Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
I’ve been asked a few times if I’m coming out with a new top ten Japanese list – well, here you go. This list is current as of review #5150 and there are a couple new varieties on here. Good stuff! Much of it will be pretty hard to come by though – try eBay and eBay Canada as those tend to work pretty well. Anyways, hope you enjoy The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Japanese Instant Noodle Of All Time 2026 Edition as much as I did compiling it!
Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These boxes are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – “Let’s see what they had to say about this one – “Let’s head north to Aomori prefecture for some yummy yakisoba! This yakisoba features the popular stamina salt tare from the local Aomori brand Stamina Tare. With plenty of deep umami flavor and a hint of garlic, this stir-fried noodle dish is perfect for a celebration!”
Big thanks to Pher Engi for this one! When she was at a noodle shop, she asked if I’d like to review it. It had zero english on it and so of course I was game. Turns out there’s english info on the bottom of the bowl. This one has two types of noodle – vermicelli, wheat noodle as well. Not only that, it’s got an egg! Stewed egg isn’t my favorite, but it’s quite interesting to see. Let’s give this neat one a try!
Tried this 12 years ago. Packaging has changed as well as what’s in there – let’s give it a whirl in the microwave!
Here’s one that The Fat Hipster sent – thanks! These are made for hiking/camping as they don’t make a huge amount of waste that takes up a lot of space afterwards, they’re light, and just need boiling water. Let’s check it out!
Here’s a new packaging variety from the ‘states. These contain instant rice as well as little bits of noodle – last one I tried was quite nice – let’s give it a go!
Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These boxes are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – “”Most of the fun this holiday season happens when the sun goes down. That’s why we got you a classic bowl of yakisoba inspired by nighttime shops and stalls! These noodles come with a tasty sauce and a slightly spicy mayo for tons of tasty yakisoba flavor and goodness!”
I’ve done a lot of reviews lately of things that arrived in a Nissin Germany advent calendar box. This particular variety arrived in a box from Nissin USA that contained every noodle product they make! Let’s cook this one up!
I think this is the very last of the German Cup Noodles – it has been a lot of fun reviewing them! They came in a big advent calendar the folks at Nissin Germany sent – thanks again! Let us begin.
Big thanks to Noodle Journey for this one! This is another cold noodle, this time from Japan. Let’s hit it up!
Another one that came from the big advent calendar Nissin Germany sent – thanks again! These cups and packs have been a lot of fun! Let’s cook!
Big thanks to Noodle Journey for sending this along! This is a cold noodle variety – the third from the Noodle Salad range by Nongshim – let’s give it a go.
I was contacted recently by a company making a new, ‘modern’ Korean style ramyun that touted a large serving, lower calories, and great flavor. Sounded good to me. Check it out and see what I though about it! You can get their stuff here!
I’m still pretty surprised at how much I liked the Tapatio Birria version – I figured I’d try this one, the last they sent (thank you very much!). I’ve got shrimp, so I’m hoping to do this up nice. Let’s give it a go!
Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These boxes are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – ” Let’s see what they had to say about this one – “Is there any better way to start the Year of the Snake than with Chinese food ramen? This cup from the famous shop Sisen is inspired by their famous Mapo Tofu! With tasty non-fried noodles in a Sichuan Mapo soup, this cup is packed with flavor and (pleasant) spice!”
Well, I’ve got shrimps and I have varieties that would like shrimps in them so today I’m using shrimps. So there – let’s cook!
This one came out of the gargantuan National Noodle Day box Nissin sent. I looked it up and I reviewed this once before – in 2013. Let’s revisit this one – done a lot differently as for my garnish than the first time.
Being the tenth anniversary of a Singaporean winning my Top Ten Global list, I figured a new list just for Singapore was in order in advance of SG60, the 60th anniversary of Singapore! Happy Birthday! . So many curry and laksa and seafood varieties coming from Singapore – really top notch stuff! This list is current as of review #5150. If you make instant noodles in Singapore, I want to hear from you and try your products! Please contact me. With that, let’s check out The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Singaporean Instant Noodles Of All Time 2026 Edition.
Here’s a newcomer to the Tapatio cup range – Birria. I’m ready – let’s try it out!
This one comes by way of James from Lakeside, California – thanks again! I think this might be the last of the Prince Katsu/Sanrio collab variants – could be wrong though. These are made in Vietnam for A-Sha. Let’s give it a try!
Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These boxes are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – “Let’s stay on the miso train with this yummy cup! This ramen combines delicious Japanese dashi (soup stock) from Kuze Fuku & Co. with delicious deep miso for a tasty soup full of flavor. And with meatballs, shiitake
mushroom and onion, this cup is sure to please!”
Thank you to Exotic Noods for sending this along! So, this is the North American version. Overseas, it’s a duck blood vermicelli. It’s kind of funny – on the front of the box it has a cartoon like image and then it says serving suggestion. I don’t think I’ll be able to find a duck winking with a thumbs up – I could possibly find a rubber duch… I think I’ll just cook it and appreciate the suggestion and decline.
Here’s another cup from the big advent calendar box! I was tepid on reviewing these as I did awhile back, but the chicken one I did the other day was excellent, so I’m wondering if they’ve redone these. I’m excited to try this one – so let us begin.
We were at HMart and saw these – couldn’t resist. Who could resist a nice plate of tteokbokki in between watching people get slaughtered while playing children’s games? I’m hopeful on this one; I really like tteokbokki. I should also mention – this is my 2,500th episode of Instant Noodle recipe Time – it’s down at the bottom. I forgot about that, so episode 2,501 will have a little more about that. Let’s give it a try.
A big Thank you to Aimee from the Ramen Junkies Facebook group! I’ve never had a Nissin Top Ramen corrections-style variety before and so this is the first and I’m STOKED. There’s really no correlating variety outside of prisons and jail like this flavor. Fascinating. Watch and check it out – and thanks again!
Every once in a while, I get a box from a guy named James from Lakeside, California and it’s always full of really neat stuff. He struck again and sent a box of all over the place – huge thanks to you, sir! Let’s look at everything – I’ll discuss them and have some images of varieties I’ve already reviewed since it arrived.
I was really surprised about this. I received an email from a fellow who had asked me some questions in the past and he told me he had an instant noodle supplement – vitamins, minerals – that kind of supplement. I was instantly fascinated and gave him my address. I have tried one – the immune support. I can report that it does not affect the flavor of instant noodle broth in any way that I could detect. Watch the video and if you like get some at www.ramen-aid.com.
I was recently contacted by Good Seoul – makers of some really great rice cake topokki and rapokki! Topokki (tteokbokki) is rice flour cylinders that have a soft and chewy texture. Alone, they’re really not tasty, but paired with sauce they’re quite addictive. Rapokki is when you have these and introduce wheat noodles as well, making for a dual-textured experience. You can find their facebook here. I’ve done a few reviews so there’s some images in the video – check it out!
Thanks again to Noodle Jourmey for sending this along! I’ve seen this around quite a bit and I’ve tried the tray version, but here’s the pack. I’ve curious and ready to give it a go, so let’s do it.
Big thanks to Noodle Journey for this one! My God – what a past few weeks. We’ve gone through some seasonal colds, holidays, ice, snow, snow days… I have been stuck at home, so I’ve been reviewing – a LOT! Just want to go outside and walk around but it’s been hell getting to be able to. Yesterday was a snow day and it melted a lot – this morning it got into the mid 20s – so all that melt has turned into ice. Bah. It’s not permanent – it’s not like, forever, though…
A-Sha Dry Noodle of Taiwan’s Prince Karsu range has a lot of Hello Kitty going on – snacks as well. This one’s made in Vietnam. Let’s cook it up and give it a try – I don’t believe it contains any Hello Kitty in the cup’s ingredients.
Here’s anothe from the Nissin Germany advent calendar! Let’s cook!
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Unsure if it contains meat check for yourself. To prepare, fill to line with boiling water and cover for 3 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!
When I get to review a Baixiang variety, I get a little excited. I’ve always liked these – and this one’s unique – mutton! Wish I had some for garnish… But that’s okay it should be good stuff. I actually emailed Baixiang last night in hopes of a collab, so that could be happening. For now, let’s give this a try!
Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! Inside, they have 8-10 different varieties from Japan! If you’d like to get one, don’t forget to use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount! Let’s see what they had to say about this one – “Next up is a bowl with a festive red color! This is a more mature spin on a classic shoyu ramen that comes from chef Masahiro Kasahara. The broth is infused with Japanese dashi (soup stock) and beef for tons of umami and chili pepper for tasty spice—a perfect combo!”
Thanks again to Noodle Journey for sending these! This Toowoomba version I reviewed recently from this range really reminded me of their Tangle versions here in the US as far as the noodle is concerned. Let’s give this a try!
Big thanks to Noodle Journey for sending this along! I did a bunch of Ramen Talk reviews previously, but this one’s very new to me. These are really quite good in general and we shall see how this one goes. Tomato meatball seems very much like spaghetti soup… Hmmm…
Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These boxes are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – “Next up is a great cup of ramen that’ll start your year off right! This cup features a delicious oxtail soup-style shio (salt) broth packed with the umami of Sendai beef, a tasty onion flavor and delicious pepper accent. Add tasty springy noodles and you have a yummy ramen cup!”
Found this at HMart – it was this or a jjajangmyeon and I went straight to this one. I don’t know anything about the gentleman on the front – his name is Paik Jong Won. Here’s a little about him from Wikipedia –
Big thanks to James from Lakeside, California for sending this one! He also included a tin of something called krill meat he recommended for seafood varieties, so gonna give that a try. Let’s cook!
Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These boxes are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – “We’re closing out our selection with a more traditional December choice, perfect for ringing in the New Year! This tasty mini-bowl combines tsuyu (a shoyu-based sauce) with delectable dashi for a tasty broth with yummy soba noodles and tasty tempura on top!”
