Author: Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch

#1812: Master Kong Mushroom Instant Noodle

There’s a new Asian Food Center on 130th & Aurora – went there hunting for some of the fruit I got to try in Thailand and found mangosteen – and quite a few instant noodle varieties, this being one of them. It’s pretty far and few between that I find Master Kong varieties – always kind of a treat! I want to thank Bobby Y. from Canada for help in translation on this one! Let’s have a look at this one from China! ...see full post

#1810: MyKuali Penang White Curry Noodle (New Version)

As most of you should know, thishas been one of my all time favorites in the past couple years. When it came out, it was a real game-changer; so much so that over 20 different manufacturers started making their own white curry variants to compete. MyKuali has decided to standardize their packaging and now this is how the product looks. Let’s have a look inside and see if anything else has changed. ...see full post

#1808: MAMA Vegetarian Instant Cup Noodle Tofu & Shiitake Flavour

This is one I saw posted on facebook by one of the nice folks I met at MAMA in May. I was very curious about it and so I asked if I could get some samples – thank you! This one and the vegetarian tom yum are made specifically for October. Why? Well, there’s a special Vegetarian Festival in Thailand during October! Here’s a little about it: ...see full post

#1807: Wai Wai Tom Yum Goong Flavour Instant Noodle

Here’s one I found at the 7-11 next to our hotel when we visit Thai President Foods in Bangkok back in May! I think the first time I tried a tom yum flavored instant, I didn’t like it. Through the years, I’ve gained a serious love for the flavor – the chilli, the shrimp, the lemongrass. It all comes together so well and the place where I had some of the best of course was in Thailand. Really hope to return someday with my sons and have them try all the amazing foods there! Anyways, let’s check out this cup! ...see full post

#1806: Cintan Mi Segera Mmm… Perisa Goreng Ala Indonesia

So this is the last one that I got during my trip last October to meet the folks at MyKuali in Malaysia. We took a ferry from Georgetown, Penang over to Butterworth, Penang and went to an Econsave where I got to get a ton of instant noodles! It was a real blast for sure. Almost exactly a year ago today we were on our way home – probably was over the pacific at this point! Wow – truly was an amazing trip. I want to thank them for their kindness and for showing us such a good time! Let’s check out this last one that I brought back. ...see full post

Vote The Ramen Rater For Best Food Blog!

Image by Steven C. - Thank you!

Hey everyone! I’m hoping you have been enjoying the website and my reviews! I was hoping you could do me a huge favor. There’s a yearly contest (longtime followers of the blog will remember it from previous years) called KING5’s BEST Of Western Washington. Basically, it’s a local contest where people can vote for their favorites. I’ve been in the Best Food Blog category for a couple of years now and hoping this year could be a little different – I really want to win this! The only downside is that you have to sign up and give your email address. Well, this year you can do so and tick a box during the process to ‘opt out’ of receiving any junk mail from them. It would mean a great deal to me if you could spend a minute and vote! It doesn’t matter where or what country you’re in, and if you’re a manufacturer, get everone at your factory to vote, please! You can do so by clicking here. Thank you very much! ...see full post

#1802: Nissin Cup Noodles Ramen Noodle Soup Beef Flavor [New Package]

Hey check it out – Nissin Cup Noodles got a big facelift.

Here’s how they used to look – cardboard outer packaging is now gone. Less packaging and different materials have been used to make them more environmentally friendly. Also, they’re now microwavable! Yes, I’m sure many of you microwaved them before, but you weren’t supposed to. The new cups also have a little extra room so you can add veggies and meats or whatever you want to oomph up your noodles! Let’s check this new cup out! ...see full post

1801: Sichuan Baijia Spicy Artificial Fei-Chang Flavor Instant Vermicelli (New Version)

To those of you have followed my blogs and my Bottom Ten lists for a while, you know what this is. To those who haven’t, let me introduce you to this one. In my original review, I was really put off by this one. I thought it had some kind of ‘dirt and urine’ odor to it. But this is a new version. First, what’s fei chang? Here’s something I found on a blog called Food And Drink Chengdu: ...see full post

#1800: Crystal Noodle Soup All Natural Hot & Sour

Wow – review #1800. I must admit my surprise on how quickly I’m closing in on #2000. I haven’t reviewed one of these Crystal Noodle varieties in quite a while. I was talking to a friend of mine about instant noodles we weren’t particularly fond of and he mentioned his wife really liked these. We both agreed that Crystal Noodle was one of our least favorites. I figure though hey, you never know. This might be the one I really like! Let’s have a look. ...see full post

#1799: Thai Smile Spring Onion Rice Noodle Soup Bowl

Another one my lovely wife found for me at BigLOTS. This one’s made in Thailand for the US market it seems. Spring onion is an interesting thing; it’s also known as green onion and also as scallions. Another one like that is coriander, which in the USA is known as cilantro – at least uin it’s fresh form. In a seasoning jar, it’s known here as coriander. Weird. anyways, let’s check out this bowl! ...see full post

#1798: iMee Instant Noodles Vegetable Flavour

Here’s another one that was sent to me by James B. from The Netherlands – thanks! So this one is made in Thailand for the Dutch market. Vegetable flavor can be interesting; there are so many vegetables and so many takes on what ‘vegetable’ flavor is. Some taste like mushroom predominantly while other have a strong broccoli flavor. Some even taste like butter! Very curious to see what kind of vegetable flavor this one has – let’s find out! ...see full post

#1797: Wai Wai Instant Rice Vermicelli Crab Flavour

Here’s another one my sister got for me while up in Canada a couple of weeks ago! Thanks, Sue! I’ve been really hoping to try more rice vermicelli lately but been having trouble sourcing any from around here and hoping to find some manufacturer who might want me to review some of their stuff! The top ten rice noodles list this year was a lot of fun and definitely want to make it a yearly kind of thing! Anyways, let’s check out these crab flavored noodles from Thailand! ...see full post

#1793: Cintan Mi Segera Mmm… Perisa Asam Laksa

Yet another from last year’s Malaysia trip I gotta wolf down before it goes bad! Asam Laksa is a flavor probably most people in the USA haven’t heard of or know how to pronounce when read or spell for that matter. Well, it’s a sour spicy soup with fish. At least that’s the layman’s way or explaining it. It’s really good – had it while in Penang – man I wish I could go have some more… Anyways, let’s check this one out! ...see full post

Samples From Eastland Foods – 2 of 2!

I remember hearing about ‘the original’ sriracha sauce a while back. It really seemed illogical that the ‘original’ would be made in Southern California, especially since I was in a city called Sriracha in Thailand this May. I found a Bon Appetit article mentioning the true original and some comment by Eastland Foods. I emailed my contact Michael over there to see if he could help me out with a sample – and he really came through (the original sriracha came in the other box) – thanks! Let’s see what’s in these boxes! ...see full post

Samples From Eastland Foods – 1 of 2!

I remember hearing about ‘the original’ sriracha sauce a while back. It really seemed illogical that the ‘original’ would be made in Southern California, especially since I was in a city called Sriracha in Thailand this May. I found a Bon Appetit article mentioning the true original and some comment by Eastland Foods. I emailed my contact Michael over there to see if he could help me out with a sample – and he really came through – thanks! Let’s see what’s in these boxes! ...see full post

#1790: Super Kimchi

Here’s another cup I got during last year’s trip to Penang. As I’ve been mentioning, I’m trying to get everything reviewed before they expire! Not often do I get to go abroad and bring home noodles, so it’d be a horrible waste to lose any. Anyways, this is an interesting one – a kimchi flavor cup noodle from Malaysia. I don’t think I’ve seen many of those. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

#1787: Pama Kua Teaw Segera

Another I picked up in Butterworth, Penang during my Malaysia trip last year. That Econsave was really great – so many varieties! Trying to run through them before they expire! Not this one’s a little interesting – you might say the logo kind of looks familiar… Well, it’s made in Thailand for the Malaysian market by President Rice Products. They make all of the MAMA branded rice vermicelli – and in Malaysia their products go under the name PAMA. Simple really. Anyways, let’s check this one out! ...see full post

From Seeds To Peppers!

I got a little box in the mail from my friend Dwayne in Tennessee. He asked me a while back about instant noodle from Malaysia and every once in a while, I’ll just send someone who asks about noodles a nice box of them. Since then we’d been conversing and he mentioned he grows peppers. I was given some peppers at the very end of my trip to Malaysia by Annie at MyKuali – cili padi peppers – little hot ones! When I got back here, I thought why not crack some of them open and pull out seeds. I sent some to a coupl eof people and Dwayne was one of them. This was over a year ago and now, the seeds have grown! ...see full post