes to this one so I thought hey – I like beef noodle – can’t hurt to give it another try. Nothing better than Taiwanese beef noodle, that’s for sure. Let’s check out this premium boxed variety.

Well, they have this sticker with a guy on it, so I figure I’ll do this one again. I tried it last, deep in the heart of the pandemic. Mashed ginger – that sounds interesting – don’t remember how I felt about this one, so once I’m done with the review I’ll go have a look. Let’s try it!

This one ame by was of Daniel over at Exotic Noods – thanks again! This one’s a jjajangmyeon style noodle, so it’s got a thick and hearty black bean sauce with it. I’ve seen varieties made for GS Mart (a Korean chain) by Paldo, and everything about this package screams Paldo manufacture. If you look on the back by the barcode, you can see it’s made specifically for Us distribution. Anyways, let’s give it a try!

This came out of a box from Frank over at 5amRamen! Check out his stuff over at www.instantramen.jp – use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount! Super premium stuff!

This one’s an interesting specimen . You might be a hardcore instant noodle fan and notice the font of ‘premium’ and the color scheme. Definitely might remind you of something completely different. This one’s definitely packaged for US sale. I’ve had quite a few varieties from Dragonfly and found them generally to be quite good. Let’s check it out!

The last Kings Noodle variety I tried was absolutely phenomenal, so I’ve got high hopes for this one. This is a single serving variety with a whole lot going on in the box – let’s check it out!

Here’s a premium variety I tried last year that topped the Taiwanese top ten instant noodles list – definitely worth another try! Here I’ll unbox it and show you what I mean!

For the longest time, I only thought there was a single variety of Nongshim’s Tonkotsu bowl – the spicy one. Lo and behold, there’s this one with black garlic oil as well. What’s more, I think both exist concurrently. The spicy one has a five star rating from me and is at the top of the USA top ten. Let’s check this new one out!

Well, today it’s the second of the two Little Q varieties they sent. The non-spicy was absolutely wonderful stuff – curious how this one will be. The sheer amount of beef in the first one was really amazing – and it was really succulent. How spicy will it be? Let’s find out!

This one came by way of Sugoi Mart – thank you very much! This is a fancy one – very popular – and kind of spendy anywhere you’ll find it. Ichiran pioneered the ‘spendy ramen’ world with their $80 multipacks. Yeah – $80 bucks! I think they’ve come down a bit over time though but wow. Let’s see how this one is!

This one looked interesting – saw it at our local 99 Ranch Market… Was really struggling with the translation of the directions, however my friend Bobby from Toronto came through right when I needed clarification and here we are – thanks! Let’s give this a try!

The last boxed variety I tried from Mom’s Dry Noodle was an absolute knockout. It was by far the finest chicken instant I’ve had bar none in all the years of my reviewing. Now, we’ve got a beed variety and I’ve very curious as to how this is going to be. You’re not going to find this one in the states – maybe eBay or eBay.ca might work. This one contains beef and I’m guessing a good amount of it! Alright – let’s get down to giving this a try.

I did a podcast a few weeks ago and met a fellow ramen aficionado who was launching a premium ramen box out of Japan. Well, the first one has arrived! Then, the second! These are really amazing packs of super premium instant ramen – stuff I’ve never tried as well. You can pick them up at www.instantramen.jp and don’t forget to use coupon code THERAMENRATER at checkout! Take a look!

I’ve heard of crushed ginger, but smashed? I really like that – smash! Oh wait – my eyes deceive me. It’s actually mashed ginger. I immediately think of a big hot bowl of mashed potatoes. I wonder what it would be like – eating a bowl of piping hot mashed ginger with a little butter, salt, and pepper? That would be heavy duty. Anyways, here we have what looks to be a nice Taiwanese dry noodle. Let’s check it out!

Here’s another one kindly sent by Alexander from Hong Kong – dude thanks! So these are cool – I really like convenience store tie-in ramen. This one is a little bit of a mystery; usually they’ll be by Nissin or another brand and it’s easy to tell. This one, not so much. But that’s mainly for identification purposes. This is definitely 7-Eleven either way, whomever is private labeling it for them. Let’s give it a try!

I saw an article mentioning two new ‘super spicy’ noodle coup out of Japan. Well, I found one of them (actually I found both but this one was cheap on eBay while the other required buying six and that wasn’t happening). I keep seeing that this is a spicy Mongolian miso tanmen which sounded interesting.

This one was in a Ramen Trunk subscription box.These boxes are full of extremely high end varieties that you’ll never find in the United States or anywhere outside Japan! Check out this link and use coupon code RAMENRATER20OFF for 20% off any single box or subscription!

The second in the trifecta of Suimin Origins varieties I’ll be trying is Beef Massaman. If you’re unfamiliar with the flavor, here’s a little snippet from Wikipedia –

This one is from a box from Exotic Noods. Exotic Noods has subscription boxes you can get every month! Use coupon code BOOM for an added discount!

Here’s one sent by a reader who found it in the Philippines – thanks! Definitely looks different from the ones found in Taiwan. Export version! Let’s check it out!

Here’s one I found at the new T&T Supermarket in Lansdowne Center up in Richmond, BC. A Shin Black bowl! I knew they must exist; I mean, there’s generally a pack, cup and bowl for everything that comes out of South Korea. Well, here it is. What’s interesting is that this isn’t available in the United States, and up in Canada it’s not a product of the Nongshim China factory, which most bowls up there seem to be.

This one comes by way of a reader from Taiwan who visited t he Philippines and saw this and a spicy version there. This is most definitely an export version. First, lots of English text. Now, you’ll never see this in the United States as it does contain beef. Casn’t go wrong with braised beef – well, I guess you could if it’s bad, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case here. Let’s find out!

Here’s another one I received from a University student in Taiwan – thanks again! She’s working on her Master’s thesis and wanted info from me on a few products and what I thought of them – an honor! Let’s check out this braised beef variety!

Here’s one of the very last varieties I found in Taiwan during my last visit in November, 2017. Big thanks to Kyle K. for help translating this one! So braised meats from Taiwan are some of the most amazing flavors – anywhere. I’m telling you – find a Taiwanese restaurant and get some braised pork – it’ll blow your freaking mind. Alright – let’s crack this bowl open and get this going.

Here’s another one I received from a University student in Taiwan – thanks again! She’s working on her Master’s thesis and wanted info from me on a few products and what I thought of them – an honor! Let’s check out this variety with a Korean influence.

Here’s one of the six varieties sent by a Taiwanese university student. She asked if I could review a specific set of varieties as special research for her master’s thesis and I said absolutely. I’m not sure about this variety – insofar what Dynasty Beef is. I did some looking, but it seems that the word dynasty kind of takes precedent in search results and so that’s not very helpful. Anyways, let’s have a look at this fancy one from Taiwan.

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 a couple months ago I read an article mentioning this high end fancy instant ramen. Having never seen nor heard of it, I thought I’d better investigate. I mean, how can I be The Ramen Rater if I’m not going to hop on board for something like this? I got some eBay gift cards for Christmas and thought I’d seek this one out.

Colin from Massachusetts was kind enough to shoot this one my way! Thanks again! So Gomtang is a flavor I really like -it’s kind of like a creamy beef soup broth. What’s kind of funny is that I’ve only sampled Gomtang made by Paldo. I know there are other brands making it in South Korea, yet I’ve never found any here. Let’s look up[ Gomtang on Wikipedia:

Here’s one of a line I’ve been kind of on the fence about lately. I tried their tonkotsu and was a little disappointed and hopeful that this miso will be a different story. Shall we have a look?

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 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:

I’ve always heard good things about ginseng for vitality, etcetera. But vitality noodles? Hmm. I’ll admit I know little about ginseng, so here’s what wikipedia has on it:

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!
Here’s one that was donated by a reader from Sweden! Thanks! It’s funny; you really can’t find any Master Kong noodles here in the United States which is a real bummer. They’re really good – hopefully they’ll be here at some point. What’s tough about Master Kong packs is that they don’t seem to say how much water to add in. For a pack this size, I’ve gone with 500ml before, so I’ll go with 500ml again.

Today’s the next to last review of the Nissin Singapore Meet The Manufacturer. This is the 14th review! There have been an interesting array of different varieties that have been really quite good! Today, I’m trying the package version of their spicy beef flavor. I reviewed the bowl version pretty early on. Anyways, let’s have a look at this one!