I’ve tried all three of the other Xiao Ban Mian flavors. Their Traditional Shallot & Onion Oil variety hit #2 on the Top Ten Taiwan list last year. I’m stoked to be able to try this one – really don’t know what to expect, honestly. This is completely different from the rest. Let’s dive in!
Xiao Ban Mian Spicy Meat Paste Flavor Noodle – Taiwan
Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Guessing it contains meat from the name. To prepare, Add a bundle of noodles and cook 6~7 minutes. Drain. Add in sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!
This packge has three servings. Note how the noodles are a little broad and flat unlike the other varieties’ noodles.
On of the liquid sachets.
A thick sauce.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added sliced red pepper, soft egg, fried onion and scallions. The noodles are excellent – thicker gauge providing a very hearty chew, yet not over chewy. The flavoring has a nice little punch of Sichuan pepper and it light and a little meaty. All wraps together very well. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4717011150728.
Here’s another one I got up at the new T&T Supermarket up in Richmond BC that’s at Lansdowne Centre. Or is it Lansdowne Mall? Either way, it’s a big T&T inside what used to be a Target store. Oh – and sad parents can rejoice – TOYS R US IS STILL IN CANADA. Also, if you go to the Walmart in Richmond, you will often see Teslas, Ferraris and the odd Buigatti. It’s like a mirror universe. Let’s check this one out!
Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Contains shrimp. To prepare, add noodles to 500mL boiling water and cook for 4 minutes. Add in sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!
One of the two noodle bundles.
A dry sachet.
Lots of powder.
A sauce sachet.
Thick stuff!
Finished (click to enlarge). Added fried onion, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, Dodo fishball, tofu puff, BonCabe Level 15 and coriander. The noodles are really great – nice roundness, good texture. Married to the broth which is thick and luxuriant with a spiciness and really nice little prawny hit to it with a keen sweetness, it works very well. 4.5 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 087303866847.
Today, we have one that was part of Japan Crate’s Umai Crate. So Japan Crate is a subscription service which has all sorts of different options for you. pretty neat stuff from Japan! There’s a coupon code for you too – just use THERAMENRATER to get a special discount at check out.
So here’s what the folks at Japan Crate had to say about this variety -“Sapporo is the fifth largest city of Japan by population! Most people in Japan associate Sapporo with its rich miso ramen, which was invented there and which is ideal for Hokkaido’s cold winters. DIY your own for dinner as the weather gets cooler.”
Alright I’m on it – let’s go!
Itsuki Sapporo “Miso” Ramen – Japan
Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add a bundle of noodles to 500ml boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Add in one sachet. Finally, stir and enjoy!
The noodle bundles in a plastic tray.
The sachets of soup base for each serving.
A lot of powder.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added chashu pork, corn, kizami shoga, soft egg, spring onion, habanero curry togarashi and Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts. Noodles were pretty good – very chewy and a round gauge. The broth was deep and almost seemed beefy to be honest. Definitely a tinting of red miso in the mix which was pretty good. 3.75 out of 5.0 stars. JAN bar code 4901726014462.
Today, we have one that was part of Japan Crate’s Umai Crate. So Japan Crate is a subscription service which has all sorts of different options for you. pretty neat stuff from Japan! There’s a coupon code for you too – just use THERAMENRATER to get a special discount at check out.
So here’s what the folks at Japan Crate had to say about this variety -“Ku mamoto ramen is said to have been invented in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan which is the birthplace of tonkotsu (pork pone) ramen. DIY your own this summer by pairing the nooldes with marr oil (from fried garlic) and fried garlic for a delicious summer meal”
The train keeps a rolling along after #3000! Let’s check iot out!
Itsuki Kumamoto Mokkosu Ramen – Japan
Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Contains pork. To prepare, add noodles to 500cc boiling water and cook 2 minutes. Add in sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!
A few of the noodles.
Thr soup bsae sachet.
Lots of light powder.
A liquid base sachet.
Thick and blackish.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added chashu pork, soft egg, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, shichimi togarashi, spring onion and shichimi togarashi. Noodle had a sturdy chew and nice gauge – came out superbly. Broth had a very good thickness to it and a balanced creaminess and a little spiciness to compliment the pork bone flavor. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. JAN bar code 4901726014370.
Today we have the last of the straight noodle varieties from Wu-Mu’s Man Dashi range. Here’s what the company has to say about it –
●The noodles taste chewy and smooth. ●The carefully selected soy sauce, 100% brewed and no preservatives. ●The sweetness of the sauce and the fragrance of Scallion blend perfectly in the mouth, create a rich flavor. ●Rich fragrance creates easily the flavor of cooking master.
Alright – let’s begin.
Wu-Mu Man Dashi Noodle Master Noodles Mixed With Scallion Oil & Soy Sauce – Taiwan
Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Unsure whether it contains meat. To prepare, boil noodles for 3 1/2 minutes. Drain. Add in sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!
One of the two noodle bundles.
The seasoning sauce sachet.
Very thick.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added spring onion, sesame seeds and shichimi togarashi. The noodles were thick and had a little too much crumble for my liking. The flavoring was quite nice though – an almost sweet scallion taste to them as well as light on the saltiness. 3.5 out of 5.0 starts. EAN bar code 4710175567920.
I believe this is the last of the new Straight Noodle/Bar Noodle Demae Ramen range from Nissin Hong Kong – really sad that I’ve tried them all! So let’s look at shoyu and then tonkotsu – Wikipedia if you please –
Shōyu (醤油, “soy sauce”) ramen is the oldest of the four, it has a clear brown broth, based on a chicken and vegetable (or sometimes fish or beef) stock with plenty of soy sauce added resulting in a soup that is tangy, salty, and savory yet still fairly light on the palate. Shōyu ramen usually has curly noodles rather than straight ones, but this is not always the case. It is often adorned with marinated bamboo shoots or menma, green onions, kamaboko(fish cakes), nori (seaweed), boiled eggs, bean sprouts or black pepper; occasionally the soup will also contain chili oil or Chinese spices, and some shops serve sliced beef instead of the usual chāshū.
Tonkotsu (豚骨, “pork bone”; not to be confused with tonkatsu) soup usually has a cloudy white colored broth.It is similar to the Chinese baitang (白湯) and has a thick broth made from boiling pork bones, fat, and collagen over high heat for many hours, which suffuses the broth with a hearty pork flavor and a creamy consistency that rivals milk, melted butter or gravy (depending on the shop).
Alright – let’s begin.
Nissin Demae Ramen Straight Noodle Shoyu Tonkotsu Flavour Instant Noodle – Hong Kong
Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Contains pork and chicken. To prepare, add noodles to 450ml boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Add in sachet contents. Frinally, stir and enjoy!
One of the two bundles of noodles.
A dry base sachet.
A fluffy powder.
Ther liquid base sachet.
Thick and interesting.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added chashu pork, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, spring onion, narutomaki and nanami togarashi. The noodles have that great round shape and perfect chew. The broth is thick and very rich with generous aspects of shoyu and tonkotsu which work so well. Loved it. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4897878850044.
Here’s one of the new straight noodle varieties from Nissin – miso. So miso is one of the main varieties of ramen – here’s some info on it from Wikipedia –
Miso ramen is a relative newcomer, having reached national prominence around 1965. This uniquely Japanese ramen, which was developed in Hokkaido, features a broth that combines copious miso and is blended with oily chicken or fish broth – and sometimes with tonkotsu or lard – to create a thick, nutty, slightly sweet and very hearty soup. Miso ramen broth tends to have a robust, tangy flavor, so it stands up to a variety of flavorful toppings: spicy bean paste or tōbanjan (豆瓣醤), butter and corn, leeks, onions, bean sprouts, ground pork, cabbage, sesame seeds, white pepper, and chopped garlic are common. The noodles are typically thick, curly, and slightly chewy.
Yeah, this is one of those flavors that’s really hit or miss for me. There are quite a few kinds of paste out there and some companies use one over the other. Let’s give this a try and find out if I like it!
Nissin Demae Ramen Straight Noodle Miso Flavour Instant Noodle – Hong Kong
Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Contains pork and chicken. To prepare, add one bundle of noodles to 450ml boiling water and cook 3 minutes. Add in sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!
One of the two bundles of noodles (there are two servings per package). I like to call these bindles and have for a long time. It’s just because I like the word. But really, that’s incorrect so I’ll just call them bundles as I should.
The dry soup base.
Light powder.
The liquid base sachet.
A thick paste.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added egg, barbecue pork, spring onion and Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts. The noodles are just perfect – just a fantastic chew and quantity. This however is one of those miso varieties I just can’t get with. is it red miso? I dunno but all I can say is that it’s just not my thing. 2.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4897878,850068.
Today it’s tonkotsu from Hong Kong. This is part of the series that’s expanded since being in the 2017 top ten list with their black garlic oil tonkotsu. For those of you unfamiliar, here’s a little about tonkotsu ramen from Wikipedia –
Tonkotsu (豚骨, “pork bone”; not to be confused with tonkatsu) soup usually has a cloudy white colored broth.It is similar to the Chinese baitang (白湯) and has a thick broth made from boiling pork bones, fat, and collagen over high heat for many hours, which suffuses the broth with a hearty pork flavor and a creamy consistency that rivals milk, melted butter or gravy (depending on the shop).
So a creamy and spicy pork bone broth sounds very good to me. Let’s see how this one stacks up.
Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Contains pork and chicken. To prepare, add noodles to 450ml boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Add in one powder sachet and one oil sachet. Finally, stir and enjoy!
One of the bindles of noodles – there are two servings per package.
The dry base sachet.
A kind of fluffy powder.
The liquid base.
Thick and dark.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, spring onion, barbecue pork and shichimi togarashi. The noodles still just blows me away – a perfect combo of chew and mouthfeel. The broth is thick and rich with a nice level of heat and creaminess. Just exemplary stuff. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4897878850051.
Well this sounds like a good one! It sounds to be like a chicken shio variety. Shio is one of the classic ramen varieties from Japan. Let’s see a little more about shio from Wikipedia –
Shio (“salt”) ramen is a pale, clear, yellowish broth made with plenty of salt and any combination of chicken, vegetables, fish, and seaweed. Occasionally pork bones are also used, but they are not boiled as long as they are for tonkotsu ramen, so the soup remains light and clear. Chāshū is sometimes swapped for lean chicken meatballs, and pickled plums and kamaboko (a slice of processed fish roll sometimes served as a frilly white circle with a pink or red spiral called narutomaki) are popular toppings as well. Noodle texture and thickness varies among shio ramen, but they are usually straight rather than curly.
Alright – let’s cook it up!
Nissin Demae Ramen Straight Noodle Salt Chicken Flavour Instant Noodle – Hong Kong
Detail of the back of the package (click to enlarge). Contains chicken. To prepare, add noodle bunch to 450ml boiling water and cook 3 minutes. Add powder sachet and stir. Finally, add in oil sachet – stir and enjoy!
One of the two servings of noodles.
Dry seasoning.
Has a nice chicken scent.
A liquid sachet.
Seasoned oil.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added baked chicken with Salt For Life and black pepper, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts and spring onion. The noodles have that floury kind of hit to them. Nice gauge and great chewiness. The broth is chicken. I would say this is about as good as it can get when it comes to chicken flavored instant noodles – nice to see someone going above and beyond! 4.75 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4897878850037.
So here’s one of the new Nissin Hong Kong straight noodle variants. I had to do a little looking to find what ‘aka tonkotsu’ was. Mainly the ‘aka’ part wasn’t something I’d heard of before. As it turned out, ‘aka’ refers to the spicy cod roe (eggs) in this one. Sounds interesting! Here’s a little about the tonkotsu style of broth from Wikipedia –
Tonkotsu ramen is a ramen dish that originated in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture on the Kyushu island of Japan, and it is a specialty dish in Fukuoka and Kyushu. It was originally prepared as an affordable fast food for laborers at fish markets. Today, it is renowned for the significant time it can take to properly prepare the dish. The soup broth is based upon pork bones and other ingredients, which is typically boiled for several hours, and the dish is traditionally served with ramen noodles that are hard in the center and topped with sliced pork belly. In Fukuoka, Japan, tonkotsu ramen is referred to as Hakata ramen.
The soup broth for tonkotsu ramen is based upon pork bones, and “tonkotsu” means “pork bones” in Japanese.[1][2][3] The soup broth is prepared by boiling pork bones in water for a significant amount of time, up to eight hours, and the broth is typically cloudy in appearance.[1][2][4] Additional broth ingredients can include onion, garlic, spring onions, ginger, pork back fat, pig’s trotters, oil and chicken carcasses.[1] For service, cooked ramen noodles and slices of roasted or braised pork belly are added, and additional ingredients can include kombu, shoyu, chili bean paste, sesame seeds and others.[1][2]
The traditional preparation method for the ramen noodles used in tonkotsu ramen is for the noodles to be hard in the center.[4] Some ramen shops allow customers to select the level of doneness for the noodles, including futsu for regular or standard, barigane for very hard, barikata for al dente and yawamen for soft.[4] Some restaurants also provide a second order of noodles if requested by the customer, in a system referred to as kaedama.[4]
Ichiran is a Japanese restaurant chain that originated and is based in Fukuoka, Japan that specifically specializes upon tonkotsu ramen.[5]Ippudo is a Japanese ramen restaurant chain based in Fukuoka that is well-known for its tonkotsu ramen, and has been described as “the most famous tonkotsu ramen shop in the country”.[4]
Tonkotsu ramen originated in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, which is located on the northern shore of Kyushu island of Japan, and it is a specialty dish in Fukuoka and Kyushu.[2][4] In Fukuoka, the dish is often referred to as Hakata ramen (博多ラーメン) as Hakata is the historical name of central Fukuoka.[2] The dish is prepared in ramen shops in all other regions of Japan.[2] Tonkotsu ramen was originally prepared as an affordable and easily-prepared fast food for laborers at fish markets.[4] In contemporary times, tonkotsu ramen is renowned for the significant time it can take to prepare a proper version of the dish.[1]
Okay that should fill you in pretty well! Let’s have a look at this aka tonkotsu variety!
Nissin Demae Ramen Bar Noodle Aka Tonkotsu Flavour Instant Noodle – Hong Kong
Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Note that this package contains two servings. Contains pork. To prepare, add noodles to 450ml boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Add in dry sachet and stir. Finally, add everything to a bowl and add liquid base sachet – stir and enjoy!
A bindle of straight noodles.
A dry base sachet.
A lot of light fluffy powder.
The oil sachet.
Thick and luxuriant.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, hard boiled egg, chashu pork and spring onion. The noodles have a very nice gauge and chewiness – not crumbly or rubbery. The broth has a very nice creamy tonkotsu to begin with and a nice spicy oil with a garlic punch. All around sumptuous and calming. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4897878850082.
One of the more interesting varieties left over from the Nissin Foods Hong Kong Meet The Manufacturer. This one’s very new; a two-serving pack with a pork bone broth and black garlic oil fun! Let’s check it out!
Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Contains pork. To prepare, add noodles to 450ml boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Add powder sachet to a bowl. Add noodles and broth to bowl, stirring broth as it pours out with the powder you already put in the bowl. Add in black garlic oil. Stir and enjoy!
Here’s what you’re greeted with when you open the package: two of everything.
The straight noodle bindle.
The powder base sachet.
A light powder.
The black garlic oil sachet.
Black. Garlicky. Oily.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, chashu pork, spring onion and nanami togarashi. The noodles are just perfect – perfect firmness and chew! The broth is a creamy tonkotsu augmented by the black garlic oil. Rich, hearty and very giving. This stuff is just sensational! Easy 5.0 out of 5.0 stars – super impressed! EAN bar code 4897878850020.
Hadn’t seen this straight noodle ramen style before from Nissin. I’ve had quite a few now by different brand though, and they usually are quite nice! Let’s see how this tonkotsu fare. Tonkotsu is a pork bone broth soup served with straight noodles. It’s usually got a milky colored broth with a rich taste.
Detail of the back of the package (click to enlarge). Contains pork and chicken. to prepare, add one noodle bindle to 450ml boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Add in contents of sachets. Stir and enjoy!
The pack contains two servings of noodles in these little bindles (NOTE: I am unsure if this is the correct term, however it sounds like a good term for them).
The powder soup base sachet.
A LOT of powder!
An oil sachet.
Has a garlic scent.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added kikurage, spring onion, chashu pork, sesame seeds and kizami shoga. The noodles are just the greatest – straight with a very good chew to them I liked a lot. The broth has a great milky pork flavor to it and is hearty with a good thickness from the oil. This is top notch stuff and now I’m wishing I had more! 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4897878850013.
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