One of the last ones I have from MAMA Myanmar! Been a lot of fun trying these. Looks like the only Myanmar, Cambodian and Bangladeshi varieties I’ve ever reviewed have been by MAMA. Let’s see how this chicken soup fares!
Author: Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch
APRIL FOOLS! After Almost 15 Years, The Ramen Rater Is Retiring
I WAS SURPRISED TO HEAR HOW MANY OF YOU I FOOLED! HAPPY APRIL FOOL’S DAY – I’LL BE REVIEWING INSTANT NOODLES FOR A LONG TIME COMING!
#1987: Nissin Yokohama Walker Iekei Ramen
Here’s another interesting bowl sent by Javier over at www.BoxFromJapan.com, a great subscription service! You get 4 bowls a month from Japan – they also do candy! Definitely check ’em out! This one says it’s a tonkotsu with chicken fat? Interesting. Let’s give it a go!
#1986: A-Sha Quinoa Noodle with Oyster Sauce and Vegetables
Here’s another one I got from A-Sha’s US distributor recently – thanks! I saw this variety on the A-Sha Taiwan website and was very curious; who is the gentleman on the packaging? Well, I asked and this is what they had to say:
#1985: Prima Taste Singapore Prawn Soup La Mian
Today, I am really stoked to be reviewing something brand new – Prawn Soup. It’s been a couple years since Prima Taste has rolled out a new Singapore La Mian and this is it! Prawn Soup! . I do like prawns alot! Let’s check this one out!
#1984: Nissin Chinese Tan Tan Vermicelli
Here’s one that the folks from Prima Taste in Hong Kong sent – thanks you! So Tan Tan – what is it? Wikipedia, if you please:
#1983: Tokushima Seifun Tokushima Ramen
Here’s another one from Wesley of Japan – thank you again! This one sounds interesting – in his note he says ‘stylized instant ramen of Tokushima Ramen (the real dish) which ras a sweet soy sauce base, shaved pork and raw egg.’ Sounds interesting! Looks like some narutomaki on the package as welol – think I have some in the freezer. Let’s give this one a try!
#1982: Master Kong Assorted Pork Bone Noodle
Here’s one sent by Colin from Massachusetts – thanks! I used to work with a lady who couldn’t say Massachusetts. It seemed a little ridiculous to me, but she would stumble over the word repeatedly and it would sound like massive two shits. Anyways, this one seems interesting – why assorted pork bone? Are they from different kinds of pigs? Well, let’s give this one a try!
#1981: MyKuali Penang Red Tom Yum Goong Noodle Authentic Taste
Here’sd another of MyKuali’s new recipe ‘Authentic Taste’ range. I’m told this has more of the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, as well as mushroom and chicken broth. Most of ytou should know it was #1 on the 2015 Top Ten list. Let’s see how these changes affect the taste!
Asian Noodle Technology/Ingredient Application Courses At Wheat Marketing Center
I was fortunate to be able to check out Dr. Gary Hou’s instant noodle course at the Wheat Marketing Center in Portland, Oregon a couple years ago – turns out he’s doing it again and if you’re interested, you should give it a look!
#1980: Suimin Noodles With Prawn & Chicken Flavour
Here’s the first review of the donations sent by Jen of Australia – thanks again! So this is a new brand to me – was hard not to type Sumin but it’s Suimin… Made in Australia! Also, it’s prawn and chicken flavored – something I’ve never come across before. Let’s give it a look!
#1979: Nissin Big Cup Noodle Ajillo
I could be wrong, but I believe this is the last one of the donations sent by Casey P. of Hong Kong – huge thanks to you! So this one looks interesting – it’s definitely much bigger than the standard Cup Noodle, that’s for sure. After a little research, it looks as though ajillo is a Mexican/Spanish dish which features shrimp, vegetables and sliced garlic. That definitely sounds good – let’s have a look.
Lots Of Noodles From Mexico And Elsewhere
Reader Colin from Arlington, MA sent me yet another box of noodles – thanks man! He told me he was going to Mexico and offered to get some for me. Let’s have a look inside!
Walmart Canada Instant Noodles For My Birthday!
My sister took a trip to Canada and asked if there was anything I wanted while she was up there. Well, I asked for Great Value instant noodles from Canadian Walmart. What’s crazy is you can’t buy them individually – you have to buy a big box of them. She got me every flavor of the packs and cups!
An Old Friend Drops By With Something Of His Travels
A week or two ago, my friend Paul S. brought over a couple packs of instant noodles (click to enlarge) he got on vacation. He went down to Mexico and picked these up for me! Always been hard to source stuff from Mexico. Why? No clue; it just is. Anyways, thanks Paul, you rock!
#1978: CarJEN Nyonya Curry Laksa [Improved Taste]
The other day I got some samples from CarJEN – this one piqued my interest. First off, the ‘Improved Taste’ sticker – it actually if from the outside of a 4 pack but I figure since I always just do pics of the individual packs, I’d just unstick it and restick it. It was #4 on last year’s big The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2015 Edition. Wonder what’s changed? Let’s have a look!
#1977: MyOri Malaysia Penang Green Curry Vermicelli [New Package]
Last Monday, I posted the new variety of curry from MyOri, the only one with non-fried wheat noodles (the only one with my face on the back as well). Today, I wanted to show off the new green curry vermicelli package with me on it. I tried this almost a year ago and loved it immediately. I’ve kind of had a love/hate relationship with rice noodles/vermicelli over the years. Some don’t hydrate well, some seem like mush. Let’s explore this one again – the winner of the inaugural The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Rice Noodles Of All Time 2015 Edition. By the way, these are for sale in the United States; as soon as they tell me where I’ll let you know.
#1976: Itsuki Kumamoto Spicy Ramen
Another one send to me by Casey K. from Hong Kong – thanks again! I wonder – does that character towards the bottom of the pack looks familiar? Well, it’s the same as what you see on Nongshim’s Shin Ramyun products – spicy! Let’s check out this Japanese variety and see just how spicy it is!
#1975: Nissin Soba Fried Noodles Classic
The very last one from James B. of the Netherlands – thanks again, buddy! Kind of interesting to note that this review is the same number as the year I was born. I remember when I hit review #500 and #1000 – seems so long ago! Let’s check out some yakisoba from Germany!
#1974: Samyang Foods Cheese Curry Ramyun
Here’s another of the many varieties sent recently by Colin from Michigan – thanks! Cheese curry? That sounds really good – you can get cheese curry at Indian restaurants – I’m wondering what a South Korean cheese curry might be like. Let’s find out!
Noodle Samples From Oni Hot Pot Of Taiwan
Very curious about this – let’s pop it open.
Wow (click to enlarge) – that’s one angry looking pepper!
A Box Of Samples to Share From Malaysia
I knew CarJEN was sending some samples, so I asked if maybe they could send me a box of the ones with my logo on them – I think this is it!
New Recipe Samples From CarJEN of Malaysia
What have we here?
Hmmm – a tablecloth?
Wow (click to enlarge) – a couple big banners! I’ve seen then use these in their promotions before. Pretty cool!
New Prawn Soup Samples From Prima Taste Of Singapore
Hmmm – what have we here?
Hey (click to enlarge) – something new! Will have to give this one a try soon! Thank you!
#1973: Nissin Cup Noodles Sabor Calabresa
Wow okay so I have been wanting to get my hands on noodles from Brazil for a while now – at least a couple of years. Luckily, my cousins Mike and Adriana frequently visit Brazil and brought me some back! Thank you so much! While these are Cup Noodles, they’ve got some interesting flavor. This one, calabresa (aka linguica) is sausage flavored! Here’s a little about linguica from wikipedia:
#1972: Doll Spicy Flavour Instant Mifun
Here’s one from Colin of Arlington, MA! He sent a great big box of varieties after I called out to readers for new stuff to review! Thanks! This one surprised me; I haven’t reviewed anything by Doll brand in a very long time and I know it’s a popular brand in Hong Kong. It’s interesting that Colin has access to such a different range of products on the east coast… Anyways, from what I can surmise, mifun might also be known as maifun. These are rice vermicelli. Let’s check it out!
#1971: Fujiwara Horse Crab Flavour Ramen
Here’ds another sent by Casey K. of Hong Kong – thanks again! So far, I’ve tried the Snow Crab, King Crab and now Horse Crab! Crabalicious! Let’s hit it!
#1970: MyOri Malaysia Penang Red Curry Noodle
Really excited about this one! I think you’ll understand why when you see the back of the package! I’ve taken an offer by MyOri to be their brand ambassador! I’m honored do to so – not only is it a really neat gig, it’s for products I honestly enjoy and find innovative and a real compliment to the market. I reviewed these last year as part of a Meet The Manufacturer with MyOri. Ther’s a difference now – they’ve changed the name to red curry, given the packaging a real facelift and now the noodle are not fried – the first white curry featuring the healthier noodle. Let’s give ’em a look!
#1969: Nongshim Noodle Soup Seasoned With Real Kimchi
There are a few different iterations of this one – I reviewed one a long time ago and I think I liked it, and then they came out with a newly packaged version that I never ended up trying. Now in it’s (at least) third set of clothes, I think it’s definitely time for a new review. If you take a look at the package from the old review, you’ll notice the nutrition facts are indeed different – a definite mark of being a different recipe. Let’s dig in!
#1968: Nissin Top Ramen Chicken Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup (New Package)
A year or two ago, Nissin Foods USA started putting a new, updated package on their classic Top Ramen products. I haven’t really done any new reviews of them, but I figured why not. This one’s probably one of the most ubiquitous instant noodles found in the United States. Let’s have a look.
#1967: Tokushima Seifun Kinchan Ramen
This is the first I’ll be reviewing from Wesley N. He sent a box in mid December that arrived mid February from Japan – we’d thought it might have been lost, but it showed up – and in immaculate condition! Thank you again!Tokushima prefecture is on Shikoku island in Japan, and these varieties from Tokushima Seifun aren’t widely known and very localized. Seifun literally means ‘manufactured powder,’ referring to the flour mill. Wesley let me know that this is Tokushima Seifun’s very first product. Let’s have a look at this exotic regional instant noodle from Japan!
#1966: Wei Lih GGE Noodle Snack Wheat Crackers Soy Sauce Ramen
Here’s another one I got down in Pleasanton, California a month or so ago. GGE is an abbreviation for Good Good Eat, as in ‘everybody loves good good eat.’ Kind of strange but we are talking about Taiwanese snack noodles here (see Leisure Meatballs). Anyways, let’s rip this bag open and check this snack out.
#1965: MyKuali Penang Spicy Prawn Soup Noodle Authentic Taste
MyKuali has been tinkering with upgrading their recipes during the last year or two. One thing they told be when I visited in 2014 was that the hawkers are always fine-tuning their recipes, and that they planned on doing the same thing. When I asked what the difference is with this new iteration, I was told that an aspect of the shrimp powder has been altered to give it an even more authentic taste. I found tha the Hokkien Mee I had in Penang a couple years back was very close to what I got from the MyKuali Hokkien Mee. Let’s see how this one tastes.
Snack & Noodle Samples From A-Sha
Hey – another box from A-Sha Dry Noodle! Let’s check it out!
Here’s what I saw when I opened the box (click to enlarge).
#1964: MAMA Instant Noodles Coconut Milk Flavour
When I tried the cup version of this, I liked it so much it got on the Top Ten Cups List for 2015. I’ve been waiting for the right time to try this one; since there’s probably only one in all of the United States I’m guessing, I really wanted to make it the right day. Well, since it is soon to expire, it’s the right day. Let’s have a look and see if it’s as good as the cup.
New Product Samples From MyKuali
Usually I ask for companies that have been in the previous year’s top ten to send some samples that I’ll re-review ahead of the new list. MyKuali did this, but there’s a difference. They’ve changed the recipes for their three products that were on the list last year, so I have to cram some new reviews in before it’s too late! Lukcily, I really like this stuff so that shouldn’t be too hard! Let’s see what’s inside.
Meet The Manufacturer: #1963: Kabuto Rice Noodles Vegetable Laksa
Today, we bid a fond farewell to the Kabuto Noodles Meet The Manufacturer. These have all been very unique and innovative products. As I’ve said before, most of the instant varieties I’ve sampled from the UK have been, in a word, bland. Flavorless is another word. These have all had good flavor and great quality. Today, it’s laksa, one of my favorite Southeast Asian flavors. Let’s check it out.
Meet The Manufacturer: #1962: Kabuto Rice Noodles Chicken Pho
Up until now, I’ve been reviewing some of Kabuto Noodles’ egg noodles – now it’s time to take a look at their rice noodle varieties to wrap up Meet The Manufacturer. It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed any pho varieties. Pho is a traditional (and wildly popular) Vietnamese noodle soup. Pho involved cooking broth with lots of spices like cinnamon, star anise, stewing beef bones for hours, and with rice noodles. Usually when you get it locally, it comes with jalapeno slices, sweet basil, mung bean sprouts, a little Huy Fong Sriracha sauce and Hoisin sauce. Oh – and there’s a lot of different kinds of meats to choose from – beef flank, tendon, ribeye – and chicken. Let’s check this one out!
Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Kabuto Noodles Miso Ramen
I’ve got to say – it’s been quite a while since I’ve had this one – #1167! Seems like it’s been forever since I’ve reviewed anything from the UK as well. Well, let’s kick this Meet The Manufacturer off with one of their first varieties, miso! Here’s something to note – over in the UK, these aren’t commonly referred to as ‘cup noodles’ – they refer to these containers as ‘pots.’
Meet The Manufacturer: #1961: Kabuto Noodles Chicken Ramen
Yesterday, I reviewed a chilli chicken offering from Kabuto Noodles. Today, its just chicken ramen. I’m curious if it will just be a less spicy taste or something completely different (yesterday’s pot mentioned it having a lime element while this does not). Either way, sounds good to me. By the way – in the United Kingdom, they refer to noodle cups as noodle pots! Let’s go!