Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Here’s one sent by Colin from Massachusetts – thanks again! You might be thinking ‘man, this guy reviews a LOT of these Hong Kong CUP Noodles!’ Well, yeah I was sent 57 different varieties form Nissin Hong Kong last year so yeah – lots of them! But this one is actually from Nissin China. The packaging is similar, but different. Here’s a snippet from Wikipedia about Nissin’s footprint:
One of the first things I learned about Mama Pat’s foods was when I saw a video of Chef Ron making gumbo at a store demo. He used big bags of shrimp, tons of crab and other really great ingredients. He didn’t hold back and definitely went for the gusto. I’m a fan of seafood but haven’t had a lot of seafood from the USA as of late since it’s usually found slathered in white sauces or copious amounts of butter. I definitely got spoiled in Malaysia and Thailand trying all that seafood from there – amazing stuff! Gumbo however is something different. It’s full of seafood and has a nice strong taste – something I really like. I have high hopes for this one; it sounds good, but will it be? Let’s give this seafood gumbo a look!
This was sent to me by Ippin, a purveyor of wonderful Japanese items! Thank you again! This is one from Singapore. Tom yum is a very popular flavor in Southeast Asia – here’s a little about tom yum from wikipedia:
One of the waning few left from the Nissin Foods Hong Kong Meet The Manufacturer – thanks again! Indeed, Nissin Hong Kong was more than generous in sending over 50 different varieties! Nothing better than a great big injection of noodle varieties into my noodle hampers. At one point, I had to have them staying in their original box since they wouldn’t fit into the containers I have under my desk. Today, we have a seafood Demae Iccho cup. Looks pretty good from the picture of the front -. Let’s have a look at this one.
Here’s another left over from the Nissin Hong Kong Meet The Manufacturer. Here’s a little about XO sauce from Wikpedia –
Check this one out – HABANERO! This is another one that comes with a sachet of hot sauce! Awesome! Mariscos means seafood – something I’ve always dreamed of doing is visiting the coastal areas of Mexico and trying the seafood dishes there! Let’s give this one a try!
Another one from the Nissin Hong Kong Meet The Manufacturer. This one is really popular overseas – I think I saw it on some list as a favorite. Here’s a little from wikipedia on the might Cup Noodles:
Yet another leftover from the Nissin Hong Kong Meet The Manufacturer! What’s XO Saucve? Here’s a little info from wikipedia –
Here’s another one sent by Colin from the east coast – thanks again! In a review yesterday, I mentioned that I review a couple of varieties daily and that I’m around 60 reviews ahead. Well, today is November 9th, 2016 – the day after the Presidential election. The results of the election are definitely a shock to most people in my community. I live in Washington State – very liberal. In fact during the primary elections, I believe Bernie Sanders got 80+%. I’m hoping that everything calms down and things end up going okay. Rest assured I’ll be reviewing noodles during the Trump administration as well. This is a type of Cup Noodle I’ve not seen in the past – this one is made in China. Let’s check it out!
I’ve liked jjamppong for a while now. For those of you not familiar with it, it’s kind of like a spicy Korean seafood hnoodle soup. Let’s check it out!
Another variety from Nissin Hong Kong, leftover from an earlier Meet The Manufacturer. This is interesting – it’s not just spicy or spicy hot, this one’s red hot! Let’s see if it’s red – and hot! time cook cook!
Here’s yet another leftover from the Nissin HK Meet The Manufacturer! This is a really large bowl and sounds pretty good! If you’re unsure about what Xo sauce is, here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia:
Here’s the last of the varieties that Prima Taste sent a while back – thanks! You might be wondering – why would they send a product they don’t make? Well, I asked for anyone who could help to send me noodles – I was down to three or four varieties in my hamper – a bad situation! Well, lots of people sent noodles – even Prima Taste! So let’s check out this one from Hong Kong with a Singaporean taste!
I know, I know… ‘You haven’t reviewed THIS one yet?!’ This was sent to me by a reader named Colin (thanks again!) and he got it at a specialty shop in Mexico. This is a really common Japanese Cup Noodle but I’ve never been able to get a hoold of it – until now. Let’s give it a look!
One of the many varieties sent by Nissin HK for Meet The Manufacturer. This sounds good to try today; it’s been really warm around the area lately (northwest USA) and it’s cooled off a little and so something spicy should bring the temp back up a little. I should mentioned that I have now gotten new bowls that I’ll start using today for the seasonings/oil/vegetables. They’re sake and soju cups! Let’s take a look!
Here’s a new Jjamppong from Paldo of South Korea sent by Yongmin Park of Paldo. Thank you very much! I really like jjamppong so let’s check it out!
Here’s another one from the Meet The Manufacturer I did with Nissin Hong Kong. So vongole is a kind of clam and pasta dish very popular in southeast Asia. Let’s check it out!
Here’s another one that was sent to me by a reader named Colin from the east coast – thanks again! Still amazes me how many varieties of instant noodles are available in the United States I’ve not sampled yet. Let’s dig in to some seafoodiness today!
So this is definitely a first – I don’t think I’ve ever heard of laksa from Taiwan! It sounds good – I mean hey, I make laksa here in the United States quite often but I’m sure my neighbors haven’t a clue what they’re smelling ‘must be some off kind of Hamburger Helper’ probably going through their minds. But laksa is a seriously tasty thing and I’m keen on seeing what Tseng has come up with for us. Let’s have a look!
Today started well, then got a little crazy then got better – I started at 5am with reviewing some noodles. Then the power went out around 7am for over two hours! A bit later, the mailman knocked on the door with a big package of Taiwanese noodles! Tseng was in The Ramen Rater’s top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2016 list this year – and they have some new products! Let check them out!
A big rice noodle bowl from South Korea graces my desk today. I must say, this is the only one I’ve ever seen mentioning ‘clean room’ on the label. Unsure if this is in reference to where it’s produced or has to do with ‘clean eating.’ Either way, let crack it open and look within.
Today, we bid farewell to this Meet The Manufacturer series. This is a special one made for 7-Eleven in Thailand! Let’s have a close look as wel say goodbye to Nissin Thailand – for now.
So far, I’ve tried Oni Hot Pot’s Ghost Pepper, XO Sauce and Seaweed and Pepper varieties. This one is a bit of a departure though – I think the only tun aflavored instant noodles I’ve had in the past were the Skipjack Tuna varieties from Indonesia. Well, let’s check this one out!
There’s been a lot of hub bub coming out of South Korea lately – all the big companies have brand new Jjajang and Jjamppong varieties it seems. They’re all going a little more premium than their old offerings. This is awesome for me, well – as long as I can get my hands on them. I finally was able to score this one at the local South Korean grocery. Let’s crack it open and see what we’ve got here.
As we meander our way towards the end of this Meet The Manufacturer, we find this little gem. I’m pretty sure it’s smaller sibling was on the Top Ten Cups list a while back. This looks awesome – let’s check out this huge cup!
Interview With Nissin Hong Kong * Product Samples From Nissin Hong Kong * Special Items From Nissin Hong Kong * More Special Items From Nissin Hong Kong * Nissin Demae Iccho Black Garlic Oil Tonkotsu Flavour * Nissin Cup Noodles Big Spicy Seafood Flavour * Nissin Demae Iccho Curry Beef Flavour Instant Noodle * Nissin Nupasta Carbonara Flavour Instant Noodle * Fuku Non-Fried Superior Soup Noodle * Nissin Cup Mifun Spicy Beef Flavour * Nissin Cup Noodles Pork Chowder Flavour * Nissin Taisho Fried Noodle Sesame Paste Flavour Instant Noodle * Nissin Demae Ramen Straight Noodle Kyushu Tonkotsu Flavour Instant Noodle * Fuku Superior Soup Instant Rice Vermicelli * Nissin Demae Ramen Sesame Oil Flavour Instant Noodle * Nissin Mie Goreng Indonesia Stir Noodle Original Flavour * Nissin Demae Iccho Beef Flavour Instant Noodle * Nissin Cup Noodles Big Seafood Curry Flavour * Nissin Nupasta Salmon In White Sauce Flavor Instant Noodle
Here’s another one sent by Colin, a reader from back east – thank you! He went to Mexico recently and sent me a ton of varieties that he found there. You’d think with Mexico being next door I’d be able to find more varieties, but actually it’s been really hard. This one’s made in South Korea for the Mexican market. Instant noodle are hugely popular in Mexico, and with spicy flavors coming out of South Korea, it’s a pretty good fit. Let’s have a look!
Here’s one I picked up at 99 Ranch Market a couple months ago. I have a couple brands that I have as ‘reserves’ – if I run low on instant noodles, I know certain stores have always had certain varieties and I can get them at any time. This is one of them. At that point I was running low (although now I’m not). Let’s crack this tray open and give it a try!
The last of the Ibumie Always Mi Goreng varietals I found at 99 Ranch recently – or I should say my lovely wife say them. Udang means prawn and sambal is wondroud spicy stuff of dreamsLet’s check it out!
South Korea has the highest per person consumption of instant noodles in the world. It’s not a surprise that their instant noodle are quite good – usually the noodles (known as ramyun) are thicker and accompanied by a spicy broth. These are my very favorite varieties of South Korean instant noodles – hope you enjoy!
Another one from MAMA when I went to Thailand. They sent me a slew of different kinds made in their factories all over the world! This one’s from Myanmar. I haven’t seen the word ‘sichek’ before – and I can’t find anywhere that will translate it. I’m just going to infer that it might mean soup, but now that I look at the cooking method, this one is drained so perhaps it’s a term for a dry noodle? No clue honestly, but let’s give it a look!
Here’s a seafood cup that screams seafood. I’ve mentioned before that certain colors seem to be universal when it comes to instant noodles – red for spicy or beef, green for pork (not sure why) and yellow for chicken. Well, blue is for seafood and this cup’s text is certainly blue enough. This is a Samyang Foods product for the Japanese market. Anyways, let’s crack it open and see what makes it tick.
Picked this one up this year at the PriceSmart foods in Richmond, BC in Canada during my birthday trip! This is definitely an export version. How do you know? Well, look at the myriad of languages here – French, German, Arabic and English are all here on the front. A lot of companies make export versions and sometimes they’ll make a spicy version which for their local market is spicier than for the export market. There’s so much that goes into figuring out how to tune flavors and such for different places. Let’s check out these Mamee Prawn Flavour instant noodles!
I’ve been whiling my time looking up and down aisles of instant noodles for a very long time. When I find out about a new Asian market nearby, I am exceedingly enthused about perusing their noodle varieties. But sometimes I’ll find something a little different. This is a rice porridge. It’s not a wheat noodle, rice noodle or thread. I like to review these every once in a while because I’m sure many of you have seen them and not known exactly what they’re all about. Let’s have a look at this MAMA JokCup and see what’s inside!
Here’s another one sent by a kind reader in Sweden! Thank you! Master Kong is really popular in China and what surprises me is that there are no places that I’ve seen that you can get their products here in the United States. Luckily, people send them to me from time to time, but it seems to me that I really need to figure out a way to contact them and do a Meet The Manufacturer with them. The Chinese consume billions of packages of instant noodles a year and I’ve never done a Chinese Meet The Manufacturer yet! It’s about time. Well, let’s check out these seafood flavor Master Kong instant noodles!
Lucky Me! is a line by Filipino brand Monde Nissin. I thought today sounded like a good seafood day! Let’s see what we have here!
Tomorrow morning is the big moving day for us – can’t believe it’s here already! I thought I’d have something I know I like today – tom yum. This one’s made by Thai President Foods, a company who’s invited me and my sister to visit Thailand in May! I must say that it’s really quite a surprise to open your email and be asked if you want to go to Thailand to visit instant noodle factories! Of course I said yes! It’s going to be tough though – my wife Kit is pregnant and so it’d be a little much for her to take the trip – I’m going to miss her immensely. Won’t be for too long though! So we’re going to visit their wheat noodles factory in Bankok and then the President Rice Products factory in Ratchaburi. Of course I will take lots of pictyures and share when we return. It’s still a couple months off though, but can’t wait! So today in anticipation of the trip, I thought I’d have some MAMA tom yum. Last time I had this was over four years ago! Let’s have a look!
Here’s one of the ones sent by Marvin R. of Ft. Worth, TX – thanks again! It’s kind of interesting – these packs looks so similar to another brand. Curious how it’ll be… Let’s check it out!
Far and few between are the Master Kong varieties I find locally. This is one of them I got a couple months ago – a real surprise. I don’t know why so many of them aren’t available in the United States; I’m guessing possibly that many of their products contain chicken or beef, and import of chicken or beef into the United States from Asia is very hard if not impossible. Luckily, fish products are generally accepted for import quite easily and here we are. Let’s check out this Master Kong Seafood instant noodle!
I thought to myself recently that it would be great to end 2014 and start 2015 with a new top ten list – but from where? A couple places came to mind, and Hong Kong sounded like a good one. I’ve found a lot of excellent instant noodles that have been from Hong Kong. Been hoping to see more arrive here in the United States, but many of the ones on this list I’ve found up in Canada. I would definitely like to reach out to instant noodle companies in Hong Kong to take part in Meet The Manufacturer; there’s not been a Hong Kong participant yet! With that, here’s the top ten instant noodles of Hong Kong – the best and most memorable – from the last 1,553 reviews. Enjoy and Happy New Year, Hong Kong!
