Tag: taiwan

#2036: A-Sha Hakka BBQ Sauce Noodle

A-Sha’s noodle come in a few different gauges, this one being the thickest, Hakka style. They’re wide, flat and chewy. I looked in the hamper and immediately thought this sounded good today. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

#2014: Oni Hot Pot Ghost Pepper Noodle

Okay so it’s been a while since I’ve gotten anything that’s supposed to be really spicy. Well, This one claims to have ghost pepper in it – that’s the Bhut Jolokia, a pepper that’ll rip your head off and then kick it down the road. This one hails from Oni Hot Pot, a chain of restaurants in Taiwan. Never heard of them before – although I have had Taiwanese hot pot here in the US before. Let’s crack this one open and see what’s inside. ...see full post

#2005: A-Sha Dry Noodle Hakka Spicy BBQ Sauce

Here’s one the folks at A-Sha sent recently. Hakka noodles from Taiwan are on the broad side and use very few ingredients. This one should pack some heat! Let’s check it out! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2016 Edition

It’s been quite a year for The Ramen Rater. I’ve reviewed 357 new instant noodle varieties. I got to visit an instant noodle company in Thailand. I just hit my 2000th review. Since the beginning of this ‘noodle journey,’ I’ve wanted to try flavors from around the world and have been able to do just that. This new list is a compilation of the best of the best; the most memorable and most wonderful of the 2,004 varieties I’ve sampled thus far. If you are an instant noodle company and I haven’t reviewed your products, please contact me – I would love to review them. I decided to include what I added to them this year – however note the products are scored before anything is added. With that, let’s have a look at The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of all Time 2016 Edition. ...see full post

#1986: A-Sha Quinoa Noodle with Oyster Sauce and Vegetables

Here’s another one I got from A-Sha’s US distributor recently – thanks! I saw this variety on the A-Sha Taiwan website and was very curious; who is the gentleman on the packaging? Well, I asked and this is what they had to say: ...see full post

Noodle Samples From Oni Hot Pot Of Taiwan

Very curious about this – let’s pop it open.

Wow (click to enlarge) – that’s one angry looking pepper! ...see full post

#1966: Wei Lih GGE Noodle Snack Wheat Crackers Soy Sauce Ramen

Here’s another one I got down in Pleasanton, California a month or so ago. GGE is an abbreviation for Good Good Eat, as in ‘everybody loves good good eat.’ Kind of strange but we are talking about Taiwanese snack noodles here (see Leisure Meatballs). Anyways, let’s rip this bag open and check this snack out. ...see full post

Snack & Noodle Samples From A-Sha

Hey – another box from A-Sha Dry Noodle! Let’s check it out!

Here’s what I saw when I opened the box (click to enlarge). ...see full post

#1952: Ve Wong Kung-Fu Brand Instant Oriental Noodle Soup Artificial Beef Flavor

Here’s one I thought would be a re-review. I was on the 99 Ranch Market noodle aisle and though ‘hey this would be an interesting one to check out to test my new camera setup.’ Well as it turns out, I’ve never reviewed this one – very strange! As for my new camera setup, it’s been a rough go. I’ve never used DSLR in the past – only point and shot. It’s a pretty steep learning curve and the first day I had this thing I was ready to chuck it out the window! But after some time I’m starting to get the hang of it. Lightbulbs, lenses, f-stops, ISO settings and shutter speeds. It’s a lot to juggle and I still don’t think I’ve found the sweet spot yet. But I’m still working on it! Anyways, let’s check out the interesting looking beef variety from Taiwan. ...see full post

#1944: Wei Lih GGE Noodle Snack Wheat Crackers Hot Spicy

Here’s one I got at the 99 Ranch down in Pleasanton, California a couple of weeks ago. So the GGE stands for Good Good Eat, as in ‘everybody loves good good eat.’ Yeah, I know – kind of weird. But hey – this is a Taiwanese snack noodle and they can be pretty interesting (see Leisure Meatballs). Anyways, let’s crack this bag open and look inside. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1935: Love Cook Guanmiao Dried Noodles With Oleum Sesami

Today, we bid a fond farewell to the Love Cook Meet The Manufacturer. Been nice to try some new varieties from Taiwan lately! Oleum sesami is the scientific term for sesame oil. Very curious about this one! Let’s take a look! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1934: Love Cook Guanmiao Dried Noodles With Spicy Sauce

Ah now here we go – spicy! Spicy sounds good today – it’s been cold, rainy and windy lately – not a very nice combo. Every morning Miles wakes up and I wheel his bassinet over to the window to spend a few minutes looking outside – usually it’s a cloudy day. But that’s weather in Washington state for you – winter’s like that. Spicy sounds good – let’s check it out! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1933: Love Cook Guanmiao Dried Noodles With Authentic Sauce

So you might be wondering what ‘authentic sauce’ might be. I think this will be more like a soy based variety – with a few added spices. I think this is also referred to as Taiwanese sauce. The second review is ready to go! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1932: Love Cook Guanmiao Dried Noodles With Shallot Flavor

To start things off, I thought something sesame sounded good. Today alsol marks the start of regularly using my new camera/copy stand setup. I’m hoping this will allow for much higher quality photos! I suppose we’ll see! Anyways, let’s check out this noodle from Taiwan! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Product Samples From Love Cook 2

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A couple weeks later, I received another box…

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A new bowl! Hooray! Really nice – thank you so much! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Product Samples From Love Cook 1

A box came in the mail from Love Cook! Let’s look within…

Wow what’s in here? Pictures of suggested garnishes (always helpful), a CD with them as well. Also, a card. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Interview With Love Cook

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Snacks Of All Time 2016 Edition

Instant noodle… snacks? Yeah! Snacks of all kinds have come from instant noodles – candy, crunchy bits, you name it. They’re popular all over Asia and also the United States; have you ever taken a pack of instant noodles, crushed them and added in the seasoning and shaken the bag up and eaten them like potato chips or popcorn? Well, this is popular elsewhere as well! Let’s check out my favorite instant noodle snacks from over 1,900 reviews. Enjoy! ...see full post

#1873: Vedan Wei Wei A Instant Noodles Chicken Flavor

The last one from the trip we took to Canada for my birthday. This is a Taiwanese variety I found up there. I see a picture of a chicken on the package, but that’s as far as it goes as the serving suggestion doesn’t look very ‘chickenny.’ Let’s see how it goes! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1843: Forest Noodles Sunbaked Noodle With Sesame Oil Sauce

Today, we bid a fond farewell to another Meet The Manufacturer. Forest Noodles products all have one thing in common – they’re all dried in the sun. They also highlight nature which is pretty great as well. Let’s have a look at the last in this series, their sesame oil sauce variety with sunbaked noodles. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1842: Forest Noodles Purple Sweet Potato Noodle With Taiwanese Sauce

I think one of my favorite things are noodles that have something differe – like these. Purple noodles are pretty fascinating – first off, they’re purple. I remember hearing about ‘Space Potatoes’ a while back – somehow crossing the stuff that makes eggplants purple with a potato. I think blue potatoes would be kind of neat, but how would they taste? Well, let’s see how these noodles taste! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1841: Forest Noodles Sunbaked Noodles With Spicy Sauce

Today, we’ve got a sunbaked noodle. Forest Noodles dried their noodles in the sun – which means no sun, no noodles. This variety is served cold – let’s check it out! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1840: Forest Noodles Sweet Potato Noodles With Sesame Paste Sauce

Today, we start with Forest Noodles’ sweet potato noodles. They’re sun-dried (no sun, no noodles). I think it would be neat to have a sun-dried noodle company here in the Seattle company, but it’s so cloudy around here that it probably wouldn’t work very well! Maybe in the summer months though… anyways, let’s see what we’ve got here! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Product Samples From Forest Noodles

A big box from Taiwan! What’s inside?

Nicely packed with bubble wrap!

A Forest Noodles brochure. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Interview With Forest Noodles

I was contacted a while back by a Taiwanese company I’d never heard of called Forest Noodles. I thought hey – I live near the forest! They had samples sent and I sent interview questions and so here we are! I interviewed MingYo, Founder of Forest Noodles – welcome to a new Meet The Manufacturer – on with the interview! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1830: Zeng Noodles Sichuan Pepper Flavor

Today, we finish off this trifecta by Zeng Noodles with a straight Sichuan Pepper variety.

Here’s the back of the package (click image to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add noodle block to 800ml boiling water and cook for 5 1/2 minutes. Drain. Add in contents of sachets. Stir and enjoy! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1829: Zeng Noodles Hu Sesame Flavor

I think when people here in the United States usually think of something sesame flavor, they think immediately of sesame oil. In Taiwan, sesame is something much different; sesame paste like tahini and peanut combine. The first time we found this out was when my wife got some noodles a few years ago that said sesame flavor and were like this – she’s not a fan of peanut butter, so it didn’t work out so well for her. Very curious about this one though – let’s check it out! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1828: Zeng Noodles Scallion With Sichuan Pepper Flavor

In the past year, I’ve tried quite a few varieties with Sichuan Pepper in them and really gotten a feel for this kind of flavor. In a way, Sichuan Pepper has almost a minty taste to it; it’s really quite different and unique. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Product Samples From Zeng Noodles

A big box from Taiwan!

Fist thing – an envelope!

Meet The Manufacturer interview answers! Thank you! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Interview With Zeng Noodles

#1820: Ten-In Veggie King Buddha Jump Instant Noodles

Here’s one I got from the folks at Exotic Noods, the first subscription instant noodle service I’d heard from! It’s one big bowl, that’s for sure – and heavy, too! I looked into Buddha Jump on wikipedia and found this – ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2015 Edition

A new year brings the The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of all Time 2015 Edition. After reviewing over 1,750 different varieties, these are my favorites hailing from Taiwan. Taiwan’s instant noodles are different from those of any other country; so curious about what direction their flavors go next. With that, let’s dig in to the new list for 2015! ...see full post

#1779: Chering Chang Instant Non-Fried Noodles Tomato Flavour

I’ve tried quite a few tomato flavored instant noodles over the years. What’s kind of interesting s that many of them hail from Taiwan – including this one I’ll be trying today, I can count three in all, and that could be missing one or more. I like tomatoes – they’re pretty tasty and have a seemingly endless global appeal. Let’s have a look at this Taiwanese variety with a tomato taste. ...see full post

#1762: Mom’s Dry Noodle Sesame & Pepper

Here’s another new one from Mom’s Dry Noodle. This one’s got something inside none of the others do – FIVE sachets. Five. That’s a lot! Let’s crack the bag open and see what’s inside. ...see full post

#1756: A-Sha Veggie Noodle Carrot Noodle With Original Sauce

I gotta say it’s been a lot of fun reviewing all of this veggie series by A-Sha – so many flavor profiles I’ve not tried before! We finish with their carrot noodle. Carrots are good, but how do they do in a noodle? Well, let’s see! ...see full post

#1751: Mom’s Dry Noodle Spicy & Sour Flavor

Here’s a new one that just was released! These varieties by Mom’s Dry Noodle have been pretty impressive. This one’s spicy and sour – sounds quite interesting. I’ve tried such flavors from Malaysia before – kind of a description of Laksa, but being from Taiwan I think this is going to be a lot different. Like curry, spicy and sour flavors are different whever you go. Let’s check out this new one from Mom’s Dry Noodle! ...see full post

#1744: A-Sha Veggie Noodle Baby Grass Noodle With Toona Sauce

I pride myself on trying a new instant noodle every day, but it’s really special when I get to try a new one with a flavor I’ve never tried before. Behold noodle enthusiasts: Baby Grass. I’ve been wanting to try this since I’d heard of it. Here’s what A-Sha’s website has to say about it: “Our Baby Grass Noodles with Toona Sauce bring out a fresh, earthy flavor.  An extra source of fiber and a light healthy taste” The noodles have the Baby Grass flavor, but what is Toona Sauce? I think this snippet from Wikipedia has something to do with it – “T. sinensis (Chinese Toon) is used in Chinese traditional medicine and eaten as a vegetable in China (leaves and shoots).” Anyways, let’s have a look at this truly unique variety from Taiwan’s A-Sha! ...see full post

Unique Veggie Noodles From A-Sha

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A box showed up a couple days ago from Hann-wei over at A-Sha! Let’s see what’s inside! ...see full post

New Products Coming From Mom’s Dry Noodle

Got some really fresh new samples from Kyle over at Mom’s Dry Noodle a couple days ago! Let’s check ’em out! ...see full post

#1730: Wu-Mu BBQ Pork Flavor Chow Mein

Here’s yet another I got up in Canada during my birthday trip this last year. This one sounded especially good – chow mein! BBQ pork! How can you go wrong? Well, my hope is that one can’t go wrong! Let’s find out. ...see full post