Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
You know, I was surprised. Thought I’d reviewed the 2x Spicy cup before – but apparently, I hadn’t! Lucky me! I’m curious if this will burn my face off. While I thoroughly enjoyed my recent review of the Curry Buldak, it was less spicy than I’d expected. How will this one fare? I’m guessing it’ll light my mouth on fire! Let’s find out!
Well, it appears it’s time for something from Japan. Hopefully I’ll be doing more Japanese stuff again soon, but currently this is the only variety I have. This is another one I got at the Bellevue S*Mart – and it has a story. It was on the shelf, however it hadn’t been entered into the system as of yet. The lady called the manager to come down and had us wait. We were about to leave (two young children aren’t too interested in standing at a check stand for long before troublemaking ensues). Well, he came down, then went back up to enter it into the system. So we got it. It’s a really interesting store – they’re got a lot of stuff I haven’t seen anywhere else. Well, it’s probably a good one to wait for – Marutai straight noodle ramen products tend to be some of the best around. Let’s check it out!
Yep! I know! Not ramen! But it was with the ramen, it’s from Hong Kong, and it’s something interesting. I’ve reviewed a few macaroni varieties in the past. Let’s give this one a try.
I got an email from Michelle over at Homiah.com recently. She mentioned she started a company out of her apartment in New York – one to expose people here to the flavors and nuance of Southeast Asian cuisine. Well, she sent me a box of her products and it’s really amazing stuff – all 5 stars, all top notch. Check out what she sent as well as images of what I created which will appear in upcoming posts!
This looks to be yet another one from Ya Shua – didn’t realize.. Biang Biang is a favorite of mine – a belt-like noodle with a nice sauce. Let’s give it a try.
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Here’s another interesting one, this time from South Korea. Really no clue what the ‘black’ entails, although there’s another one of these bowls that says ‘red’ on it. Let”s give it a try.
Another one from S-Mart (shop smart, shop S-Mart). They had quite a few of these and we bought all of the varieties they had. Let’s check it out – by the was I went to Huaxi Night Market in Taipei. Just sayin’.
Here’s another neat and never before seen Shin variety that was sent by The Fat Hipster – Shin Bokkeummyeon. Basically, it’s a dry version of Shin – also looks to be spicy from the packaging. I hope it’s good – let’s find out!
Yes, I can hear it again ‘wot?! You’ve not had this before?’ Well, yeah but it was back on December 11th of 2011. Pretty crazy, eh? It was review #600. Back then the packaging was different. Let’s give it a try over a decade later – now with a new recipe and new clothes.
I was contacted recently by a woman named Michelle over at www.homiah.com – a website specializing in the flavors of Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. She asked if I’d like to try some of their products and of course I’m all in on that. So this is the second of three reviews I’ll be doing – stay tuned for the last one. The products are gluten free and as I’m writing this after trying this red curry, so far so very good. Let’s cook some laksa!
Another super recent find from S-Mart. This one sounded like it would be good. This is definitely for export, but for multiple countries so it’lll get the South Korea label instead of for a specific country being exported to. Let’s try some kimchi noodle soup!
I’ve seen these a few times and luckily, found them a bit cheaper the other day. This is a stir noodle – no broth. Sounds interesting and a lot of sachets to be sure. Let’s check it out!
Okay yeah I know. ‘What? You’ve never had this? The hell kind of Ramen Rater are you?’ Fine. That’s a logical thing. Well, let’s see – that was over 4000 reviews before. This isn’t a re-review, this is a completely new review. Suppliers and sourcing changes throughout the years, and tastes change. here is the original review. #104! This is review @4300. God, that’s insane. Only 700 reviews until I hit 5000. What am I going to review for 5000? It better be absolutely fascinating. Well, let’s do this up.
This is one found during a Saturday hunt for more varieties for review. Found it at a store called S-Mart in Bellevue, Washington (yeah like in Army Of Darkness!). This is one by the same company that actually sent me a pallet – 400lbs of samples!!! Let’s check it out and give it a try!
Found this during a special trek to find some varieties of instant noodles to review in Redmond, Washington at Asian Family Market. This is nothing like anything I’ve ever found – hopefully I can find enough info to do it justice. Let’s figure it out!
Well this sounds nice – found it while hunting for more stuff to review. As of this moment, this is it; I have nothing left to review! Hoping tomorrow to hit Bellevue – we shall see… There should be some good stuff over there I think. Meanwhile, let’s give this one a try.
If you’ve been following my reviews lately, you might wonder why this isn’t marked as for the USA – but the thing is if you look, it’s in English as well as French. This definitely means this is for the US and Canada – so, since I can’t pin it down for one or the other, this one gets the country of origin’s stamp on the review.
I’ve tried a few of the soup varieties that Annie Chun’s makes, so I thought perhaps I’ll give the ones that are more saucy a shot. Previously, the soupy ones didn’t fare too well. Maybe these are better?
It’s probably a surprise to you, but I haven’t done a regular review in about a month. Why? Well, for almost two months I was doing 3 reviews a day, almost every day. So, I got way ahead of myself and decided to take a break. I also ran out of noodles and thought maybe I’d let my noodle supply grow a little bit, which it has. This is a variety that came in the last month. I did an interview for a fancy food publication called Magazine F from South Korea – they did a ramen themed issue. They hired a local photographer to do a photo shoot and I made some of this for it. It’s Friday right now – June 23rd. I’m guessing it’ll be late autumn when it comes out. Let’s check it out!
Here’s the last of the three A-Kuan varieties. A while back they were called ‘Big Boss’ and had this guy on the packaging. This fellow looks to be pretty jovial – let’s give it a try.
I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure I have only reviewed the non-rice vermicelli pack version of this – with a wheat noodle. This is some of my favorite soup these folks make. They never fail to surprise – first twas the White Curry, then the Hokkien Mee, and then the Red Tom Yum Goong – and then this one. I should mention the mi goreng that has a spicy prawn bite to it as well. These folks are a real powerhouse when it comes to my tastebuds. Let’s give this pack version of their White Fish Broth rice vermicelli!
This is the third of atrio of varieties I found at 99 Ranch Market by Wu-Mu. This one sounds particularly interesting – let give it a try.
Here’s the second of two Sempio varieties I found recently. This one’s anchovy flavor. Sounds simple enough. Their noodles are unique, that’s for sure. Let’s give this a try!
I tried this way back – looks like I reviewed it on Christmas Day of 2014! They’ve changed packaging a bit since then; they used to feature a little info about Malaysia and Penang in particular – but that’s fallen by the wayside it seems. This pack is very interesting as it comes with a ‘free face mask holder’ which I find thoroughly fascinating. I’m guessing in the almost seven years between tastings, this has changed a bit. When companies make things on a large sale, they rely on ingredients from different sources. Those sources may not be able to supply the ingredients they once did, so a new ingredient may be used instead. Also, companies (especially Malaysian ones) like to update their recipes often. Let’s give this one a try – and check out that mask holder!
Here’s another one of these varieties with a cartoon looking boss on the cup. I found this at 99 Ranch Market and while I’ve found quite of this style cup there that I’ve enjoyed, the last one I tried wasn’t my favorite. Let’s give this one a try!
It’s been a rough go for brands from the US I’ve not reviewed a ton of before. It really surprises me how many zero star scores I’ve given lately. I have a feeling (and hope) this one’s different. See where it says CJ Foods next to the Annie Chun’s logo? That’s a Korean company. If they’re making this line, I would think that they could make a great spicy Korean ramen. Then again I see corn is an ingredient which is very odd. Ah well – come on let’s give it a go!
It’s been a long time since I reviewed a Buldak variety, that’s for sure! I have tried the curry before, but it’s been a very, very long time. The packaging is new, and I’m guessing the recipe is slightly different as well. Below you can see everything about this including my review, a video of cooking it, and then of course, a mukbang. This is the version for export to the United States. Let’s give it a go – hope I can handle it!
The last one of these I tried was really quite good. It had a ton of noodles, and an excellent chicken flavor which was perfect for Western palates. I’m curious how the spicy element will go with this one. Shall we find out? I should add that if you look in the ingredients, it mentions habanero!
Well, hmm. This is the third variety of these I’ll be trying and the first two did very poorly. They both got zero stars. It really bums me out because these folks make some amazing rice products, but I have to say the translation into ramen makes my palate wretch. Hopefully, this one will be better! Third time’s the charm? We shall see.
This is pretty cool – it only arrived a day or so ago and it’s only around for a short time I believe, so I’m rushing it out. I definitely like carbonara. Truffles are interesting from what I’ve experienced of them. I used to visit a restaurant every once in a while called Perche No in Seattle – an Italian restaurant whose head chef was Malaysian! Anyways, he made all sorts of fascinating fusions. Was at a special dinner there once and he brought out a big container of truffles and let us check them out. Truffles are hard to describe; kind of like the finest old book smell but edible. It’s really different and compelling. Well, this yakisoba has aromatics of truffle which is very interesting to me. Big thank you goes out to Nissin Singapore for contacting me about these and sending some! Let’s get to it.
October 6th is National Noodle Day! I knew it existed, but every year I find out when it’s too late to do a special post or something to commemorate the day. This year, Nissin Foods USA overnighted me a box especially for National Noodle Day – and it arrived the day before! So, I’ve spent the day before National Noodle Day shooting video, doing special research, and sitting in the bathroom. Well, it’s been fun, and now it’s time to show you what you may have or have not heard about – the Nissin Cup Noodles Soup Soaker. It’s a bath bomb which came in this special box in a noodle cup. What’s more is it’s kind of chickenny. Yeah. A chicken broth bath bomb. Watch it fizz!!!
Here’s something from a company that doesn’t put out new varieties here in the United states very ofte, but when they do – they’re usually quite good. This is a spicy yakisoba and I’m very curious – let’s have a look!
Check this out! These subscription boxes come straight to your door and have some neat stuff inside! Check out www.japancrate.com and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER to score a sweet discount and get some neat noodles! Here’s the latest unboxing of the October 2022 Umai Crate!
First there was Shin Ramyun, then Shin Black. Now there’s Green and Gold – thanks to James from Lakeside, California – thanks again! He’s been a serial donor of noodles I’ve not tried yet! Very cool – check ’em out!
Big thanks to a reader named Cian for sending some amazing instant noodles from Brazil! I’ve always truly enjoyed Brazilian variants and this mix of varieties is truly fascinating as it contains two dessert varieties! Check it out!
A number of years ago, I thought I’d see what would happen if I cooked up some noodles and ran a camera as I did it. It’s kind of funny – a lot of the large projects in my life have started with ‘let’s see what happens.’ I had thought for years the idea of shooting video while I cooked noodles for reviews was a purely idiotic idea; I would have to edit every video, which would take so much more time than the way I did things. Well, I found a way around that.
Firstly, thanks to Prima Taste for sending some samples! I thought this would be a nice duet of pizza pies to try. I know – ‘why do you do these things?’ Because I have to in order to feed my curiosity to see what different combinations and different vehicles will deliver when it comes to foods. Today it’s singaporean pizzas! Let’s do it!
Check this out! These subscription boxes come straight to your door and have some neat stuff inside! Check out www.japancrate.com and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER to score a sweet discount and get some neat noodles! Here’s the latest unboxing of the September 2022 Umai Crate!
You knew it was bound to happen, and now it has. I spent so much time making different things with Nissin Cup Noodles Pumpkin Spice Flavor – but I never made a pizza. Weird? Of course! Insane? Naw, not really. Since I always like to do a duo of pizzas, I also made one with Nissin Fire Wok Sizzlin’ Rich Pork – that’s my favorite of that range. Well, prepare yourselves – some fascinating waters are ahead. Sometime I’ll use lecithin or egg as an emulsifier and grind up noodles to make dough for pizza – that will be interesting. But not I think today. Here we go.
Yep – I’m at it again. Who hates pizza? Maybe if you only ate crummy pizza every day for months, sure – that guy would. But I don’t make crummy pizzas, I make interesting ones that are really quite nice to behold and chew on. Today’s pair are no different. I’m using the noodles and sauce as a base for two ‘south of the border’ inspired new varieties from Samyang Foods. Thanks go to Samyang Foods for sending samples as well as MH from the Ramen Junkies group for sending some too! Let’s check out what happens when new Buldak meets pizza!
