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…
Nissin Top Ramen Chicken Flavor Bowl – United States
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Contains chicken. To prepare, add powder and vegetable sachets into the bowl along with room temperature water to the fill line. Microwave uncovered for 3 minutes at 1000W. Let sit in the microwave an additional minute. Add in wet sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!
Finished (click to enlarge). Added baked chicken, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, spring onion, carrot, sesame seeds, and shichimi togarashi. Noodles worked well and had a nice character to them. The broth smelled very much like homemade chicken broth – until the teriyaky liquid went in. It eradicated all taste of chicken in there. Vegetables were prevalent. I’m not saying it’s bad – in fact it was quite good – just when I see chicken I expect a chicken flavor. 3.5 out of 6.0 stars. UPC bar code 070662026038.
Here’s the second of the three refrigerated bowl sent by Nona Lim – thanks again! This one contains ‘Beyond Meat,’ a meat substitute that sounds interesting. I know I liked Dan Dan Noodle so let’s see how this measures up!
Nona Lim Dan Dan Noodle Bowl – United States
Detail of the cardboard outer sleeve (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, cut a slit in the noodle pouch and microwave for 1 minutes. Add into bowl along with sauce. Microwave 30 seconds. Finally, stir and enjoy!
The noodle pouch.
The broth.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added spring onion, cucumber, and carrot. I should note I didn’t realize the instructions on this one differed from the previous bowl, but I think everything came out as it should. The noodles were very good – nice chew to them and a rustic kind of texture. The flavor was nice; a little hint of spice, a lot of the Beyond Meat – it kind of came together like a nice microwavable Hamburger Helper though – didn’t make me think of Dan Dan Noodle so much. That’s not to say that it wasn’t delicious – I really wanted to eat this whole bowl! 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 859792002194.
This is an interesting one and took a little research. Is a plant based diet same as a Vegan diet? Well this video explains that they’re two different things. This is a fresh bowl which requires refrigeration. I really like green curry – let’s give it a try!
Nona Lim Green Curry Noodle Bowl – United States
Detail of the cardboard outer packaging (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add contents to the bowl and microwave for 2~3 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!
What you see under the cardboard outer packaging.
Gluten free laksa rice noodles.
A container of broth.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, fried tofu, basil, and pepper flake. The noodles has some oomph to them no doubt which was nice. The broth was very hearty and the inclusion of the vegetables was appreciated. However, the flavor was muted and could have used some salt. 3.5 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 859792002699.
I’ve gone to a couple ramen restaurants and hotten something mentioning spicy. Well, it hasn’t impressed me in flavor or spiciness in the past and been, well, bitter. I’m really curious about this one, though. Ramen Hero is based in the Bay Area and serves a few surrounding states at the time of this post – check their site for current service area. You pick your ramen, pay, and they’ll overnight you a set of ingredients to make a bowl of ramen at home – including garnish! Not bad. Let’s give this one a try – they send four and since they’re perishable, I’m going to do them over the next couple days.
Ramen Hero Spicy Shoyu Tonkotsu Ramen – United States
Here are the front and back labels (click to enlarge). Contains pork. To prepare, boil the large soup pouch for 10 minutes. when there’s 2 minutes left, boil your noodles in a seperate pot, stirring often. Also at the 1 1/2 minute point, drop the bags with the garnish in with the soup pouch to let them thaw (if needed). Finally, drain your noodles, add them to a bowl, empty the pouch of broth into your bowl, garnish, and enjoy!
Fresh ramen noodles.
The large broth sachet.
Pork belly chashu!
Menma (pickled bamboo shoots).
Narutomaki (fish cake).
Seaweed.
Finished (click to enlarge). In addition to the garnish above, I added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, black sesame seeds, soft egg, spring onion, and habanero togarashi. Noodles came out perfectly yet again. They work so nicely with the broth which is rich, tasty, sinfully oily and spicy. Not only that, it’s not bitter. This was just great stuff to try on a rainy spring afternoon. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars.
So I’m stoked – Chef Ron shot over a big box of samples! Things have changed though – these days the drink is missing, as are the vegetables. He promises that this is still an amazing product and I will still love it. Let’s find out!
Mama Pat’s Chicken Taco Flavor Instant Ramen Noodles – United States
Detail of the packaging (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, cook noodle block 3 minutes in 2 cups water. Add in sachet and stir over heat for an additional minutes. Finally, enjoy!
The noodle block.
A dry sachet.
A fine powder.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added grilled chicken, cheese, soft egg, baked flour tortilla, green onion, cilantro, crispy fried onion, and Cholula hot sauce. The noodles came out nicely and work well. Broth has a nice roast chicken flavor to it which I enjoyed, however the lack of vegetable makes it really just a chicken instant noodle; any semblance of taco flavor that was there before is completely gone. 2.0 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 728028430929.
After years of searching, here we are. Where are we and what is this? This is a pack of instant noodles that is only for inmates in correctional facilities – prisons. I found them on eBay and asked fans on the Facebook page if they would be interested in purchasing them (it was a pack of 24 and I only needed a couple) and send me a couple. A fellow named Nick Bizarro was kind enough to take up the task, and thanks to him, here we are.
Why is this special? Well, I contacted the distributor for these and they were quite adamant that the only possible way I could ever review these is if I went to prison. I pleaded with them, as I am not really interested in going to prison, but they wouldn’t budge.
You might notice that this variety isn’t available on the market – yup, it’s prison-only. However Maruchan says that it’s the same as Picante Beef flavor. Another thing is that these packages (known in the industry as pillow packs) are transparent. This is so officers can make sure no contraband is inside them. Since I have two packs of these, I’m going to do two versions – one more gourmet as I would garnish as per usual, and the other using an interpretation of a recipe used by inmates.
Solet’s delve into Maruchan Texas Beef Ramen Noodle Soup!
Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup Texas Beef Flavor – United States
Detail of the packaging (click to enlarge). Contains beef. To prepare, add noodle block to two cups of boiling water and cook 3 minutes. Take off heat and add sachet contents. Finally, stir for one full minute and enjoy!
The noodle block.
A clear dry sachet of soup base.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added shichimi, chili oil, sesame seeds, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, roast beef, and soft egg. Noodles were as you’d expect – familiar gauge and light on the chew. The picante beef-like taste is a good one. 3.5 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 041789002786.
I’ve reviewed Mama Pat’s products in the past, however there have been some changesto the packs (no more drink sachet and no vegetable sachet either) and now there are cups (which I’m reviewing for the first time). I think these are neat ranges – very unique varieties Chef Ron is bringing to market. Let’s check out this cup version!
Mama Pat’s Seafood Gumbo Flavor Instant Ramen Noodles – United States
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Contains seafood/crustaceans. To prepare, add sachet contents and fill to line with boiling water. Cover for 3~5 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!
A dry base sachet (watch Instant Noodle Recipe Time episode below to see contents).
A dry sachet of vegetable matter.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added shrimp, barbecued pork, spring onion, chili flake, hot sauce, fried garlic, and fried onion. The noodles were disappointing to be honest – they ended up with a kind of sponginess I didn’t like and just didn’t work. Broth flavor was overwhelmed by the vegetable sachet which was mostly herb. It just seemed to be thrown together quickly and not of the quality I’m used to from this brand. 1.25 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 757170500204.
A few months ago I did a Meet The Manufacturer series on Vite Ramen, but the packs I tried were prototypes and not this, the finished product for version 1.0 (version 1.1 will be coming soon and I’ll be giving that a try when it comes out). It’s a neat concept brought to life by Tim & Tom Zheng.
A lot of people found the idea of a healthy instant noodle very compelling – so much so that they netted a quarter of a million dollars on their Kickstarter campaign. What we have here is the culmination of lots of work by them.
These packs have a myriad of benefits, including lots of vitamins and minerals, 30g of protein, low sodium, low fat, and is an excellent source of fiber.
It also has something that’s hard for people to get – potassium. You can a decent amount in a banana, but eating enough bananas to meet the goal of potassium intake per day is going to have some side affects aside from the amount of sugar.This pack includes 25 percent of that.
As many of you know, I’ve been on a diet. I’ve been overweight most of my life. My doctor told me on October 18th, 2018 that I had high cholesterol, and pushed me to change my diet and exercise; something I’ve been told by doctors many times before. But I guess it was just the right time to do something about it. We got a jogging stroller and I started walking my daughter Miri on days my son has all day preschool. I also started using a fitbit and the My Fitness Pal app to track my intake and calorie burn.
I started slow; trying to get my step goal and trying to stay under the recommended calories for the day. It was hard at first, but I put myself in a good mindset and pushed forward. I started at 365lbs. I went back to the doctor on April 26th, 2019 – lost 65lbs and cholesterol is in check. I haven’t weighed myself, but I’ve gone down 6 pants sizes. I had to skip walking a couple days after last week too – Monday I walked 9.5 miles, Tuesday 10.5 miles, and Thursday I walked almost 15 miles and hit 30,000 steps. I guess I need to get some walking shoes that are better than the ones I get at Walmart in Richmond BC for $30CAD! I really jacked up my feet…
But in a couple weeks, I’ll find out how much I weigh at the doctor and report on that. I’m pretty stoked – I’m down to around 1200~1500 calories per day and it’s no problem at this point. As far as when I review, I have the tiniest amount of noodles and broth to sample – the rest goes down the drain. But I think today I’ll figure one of these packs into my regime and see how it goes. Let’s get started.
Vite Ramen Garlic Pork Instant Noodle Soup – United States
Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Take a look at the nutrition facts panel – it’s pretty monumental. Contains pork. To prepare, add noodle block to 2 1/2 cups boiling water and cook 2 1/2 minutes. Add in sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!
The noodle block.
Dry soup base powder. See contents in the video below.
The ‘Noodtrients’ sachet – this is where the protein and vitamins live.
Canola oil (if there was any doubt).
A mixture of vegetables.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, egg, spring onion, bbq pork, sesame seeds, and shichimi togarashi. Noodles are very hearty which I enjoyed. Broth has a nice homestyle kind of pork flavor to it, however is a little on the lass salty side. Vegetables jydrated well. An impressive feat achieved here. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. No bar code.
Often I’m asked ‘do you know of any kind of healthy noodles out there?’ Yes I do – and these be them. These are full of protein, low in sodium, and have 25% of all your vitamins and minerals. Sound good? Let’s take a look!
This is the last of the four varieties sent to me by Ramen Hero – I will say I’ve asked if they want to send more. I really love working with this product – it’s a lot of fun for me. Not only that, they’re really quite good. Hopefully it’ll pan out – and I’ll also find out how that fancy seaweed is done up!
I got an email asking if I was interested in trying overnight delivery ramen. Hey – why not, right? So, here we are! Ramen Hero is based in the Bay Area and serves a few surrounding states at the time of this post – check their site for current service area. You pick your ramen, pay, and they’ll overnight you a set of ingredients to make a bowl of ramen at home – including garnish! Not bad. Let’s give this one a try – they send four and since they’re perishable, I’m going to do them over the next couple days.
Ramen Hero Classic Tonkotsu Ramen – United States
Here are the labels from the front and back of the packaging (click to enlarge). Contains pork. To prepare, boil the large soup pouch for 10 minutes. when there’s 2 minutes left, boil your noodles in a separate pot, stirring often. Also at the 1 1/2 minute point, drop the bags with the garnish in with the soup pouch to let them thaw (if needed). Finally, drain your noodles, add them to a bowl, empty the pouch of broth into your bowl, garnish, and enjoy!
The noodles.
The large pouch of broth.
Pork belly chashu!
Seaweed.
Kizami shoga (pickled ginger).
Kikurage (wood ear mushroom).
Finished (click to enlarge). In addition to the supplied garnish, I added spring onion, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, shichimi togarashi, and sesame seeds. I forgot to add the seaweed on the last one (shrug) so used it on this one. The noodles – great chew, firmness and mouthfeel. The broth was rich, although a little on the saltier side. Nonetheless, in concert with the included pairings (the kikurage was particularly nice), things were quite good. 4.5 out of 5.0 stars.
I usually try to review at least two varieties a day and yesterday I did the last two Ramen Hero varieties and it was a lot of fun. It’s pretty neat to be able to do up all the garnish that came with it – and the printed seaweed was really neat, too!
I got an email asking if I was interested in trying overnight delivery ramen. Hey – why not, right? So, here we are! Ramen Hero is based in the Bay Area and serves a few surrounding states at the time of this post – check their site for current service area. You pick your ramen, pay, and they’ll overnight you a set of ingredients to make a bowl of ramen at home – including garnish! Not bad. Let’s give this one a try – they send four and since they’re perishable, I’m going to do them over the next couple days.
Ramen Hero Classic Shoyu Ramen – United States
Here are the labels from front and back (click to enlarge). Contains pork. To prepare, boil the large soup pouch for 10 minutes. when there’s 2 minutes left, boil your noodles in a seperate pot, stirring often. Also at the 1 1/2 minute point, drop the bags with the garnish in with the soup pouch to let them thaw (if needed). Finally, drain your noodles, add them to a bowl, empty the pouch of broth into your bowl, garnish, and enjoy!
The noodles.
A large pouch with the broth.
Pork belly chashu!
Calcium printed seaweed. Okay, I need to find out how they do this or where they get it done.
Narutomaki (fish cake)
Menma (pickled bamboo shoots).
Finished (click to enlarge). Aside from the above ingredients I added soft egg, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, spring onion, shichimi togarashi, and sesame seeds. Noodles just keep coming out very nicely. Broth was on point as well and in concert with the supplied garnish was a very nice bowl. 4.5 out of 5.0 stars.
Watch me cook on Instant Noodle Recipe Time!
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