TOP TEN ODDITIES 2012

Here’s a list of odd instant noodle-isms.

1. Batchelor’s Super Noodles: Bacon Flavour

We have the British to thank for these bacon instant noodles. Pair ’em with eggs and toast and t’s actually pretty great stuff. But, you should know, the rest of the day your burps will taste like bacon. This one was sent to me by a Ramen Rater fan in England who also included about two dozen other fascinating packs with flavors such as Curry, Sweet & Sour, and Southern Fried Chicken.

2. Mexi-Ramen Soupless Ramen Shallot Teriyaki Flavor

Shallots and teriyaki? What does this have to do with Mexico? Well, the company also makes Chicken Habanero and Spicy Shrimp flavors (vaguely…Mexican). Sent to me as a gift from my in-laws in California, this was the 500th instant noodle I reviewed.

3. Rocket Brand Satoimo Noodles

Purple noodles eh? Weird. Couldn’t pass them up, and actually, they were quite good. Makes for a colorful dinner plate. Purchased these at the Seattle Uwajimaya Asian supermarket.

4. Koka’s Seasonal Ingredients

Seasonal? What’s amazing is they actually change the packets depending on the season’s availability. Fascinating for flavor packets, right? Sprinkle on the vegetable-based garnishes at the very end to add a fresh bit of crunch. Koka noodles, which hail from Singapore,are great. Another purchase from 99 Ranch Market.

5. Knorr Pizza Instant Noodles

Pizza instant noodles! Where are they from? Pakistan. Does it taste like pizza? Kind of! It’s a little reminiscent of grocery store frozen pizza. Spotted these between some expired masala instant noodles at a Middle-Eastern grocery just north of Seattle.

6. Fuku Superior Soup

I’m sure you can use your imagination as to how “Fuku” should be pronounced. The instructions on the back are pretty interesting as well—”just eat it raw,” it suggests. My sister brought this ramen back from Canada but it’s imported from Hong Kong.

7. Tiger Brand Food Onion Flaver Bowl Rice Noodles

The “flaver” on this one was horrible. It scored a zero out of five stars, which is extremely rare for the Ramen Rater. It’s from Taiwan, purchased at a Seattle-area 99 Ranch Market.

8. Mayonnaise/Mustard Packet

There’s something strange and wonderful about this dual-chambered mayonnaise and mustard packet. It’s from Japan of course, the land of packaging gods. You squeeze it together with two fingers as shown and put it on the noodles after they’re cooked. Go ahead and write your name in mayostard if you want. What’s more, it’s really good on top of this Nissin Yakisoba, purchased at a Japanese grocery in Seattle called Uwajimaya.

9. Super Bihun Goreng Instant Fried Rice Noodles

These Indonesian noodles definitely win for weirdest packaging. The image depicts a fake-looking egg and chicken drumstick haphazardly tossed in with the noodles. Their logo looks like a bomb and a heart. Found in Seattle at a great little store called Viet Wah—which has a huge selection of instant noodles and thumping dance music—these are some great noodles.

10. Baijia Instant Sweet Potato Noodle Spicy Fei-Chang Flavor

From what I’ve been told, this translates to “fatty pork intestine” flavor. It’s apparently very authentic in China’s Sichuan area but it was one of the worst ramens I’ve ever tried. Nothing about the photo looks appetizing, right?

13 comments

  1. “Mexi Ramen” is a West Coast thing. Many Mexican-Americans cook regular Top Ramen packs by boiling the noodles, discarding the water, and then sprinkling the seasoning on the noodles. “Mexi Ramen” is basically flavors popular in that demographic with instructions that match the way they were preparing it anyway.

    1. Instant noodles are by my definition anything that comes in a bag with noodles and a seasoning packet or two as well as cups bowls and trays. Only 1 in 1000 disagree. But I agree that the term ‘instant’ only applies to noodles that are steeped, but it really doesn’t matter…

      – TRR

  2. ohhh…wait, about that Baijia instant sweet potato noodles, I’d say you get the wrong one. The fatty pork instestine has a weird , I would call stinky, taste in that. So that’s just for specific people who love animal intestines….YOU should try their “hot and sour” flavor

  3. Baijia Instant Sweet Potato Noodle Spicy Fei-Chang Flavor

    Funny, this one is actually my favourite.
    Well, I’m Chinese.

  4. My worst bowl of instant noodles in life:

    Sau Tao “Instant Noodle King” Wonton Soup Flavoured by Sun Shun Fuk Foods

    The noodles were still hard after 40 minutes of steeping in the broth (that’s how long it took me to struggle with this dish and eat it, but I failed, I managed on eat only 1/2 of it) the taste reminds me of old hay cooked in water (yes, I do have a vivid fantasy; no, I haven’t tried old hay yet) and my colleagues at work complaint that something smelt burnt in the office, and wished me luck that the dish tastes better than it smells.
    It didn’t.

    I bought this instant noodle bowl dish in the “China-Haus” in my hometown, in Franconia, Germany for 1€

  5. Yes indeed as a kid growing up in Hong Kong, this is how instant ramen could be eaten. Mind you, it only works for specific brands. I think one is Ming Sing (Star). The noodles basically has to be fried enough to have that crunch, so Nissin most certainly doesn’t work. Before opening the bag, you torture it by punching, squeezing, slapping it (a big part of what makes it fun for kids) to break the noodle into small pieces. Then you open the bag, tear open the seasoning pack and sprinkle onto to noodle pieces. Finger licking good, cheap snack for kids.

  6. AW man- Fuku Instant noodles. They’re actually pronunced “Fook.” I used to go to elementary school in a well chinese populated region in Canada and this would be the go-to sharing snack in grade 6. We really did eat it raw, but because of the flavoring pack in the noodle’s our fingers would have seasoning caked on them- think what eating a pack of Doritos does to your fingers. We would smash up the noodles into bits inside the bag, and the portions where big, so there was more than enough to share. Sadly, I don’t think they’re available in Canada anymore, I’ve tried looking for them in many a chinese supermarket, but to no avail. They actually tasted quite good. Maybe I’ll find them again in Hong Kong. Such nostalgia~

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *