Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
While at the KS Mart in Lynnwood, Washington, I saw this and had to give it a try. Wasn’t sure what (if any) noodles would be within, although I know one thing: topokki (or ttebokki) are really neat – they’re like enormous noodle chunks. Korean food is awesome stuff. Here’s what Wikipedia says about how it arrived in its current form:
Realized I haven’t reviewed the new version of the Shin Bowl. A lot of people have asked if I noted any difference from the old version (non-microwaveable) and the new one. Well, I guess we shall see!
This one was sent by a friend in Jakarta, Indonesia – thank you! What a day – so around 11am, people started flooding into the site! LifeHacker ran a story about The Ramen Rater and literally thousand of people have checked out the blog. Well, here’s one from Indonesia – Soto Koya Pedass. Pedas means spicy, so I guess Pedass means really spicy or it could be a nod to Turturro in The Big Lebowski. I have a feeling it just means really spicy. I’ve seen this kind of thing before – extra letters = extra emphasis, at least in Indonesian. Well, let’s dig in to this one!
Here’s another great one sent to me by my friend in Jakarta, Indonesia – thanks again! This is some really neat stuff – like Mi Goreng on steroids! Pedas means spicy! Extreme! Check it out.
A spicy seafood soup – sounds good for today!
Back of the package (click image to enlarge).
I saw a YouTube video recently where a man is trying to handle the heat of this instant ramyun. He couldn’t – to the point of cursing these noodles. Another reason that Paldo’s Teumsae Ramyun is #1 on the Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles of All Time list. But Teumsae; what is that? Teumsae is a well known restaurant chain in Korea. They’re well known for their spicy ways as well!
Here’s a new one from Paldo – Namja. Namja translates to “man” or “guy” – I think they’re saying this is very hot and spicy. I wonder if there will be a product that is made for women as well? Well, let’s see if I’m man enough for this bowl of noodles!
Finally after a long wait, Kkokkomyun has come to the United States as Kokomen! This is the instant that brought about the whole ‘white broth’ craze in Korea. Here’s an excerpt from my interview with Paldo:
Wow check this out! Paldo sent me this prototype of a new product – a bowl of instant noodles that only takes a minute and thirty seconds to cook. Pretty amazing – but how does it taste?
I’m very happy to announce that today begins Meet The Manufacturer Week: Paldo~ There will be many reviews and information about this great South Korean company. Here, we shall start with the interview. Enjoy!
This rather unassuming package of ramen came from Bo H. of China. I don’t know if this is exactly what this is called, but I hope it comes close to its name in taste. Potatoes aren’t something commonly found when it comes to instant noodles; there’s sweet potato noodles and potato noodles, but really nothing that involved potato flavor.
Today is probably the hottest day we’re going to have in Western Washington this summer. Right now it’s 88 degrees! I thought a nice bowl of spicy noodles would go well with it. I mean, isn’t it hot in Thailand too?
Good news and bad news. Bad news: no reviews for about a week (we’re going on vacation). The good news: I will leave you with the first ever bacon monstrosity!
Spicy beef! This was sent by Bo H. of China! Thanks again! These have all been a lot of fun and quite good! Let’s see how Master Kong’s Spicy Beef goes.
Yep – another new one from Indonesia that was sent by my friend in Jakarta! Thank you very much! I haven’t tried this brand’s noodles before, but I am familiar with ABC’s Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce).
Here’s one the folks at Ramen Place sent a while back. Sounded good today to have somethin’ spicy! Soy peptide eh? Here’s some info. Let’s see how it goes.
Here’s another one that Bo H. sent me from China! Thanks again! So what are Dan Dan noodles? here’s what Wikipedia says:
Here’s the first review of the batch of six instant noodles sent to me by Bo H. of China! This one looks really interesting; I’m not 100% sure that this is the correct title either, but this is the best translation I could get. I wonder who that guy is?
Today I received a big box full of instant noodles from South Korea! These are made by emart. If you can imagine a Korean version of Walmart, you’re on the right track – these are super huge superstores over there. Anyways, a fellow from emart contacted me about reviewing this new product of theirs and of course I said yes. They sent a box with some nice hats and 8 of these 6 pakcs – yep – 48 packages of noodles! Wow!
A couple weeks ago, I was contacted by a fellow named Stan. He said there was a new product that a big supermarket in Korea called emart would like me to review. They’re called Ramen e Ramen White Broth Noodle Soup. Sounds cool to me!
Since my last review of this product, I found out that I made it wrong! Yup… I suppose if I could read Korean I would’ve made it right. It turns out that the red packet goes in first with the noodles and cooks, and the peanut and veggies go in last after everything’s cooked! I’m hungry – gonna do it exactly as I’m supposed to this time! Here’s the old review.
Okay so I thought this was interesting. Look at the noodle block in this one – very different isn’t it? Well, Let’s give this one a try – this one was made in the USA in Rancho Cucamonga, California.
Here’s some more seafoodiness! Red broth heat and seafood comes together!
Here’s the back of the package (click image to enlarge).
Here we go with the last of the Shin Ramyun varieties I’ll be doing for Nongshim Meet The Manufacturer week. Shin Ramyun Black!
It’s been a heck of a long time since I had one of these – over three years! Shin Ramyun is Nongshim’s most well known product – let’s see how it goes now, after trying over 600 varieties since I last tried it!
I figured for Meet The Manufacturer Week: Nongshim, I would start with a Bowl Noodles I saw get made while I was at their plant! They were cranking them out en masse! I’ve reviewed the old packaging / version in the past and these new ones are very different. They’re made to be cooked in the microwave, so that’s how I’ll cook them.
Here’s something really new and very different from a lot of the instant noodles I’ve reviewed before. Jinjja Jinjja translates to “Really Really” (Spicy Spicy) – and I suppose in this review we’re going to find out how really really spicy Jinjja is! I should say that I sampled this one at Nongshim America while I was down there, so I have tried it before – but not a while bowl of it. I found out that the flavor comes from boiling pork bones for a long time, black beans and peanuts! It also turns out that the wheat flour used to make these has some red pepper powder added to them – heat in the noodle as well as from the dry seasonings! Let’s give this a try!
Here’s one of a slew of JM big bowls that Michelle L. or Tarrytown, New York sent – thank you very much! I was originally introduced to JML noodles by another noodle donor, Greg B. from Marathon, Florida last year. I liked them them – let’s give ’em a try bowl style!
Haven’t done one of these in a while! This is another one donated by Ramen Place. Spicy vegetable huh? That’s a kind of weird flavor. I have seen vegetable / vegetarian flavor and then spicy varieties, but not usually spicy vegetable. Well, let’s try it out!
In the last week, I did a ‘Meet The Manufacturer on Indomie and have been enjoying Indonesian instant noodles. Today, I am going to try something completely different – donated by Ramen Place. It’s a Korean seafood big bowl – spicy stuff! This should be interesting as Indonesian noodles have been so different. Here we go!
Here’s another Mi Goreng – this is the same as the Indomie Mi Goreng BBQ Chicken Jumbo we have here but it’s the one I was shipped by Indofood from Jakarta, Indonesia. I thought something that was interesting though was that ours is called BBQ chicken and the one in Indonesia translates to roast chicken. Anyways, let’s eat!
Alrighty – I’m going out on a limb here, but I’m guessing this is going to be spicy stuff. Let’s find out! First off, what’s chilli paddi? Wikipedia says:
Thanks to this sample from Nick over at OrderRamen, today I’m trying the third entry into the ring of ‘white broth’ ramyuns from Korea. The others, Paldo’s Kko Kko Myun and Samyang’s Nagasaki Jjampong I found to taste a lot like Jalapeno Cheese Cheetos! Very curious if Ottogi’s offering is like that too. Let’s find out!
Here’s a rather uniquely titled one that the nice folks at Ramen Place sent along! I think I would rearrange the title right now to Is Nature Delicious? I guess that what we’re trying to find out with this review. Pulmuone seems to put out products that try to appeal to the health conscious. Let give it a try!
Here’s another Nissin – had to make something quick today – it’s my wife’s birthday! Happy birthday, Kitten!
Here’s a new one from Nissin – Spicy Chicken Big Cup Noodles. Let’s give it a try!
Welcome to the second installment in the ‘Meet The Manufacturer’ series! This one’s with Nissin, makers of the ever-popular Top Ramen, Cup Noodles and the like. They sent a nice package of different instant varieties to sample – most of them new to me. The following interview is with Senior Marketing Manager, Linda Chung, facilitated by Senior Marketing Coordinator Scott Akazaki.
Here’s the first review I’m doing with my new camera! No more Blackberry 8900 camera – now I’ll be using a Sony Cybershot 14.1MP! Should look better now, hopefully! Today I decided to dig out this bowl – it’s one my wife got for me for my birthday at Uwajimaya. Let’s give it a looksie!
This is one that came from the nice folks at Ramen Place! Thanks again! Hot and spicy? Soy peptide? Korean? Yeah this should be awesome stuff!
More Indonesian noodles! This one’s a spicy pack of mi goreng – fried noodles!
This is the export label.
