Almost 3000 reviews ago I gave this one a try. It looks as though I really liked it. It’s been such a long time it’s getting a new number- mainly because I’m going to guess that sourcing has changed at least soewhat and also the cup is different; it used to be a foam bowl.
It should be noted as well that the little cook branding is in Taiwan as well, but this is from Ratchaburi, Thailand. Ratchaburi gets hot and humid and is really beautiful. If you get the chance to visit, check out Dheva Mantra over there – very nice place to stay.
Little Cook Spicy Beef Flavor – Thailand
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. Tried removing stickers but they’re very well stuck. To prepare, add dry sachet and fill to line with boiling water. Cover for 3~4 minutes (I’m going for 4), and put retort pouch on top so it gets some heat. Finally, as pouch contents, stir, and enjoy!
Detail of the lid (click to enlarge). I first reviewed this one in 2011 and lo and behold, it’s still new!
The noodle block.
A dry sachet (watch Instant Noodle Recipe Time below to watch me utilize sachets).
A rarity – a retort pouch which is available in a product sold in the United States.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added nothing. The noodles in here are very good – thick and a nice chew to them. The broth has a very strong braised beef kick to it and just a superb amount of spiciness to complement bit not overwhelm. Broth also has a good thickness/oiliness to it. Where it kind of gets strange is the TVP. It doesn’t really compliment all that much, and I suspect that there is a version available that does indeed contain real beef which would be exceptional. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 684431001111.
Here’s one we found up in Richmond, BC at China World. That was a tough store. Mainly it was because we went there and got a ton of noodles and then find out they only accept cash. That sucked. So we ended up coming back! Let’s look at this one!
Lau Liu Tou Hand-Made Noodles Spicy Beef Flavor – China
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add sachet contents and 600ml boiling water. Cover for 6 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!
Finished (click to enlarge). Added beef for hot pot, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, spring onion and fried garlic. The noodles are broad and flat and rather floppy. They don’t have a strong chew, but a soft one – and they’re pretty good! The spicy beef broth has a good level of oiliness and a nice peppery flavor. It’s not too spicy but has a nice beef and hint of Sichuan pepper. I will say it does however have a definite MSG hit that’s very noticeable and the included TVP in the garnish is a little wearisome. All in all, a nice bowl of noodles. 3.75 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 6924524200156.
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!
Vedan Wei Wei Premium Noodle With Spicy Beef – Taiwan
Detail of the lid (click to enlarge). Contains beef. To prepare, add in all sachets and boiling water to line. Cover for 3 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!
The noodle block.
A dry sachet.
A light powder.
A sauce sachet.
Cold in here this morning – cold temps tend to make pastes and sauces thicken up a bit.
A large retort pouch.
Thick stuff!
Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts and scallions. Noodle was pretty good – better backbone than expected. Broth has a nice braised beef taste with a little bit of heat – but nothing I would put at a high heat level. Included beef was of good quality and worked well. 4.5 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4710111904222.
Here’s the last of the Vedan Double Bang varieties I brought home from my trip to Taipei last November. This one’s spicy beef. Let’s do this.
Vedan Double Bang Spicy Beef Noodle Soup – Taiwan
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Unsure whether it contains meat. To prepare, add sachet contents and 700ml boiling water and cover for 3 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!
Finished (click to enlarge). Added Chinese sausage and spring onion. The noodles were of a huge quantity however a little on the soft side this time around. The broth was very light unlike others inthe series which were a little stronger. 3.5 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4710110230049.
It’s time for another top ten list and this time it’s The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2018 Edition! The first list debuted in 2013 – I can’t believe this is the sixth list! As always – if you are a company who would like me to review your products, please contact me via the contact link – I want to talk to you! These are my favorite instant noodle bowl selections from my over 2800 reviews to date. Let’s get started!
The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2018 Edition
Video
Here’s this year’s video presentation of The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2018 Edition.
The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2018 Edition
#10 – Paldo Bul Jjamppong – South Korea
This variety boasts a thick and chewy ramyun – a wider and flatter noodle that’s become popular in the last few years. Pairing that with a spicy soup with strong notes of grilled seafood taste – almost smoky – and vegetables/seafood and you’ve got an excellent bowl. Original review
#9 – Maruchan Bowl Taste Of Asia Tom Yum Ramen Noodle Soup – United States
To be honest, I’m about as surprised by this one as you might be! But make no mistake – this US domestic variety is truly amazing. The tom yum flavor is just superb along with a huge quantity of noodles. You’ll fill up and be extremely happy as you do so. Original review
#8 – Maruchan Gotsumori Shio Wonton Ramen – Japan
The second Maruchan variety on the list and this one comes from Japan. A light and tasty shio broth is paired with a large quantity of noodles in this bowl. The inclusion of wonton – which are very good I might add – rounds everything out and becomes a delicious feast. Original review
#7 – Seven & I (Nissin) Gold Sumire Ramen – Japan
The noodles are thick and chewy – very premium. The broth has a very rich miso flavor that had a little thickness and a nice oiliness. The vegetables and bits hydrated perfectly – nice bits of ground meat and menma float happily about and are of good quality. Original review
#6 – Uni-President Man Han Feast Braised Pork Flavor Instant Noodles Bowl – Taiwan
First, the noodles have a little bit thicker a gauge than most instant varieties. Indeed they are premium although a slight bit softer than one might expect. The broth is a sea of rich pork flavor – different than many. As a matter of fact, this really REALLY has a nice pork flavor; most pork varieties don’t have a great pork taste as the pork taste they do have get overshadowed by saltiness. The vegetables hydrated well and the pork was very good. Original review
#5 – Uni-President Man Han Feast Super Hot Pot Beef Flavor Instant Noodles – Taiwan
So the noodles are broad and flat with a light chew and an excellent quantity. The broth is a tour de force of beef taste. It has a good thickness/oiliness to it as well as a good flavor. Indeed as expected, there’s a decent punch of spiciness. Indeed, the chunks of beef are of good size and quality. Moreover, the liquid with the beef in the retort pouch add depth to the broth. Finally, little rings of chilli pepper are here and there, joining the party. Original review
TTL stands for Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor and indeed there’s a sachet of rice wine in here! Add to that a big retort pouch full of decent sized chunks of chicken, good noodles and garnish, This is definitely a bowl to seek out and try. Original review
#3 – Little Cook Braised Beef Noodles With Tendon & Meat – Taiwan
Okay so first off, this is a heavy bowl. There’s a huge retort pouch in here full of beef and beef tendon. The noodles are wide and have a great chew and the broth has a nice flavor. But the start of the show is that braised beef and tendon – it’s perfect and there’s just so much of it. Very impressive! Original review
#2 – Nissin Gyoretsu-no-Dekiru-Mise-no-Ramen (Shrimp Tantanmen) – Japan
Talk about amazing. Now, on most of these bowls, you’ll notice I’ve added my own garnishes. I don’t count them in my reviewing – everything is reviewed prior to any additions I make. This is one where I’ve added nothing and just look at it! This one had very good noodles to start off. The broth was a very thick prawn infused decadent flavor spectacle. Then there’s the little crunchy topping and the other garnish they provide and this is just amazing stuff. Wow. Floored. Original review
#1 – Little Cook Thailand Green Curry Instant Noodle – Taiwan
Wow – I’m so freaking impressed with this one. First, there are two bowls. Peel back the lid of the first bowl and add boiling water. After a short time, you poke holes in the lid and drain the liquid into the second. A sachet of soup base is added and you have a soup with lots of corn and herbs. Next, a huge sachet with chicken and vegetables boasts a great spicy green curry flavor which mixes with the noodle. A really amazing product which is unique and delicious. This is Little Cook Thailand Green Curry Instant Noodle’s second year in the number one spot in a row – congratulations! Original review
Here’s one I got at 7-Eleven in Taipei, Taiwan in November of last year. I’ve been wanting to review these bowls for a very long time, but never have been able to get any through – nobody’s ever tried though. So what is this ‘Man-Han Feast’ anyways? Here’s some info from Wikipedia –
Manhan Quanxi, literally Manchu Han Imperial Feast was one of the grandest meals ever documented in Chinese cuisine. It consisted of at least 108 unique dishes from the Manchu and Han Chinese culture during the Qing dynasty, and it is only reserved and intended for the Emperors. The meal was held for three whole days, across six banquets. The culinary skills consisted of cooking methods from all over Imperial China.[1]
It is said that there were “Thirty-Two Delicacies”, referring to the more exotic ingredients used for the banquet. The “Eight Mountain Delicacies” includes such dishes as camel’s hump, bear’s paws, monkey’s brains, ape’s lips, leopard fetuses, rhinoceros tails and deer tendons. The “Eight Land Delicacies” includes several precious fowls and mushrooms, and the “Eight Sea Delicacies” includes dried sea cucumbers, shark’s fin, bird’s nest and others.
Some of the individual names of the dishes within:
To prepare, add in everything but the retort pouch. Add boiling water to fill line and cover for 5 minutes with large retort pouch on top. Add contents of retort pouch. Stir and enjoy!
Finished (click to enlarge). Added spring onion and Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts. The noodles have a nice gauge and chew. A little nicer than your average instant – slightly more chewiness and a broader shape. The broth has a nice spicy beef taste to it which is very good. The included beef and sauce is of excellent quality and very tasty. The included vegetables really added a nice touch. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4710088832078.
Here is where we part ways with Nissin Germany – this is the fifteenth review of Meet The Manufacturer. It’s been a lot of fun trying these European takes on instant noodles! Let’s give this final variety – spicy beef – a try.
Nissin Demae Ramen Spicy Beef Flavour – Germany
Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Contains beef. To prepare, add noodle block to 500ml boiling water and cook 3 minutes. Add in sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!
The noodle block.
A dry base sachet.
The powder base.
A liquid sachet.
A liquid with paste.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added beef, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts and fried onion. The noodles came out great just like the other Demae Ramen varieties. The broth has a nice beef taste with a spiciness. Reminds me of Chinese beef varieties. 3.75 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 5997523335137.
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
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!
The noodle block.
The soup base sachet.
A liquid base.
The vegetables sachet.
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.
Here’s another one from a reader named Colin from the east coast – thanks again! It amazes me how many varieties he can find from the other side of the USA that I can’t get here. Fascinating; you’d think you could get most things anywhere but apparently companies distribute different things in different places. Anyways, this sounds good – spicy beef! Let’s check it out.
Chuan Wei Wang Bowl Instant Noodles Artificial Spicy Beef Flavor – China
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add all sachets to bowl and add boiling water to fill line. Cover for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir and enjoy!
Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, beef, spring onion and bell pepper. The noodles came out alright – they hydrated well but were kind of ho-hum. The broth was interesting. I liked the beef taste, but I really didn’t expect the Sichuan pepper here. It was nice – and had a good oiliness. The vegetable bits were nice and the imitation meat worked well too. 3.75 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 6925487994014.
Yep, you guessed it! This is yet another one left from the Nissin Hong Kong Meet The Manufacturer. Thanks again to Nissin HK for sending so many varieties! Sounds simple enough – it’s spicy, it’s beef. Let’s check it out!
Nissin Cup Noodles Spicy Beef Flavour – Hong Kong
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Contains beef. To prepare, add cold water to fill line and microwave at 800W for 3 minutes (use this tool to convert wattage for your microwave). On my microwave, I have a ‘power level’ button and set it to 8. Stir and enjoy!
Some of the loose seasoning and bits from the cup – egg and beef!
Finished (click to enlarge). The noodles hydrated well in the microwave – perfectly done. They’re soft with a light chew but not spongy. The broth has a nice almost braised beef taste – almost but not quite. The spicy aspect was so light that my son Andy who is very sensitive to spicy things was able to polish it off no sweat. The bits of carrot, corn, beef, pea and egg were ample and ubiquitous. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4897878100101.
I haven’t reviewed a whole lot of beef varieties during this Meet The Manufacturer, so I figured I’d better! Here’s one – spicy beef! Sounds good to me – let’s give this big bowl a try!
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Contains beef, pork and chicken. To prepare, add dry sachet contents to bowl and fill to line with boiling water. Let steep for 3 minutes. Add in contents of liquid sachet. Stir and enjoy!
Finished (click to enlarge). Added sauteed beef, coriander, spring onion and Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts. The noodles hydrated nicely and there were tons of them. The broth has a definitely Chinese spicy beef flavor, leaning towards the braised beef flavors popular from the mainland. Thevegetables hydrated quite nicely. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4897878120024.
I found out about this guy a year or so ago – and as it turns out, he lives pretty nearby. Met him recently and gave him some noodles! Check out his videos – pretty neat stuff!
Today, we delve into a rice vermicelli cup. Mifun is just one name for rice noodles – here’s some more from wikipedia:
Mi Fun (米粉, rice vermicelli, also known by many other names in a number of Asian countries)
Ho Fun (河粉, also called hé fěn)
Mi xian (米線, from Yunnan Province)
Bánh canh
Bánh phở
Shavige (ಶಾವಿಗೆ)
Idiyappam (இடியாப்பம்)
Sevai (சேவை|சேவை/சந்தகை/சேமியா)
Khanom chin (Thai: ขนมจีน)
Kwetiau
Quite a list! Spicy beef! Let’s have a look!
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Contains beef and pork. To prepare, remove sachets. Add in the non-liquid ones and boiling water to fill line. Cover for 3-4 minutes. Add in liquid sachet. Stir and ejoy!
Looks like spring onion and beef amongst other things.
The liquid sachet.
A thick liquid.
Finished (click to enlarge). Used kitchen scissors to but the vermicelli after cooking. The vermicelli hydrated nicely and was of a good gauge. It was perfectly done and not tough, but had a nice amount of backbone and chew to it. The broth was an oily and spicy concoction – with a nice beef flavor and heat supplied by Sichuan peppers. The meal was augmented by the supplied vegetable sachet which not only contained spring onion but pieces of real beef which hydrated very well and were of a good quality and quantity. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4897878160068.
A Nissin Hong Kong TV commercial for their Demae Iccho line.
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