Got an email from a reader named Donald J about this one and he wanted to send a sample – well, here it is! Thanks! Always very interested in Korean varieties – especially ones I’ve not seen before!
Something special tonight – I have retired the last set of cups I use to show powders, pastes, and vegetables/garnish. This is the first review using the new set. Black is for powder, white is for paste and oils, and blue is for garnish/vegetables.
Let’s take a look at this potato vegetable variety!
Atomy Potato Vegetable Ramen – South Korea
Detail of the packaging (click to enlarge). Unsur whether it’s meat free, so check for yourself. To prepare, add everything to 550ml boiling water and cook 4 1/2 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!
The noodle block.
A dry sachet.
A light powder.
A second dry sachet.
Vegetables.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, spring onion, soft egg, and beef. The noodles came out quite nicely – good chew and quality. The broth was a nice and vegetable laden spicy one – good character to it. 4.5 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8804294022135.
I got a nice email asking if I’d like to try some South Korean noodles a reader hadn’t seen me review yet. Here they are – big thanks to Donald! Let’s crack this open and look inside!
South Korean Atomy Instant Ramen Noodles from a Reader
I think this is the last of the Canton varieties I found at the Real Canadian Superstore up in Canada a few months back. That’s a neat place – in Richmond, BC – they’ve got all sorts of neat things there! Haven’t been to Canada in a little while. Need to visit again! Let’s check this one out!
Canton Instant Noodles Vegetable Flavour – Bangladesh
Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add noodle block (broken into 4 parts) to 250~300ml boiling water. Cook for 3 minutes and add seasoning sachet. Finally, stir and enjoy!
The noodle block.
A dry sachet.
A light speckled powder.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, sesame seeds, coriander, and fried tofu puff. The noodles were about what you’d expect in an instant with a slight fluffier texture. The flavor – and it just kills me – movie theater butter flavored microwave popcorn. I’m serious. It’s not bad actually and I found it enjoyable, but that’s definitely what I get out of this one. 3.75 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 846656017784.
Oh yeah are you ready? Are you? Man, you’re going to think I’m nuts, but I’m a huge fan of store brand instant noodles. Why? Simple – I love the hunt. I really like to go somewhere and say ‘ah ha – I haven’t tried this one,’ put it in the handbasket and move on. Well a few weeks ago we went to Lansdowne Centre, a neat mall in Richmond, BC. We keep finding different places to visit up there which totally rocks. In the mall, there’s a bunch of store of course. The mall really is kind of a blast from the past – very Canadian and looks like it was built in the 70’s – lots of mirrored things abound. What got us there was that we saw this sign saying ‘Dollarama’ when we’d go up to Richmond every time and I thought ‘hmmm… A Canadian dollar store sounds interesting…’ So we check it out and they had their own store brand. They’re made in China for the chain of Dollarama stores and called Bowlfull. Sounds interesting. Yeah – if it sounds interesting, I’, all in. I don’t care if I like it or not – it’s something new, and that’s what my whole instant noodle journey has been about. Let’s crack open this 25 cent pack of noodles and see how things turn out.
Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add noodles to 500ml boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. For soup, add in sachet. For side dish, drain and add in seasoning. Finally, stir and enjoy!
The noodle block.
The soup base sachet.
A light powder.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added coriander and spring onion. Prepared according to package ‘side dish instruction.’ Basically, cook,m drain, seasoning sachet. The noodles were alright – nothing to write home about really. However I would say the one thing to write home about would be the flavor – and maybe an angry tone to thje letter might be in order. It’s salty and tastes like a drunken teen got a hold of the pizza seasonings. I mean really – I don’t even think the idea of this being drained should be on the package as it turns into a real trainwreck of a thing. I can’t think of a lot of things that would be more of a bummer than looking forward to this, making it this way, then eating it. 0.0 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 667888102167.
While we were in Canada, the G7 summit was coming to a close and boom – lots of turmoil. President Trump (still hard to type that) just blasts Trudeau with idiotic banter about how Canada is ruining the USA and how Justin Trudeau is such a horrible guy. Well, I’d just like to say here that The Ramen Rater likes Canada a lot. Trump is a jerk – I apologize for his comments.
Found this one at the Real Canadian Superstore in Richmond, BC. Was impressed – ended up with a ton of varieties from there. Kind of like a super Walmart but real and Canadian! Well, these are called No Name so that’s kind of funny. Let’s check ’em out!
No Name Chicken Vegetable Flavour Oriental Noodles And Soup Mix – Canada
Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add noodle cup to 2 cups water and boil for 3 minutes. Add in dry sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!
The noodle block.
The soup base sachet.
A light powder.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, spring onion, coriander, and hard boiled egg. The noodles came out pretty well – a little gummy but not too bad compared with other Canadian instant noodle experiences I’ve had. The broth tasted like a slightly milder than normal chicken flavor – comfort food style. Very domestic North American. 3.25 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 060383758509.
This one was sent by the Butlers of Illinois – thanks again! This one was made in Germany but they found it in Italy. This is yet another brand I’ve never heard of which I’m really happy about – love noodles I’m thoroughly unfamiliar with. Alrighty then – let’s give it a go!
Lien Ying Asian-Spirit Asia Noodles Vegetable Flavour – Germany
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add boiling water to fill line and cover for 3 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!
Finished (click to enlarge). Noodles wre very thin and light and actually had a nice chew to them. The broth was very salty, however it had an intriguing vegetable flavor. Unfortunaterly, the salty taste kept me at bay. Vegetable bits hydrated well enough. Just too salty and oddly so. 2.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 4013200883225.
Kuo Lien Ying, (1895–1984) born in Inner Mongolia, China, was one of the most distinguished and revered martial artists of the twentieth century. He brought the Guang Ping Yang t’ai chi ch’uan to the United States.
Thanks as always to Aunt Cindy for watching our rugrats and giving us an fternoon out ! It’s been awhile – last time we had an outing just us was around review #2761 – another ramen restaurant – in December! Further back we went to Hokkaido Santouka in Bellevue, WA and people there as well as at the mall mentioned this Kizuki place. So this time we thought we’d give it a try.
Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya – Shio Ramen – Bellevue Square – United States
We noticed a lot of people outside the place as we walked by to look at some other things at the mall before going to lunch. Well, when we decided to go over there, there were a couple people still waiting inside the doorway that are pictured here – about a half hour later. Our wait time was around 45 minutes. Kind of lame – but then again what do you do. What kind of sucked too was that on the sheet you sign your name on, there’s a box you can check as to whether you want to sit at the bar or iat a table. So they call our name and say that there are two spots at the bar we could sit at – well, my wife checked the box saying we wanted to sit at a table. So we goty to wait a little longer. I mean, I get it – some people might be like ‘screw it we’ll sit at the bar,’ but we wanted a table.
Here’s another view. The artwork and look of the place was very nice. I will say that I find it kind of funny how every one we’ve been to so far is more like a bar atmosphere – very subdued lighting Eat your soup in the dark, haha! But actually it’s kind of nice.
To start, we tried the agedashi tofu (click to enlarge). I had this at another place a long time ago and I liked it better. However, this was really nice. Tofu with just the lightest crunch to the outside and a nice dashi sauce around it – very tasty.
This caught my eye when I looked at the menu online – prawn cutlet (click to enlarge). Basically these were breaded and fried and had very nice and moist prawn innards with a bit of sauce on the outisde. Definitely worth trying.
Finally, the chashu pork bun (click to enlarge). I was really excited about this however it seemed a bit of a letdown. The thing didn’t stay together very well for one. I felt like it was one of those things just made for Westerners. I mean it was alright but just expected something a little different even though it looks exactly as it did in the menu image. Mayonnaise tonkatsu sauce and hot mustard on there.
Kit got the pork chashu don (click to enlarge). with an egg. She liked it except for the seaweed which I took on for her.
I went for the Shio ramen (click to enlarge). I got an egg and extra fishcake as well. I liked it – the chashu was nice although wish it were just a little thicker. Lot sof vegetable on this one – a lot of cabbage which was kind of a surprise. Menma was good with a nice crunch to it. Noodles wre alright – definitely had better since I started this journey into trying restaurants around here. The broth was quite nice – not overly anything – just right.
Oil dancing at the top.
The egg was very good – as far as being marinated, it could have used a little more time. In conclusion, I was very happy with our experience. The ramen was just right and exactly what I was in the mood for, and the izakaya was for the most part very good. 4.5 out of 5.0 stars.
Time lapse of a Kisuki Ramen being built somewhere.
Alright – now if this isn’t something that doesn’t make you wanna check your head… So we went up to Canada yesterday. What was up there? This, the second one I’ve reviewed that has a little sachet that actually heats the bowl of noodles and cooks it. Where did I find it? I’m sure you’re thinking ‘oh some neat Asian grocery store.’ No. Hold onto your butts. My wife saw this one. At Walmart. Yeah. Walmart. The Walmart locations both in Richmond, BC and Vancouver, BC have decent noodle aisles with varieties from all over. It should be noted though that there’s a huge Asian population in this area – and so kind of makes sense in a demographic way. I mean, you certainly won’t see this near Walmart HQ in Bentonville, Arkansas…I thought it would be really cool if my son Andy got a chance to try and cook one of these. It should be fun! Glad we found it at Walmart – it was our last stop before heading back home. We go to Walmart every time we go to Canada. It’s really nice up there. Let’s cook this sucker up!
Da Long Yi Self Heating Hot Pot – Vegetable Version – China
Detail of the stickers from the outer wraps (click to enlarge). The barcode on this sticker is different from the barcode on the cardboard. Remember to avoid the burning hurt at all costs.
Detail of the underneath of the cardboard outer (click to enlarge). Says it’s vegetable. To prepare, take off lid and take out inner bowl. Add sachet contents and noodles. Add hot water to cover. Underneath in the lower bowl add the cooking sachet. Add cold water to cover the sachet. Put top bowl back on top and put lid back on. Let cook for 8 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!
Two ‘arms’ wrap themselves around the sides of the bowl (click to enlarge) – here they are side-by-side.
The little hole in the character’s mouth is a steam vent! These things get extremely hot
An included pair of chopsticks!
The noodles.
The first of three sachets.
This one is exceptionally large.
A smaller liquid base sachet.
Yeah – don’t eat this. This is the heating pack. It’s pretty amazing – a little sachet with a lot of power. This is what makes the bowl bubble and steam and get extremely hot.
Finished (click to enlarge). The noodles came out nicely – good thickness and chew. The vegetables – especially the lotus bean pod – were crisp and fresh. The broth was thick and very oily with a strong Sichuan pepper and chili pepper hit to it. I would say t his was the best one so far and many more to come. 3.5 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 6970164115060.
Alright kiddie, hold onto your butts! So we have something here I had to review the day after I got it; not because it was going to expire but because I was a little wary of storing it. Why’s that? Well, first off I got this up in Canada at Osaka Market at Yaohan Centre in Richmond, BC. I’d just returned from my trip to Taiwan, my jet lag now gone (for the most part). I had some leftover Taiwanese currency and the Kingmark Currency Exchange doesn’t charge for exchanging which is nice. I converted it so I could treat my family to some wheel cake and milk tea at a little Taiwanese shop at the centre.
I had NO INTENTION OF GETTING ANY NOODLES. PERIOD. I have so many noodles at this point and have to pare down my stock on hand as soon as possible because there’s more coming all the time! Well, we wandered into Osaka Market and their usual big display of fancy imports was replaced by Christmastime cookies and treats. We then hit the noodle aisle and I saw some things I didn’t have, but I held back. So far so good. Then my wife Kit spotted a couple things. One was a Yuzu Cup Noodle that was pretty cheap so went for that. The other was this strange bowl.
My first impression: it was heavy. The second was that I noticed something mentioning ‘self-cooking.’ So I thought this is unique so went for it. Let’s look inside and see what’s going on here.
Yumei Instant Spicy Hot Pot – China
First, let’s look at the English instructions (click to enlarge). Here we go:
CONSUME DIRECTION:
1. Open the box, remove the upper layer, tear off the sauce bag and chives bag, and pour them into the upper layer. 2. Tear off the vermicelli bag and vegetable bag, and put them into the upper layer, and stir and mix them together. 3. Add water into the upper layer, but not over the edge of the layer (hot water recommend for the better favor). 4. Open the self-heating package bag, and put the self-heating package into lower layer, add cold water until the self-heating package soaked totally. 5. Put the upper layer on the top, and cover the lid, wait 8 minutes or more and enjoy the hotpot. CAUTION: THE HOT STEAMING AND PREVENT FROM BURNING HURT.
Okay – a couple interesting things here. I do want to avoid the burning hurt when at all possible. Another is that this has a self-heating package that works via a chemical reaction in the lower level of the packaging. Wow – so this stuff literally cooks itself. Fascinating!
Here’s the distribution/import sticker (click to enlarge). Note the numbers here – 72 calories and over 9000mg of sodium. Judging by the 46% RDA on this, I’m guessing it’s 915.6mg – that’s more logical. But only 72 calories for this thing? That seems a little suspect. But let’s continue on after noting the name of the distributor – JC Bunny Bunny!
The underside of the outer cardboard packaging (click to enlarge).
An included fork!
A napkin.
The package of vermicelli.
A large liquid base sachet.
A huge sachet of vegetables – fresh vegetables.
A sachet of chives.
This is the fascinating item – the heating bag. When cold water is introduced, it starts a chemical reaction which brings the heat – apparently enough to cook this product. I’m really very curious about this – never have I seen such a thing in an instant noodle before. What gets me though is that it recommends using cold water in the lower tray with this and hot water in the upper tray with the food. If you need hot water to make this, why not just cook it with the hot water you’ve already prepared? But hey, this will be fun.
Finished (click to enlarge). This was quite an experience. Definitely, watch the video where I cook this up. As for the vermicelli, it was cooked nicely. The broth was exceedingly spicy and just buzzing of Sichuan pepper. A little too much acidity going on for my taste. The vegetables did alright – all in all definitely a hot pot of noodles! 2.25 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 6952395703353.
Here’s another neat one from Zenpop.JP. Thank you! So Zenpop has all sorts of monthly boxes including ramen boxes. Nine instant ramen in one box for a good price – check ’em out! Here’s what they had to say about this one –
The chicken-based salt soup has a flavor of savory roasted vegetables. You can add more cabbage, carrot or green onion and make it even more delicious and healthy.
Here’s a little about what tanmen is from Wikipedia as well –
Sesame paste and/or peanut butter is sometimes added, and occasionally replaces the spicy sauce, usually in the Taiwanese and American Chinese style of the dish.[1] In this case, dandanmian is considered as a variation of ma jiang mian (麻醬麵), sesame sauce noodles. In American Chinese cuisine, dandanmian is often sweeter, less spicy, and less soupy than its Sichuan counterpart
.The same sauce is frequently served over poached chicken (called bonbon or bangbang chicken (棒棒鸡)), and on steamed, meat-filled dumplings in another Sichuan dish called suanla chaoshou. The corresponding Japanese dish is tantan-men, a form of ramen (formally 担担麺, as in Chinese, but often written with 々, or with 坦 instead of 担).
Alright – let’s tear into it!
TableMark Homerun-Ken Vegetable Tanmen – Japan
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Contains pork and chicken. To prepare, add in dry sachet contents and 350ml boiling water. Cover for 4 minutes. Add in the liquid base sachet. Finally, stir and enjoy!
Finished (click to enlarge). Added chashu pork, Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, and spring onion. The noodles aren’t bad – thin and with a nice chew. The broth has a bright kind of veggie taste to it with a good oiliness as well. The included vegetables hydrated well and were ubiquitous. 3.75 out of 5.0 stars. JAN bar code 4901520400539.
Well hello there – extra hot! I like it spicy that’s for sure. Not a lot of varieties I’ve seen that are extra hot and also vegetarian. At least not having both variables mentioned on the packaging. I think this is interesting.
I do a lot of YouTube videos these days if you didn’t know and one that seems to pique people’s curiosity are the ones I do with spicy noodle challenges. The original spicy noodle challenge has to do with a South Korean variety, but I’ve done this with ones from India, Malaysia, heck, even Canada! Well hey – I’m hungry and extra hot mi goreng sounds just perfect right now. Let’s give it a try!
I’m really excited about this series – and the fact that I’m getting some help from a local business. Jonathan over at Waroeng Jajanan. The store and restaurant combo is just an amazing place to check out authentic Indonesian cuisine, and you’ll be seeing a lot of (pretty much all) that I add in the end being from there in this series. Alright – let’s check out this one from Maitri as part of Meet The Manufacturer!
Maitri Vegetarian Extra Hot Fried Noodle – Indonesia
Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, cook noodle block in a pot for 3 minutes and drain. Add in sachet contents (except garnish). Stir very well. Finally, sprinkle garnish on top and enjoy!
The noodle block.
A dual sachet.
Lots of chilli powder atop the seasoning base.
An oil sachet.
Spicy scent!
The garnish sachet.
Spicy radish chips!
Finished (click to enlarge). Added (prepared by Waroeng Jajanan) sambal goreng gentong, crackers, vegetable fritter, Indonesian pickle and Dua Belibis chilli sauce. The noodles have a great texture for mi goreng and work very well. The flavor is indeed good and spicy with a nice taste to them. The crunchy bits round everything out splendidly. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 034126937285.
Today, it’s yet another of the KOKA varieties leftover from the Meet The Manufacturer from earlier this year! I must say that the fact that instant noodle products have long shelf lives is really a nice thing!
So this line still fascinated me – instead of a noodle soup, this is a soup with noodles. Let’s take a closer look and you’ll see what I mean.
KOKA Creamy Soup With Crushed Noodles Vegetable Flavour – Singapore
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Says ‘suitable for vegetarians.’ To prepare, add sachet marked 1, then sachet marked 2. Add 300ml boiling water and stir. Cover for 5 minutes. Finaly, stir and enjoy!
Finished (click to enlarge). The noodles are everywhere, much like the rice in tomato rice soups. The broth is creamy and imparts a cream of vegetable flavor – light though and not extremely salty. The vegetables in this one were rampant and of excellent quality as well as size. 4.5 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8888056833252.
Notice
This website or its third-party tools use cookies, which are necessary to its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in the cookie policy. If you want to know more, please refer to the cookie policy.
By closing this banner, scrolling this page, clicking a link or continuing to browse otherwise, you agree to the use of cookies.OkPrivacy policy
#2949:
