Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Buldak Bokkeummyun is the Korean name for what people all over the world have been enduring in the Fire Noodle Challenge. It’s a seriously spicy variety – #3 on my Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2016 Edition. Well, they’ve come out with a spicier version that’s supposed to be just amazing. I contacted them and they sent me some along with other varieties – let’s check it out!
Here’s one that was a gift from the folks at Washoku Explorer – thanks again! This variety from Nagasaki definitely has a fish sense to i, however let’s look at Wikipedia on the subject of Shoyu ramen –
Been awhile since I’ve had something Vietnamese… This one sounds tasty – sour crab! This bowl has a lot of things inside, so let’s get to it!
Check it out (click to enlarge)! So I decided for the first time to get some noodles off of eBay. 1theKorea has a TON of great South Korean instant noodles – definitely check them out if you’re in the mood for some! Let’s look at what’s inside!
This was sent to me by Ippin, a purveyor of wonderful Japanese items! Thank you again! This is an ultra special one they came out with to commemorate the anniversary of Cup Noodles – the Cup Noodle Rich line.
Here’s one I got at 7-Eleven in Taiwan. I’ve seen these for so long with the stripes and they’re very popular in Taiwan. Here’s a little about Uni-President, the company that makes these – from Wikipedia –
Here’s one that comes by way of a kind reader named Colin from the US east coast – thanks again! He’s dispatches a TON of instant noodles which I can’t find anywhere! This one looks interesting – these are from India! Here’s a little from Wikipedia about masala –
Here’s another left over from the Nissin Hong Kong Meet The Manufacturer. Here’s a little about XO sauce from Wikpedia –
I recently did a Meet The Manufacturer of Nissin Mexico and they said if I needed anything, let them know. Well, there was one thing. I really loved the Nissin Cup Noodles Gourmet Caldo De Camaron, a really tasty shrimp variety. They were very kind and sent some! Let’s see!
Here’s one of the last ones that were sent by Jen in Australia – thanks! Chicken and corn sounds pretty good – let’s find out!
Here’s one I got at Jason’s Market at the bottom of the Taipei 101 in Taiwan. I’d been very curious about this line as I’ve seen them before; hard to miss with the angry bear on the front! I’m very curious about how ripe and dry correlate with instant ramen. Lately when I use the term ripe, it’s referring to needing to change a diaper as in ‘ooof Miles – you’re ripe!’ Dry as far as flavor I usually think of when it comes to wine. I’m hoping this doesn’t smell like loaded diapers or taste like wine – I’m guessing it won’t. Let’s give it a go!
Yet another left over from the Nissin HK Meet The Manufacturer! Slowly getting these all done – so many SKUs! This is one big bowl of tonkotsu! let’s get to it!
Here’s another one from Colin – thanks! I did a little research and really came up with very little. I did find there is a kind of spicy, savory snack mix with the same name, but this is a soup noodle and now a snack noodle so I’m a little confused. This one’s being reviewed actually on New Year’s Eve! Let’s check it out.
Here’s one sent by Colin – thanks! I think I saw this one years ago up in Canada – I honestly think I got it but never reviewed it back then. Here’s a little about kalguksu from Wikipedia:
I got an email a few weeks back asking if I’d tried the new 2x Spicy Buldak Bokkeummyun. I hadn’t and really wanted to. The email was sent by Anders and his girlfriend Ji-Min who live in South Korea and were kind enough to send some varieties along! Let’s see what’s inside!
Well folks, today is the last day of Meet The Manufacturer. It’s been a definite departure from the flavors I’m used to and it’s been a different way of thinking about noodles. I usually include mung bean sprouts in everything, but that really wasn’t an option. Indeed don’t know if my application of queso fresca was correct, but I had to try. However I tried to find other varieties of Mexican cheeses, however couldn’t find any melty ones – just crumbly. It was fun and something different for me, and I want to thank the folks at Nissin Mexico for the opportunity to try all of these! Let’s check out the chicken Cup Noodles to wrap things up.
Ready? Set? Beef! Here again are the spoonable noodles, this time with a beefy flavor. Let’s give this cup a try!
Here’s the third of the pillow pack varieties of Nissin Mexico’s Sopa Nissin line. Pink! Shrimp! Let’s give it a try!
Time for some beef! I’ve noticed that kind of like in the US, there are only a scant few pack noodle varieties and most varieties are in cups. Cups are great since they’re portable, have their own container to eat out of, and are easily disposed of. Let’s check out this beef variety.
This is the second of the two RapiFideo varieties. Translating to Quick Noodles, RapiFideo has short, thin noodles and broth and can be prepared in the microwave. Let’s take a look!
Here’s the second of the Nissin Mexico fiery hot Habanero line. Habanero peppers are definitely not to be messed with; I’ve made hot sauce a few times using them. The worst was when I hadn’t used rubber gloves and later in the day rubbed my eyes – burned really good even after multiple hand washings! Yeah – no fun. But, they deliver a great heat – let’s give this shrimp variety a try!
Okay folks, what we have here is the baseline. Every company has a chicken flavored instant noodle, and this is Nissin Mexico’s. I should actually say not every company has a chicken flavor – but most do. Chicken is pretty open to interpretation and I don’t think (other than vegetarians and vegans) there are any cultural groups that don’t eat chicken. I could be wrong and if I am let me know. Let’s have something chicken flavored and dress it up Mexican style!
I just realized – I meant to review the chicken Cup Noodles – no matter though! Nissin Mexico was kind enough to send 5 of each variety I’m reviewing, and so I can use one to get all the pictures and one to review. Keeps things tidy! Well, the one I grabbed as the second one is chicken. So… Going to have to switch that as it definitely won’t taste like shrimp haha! Let’s get started.
Felix Navidad! It’s actually Christmas morning today – I got up at 5am to get some reviews ready to go – don’t know if I’ll do any sampling today but it could happen! I’m about 60 reviews ahead of myself currently – pretty nuts, but helpful when I can’t review, there’s always one ready to go. Anyways, today it’s another one of the Maxi Sopa Nissin variants. Camaron picante is spicy shrimp. Let’s have a look!
Hey now this looks interesting! Reminds me of the look of Hong Kong Cup Noodles or ones from Japan. So this is a new line from Nissin Mexico – Gourmet – hopefully the first of many to try. But what is gourmet? Dictionary.com had this to say –
Check this one out – HABANERO! This is another one that comes with a sachet of hot sauce! Awesome! Mariscos means seafood – something I’ve always dreamed of doing is visiting the coastal areas of Mexico and trying the seafood dishes there! Let’s give this one a try!
Here we have a big cup of noodles! I did a little translation on this one for you – ‘maxi’ means ‘big,’ ‘sopa’ means ‘soup,’ ‘cuchareable’ means ‘spoonable,’ and pollo means chicken. Basically, this is a chicken noodle soup one can enjoy with a spoon instead of a fork. Got it? Let’s check it out!
The name of this one – RapiFideo – is a combination of two words. ‘Rapido,’ meaning ‘Quick’ and ‘Fideo’ which means ‘Noodle.’ I reviewed these a while back – let’s revisit them for this Meet The Manufacturer!
I had always thought carne meant beef but I was wrong. Turned out carne means meat and res means beef – always learning something new about the world through the instant noodle and doing translations! Let’s check out this beef flavored instant noodle from Mexico!
To start things off, I thought it would be interesting to try one of these Cup Noodles that come with hot sauce. Definitely not uncommon around the world to find a Cup Noodle variety with a sauce sachet, however it seems to be a little less common in the Americas. Let’s give it a try!
This box is even larger than the first one! Let’s see what’s inside!
A shopping bag (click to enlarge).
Interview With Nissin Mexico * Product Samples From Nissin Mexico (1 of 2) * Product Samples From Nissin Mexico (2 of 2) * Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Hot Sauce Sabor A Pollo * Nissin Sopa Nissin Sabor A Res Sopa Instantanea Tipo Ramen * Nissin RapiFideo Sabor A Chile Y Limon * Nissin Maxi Sopa Nissin Cuchareable Sabor A Pollo * Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor Mariscos, Habanero Y Limon * Nissin Cup Noodles Gourmet Sabor A Caldo De Camaron * Nissin Maxi Sopa Nissin Cuchareable Sabor A Camaron Picante * Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Con Camaron * Nissin Sopa Nissin Sabor A Pollo Sopa Instantanea Tipo Ramen * Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor Camaron, Habanero Y Limon * Nissin RapiFideo Sabor A Tomate Y Pollo * Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor A Carne De Res * Nissin Sopa Nissin Sabor A Camaron Sopa Instantanea Tipo Ramen * Nissin Maxi Sopa Nissin Cuchareable Sabor A Jugo De Carne * Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Sabor A Pollo
As I’ve said in the past, I’m usually about 50 or so reviews ahead of myself. Well, today is the actual day our daughter Miriam will be born and by the time this comes out she’ll be close to two months old. Wow! It’s early in the morning – although it’s just a few hours away. Really excited! This one seemed interesting enough for a day of birth – Mexican pizza from Taiwan? I think a fiesta is in order; although I wish these were called Little Princess – but hey look at the title I think that works at least a little! Let’s check it out!
Another sent by Colin – thanks! So this is one of a new line from India within the last year or so. Looks to be vegetarian and to have peas in there. Here’s a little about the company from Wikipedia –
Here’s the second of four short little looks at Prima Taste’s new Ready Meals line. This one’s beef rendang. Rendang is an Indonesian dish of beef that’s cooked in coconut milk with lots of seasonings. There is wet and dry Rendang – the wet is what I’m guessing we have here. Here’s a little more info from Prima Taste –
I know, I know – you don’t have to tell me that this isn’t an instant noodle, but the folks at Prima Taste sent me some of these neat meal pouches and I wanted to let people know about them. You cut a little slit in the side towards the top and microwave for 90 seconds. Boom – curry chicken rice! Here’s a quote from the company:
Another one from Colin – thanks again! Haven’t seen this brand previously. Always neat to start checking out a brand I’ve not reviewed after trying so many. But what’s Shanxi? Wikipedia, if you please:
Okay so here’s another one of the new recipe Cup Noodles from Nissin Foods USA – thanks again for sending ’em over! The new recipe features reduction in sodium as well as no added MSG and no artificial flavors. Let’s have a look!
Another left over from the Nissin Hong Kong Meet The Manufacturer. I’ve reviewed many Nissin HK tonkotsu varieties thus far, and today we have yet another variety! This is a Tokyo Shoyu Tonkotsu. Shoyu translates to soy sauce, so this seems like it will be a kind of milky soy kind of thing? Let’s find out!!
