Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Well, here we have the third and final variety from this range by Nissin USA and I am pretty sure it’s got the longest name of all. So far, I can give a qualified take it or leave it feel to these. They’re variations on a theme as they’re all beef and just have different flavors of the Bachan’s BBQ sauce. Well, let’s take it on a test drive and see how it goes.
Hey Nissin you’ve been holding out! This is a new one I found at my local Safeway supermarket of all places. There are two siblings in this range – a tonkotsu and a coconut curry – both of which I’m all over. Let’s try this one.
A big Thank you to Aimee from the Ramen Junkies Facebook group! I’ve never had a Nissin Top Ramen corrections-style variety before and so this is the first and I’m STOKED. There’s really no correlating variety outside of prisons and jail like this flavor. Fascinating. Watch and check it out – and thanks again!
Back in mid 2018, I reviewed this right after their ‘new recipe’ change for review #2910. Around that time, it seemed that US manufacturers decided to change the product names of economy pillow packs that were initially known as ‘Oriental’ flavor to Soy Sauce. The term ‘Oriental’ has come under fire in recent years, hence the change. What does Oriental mean? Basically it derives from Latin, meaning ‘of the east’ – the opposite being Occidental being ‘of the west.’ From what I’ve gathered from running the Ramen Junkie facebook group for a while as this has come up from time to time is that many things and businesses will use the term; ‘insert city name here’ Oriental Market for example, however it isn’t a term to be used for people, at least that’s what I found. I read an L.A. Times article about this very subject that I thought was very interesting – you can read it here. One particular quote from the author I found fascinating was ‘A funny thing I noticed is that my Caucasian colleagues, not my Asian colleagues, are most eager to remove Oriental from public discourse.’
October 6th is National Noodle Day! I knew it existed, but every year I find out when it’s too late to do a special post or something to commemorate the day. This year, Nissin Foods USA overnighted me a box especially for National Noodle Day – and it arrived the day before! So, I’ve spent the day before National Noodle Day shooting video, doing special research, and sitting in the bathroom. Well, it’s been fun, and now it’s time to show you what you may have or have not heard about – the Nissin Cup Noodles Soup Soaker. It’s a bath bomb which came in this special box in a noodle cup. What’s more is it’s kind of chickenny. Yeah. A chicken broth bath bomb. Watch it fizz!!!
I’ve of course reviewed Top Ramen chicken flavor before. However, this is a special release version for their 50th Anniversary. Since 1971, Nissin’s been churning out Top Ramen – and I really appreciate that. The first variety I tried was a Nissin product, which is fitting since they were the makers of the first instant noodle in 1958. Let’s pay tribute and required honor to this, the noodle that introduced the United States to instant noodles.
It seemed to me like I needed to a new country list, but I wasn’t sure which. I was perusing my big list of reviews and noticed at this point, I’ve reviewed a ton of them from India, and I thought a nice list of my favorites would be good. I really would like to review more, so if you’re reading this and with an Indian manufacturer of instant noodles, I’d love to hear from you – please drop me a line! This is a list of my favorites which is current as of review #3,702. With that, let’s check out the debut of The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Indian Instant Noodles Of All Time 2021 Edition.
Well, here’s the last of my Nissin India products. Sad to see them end but it’s really been fun. If you happen to work for Nissin India, please contact me? Heck, if you’re with any instant noodle company in India – I’d love to review all your products. I foresee some happy day doing a top ten Indian varieties list! But until then, here’s the last of the Nissin stuff I found at India Supermarket in Bellevue, Washington.
Found this over at India Supermarket in Bellevue, WA. One of many ‘four-in-one’ packs. India. Curry. Let’s do this!
Really enjoying giving these Indian varieties a try – I don’t get a lot of them so I’m happily going through everything I got recently. Chicken sounds like it should be a good bet. Let’s go!
Hooray! Let’s go to India! Actually, I went to India Supermarket in Bellevue, Washington last month! They have a really great selection of varieties from India. It’s pretty common that Indian varieties come in these wide 4 packs. They had a ton I’d not tried and you’ll be seeing them rolling on through shortly. I got some neat stuff to add in as well Let’s go!
This is the third and final variety of the new Top Ramen bowls – Soy Sauce. Originally called oriental flavor, Nissin decided to change it over to soy sauce flavor. It’s kind of interesting; I’ve been to Asia a handful of times and seen the term oriental all over the place, however here in the states I’ve heard of some discontent with the term, possibly the impetus for this change. Anyways, let’s give this one a try!
Here’s the second of three new Top Ramen bowls from here in the United States. At first I though ‘okay, it’s just Top Ramen in a bowl.’ But the extras in these are very interesting. Definitely excited to try ’em. Let’s do it!
This one came in a special ‘First Taste Club’ box from Nissin Foods USA – pretty snazzy. So, what’s the big deal? Well, it’s Top Ramen, in a bowl. It also comes with vegetables. It also comes with… teriyaki sauce? I’m very curious about this one – let’s cook it up and ruminate on this…
It kind of confuses me on this one – I mean, yeah, it says ‘the original’ and doesn’t really say that there’s been a recipe change. But there has – now there’s no MSG and no artificial flavors., plus a reduction in sodium. These aren’t bad things at all of course, but I’m just kind of left wondering – so shouldn’t it say new and improved instead of ‘the original?’ Anyways, let’s see what’s in this, one of the Vegetarian varieties in the Top Ramen range.
Well would you look at that! Top Ramen. An American original. You might be thinking ‘aww that’s Japanese,’ but this stuff is as American as it gets. The flavor is made to appeal to the local market. What bums me out is when I say ‘an American original’ all I can think about is my favorite political show which is no more. My dad used to watch The McLaughlin Group for years and I finally hit an age after he was gone that I checked it out and got hooked on it. I’d torture poor Andy and make him watch it all the time. But Dr. McLaughlin died a couple years ago, and they ended the series long run. I would be curious how it would have been if he would have stayed alive longer – how the show would be these days. Anyways, I’ve gone way off track. So soy sauce is known as Shoyu in Japan. This is a kind of Shoyu ramen. Let’s check i tout!
Hey look – Top Ramen got a facelift! They’ve been changing recipes all over their ranges – getting rid of artificial flavoring and MSG. They’ve also been changing names. This used to be picante beef. To be honest, I haven’t had the first variety in years and it’s nice to be able to have it again fresh. Let’s give it a look!
Well folks, the United States has started to see the light. There’s nothing I love to see more than a tie-in/crossover product and this is something I’ve seen zillions of times overseas but really never before here.
Okay so you may have seen that there are new Pringles Top Ramen Chicken Flavor Potato Chips on the market. This is a pretty surprising thing for the US – less so elsewhere. Apparently, the only place you can buy them in stores is at a place called Dollar General. There aren’t any in Washington State, so I had to look elsewhere. I found an eBay Seller who has them and at a very reasonable price. Some people are selling six cans of Pringles for $99! That’s $16.50 per can! Egad; what has this world come to… Anyways, yeah I don’t think they currently have any in stock but I asked and they said that they were going to restock again ASAP!
After a long time, I finally go to visit a little store I used to frequent a lot. I went to visit Indian Sweets And Snacks yesterday in north Seattle/Shoreline. First off, you’ll note that these are indeed Nissin Top Ramen. Second, you’ll note that they don’t look like any you’ve seen before. Indeed, these are from India – where masala, curry and other flavors are very popular. Who is the character on the front? Top Boy! We usually don’t see a lot of this kind of thing in the United States. In conclusion, Ultimately, I call on all noodle companies to have a cartoon character! I think it’s kind of fun. Let’s check this Top Ramen Masala out.
A year or two ago, Nissin Foods USA started putting a new, updated package on their classic Top Ramen products. I haven’t really done any new reviews of them, but I figured why not. This one’s probably one of the most ubiquitous instant noodles found in the United States. Let’s have a look.
For a long, long time, I’ve been hunting the elusive Top Ramen from India. I remember at n Indian grocery where I used to live that they had a few curry varieties, but never was able to find it again. Well a few weeks ago I found a large Indian grocery in Redmond, Washington that had this stuff and was happily surprised. So to start off with, this isn’t your domestic United States Top Ramen. This is from India, made in India by Indo Nissin for the people there and so the flavor will be much different. This is a 4 pack – four noodle blocks, four seasoning sachets. Let’s look inside and see what we have.
On Friday, I conducted a little experiment: let’s have a look at what happens when we look at 6 months of images from instagram that have the hashtag #topramen. What I found were many comparisons of instant noodles to hair, mentions of poverty and many images of what people liked to pair with their instant noodles.
This is the last of the new varieties available in the South American country of Colombia. What is Gallina? Well, it’s young hen. It was explained to me that Gallina is a little more oily. Andy will be enjoying this one today! Let’s have a look.
I’ve been really wanting to review this one before now but I decided to do it for the Christmas review quite a while back. I don’t usually barge in with a different review during Meet The Manufacturer, but it’s Christmas so here it is. The ABC President Meet The Manufacturer will continue after Christmas. For now, let’s check out this cup. I’ve had cups that have come with little doo dads before; a ticket for a contest, a sticker, a little card… But this is something completely different. A little model kit! Let’s check it out!
Here’s one I’ve had lurking in the bin for a while – I figured it was time to haul it out and give it a try. Let’s check it out!
I thought today I’d do a couple reviews. My son had a craving for some noodles for lunch and I thought hmmmm… Which one? I’ve currently got a ton of varieties to pick from right now, but there are many he will definitely not like. One of his faves is Nissin Top Ramen Chicken flavor and so thought he might like this one. This one’s for sale in Colombia, made by Nissin here in the US, and is basically a repackaged version of the chicken Top Raen. Let’s see how it goes!
The instant noodle originated in 1958 in Japan, but since that time, they’ve expanded in popularity all over the world, including of course, the United States. Seeing this, instant noodle companies thought it wise to start building plants here in the 1970s. Since then, many brands operate factories here in the US, mostly in southern California. This is a list of my favorite varieties produced here, encompassing my over 1,100 reviews to date. With that, here’s your top ten, America!
A big box…
Full of…
New stuff! Scott A. over at Nissin Foods USA sent a couple new items – Habanero Lime Chicken and Habanero Lime Shrimp Big Cup Noodles, Spicy Teiryaki Beef Chow Mein and a couple from Japan – another Nissin Raoh (this time miso) and the pack version of the Nissin Raoh Rich Soy Sauce & Backfat! Awesome! Thank you very much!
Here’s another cold variety to check out!
The ingredients and instructions (click image to enlarge).
First off, I’d like to wish everyone a wonderful Lunar New Year! Here’s another one from Sun Noodle! This one is served either hot or cold, and I thought I would try it cold.
Here’s another of the Sun Noodle line – pork flavor ramen! Let’s check it out!
Here’s the first review of the Sun Noodle Meet The Manufacturer spotlight, their Yakisoba. Yakisoba is one of my favorite Japanese noodle dishes. What’s nice is that the flavoring contains one of my favorite flavors – Worcestershire sauce!
A nice big box…
…of fresh noodles from Sun Noodle for Meet The Manufacturer! Ramen, yakisoba, udon, saimin… Lots of different flavors to review! Thanks go to everyone at Sun Noodle!
Welcome to another installment of Meet The Manufacturer! This time, it’s Sun Noodle – purveyor of fresh ramen noodles and other fine products. Here’s an interview I did with them via email.
Here’s one I found at the Bellevue, Washington Uwajimaya. Pricy stuff – $3.39 for a bowl noodle? Wow. Hope it’s good! Looks like Donbei is a style and tensoba is just a shortening of tempura soba. Let’s hit it!
Here one that came from Korea by way of Kristen W. of Arizona! Thank you so much! I’ve wanted to review this one for a long time! Let’s check this unique variety out.
Here’s another one of the great varieties sent by Joe & Gill of the UK – thanks again! Chilli Beef Pot Noodle. Looks interesting to me!
Kristen W. of Arizona sent me some noodles she got while she was in South Korea!
This is a great little collection of South Korean varieties you can’t easily find here! Ottogi Cheese Ramyun and Spaghetti bowls – been wanting to try them for a while! The two above are Paldo Korea varieties – I think Rabokki and Jjajang. The Nongshim Shin Cup in the lower right is the South Korean version. Thank, Kristen! Soon as they’re made, some The Ramen Rater stickers will be coming your way!
Here’s one of the packs that came from Australia! Thanks go to Melanie I. of Jannali, NSW for sending these and also thanks to Mark K. for getting her to do it! These are from China but sold in Australia. Looks like something different – let’s check it out.
