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.
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 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 Miso Ramen – United States
Here’s the labels from the 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!
Fresh ramen noodles.
A large pouch of miso ramen broth.
Chashu pork belly!
Neato seaweed!
A special ground beef.
Pickled bamboo shoots (menma).
Finished (click to enlarge). Aside from the included garnish, I added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, spring onion, corn, soft egg, and black sesame seeds. Noodles are great – definitely nice to have fresh ones here – and thy come out just right. The broth is a tasty miso – just rich enough. The included garnish was great – especially that ground beef which added a little sweetness. Bamboo shots were crisp, chashu was tasty too. I really loved the seaweed having the print on it – that was really fun to work with. Putting everything together was pretty simple too. 4.75 out of 5.0 stars.
So when Yamachan contacted me about a gluten free ramen, I was interested. Really? How does that work? Well, only one way to find out! One thing is these are konyak noodles. I’ve had thick gauge konyak and really disliked it. I have to admit though seeing the gauge of these I’ve got hope. Let’s check it out!
Yamachan Ramen Z Miso Flavor Ramen – United States
Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). To prepare, rinse noodles. Add noodles and miso paste to 6oz of water and microwave 3 minutes. Finally, sir and enjoy!
One of two servings of noodles.
One of two wet sachets.
Miso soup base.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added soft egg, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, spring onion, black sesame seeds, and habanero togarashi. The noodles are indeed unique. The gauge definitely works for this style though; while they have a gummy kind of texture, it works with the broth. The miso broth is strong and tasty which I enjoyed. Couple that with a 136 calorie per reasonably sized serving size too. I was surprised how much I liked this. 3.75 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 767921033608.
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 go back to the doctor on April 26th, 2019 – about 6 months afterwards for another blood test and cheup to see how I’ve done, and I think my doctor is going to be shocked. 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 Soy Sauce Chicken 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 chicken. 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.
A dry sachet.
The soup base.
A second dry sachet.
This is the ‘noodtrients’ powder. This is where the vitamins, minerals, and protein come into play.
A wet sachet.
Canola oil.
A clear garnish sachet.
A vegetable mixture with 8 different varieties.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added soft egg, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, baked chicken, black sesame seeds, and spring onion. I’m definitely seeing a difference in this from the prototype. The noodle has a nice chew and texture – a unique one which worked well. The broth is on the light side; it’s not a salty bomb, however it has a good thickness and gives a taste of actual chicken broth that I liked. Very happy with the changes in addition to all the protein, low sodium, fiber, and vitamin benefits. Innovative and fresh. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. No bar code.
This came by way of Robert over at www.dadbert.com – thanks! I’ve never seen hide nor hare of this variety ever before – anywhere. Test market in Kentucky? Perhaps. It looks like these are a meat version of the Very Veggie really; lots of meat instead of vegetables. My thought – screw it – I mean put lots of meat AND vegetables in there. In fact, screw that – do a retort pooch with meat and vegetables – now you’re talking! Nissin – you’re here in the United States already – use real meat! Retort pouches are the salvation – they shall bring a whole new age to the domestic instant noodle industry in America! At least that’s my vision. Let’s check it out!
Nissin Cup Noodles Soup’D Up Zesty Chicken Flavor – United States
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Contains chicken. To prepare, . UPC bar code.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added soft egg, spring onion, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, and grilled chicken. The noodles came out pretty well. The broth was very thin and could have used a little more zestiness. Vegetables did well, however chicken chunks while of a decent size weren’t completely done in the center. 2.0 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code
Here’s something new from MAma Pat’s – cups! I recently reviewed the chicken taco variety and was disappointed that they removed the vegetable sachets from their packs. Well, they’re still in these cups and that should be interesting. Let’s give it a try!
Mama Pat’s Chicken Fajita Flavor Instant Ramen Noodles – United States
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add in sachet contents and boiling water to fill line. Cover for 3~5 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!
Finished (click to enlarge). Added spring onion, grilled chicken, Cholula hot sauce and black sesame seeds. Noodles have a round shape and after 4 minutes we reasonably hydrated. They didn’t seem to work with the broth as well as I’d hoped. Broth has a chicken and smoky taste to it which was unique and interesting. Vegetables worked alright. 2.75 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 757170500181.
Here’s the second of the two initial varieties of the Momosan Ramen range from Sapporo Ichiban. These feature a collaboration with Iron Chef Morimoto , one is a tonkotsu and this is the Tokyo Chicken. Let’s crack into it and give it a try!
Sapporo Ichiban Momosan Ramen Tokyo Chicken – United States
Detail of the package (click to enlarge). Contains fish. To prepare, add noodles to 450ml boiling water and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!
The noodle block.
A dry sachet.
A light powder.
A wet sachet.
Seasoned oil.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, spring onion, soft egg, black sesame seeds, baked chicken with Neo-Essence pepper salt and Nutek Salt for Life. Noodles came out very nicely with a nice bite to them and good quantity. The broth is thick – kind of like a chicken shio and very rich. Lots of strong flavor. 3.5 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 076186550028.
I thought hey I’ve got this other one – I should review it too. So here we are. It’s funny how there are two crowds; one that likes this brand and one that likes the other economy class instant here in the United States. They’ve both got their strengths, and the one with Maruchan I would say is the variety of flavors in their Ramen Noodle Soup range. There’s a ton of them – many of which are kind of hard to find. This is one I haven’t seen often. I think the first time I had this was back in early 2010 – yep that link is good old review #66. Looks like I re-reviewed it the next year.
What’s interesting is when this was reviewed and where. The bowl and placemat are a dead giveaway – the bowl is from Hawaii and the placemat pegs it as one of the miniscule handful of reviews I’ve done at my mom’s house in Anacortes, Washington. Not only that, the text of review #66 is interesting as well. I pose the question ‘is there even pork ramen in the world’ – wow. Dude, yeah there’s pork ramen. Look to Japan! Look to tonkotsu!
To think about ten years ago I was this clueless about the plaything instant noodles were to me at the time.I’ll admit I look back fondly at those days – I’m guessing this is the day before I flew down to California to help Kit get everything together so we could move into our new apartment in Edmonds, Washington. Where we lived within a very short walk of a 99 Ranch Market and started my march towards learning about and eventually travelling multiple times to Asia. Crazy.
The wheel in the sky keeps on turning. Let’s revisit this one, with a new packaging and see how it is now that I’ve got over 3,000 more reviews under my belt.
Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup Pork Flavor – United States
Detail of the outer packaging (click to enlarge). Contains pork. To prepare, boil noodle block in 2 cups water for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add sachet contents and stir one full minute. Finally, stir and enjoy!
The noodle block.
A dry sachet.
A light powder.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added soft egg, chashu pork, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, spring onion, and black sesame seeds. The noodles are soft and have a very comfortable tooth to them. The broth has a salty pork chop kind of taste to them which is interesting. 3.25 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 041789002137.
I’ve reviewed this in the past, but this one has new packaging and so gets a new number. I dunno – could have a new recipe too. Many companies are making subtle below the radar changes on their domestic product lines including lowering sodium. It’s kind of funny; people complain about the amount of sodium in instant noodles, but when presented a lower sodium product that exclaims the feature, they’ll shy away with thoughts of blandness. It just goes to show people are kind of conflicted. Okay, not kind of.
Maruchan has pushed a lot of low-cost product on the market – as mentioned in the book The Noodle Narratives (I can’t recommend reading this higher), low cost and high volume could be their motto. Price-point is a huge concern for manufacturers here in the United States and unfortunately for instant noodles, that’s given them a lot of negative stigma as to quality. Most instant noodle companies globally seek some pretty impressive QC standards and certifications which aren’t all that easily (or cheaply) attained.
In Japan, Maruchan products come in a myriad of flavors and varieties – fancy and expensive bowls with all sorts of different unique qualities. The lack of acceptance in the US market of higher end instant noodles has been a real thorn in the side of innovation it seems, although in recent years, I’ve seen a few new things coming from Maruchan in particular that are interesting, for example their Taste Of Asia Bowl range which includes a truly excellent Tom Yum variety.
Anyways, not trying to toot anyone’s horns here but thought I’d ramble on a Sunday morning. Let’s check out some roast beef ramen!
Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup Roast Beef Flavor – United States
Detail of the packaging (click to enlarge). Contains beef. To prepare, add noodle block to 2 cups boiling water and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally, take off heat and add sachet contents, stir for 1 minute and enjoy!
The noodle block.
A dry sachet.
A light powder base.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added spring onion, boiled beef, white onion, fried crispy garlic, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, an egg, and black sesame seeds. The noodles are very soft and on the verge of mushy, however they work well and have a familiarity with them I think anyone in the United States can identify. The broth has a salt beef taste which is pretty good. Reminds me a lot of beef flavors I’ve had in Filipino varieties. 3.25 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 041789002588.
Here’s a new one from Sapporo Ichiban – a collaboration with Momosan Ramen & Sake restaurant, a venture by ‘Iron Chef’ Masaharu Morimoto. Curious if this is going to be good, but guessing it will be; Sanyo Foods doesn’t come out with a new variety too extremely often here in the United States. Let’s give it a try!
Sapporo Ichiban Momosan Ramen Tonkotsu – United States
Detail of the pack (click to enlarge). Contains fish. To prepare, add noodles to 450ml boiling water and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sachet contents to a bowl. Add noodles and liquid to bowl and stir. Finally, enjoy!
The noodle block.
A dry sachet.
A light powder.
A wet sachet.
A think liquid.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added soft egg, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, black sesame seeds, chashu, spring onion, and habanero togarashi. Noodles have a great chew and shape. The noodles are not fried which is a departure from the norm for this company and work well. Broth is nice and hearty with a good thickness and rich flavor of shio tonkotsu. Impressed and satisfying. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 076186550011.
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