FedEx came a knockin’ at my door but missed them. Then they came back a little later and brought me this!
Author: Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch
#1614: The Bridge Penang White Curry Noodle
Another one got during our trip to Malaysia! I think this is one of the first white curries that spun off of the craze that started in 2013. I’ve seen it many times, but never been able to try it. Well, no more! Today I’ll see what The Bridge has to offer!
#1613: Maruchan Kaoru Maitake Tempura Udon
Got this one on last year’s birthday trip to Canada. Since my trip is coming very soon this year, I figured it was time. So, what is maitake? Wikipedia had this to say:
A Message To Taiwanese Instant Noodle Manufacturers
After being asked ‘how can Taiwan make the annual The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time lists,’ I decided a video with an idea was in order. Here is a special message for Taiwanese instant noodle manufacturers.
2015 Birthday Trip To Canada
For the last three years, we’ve been hopping in the car and heading up north to Canada for my birthday. There are a lot of varieties of instant noodles that aren’t easily found down here and usually I bring back all sorts of new and interesting things. This year my son Andy and my sister Sue joined us for the trip! Let’s go!
New Hokkien Mee Samples From MyKuali
Got a big box from MyKuali on Friday! Let’s see what’s within!
Lots of noodles! Awesome!
#1612: Shan Shoop Instant Noodles Spicy Lemon Flavour
Here’s a flavor I’ve never had before – spicy lemon. I think the only comparable thing would be tom yum flavored products, but then again this is from Pakistan, so not sure how Thai it’s going to taste. Very curious! Let’s check it out.
#1611: Lucky Me! Supreme Seafood Flavor Big Cup
Lucky Me! is a line by Filipino brand Monde Nissin. I thought today sounded like a good seafood day! Let’s see what we have here!
Friday Video: Instant Noodles Taste Test
I hunted around for a good video for this week and found this one. Dennis from superadrianme.com and Wilsurn from metropolitant.com decided to do a taste test on spicy soupy instant noodles found in Singapore. Pretty interesting video – check it out and Happy firday!
#1610: Paldo Vina Koreno Premium Ginseng Flavor
I’ve always heard good things about ginseng for vitality, etcetera. But vitality noodles? Hmm. I’ll admit I know little about ginseng, so here’s what wikipedia has on it:
#1609: Mitoku Brown Rice Ramen
Just finishing up packing for our move. By the time this one’s posted though, it’ll all be done (I’ve been doing a couple reviews every day. One thing that’ll be vexing about the move is the fact that the Internet won’t be up until a few days after we’re there. Gonna be tough to get posts out but rest assured, I will! Today I’m reviewing this Mitoku variety from Japan. It looks to be packaged for sale here in the USA – you can really tell by the bar code being 12 as opposed to 13 digits, as well as the distributor. I don’t know much of anything about this one, so I guess we’ll see how brown rice noodles compare shortly. Let’s check out these Mitoku noodles!
#1608: Hao Way Penang Vegetarian Prawn Instant Noodles
Here’s another new one from Hao Way – Penang Vegetarian Prawn instant noodles! I’m really quite curious on how you can make a vegetarian prawn flavor. Let’s have a look!
Re-Review: MAMA Instant Noodles Cup Shrimp Tom Yum
Tomorrow morning is the big moving day for us – can’t believe it’s here already! I thought I’d have something I know I like today – tom yum. This one’s made by Thai President Foods, a company who’s invited me and my sister to visit Thailand in May! I must say that it’s really quite a surprise to open your email and be asked if you want to go to Thailand to visit instant noodle factories! Of course I said yes! It’s going to be tough though – my wife Kit is pregnant and so it’d be a little much for her to take the trip – I’m going to miss her immensely. Won’t be for too long though! So we’re going to visit their wheat noodles factory in Bankok and then the President Rice Products factory in Ratchaburi. Of course I will take lots of pictyures and share when we return. It’s still a couple months off though, but can’t wait! So today in anticipation of the trip, I thought I’d have some MAMA tom yum. Last time I had this was over four years ago! Let’s have a look!
#1607: Myojo Nyumen Desse Shoyu
This is one got last year on my birthday trip to Canada! Really excited that the next trip is coming up very quickly! My wife, son and sister will be coming this time, so it should be a lot of fun. Today’s review is on Myojo Desse Nyumen. So, what’s nyumen? Wikipedia had this to say:
#1606: Maggi Perencah Kari Letup Mi Segera
Another one I got during my trip to Malaysia! This looks like a really spicy curry, that’s for sure. All those little peppers on the package! Plus the guy on the package seems to be aghast at the level of spiciness as well! But what does kari letup mean? Well, the Google translation says ‘curry explosion.’ I gotta say I like the sounds of that! Let’s see if Maggi Kari Letup lives up to its name!
#1605: Nissin Demae Iccho Mushroom With Vegetables Flavour Macaroni
Another one I figured I ought to get to before we move. This one is from Hong Kong and one of a line of interesting flavored macaroni instants by Nissin. Amongst them are seafood, chicken and abalone and many more. Let’s check out this mushroom vegetable flavored Nissin Demae Iccho variant!
#1604: Unzen Mushroom Honpo Shiitake Nutritious Noodle
So we’re moving. Seems like we just moved here a little while ago, but we’re moving again. I’m pretty glad too – new scenery is always nice and it’s closer to my wife’s work. I’ve been doing a lot of packing and throwing things away. During this I found this one that was under a couple of things. It was sent a while back by a reader – she was trying to find out how to get her hands on these as she really enjoyed them when in Japan. I figured it out and as a thank you, she sent me a pack! Translating this one has proven quite a task – I’m still not sure I’ve got it right in any way, shape or form. If I’m way off, let me know! Let’s look inside – I think it should be interesting.
#1603: Salam Mie Mi Goreng Ala Jawa Dengan Sambal Cabe Asli
Got this one during my trip to Malaysia at the Chain Ferry Econsave in Butterworth, Penang. Today is March 5th, 2015 and Momofuku Ando would have been 105 years old today! It’s fascinating to me to think that I wouldn’t be doing any of this if he didn’t invent the instant noodle. Happy Birthday, Mr. Andi! This one however is an Indonesian brand called Salam Mie. The flavor translates to original spicy sambal. Let’s have a look at this variety by Salam Mie!
Momofuku Ando’s 105th Birthday
March 5th, 2015 would have been Momofuku Ando’s 105th birthday! Google has honored the inventor of the instant noodle by putting up these alternate logos – I will explain them below.
#1602: Vina Acecook Mikochi Tom Yum Flavour Instant Noodles
Here’s something new from Vina Acecook – Mikochi. Never seen Mikochi before, but I thought it sounded interesting. These are non-fried noodles, so they’re lower in fat. I’m a big fan of tom yum flavored anything, so I’m hoping it’s a good pick. Let’s check out Vina Acecook Mikochi!
Samples From Twenty-Twenty Of Malaysia
I saw a picture of some white curry noodle on instagram I’d never spotted before and thought to myself that I’d like to try them. I commented on the pic and it turns out the person who posted it was with the company. After a long trip across the Pacific Ocean, samples arrived today!
#1601: Nongshim Jinjja Jinjja (New)
A big thank you to reader Anders E. of South Korea for sending this along!For a long time, Nongshim Jinjja Jinjja was my absolute favorite ramyun from South Korea. They even made it here in Rancho Cucamonga, California for a while with the subheading of ‘flamin’ hot and nutty.’ Jinjja Jinjja means ‘really really.’ Well, they stopped making them. I’m not exactly sure why; some people said that South Koreans aren’t big fans of pork broth. Nevertheless, Nongshim has brought Jinjja Jinjja back – here’s a little something I found on Nongshim’s South Korean website:
#1600: Chering Chang Instant Non-Fried Noodles Shallot Pork Flavour
Today my wife asked me if I had any non-spicy noodles without much broth. It’s pretty rare for her to ask me to make her some noodles; she’s not the biggest fan of them, and really doesn’t like broth – she’s usually game for yakisoba or mi goreng as long as it isn’t spicy. I looked around through my stores of noodles – the ones in my son’s room, the ones under my desk, the ones that arrived the other day that are sitting in boxes in front of the fireplace. So this is the one I thought she might like. These are by a company that ranked high on my top ten Taiwanese instant noodles list that I contacted, asking if they could possibly send some varieties I couldn’t get here – and they did. Let’s see how we like them.
#1599: Nissin Top Ramen Super Noodles Tomato
For a long, long time, I’ve been hunting the elusive Top Ramen from India. I remember at n Indian grocery where I used to live that they had a few curry varieties, but never was able to find it again. Well a few weeks ago I found a large Indian grocery in Redmond, Washington that had this stuff and was happily surprised. So to start off with, this isn’t your domestic United States Top Ramen. This is from India, made in India by Indo Nissin for the people there and so the flavor will be much different. This is a 4 pack – four noodle blocks, four seasoning sachets. Let’s look inside and see what we have.
#1598: MAMA Cup Rice Vermicelli Shrimp Creamy Tom Yum
Here’s a new one I found a couple days back locally! I’m really excited – going to go visit Thai President Foods’ and President Rice Products’ in May! I’ll have more info on the trip soon! This product is made from rice vermicelli. It sounds very interesting – the wheat noodle version made the top ten list in the past – let’s check this rice vermicelli version out!
Friday Video: Leonard Nimoy 1931-2015
All of my life, I’ve been a fan of Star Trek and of course Leonard Nimoy’s portrayal of Mr. Spock.
#1597: Nissin Original Chow Mein Premium Spicy Chicken Flavor
I had some leftover chicken and thought it’d be a good idea to make use of it. I reviewed the old version of this one quite a while back. This is the one with the new premium label on the package. It sounds good, but how does this Nissin Chow Mein taste? Let’s find out!
New Products From MAMA!
Here’s a package of new products from Thailand! These are all rice-based products – let’s check ’em out!
Samples From Chering Chang Of Taiwan
Another big box? Wow!
Four flavors to try – Thanks!
New Samples From Deshome Of Taiwan
A big box! What’s inside?
A detailed list!
New camelia oil noodles!
Cookies!
#1596: Uncle Sun White Curry Noodle More Spicy
A few weeks ago, I reviewed Uncle Sun White Curry Noodle and noted that it was pretty darn spicy. Today, I’m reviewing the ‘more spicy’ version. If it’s a lot more spicy, it’ll be a really serious one, that’s for sure. Let’s delve into this Uncle Sun White Curry Noodle More Spicy and see if it’s got some serious bite.
#1595: JML Emperor Instant Noodles Spicy Chicken
Here’s yet another that was sent by a kind reader from Sweden – thank you! This one is by JML (Jin Mai Lang) – I’ve reviewed many of their varieties in the past but never one of the ‘Emporer’ line. It looks to have some kick to it – let’s check it out!
#1594: Acecook Jan Jan Dashi Shoyu Yakisoba
Found this one at Uwajimaya, a Japanese grocery store chain up here in the Pacific Northwest. I’m always keen on trying a new yakisoba; I usually enjoy them with a little karashi mayo! So this variety is dashi shoyu flavor. Dashi is used to make broth for traditional Japanese ramen, and shoyu is soy sauce. Let’s have a look at this one from Japanese company Acecook.
Celebrating Lunar New Year With The Seattle Singaporeans Meetup Group
Gong Xi Fa Cai! A couple weeks ago, I got an email from my friend Zi Hua from Prima Taste in Sngapore inviting me to a lunar new year’s celebration. It sounded great, but Singapore is so far away and such short notice. I quickly realized I was being invited to a Singaporean event very near where I live! The Seattle Singaporeans Meetup Group holds an annual lunar new year celebration at a restaurant called China Harbor on Westlake down in Seattle. I happily accepted the invitation and yesterday got to attend!
#1593: Nongshim Tteokgukmyun
This one came from Anders E., a reader in South Korea – thanks! He mentioned that this variety is often enjoyed on Korean New Year, and since that was a couple days ago, I thought I’d have it today. Here’s a little info about how it fits in with Lunar New Year celebrations from wikipedia:
Friday Video: Happy Lunar New Year!
This video lets you in on some info about Lunar New Year and how people celebrate it around the world – and it’s funny, too! I thought I’d include some other videos as well. CCTV-1 did a 7+ hour Chinese New Year Gala. Here’s a long video showcasing traditional Chinese New Year music. In Singapore, you can see the fireworks from Marina Bay. Here’s a recipe for South Korean Tteokguk New Year’s Soup! Taiwanese artist Chen Forng-shean celebrates the Year of the Goat by delicately carving miniatures of the animal onto pencil tips.
#1592: Mom’s Dry Noodle Vegan Chilli With Sesame Sauce
Today’s a very big day for people living in Asia as well as the rest of the world! It’s Chinese New Year! I thought today would be a good day to have this new Mom’s Dry Noodle from Taiwan. I have the honor of taking part in a special Chinese New Year gathering in Seattle this year with a Singaporean group! I’ll be posting about that on Sunday. For those of you unfamiliar with Chinese New Year, here’s a little about it from Wikipedia:
Meet The Manufacturer: #1591: Mi E-Zee Perisa Sayuran
Today we bid a fond farewell to the CarJEN Food Sdn Bhd Meet The Manufacturer. It’s really amazing how many different instant noodle companies there are in Malaysia. What got me was after so many years of exploring instant noodles, here’s yet another one I’d not heard of until they contacted me. Today’s final review is their ‘sayuran’ variety (sayuran translates to vegetarian). Let’s have a look!
Meet The Manufacturer: #1590: Mi E-Zee Perisa Kari Sayuran
The first review of this Meet The Manufacturer was Mi E-Zee Perisa Kari. The difference here is that this is one for vegetarians. Let’s check it out!
Meet The Manufacturer: #1589: E-mi Mi Perencah Ayam Jagung
I thought this sounded interesting. Ayam Jagung translates to corn and chicken. What’s nice is that I haven’t made any noodles with chicken in a while and it just seems like it’s about time to have some! Let’s check it out!