Tag Archives: taiwan

#3254: Mom’s Dry Noodle / Blue Elephant Red Curry – Taiwan

Two weeks. Two long weeks. I haven’t done a review in two weeks!! Our apartment got remodeled, plus I had a sinus infection that basically knocked out my sense of taste. Yeah – that wasn’t cool at all. But I’m back – back to walking, and today back to reviewing. The remodel is done and I’m enjoying my noodles once again!

I think the fact that I love curry is probably on my sleeve. This is something I am very fascinated with – a collaboration between a Thai company and a Taiwanese company. How’s it going to taste? I’ve not a clue, but if it’s anything like Mom’s Dry Noodle has put out before, I know I’m in for a treat. Let’s find out!

Mom’s Dry Noodle / Blue Elephant Red Curry – Taiwan

Detail of the outer packaging (click to enlarge). Unsure if it contains meat – check for yourself. To prepare, boil noodles for 6 minutes. Drain. Add in sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!

Inside the large outer package are three individual servings.

Detail of the packaging (click to enlarge).

The noodle block.

A wet sachet of red curry.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added sauteed beef, red and green bell pepper, white onion, pineapple, and fresh basil. Noodles are soft and a very large quantity. They’re a perfect match for the red curry which is aromatic and tasty, however not overwhelming. A very apt pairing with an elegant balance. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4717011158304.

Moms Dan Dan Dry Noodle 17.36 Oz.

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#3252: Shin Horng Lukang Thin Noodles Ginger & Sesame Oil Flavor – Taiwan

I often end up at 99 Ranch Market to pick up mung bean sprouts, other produce, and other things once every week or so. It’s a chain of Asian markets that started on the west coast but after looking at their site, they’ve popped up all over the United States – which is good – they’ve got lots of neat stuff.

It’s neat because The Ramen Rater and 99 Ranch Market have some special history. When I first started the site, I lived far from any Asian grocery stores. I got about 60 reviews in and had a five or six year hiatus. When I met my wife and I moved to Edmonds in 2010, we lived about a five minute walk from one. That rekindled my flame for instant noodles and reviewing and really was the reason you’re seeing this review today; if we hadn’t moved to that spot, I’m unsure the site would’ve ever gone forward.

I see new products popping up there all the time in the noodle aisle. Taiwanese products in particular. I saw this one last visit and thought ‘this looks interesting.’ Never seen this brand before and ginger sesame sounds good. So I got it. The hunt for the noodle is something I really love. The obscure, the never before seen. Honestly, it’s a thrill for me – perhaps in the same way some people spend their kids’ college savings at the racetrack. On the upside, this gamble is not going to break the bank. Anyways, yeah it’s something I thoroughly enjoy and here is the fruit of my search – something new.

Shin Horng Lukang Thin Noodles Ginger & Sesame Oil Flavor – Taiwan

The import/distributor’s sticker (click to enlarge).

Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, boil noodles 1~2 minutes. Drain. Add 70ml water. Add sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!

This was a nice surprise – shelf-stable fresh noodles.

A large wet sachet.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added sauteed beef, egg, scallion, pickled ginger, sesame seeds, and pepper flake. I used a pair of kitchen scissors to make two crosscuts of the noodles. The noodles are indeed thin with a sturdy tooth. The flavor is just excellent. A strong showing of both ginger and sesame oil taste – super savory and delicious. Hard not to put this one down. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4710575369995.

Mama Lieu’s Kitchen: A Cookbook Memoir of Delicious Taiwanese and Chinese Home Cooking for My Children

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#3240: Tseng Noodles Spicy Dolar – Taiwan

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Recently, I heard about a variety from Tseng that I guess has been around for a little while but I’d never heard of it. A lot of confusion for me about this one. The biggest issue is the variety itself – what the heck is spicy dolar anyway? Nothing I could find on Wikipedia or elsewhere. But dolar must be a pretty common concept because there’s a restaurant in Canada I saw in Richmond that mentions it – something like Dolar Hotpot or something. Well, let’s check it out!

Tseng Noodles Spicy Dolar – Taiwan

Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, boil noodles for 4.5~5.5 minutes. Drain, saving some cooking water. Add noodles and reserved water to a bowl along with sachet contents. Finally, stira nd enjoy!

One of the 4 servings in the pack.

Thin noodles.

A wet sachet.

Liquid and paste.

A second wet sachet.

Smells like soy sauce.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added scallions, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, and barbeque pork. The noodles have a nice gauge – thick and a little wide. They are chewier than I expected with the cook time. They went well with the sauce, which at the outset smelled extremely sweet, had a good balance of spiciness. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4713008550359.

Tseng Noodles Variety Pack 3 Flavors (Pack of 3)

Watch me cook on Instant Noodle Recipe Time!

Watch me eat on Spicy Noodle Mukbang!

#3230: Ve Wong Dah Wei Wang Instant Noodles Artificial Premium Garlic Pork Flavor – Taiwan

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#3230: Ve Wong Dah Wei Wang Instant Noodles Artificial Premium Garlic Pork Flavor - Taiwan

During my 2017 trip to Taiwan, I visited a 7-Eleven in Taipei. I pointed out a variety and my friend corrected my speech. I thought for years this brand was Ve Wong – pronounced vee wong. Actually, it’s more like way wong. It appears I was way wrong on this. But now I know! Yeah, poor joke. Roll your eyes and let’s have a look at this neat variety!

Ve Wong Dah Wei Wang Instant Noodles Artificial Premium Garlic Pork Flavor – Taiwan

#3230: Ve Wong Dah Wei Wang Instant Noodles Artificial Premium Garlic Pork Flavor - Taiwan

Detail of the lid (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add in everything and boiling water to 80% of full. Cover for 5 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!

#3230: Ve Wong Dah Wei Wang Instant Noodles Artificial Premium Garlic Pork Flavor - Taiwan

The noodle block.

#3230: Ve Wong Dah Wei Wang Instant Noodles Artificial Premium Garlic Pork Flavor - Taiwan

A dry sachet.

#3230: Ve Wong Dah Wei Wang Instant Noodles Artificial Premium Garlic Pork Flavor - Taiwan

A lot of fine powder.

#3230: Ve Wong Dah Wei Wang Instant Noodles Artificial Premium Garlic Pork Flavor - Taiwan

A wet sachet.

#3230: Ve Wong Dah Wei Wang Instant Noodles Artificial Premium Garlic Pork Flavor - Taiwan

Seasoned oil.

#3230: Ve Wong Dah Wei Wang Instant Noodles Artificial Premium Garlic Pork Flavor - Taiwan

A dry garnish sachet.

#3230: Ve Wong Dah Wei Wang Instant Noodles Artificial Premium Garlic Pork Flavor - Taiwan

Vegetables and other bits.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added boiled pork, sesame seeds, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, scallions, and Kiki Restaurant spicy seasoning. The noodles came out very well – good gauge and feel and really worked well with the soup. The soup was surprisingly rich and had a thickness t it I didn’t expect but thoroughly enjoyed. This one was very true to name – it tasted like garlic and pork that had been stewed and I enjoyed that. In addition, a nice amount of vegetables in there including cabbage was very good. From the package, I didn’t expect this to be very good, however I’m thoroughly impressed. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4710008217558.

Kung-Fu Oriental Style Instant Noodle Soup Base (Vegeterian Flavor) 3oz (Pack of 20)

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Mom’s Dry Noodle / Blue Elephant Curries From Taiwan!

Mom's Dry Noodle / Blue Elephart Curries From Taiwan!

Check this out! Top Ten listers Mom’s Dry Noodles have collaborated iwth a Thai company to make a couple neat curry varieties! They’ve not done anything non-Taiwanese styled before, so this should be interesting – check out the unboxing video!

Mom’s Dry Noodle / Blue Elephart Curries – Taiwan

#3201: Tian Ling Ling Dried Noodles With Shallot Sauce – Taiwan

The second of two varieties sent by Yonghai – thanks again! The first had a wide noodle, this one looks to be much thinner. Let’s give it a try!

Tian Ling Ling Dried Noodles With Shallot Sauce – Taiwan

Detail of the outer packaging (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, boil for 3~5 minutes and drain. Add in sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!

One of the four packs.

Thin non-fried noodle.

A wet sauce.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added spring onion, black sesame seeds, pepper flake, tea egg, and chashu pork. After a four minute boil, noodles are very nice. Sauce is oily which works great – slippery noodles head. A nice mouthfeel and chew here. The flavor is on the light side, but it has a certain charm to it I enjoyed. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4713510260852.

The Food of Taiwan: Recipes from the Beautiful Island

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#3198: Tian Ling Ling Dried Noodles With Chili & Shallot Sauce – Taiwan

Here’s something new from Taiwan! I really like spicy and definitely like shallot. Let’s check it out!

Yonghai Dried Noodles With Chili & Shallot Sauce – Taiwan

Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, boil noodles for 3~5 minutes. Drain. Add sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!

The pack contains four of these individual serving packs.

A wet sachet of spicy oil.

The shallot component.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added egg, spring onion, and sliced chashu. The noodle has a thicker vein down the center and a flanged outer line which is thinner giving a dual texture. Flavor was a spicy Sichuan peppercorn hit which was really nice although it was strong anwould have liked to have felt the the shallot element a little more. Nevertheless, it’s very good and I enjoyed this one a lot! 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4713510260869.

The Food of Taiwan: Recipes from the Beautiful Island

Watch me cook on Instant Noodle Recipe Time!

Watch me burn on Spicy Noodle Mukbang!

Unboxing Time: Two Taiwanese Companies Unite To Send Four New Varieties – Taiwan

Two companies. One goal – to have me evaluate their products on here. Watch me crack open this big box from Taiwan and see what’s inside!

Unboxing Time: Two Taiwanese Companies Unite To Send Four New Varieties – Taiwan

#3183: Uni-President Imperial Big Meal Super Hot Pot Beef Flavor – Taiwan

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#3183: Uni-President Imperial Big Meal Super Hot Pot Beef Flavor - Taiwan

This one’s very interesting. This is from Taiwan but for the Hong Kong Market. Found it up in Canada at Aberdeen Centre at a little gift shop full of Hello Kitty and other stuffed animals in the back – it’s near the food court.

What’s interesting is that there’s no reason this should be in Canada – it’s got about as much business being there as it would in the United States – this beef wouldn’t be allowed. There’s no import/distributor sticker either. Hey – I’m not complaining, don’t get me wrong!

It’s interesting too how it mentions New Zealad and Australian beef is used. I’d love to see this using Taiwanese beef honestly, but that’s a little difficult as that’s more spendy. Taiwanese beef is really good, but I don’t think there’s enough beef there to facilitate the instant noodle industry of Taiwan. Anyways, let’s peel back the lid and try this Imperial Big Meal!

Uni-President Imperial Big Meal Super Hot Pot Beef Flavor – Taiwan

#3183: Uni-President Imperial Big Meal Super Hot Pot Beef Flavor - Taiwan

Detail of the lid (click to enlarge). Contains beef. To prepare, add smaller sachets in and boiling water (500ml). Cover and put retort pouch on top and let steep for 3 minutes. Add in pouch. Finally, stir and enjoy!

#3183: Uni-President Imperial Big Meal Super Hot Pot Beef Flavor - Taiwan

The noodle block.

#3183: Uni-President Imperial Big Meal Super Hot Pot Beef Flavor - Taiwan

A dry sachet.

#3183: Uni-President Imperial Big Meal Super Hot Pot Beef Flavor - Taiwan

Vegeteables and seasoning powder.

#3183: Uni-President Imperial Big Meal Super Hot Pot Beef Flavor - Taiwan

A wet sachet.

#3183: Uni-President Imperial Big Meal Super Hot Pot Beef Flavor - Taiwan

A seasoned oil.

#3183: Uni-President Imperial Big Meal Super Hot Pot Beef Flavor - Taiwan

The retort pouch.

#3183: Uni-President Imperial Big Meal Super Hot Pot Beef Flavor - Taiwan

Thick sauce with chunks of beef.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added scallions. The noodles are pretty good; thy have a decent backbone to them. However, they just seem a little crumbly after 3 minutes and just don’t fit the bill; they’re the weakest part of this bowl. The broth on the other hand is rich and luxuriant – full of beef flavor and pieces of beef. A hard one o put down. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4710088412089.

#3183: Uni-President Imperial Big Meal Super Hot Pot Beef Flavor - Taiwan

(5 pcs) Uni-President – dry noodle crisp biscuit snacks 統一脆麵 (五包入) w/ WANG Gift

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#3174: TIEasy Sesame Sauce Handmade Noodle – Taiwan

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I got an email asking if I’d like to try a new noodle and of course I said yes. Turns out the fellow who wants to distribute it is up in Vancouver, BC. So I emailed him while we were up there and we met up at Foodyworld in Richmond. He gave me this and another variety as well as a pack with different kinds of noodles that contain vegetable – like a purple yam noodle, pumpkin noodle, etc. This was really cool – we chatted for a few and two days later, I’m giving these noodles a try. Let’s check them out! By the way TIEasy is short for Take It Easy.

TIEasy Sesame Sauce Handmade Noodle – Taiwan

Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Mentions being vegetarian. To prepare, boil noodle block for 6~7 minutes. Drain. Add in sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy.

One of the four included packs.

The dry noodle block.

A wet sachet.

A thin liquid.

A second wet sachet.

A sesame infused liquid.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added soft egg, spring onion, fried onion and black sesame seeds. Noodles had a good chew after 6.5 minutes cook time. Flavorings coated evenly and had a nice flavor of sesame paste with a slightly bitter aftertaste. 3.75 out of 5.0 stars. No bar code.

Watch me cook on Instant Noodle Recipe Time!

#3167: Vedan Jhen Mian Tang Braised Beef Noodles With Ginger – Taiwan

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#3167: Vedan Jhen Mian Tang Braised Beef Noodles With Ginger - Taiwan

Here’s one of the last ones sent by a Taiwanese university student who has probably graduated by now – thanks again and good luck! This is a really big box – let’s check it out!

Vedan Jhen Mian Tang Braised Beef Noodles With Ginger – Taiwan

#3167: Vedan Jhen Mian Tang Braised Beef Noodles With Ginger - Taiwan

Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Contains beef. To prepare, boil noodles for 1~2 minutes in 400ml boiling water with soup pouch. Drain. Add in soup pouch. Finally, stir and enjoy!

#3167: Vedan Jhen Mian Tang Braised Beef Noodles With Ginger - Taiwan

Two of these noodle blocks are included.

#3167: Vedan Jhen Mian Tang Braised Beef Noodles With Ginger - Taiwan

Two soup pouches are included.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added boiled beef, soft egg, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, scallion and mushroom. The noodles hydrated well but seemed kind of out of place; the visual was a stark white noodle in a rich looking broth and it was honestly off-putting. Round noodle has a nice chew though. The broth really didn’t give me that braised beef taste. Beef seemed a little fattier than I would have liked. Overall, the flavor just didn’t hit for me. 1.5 out of 5.0 stars. . EAN bar code 4710110232494.

#3167: Vedan Jhen Mian Tang Braised Beef Noodles With Ginger - Taiwan

Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse

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#3163: Mom’s Dry Noodle Spicy Hot Pot Noodle – Taiwan

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#3163: Mom's Dry Noodle Spicy Hot Pot Noodle - Taiwan

Here’s a fancy new one from Taiwan! Lots of brands with boxed versions these days. You might see my logo on this one – Mom’s Dry Noodle has been on the top ten Taiwan as well as my annual top ten for the last two years! I will say I haven’t tried this one until today though, but given their track record, I’ll bet it’s good stuff! Let’s find out!

Mom’s Dry Noodle Spicy Hot Pot Noodle – Taiwan

#3163: Mom's Dry Noodle Spicy Hot Pot Noodle - Taiwan

Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). To prepare, add everything to 700ml boiling water and cook 5~6 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!

#3163: Mom's Dry Noodle Spicy Hot Pot Noodle - Taiwan

A package within the box.

#3163: Mom's Dry Noodle Spicy Hot Pot Noodle - Taiwan

The noodle block.

#3163: Mom's Dry Noodle Spicy Hot Pot Noodle - Taiwan

A wet sachet.

#3163: Mom's Dry Noodle Spicy Hot Pot Noodle - Taiwan

A lot of oily paste.

#3163: Mom's Dry Noodle Spicy Hot Pot Noodle - Taiwan

A dry sachet.

#3163: Mom's Dry Noodle Spicy Hot Pot Noodle - Taiwan

Looks like carrot, cabbage and other vegetables.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added scallions, mushroom, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, boiled beef, carrot, baby bok choy and crisp garlic. Noodles are just perfect – wide and chewy. The broth has a strong Sichuan pepper flavor to it that by itself just doesn’t do it for me; just overwhelms. I won’t say that Included vegetable hydrated nicely. Definitely one that works better with your own garnish. 3.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4919011150780.

#3163: Mom's Dry Noodle Spicy Hot Pot Noodle - Taiwan

Mom’s Dry Noodle Dan Dan Noodle – Taiwan 4 Packs

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