
I write this on April 1st – and it’s been a day. Not due to jokes or joviality though. I can’t go into it but I’m hoping it’s far behind and everyone is better now. Anyways, taco time. Let’s hit it.
Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002

I write this on April 1st – and it’s been a day. Not due to jokes or joviality though. I can’t go into it but I’m hoping it’s far behind and everyone is better now. Anyways, taco time. Let’s hit it.

Well, here’s something new – a spicy truffle Buldak. It’s only available at Walmart for starters. Second, it’s not saying artificial chicken flavor on this one either whioch is pleasant. It’s also the first review I’ve done where both the Instant Noodle Recipe Time episode and the mukbang are done in portrait mode. I figured I’d see what people thought of this as most of my views are coming via mobile phone. I don’t have any games on the phone that are in landscape mode. I don’t like to have to rotate my phone. That being said, maybe a portrait mode might be appealing to people. Hopefully I’ll get some feedback on that. It requires me to make a few changes, but it’s not earth shattering. I’ll be using the dynamic do-all EZ Cook machine for this one. Let’s give it a try!

You might be surprised, but this is a different version of this. Here is the version I got from an Australian friend. If you look at that review, you’ll notice a key difference; one that I’m sad and rather surprised was omitted as it was really the most unique part of it. Let’s give it a try.

Found this at the HMart in Lynnwood, WA. This one is interesting; it’s an export version, but specifically for where isn’t clear – so it gets the Indonesia checkbox. It’s made in Indonesia, but labeling shows it being for the US market. Let’s cook.

Today I get to try a prawn noodle and that’s something I truly enjoy. I’ve met two kinds of people – those who really love shrimp paste and those who don’t. It’s interesting as I’ve met people that just blanket say they don’t like seafood. I wish I could live over in Asia and have a diet that consisted mainly of seafood as a protein source. This is a prime example of a favorite style of mine – heavy n the prawn. Let’s do it.

I tried this right when it came out – it used to have different packaging to a slight degree – the logo as well has changed, and since my son wants to try every Buldak out there, here we are. Let’s check it out!

Found this locally… I think I saw this called Ramen Daren years ago up in Canada. Tang means soup in Chinese, and daren means master so it’s really the same thing but a little goofy since the first or sencond word is a different language than the first. Either way, I’m happy about these – I found 5 different varieties of them. Let’s try this Chinese take on Korean style ramyun a try.

Time for the second variety from the mega bucket! Found this at the new Y&Y Supermarket in Lynnwood, Washington. Was the only thing I got but there were quite a few other things I wish I had. It’s a big bucket maybe 15 orso inches tall, containing a lot of different varieties. $13 was indeed a good deal for such a large thing. CNY promos are where it’s at! Let’s try this one out.

Previously we tried the Big Bowl version. Our local Albertsons affiliate has had tons of Buldak all of a sudden – would be nice if they do more exclusives as they’re going to be easy for me to get my hands on. Let’s check out this pack version – mukbang to follow as well!

Big thanks to The Fat Hipster for shooting this over. So I’ve sampled Rap Snacks instant noodles before with pretty low scores. I’m hopeful that this new set will be better, but I guess I’ll have to try them to know for sure. I do like trying things even when I really expect to be underwhelmed. The potato chip flavor these are based on is quite good, so hopefully this will follow suit.

Another kind donation from James of Lakeside, California – thanks again! A day of being productive awaits me. Eggs are done, dragging the kids to the thrift store, doing reviews early… Good stuff – gettin’ ‘er done. This one translates to tangy and spicy – let’s give it a go.

This this one came by way of James from Lakeside, CA – thanks! There are a lot of iterations of these noodles and this one I’ve not sampled. It’s cold outside today so shrimp sounds good. Let’s cook.

Here’s the third of the three Protein varieties thanks to James from Lakeside, CA. The other two weren’t my favorite but we shall see with this one.

Here’s a new Geki variety I found at Fred Meyer in Woodinville. What’s kinda funny is that I tried this flavor before, although it was from Indonesia! Let’s try the US version.

I’m really happy about finding this one at Boo Han Market in Edmonds, Washington! If you’ve not tried it, I highly recommend it – as long as the new packaging doesn’t mean new recipe at least. This came out quite a while back after a Korean comedian – Lee Kyung Kyu I believe – mentioned it. This is a jalapeno and chicken flavored broth variety. What’s interesting is that it does not have chicken in this one where it once did. It’s made in South Korea – so they would export US chicken to Korea, process it, then send it back in the product. Crazy, eh? Anyways, let’s cook it up!

Found this at Fred Meyer the other day (Kroger). It wasn’t in the Asian foods area, but with the domestic stuff which was interesting. I wasn’t a big fan of their initial variety (standard ultra spicy dry clone) but this has promise. Says it’s spicy too – let’s find out.

Big thanks to James from Lakeside, California for this one! Should be interesting – the seafood version was really quite nice. Let’s give this a try!

Here’s the second of three A-Sha sent – thanks again! This should be great – mala usually involves a spiciness from Sichuan pepper. Let’s give it a go.

I think I had a different version of this at one point… From what I remember, Korean pho was pretty decent! Let’s give it a try.

Wow. I didn’t know what I was in for with this one! The noodle has to be boiled for 40 minutes! That’s a long time. The other way is to soak the noodles for 12 hours then only boil for 15 minutes instead. Sheesh! Guess we’ll have to figure that out as far as time goes. It definitely sounds good! Let’s give it a try.

Wait, didn’t you already review this one? Yes – however, this is a single pack version. I wanted to review this version as well since hey – they sent it to me! Besides, it’s truly spectacular stuff. The last one I did was the black truffle and my daughter requested that one for dinner last night. It’s excellent. So, we bid Moon Moon Food adieu for now – hopefully we’ll get to try more varieties soon. Let’s revisit and try this one again.

Been a little time since I’ve reviewed any Taiwanese dry noodle! This is a first as well as Moom Moon Food has earned Michelin Bib Gourmand awards. The packaging looks very unique – but hte proof is in the tasting. I’m ready to cook.

Found this at the Target in Lynnwood, WA by the Alderwood Mall. I tried the cup version a few days ago and was rather disappointed. I’m hoping this is more pleasing. Let’s cook it up.

The video for this one came out of Christmas Day, 2025 – you can see it at the bottom. I think there’s probably a lot of you that don’t know about my show Instant Noodle Recipe Time – it’s on pretty much every single day at 9am Pacific Time (Vancouver/Los Angeles). I’ve been doing the show for years and I think a lot of YouTube don’t know about me on www.theramenrater.com. Didn’t know I’d find this one over at HMart. I tried the pack version recently… Let’s try the bowl!

I’m very excited about this one – so first off, it is looking like you can only get it from Albertson’s chain store like Safeway, Von’s, Jewel Osco, etc. Second, my son Miles spotted it in our local Safeway. He’s been really keen on doing mukbang lately and trying these variants. What’s a surprise is that he’s autistic and always been very particular about what he eats – never eating hot food, nothing squishy and chewy… That all changed – he’s actually eating this stuff – he even voiced interest in Cheetos mac and cheese. While not the most healthy stuff out there, he’s exploring new foods and that’s a big deal. Anyways, this is new and so I’m rushing it out. It should be noted that birria is primarily beef, goat, or sheep meat and the idea of chicken birria tends to be pretty unheard of in research I’ve done. Let’s go! There will be a cooking video below as well as a mukbang with Miles.

Found this at 99 Ranch Market and really stoked. I am not a huge fan of the flavor of the ol’ Volcano Curry, and expecting great things from this one. Let’s give it a try!

Another from James from Lakeside, California – thanks! This is a four pack and one in pretty good condition. I have a feeling this is gonna be spicy! Let’s find out.

Here’s another form factor of the Jin range – cups. I’ve reviewed the mild as well. Let hit the spicy!

Note – I prepared this incorrectly, however in an upcoming review it is prepared correctly.

Ah its a day for beef. I went to the grocery store to get some. I got my second shingles vax yesterday and today feel like death warmed over. Anyways, I tell the guy at the meat counter I need 1oz of their cheapest ground beef. He tried to give me 0.4lbs which is way too much, then a much smaller amount that was perfect, but when he tried to weigh it it wouldn’t register so he said it was on the house. So shout out to butcher at our local Safeway. But yeah I feel worse than crummy. Let’s see if I can cook a Cup Noodles this morning…

I tried another one of these recently – found at S*Mart in Bellevue, Washington. Anyways, they’re thick things. Red oil? Sounds ominous – let’s do it.

I’ve had golden pea variants and they’ve been good – but mashed pea? Maybe this is liked the mashed potato one I reviewed recently. Let’s give it a try!

Okay, so I don’t live under a rock so I know about these things. In fact, I saw an advert for this awhile back and thought ‘oh – the kids might like this.’ So, I let them check it out and I watched a bit of the movie. I hated it. More than I hate slicing a bagel incorrectly. Well, maybe not that much, but I’m really annoyed by this film. I know that a lot of people really like it and that’s fine. However, I do not. It’s K-Pop’s version of Frozen. I went through that Frozen crap when the kids were really little, so another take on it really isn’t something I can embrace. Plus, the animation is awful. The music is catchy, but not the catchy K-Pop I really like; this is so… Commercial. But I do enjoy a tie-in product and this one’s pretty cool. I should mention that the Korean local version of this (yes, this is made in the United States in a great factory in Rancho Cucamonga, California) came with stickers, and I did hear chatter that people over there were buying tons of Shin, taking out the stickers, then selling sets of those stickers on eBay or their equivalent.

Well, here it is – the spiciest one as well as the one I’m most curious about – tonkotsu. I’m hoping for a rich, creamy and savory base with a ruthless beatdown of heat. Let’s give it a whirl.

Frank over at 5am Ramen sent me this in a box of varieties – thanks! He’s got some really premium stuff like this for sale – and he does guides and tours over in Japan as well! This a spicy dandan variety, so should be thick stuff! Let’s give it a try.

This is the third review of the day and this is a fingers crossed situation of saving the best for last. I love rapokki – ramyun is paired with tteokbokki with a sweet and spicy sauce. This can go awry though, especially if the cooking instructions are iffy. I’m hoping we’re gonna make something rad. Let’s start.

This is another new packaging variety from Prima Taste of Singapore. Different package and size – possibly different flavorings? Let’s find out.

Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – “Let’s start the season of love with this sweet and spicy ramen! This collab with Mode Gakuen features a tasty yukgaejang-style broth with a beef base and plenty of red chili and garlic. And with the honey butter oil, this cup is lovely from start to finish”

Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – “We had to end our list with more Pokémon fun! This tasty ramen pack features ramen noodle in a spicy soup with a spicy miso-based soup. This soup has great spice with chili paste and chili powder and tons of umami with hints of beef and gochujang in the broth!”

Big thanks to Pher Engi for sending this along! These are really neat varieties and they come with braised egg or braised quail egg! Let’s see what is in there!