Author: Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch

#1537: Wai Wai Quick Zabb Chili Paste Tom Yum Flavor Instant Noodles

Here’s one sent to me by Marvin R. – thanks again! This was one of a series I’ve been looking for for a long time. I kept seeing them online, but only looked to be available in Thailand. These are now available here in the USA and the last one I had (tom yum shrimp) was pretty good. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s MyKuali Penang White Curry Pizza

One thing that really surprised me during our trip was seeing that a lot of the fast food chains that are popular here in the United States are also popular in Malaysia. Burgers, fried chicken and even pizza were well represented by popular chain restaurants over there (I will say that there was no sign of the ubiquitous taco chain here). They all had different ways of serving things to fit with the local taste; like spicy fried chicken with rice or seafood pizza. This got me thinking that maybe a fusion of pizza and MyKuali White Curry might work in some way. I thought about it for a while and decided today was the day. We got the ingredients together and The Ramen Rater’s MyKuali White Curry Pizza was born! Check it out! ...see full post

#1535: Sau Tao Oat Noodle Pork Rib Flavored

I used to a lot of barbecuing a few years back and one thing I always liked to grill up were pork ribs. I would often have a couple of friends over and we would drink a few beers and exclaim ‘spicy pork ribs’ in a strange overdone Southern accent which would end up sounding more like Boss Hogg from Dukes Of Hazzard screaming ‘spassy poke relbs.’ I always liked to get the boneless ‘country style’ ribs in bulk and then do a nice dry rub. Nowadays, I don’t barbecue as much (mainly because I don’t have a barbecue) and my wife’s Uncle Joe has a really snazzy barbecue rig that you can control wirelessly and slow cook/smoke meats for hours effortlessly. His stuff comes out just amazingly – so now I leave it the pros. American barbecue ribs are generally a lot different than what you’ll find in Asia. Sau Tao is a company out of Hong Kong which makes a lot of different varieties of noodles. Today it’s oat noodles. They’re non-fried and have a nice texture to them (at least the ones I’ve had in the past did). Let’s check out Sau Tao’s Oat Noodles with Pork Ribs flavor! ...see full post

#1533: Miliket Sate Flavor Instant Noodle

Okay so first off, I want to thank the person at the company who made the decision to use paper as the material for the outer packaging. One of the big tasks I have for the reviews is to do a lot of editing in Photoshop, mostly removing glare from packaging. Since they’re plastic wraps usually, they pick up the lighting and so angling the packs to get  the least glare and reflection is key, but then sometimes it’s just not possible to get rid of all of it. Then I have to scan the packages and there’s always a good amount of glare there. This will be the first review I’ve ever done of Miliket instant noodles, so let’s check therm out! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Lucky Me! Instant Pancit Canton (Chow Mein) Extra Hot Chili Flavor

Today, we say farewell to the Monde Nissin Meet The Manufacturer! It’s been really neat to try all of these different varieties one right after the other – this is the 15th review! I do up to 15 in a row during an MTM. I thought today would definitely be fitting for something hot and spicy. Why you ask? ...see full post

Friday Video: How to Cook Cebu Lechon

So when I post my reviews on instagram, I use hashtags. I usually try to find ones that are decent, relevant and get the most eyes on the reviews of course, and I then look at the pics others post and like them, in hopes that hey will look and like the ones I have posted or even follow. Pretty basic method of growing a viewer base. Well, I also look at the hashtags that those people use, and I saw an interesting one – #lechon. Wasn’t sure what Lechon was, so I looked at a bunch of people’s pictures and found that it was roast whole pig. I decided to take this to YouTube and have a look. After perusing quite a few, I found this video about how Cebu Lechon is made. I’ve never tried this, but I think I would love to give it a taste someday. Anyways, enjoy and Happy Black Friday! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Lucky Me! Beef Na Beef Instant Noodles

I think a lot of people will say that Lucky Me! Beef Na Beef is one that they’ve seen many times when visiting an Asian grocery in the USA. Beef, like chicken, is one of those flavors you see about every instant noodle manufacturer out there making. Everyone knows what beef and chicken flavors taste like (well, maybe not everyone – hi vegetarians!). The weather here is quite cold and rainy lately and nice beef flavored broth sounds really good. One thing though; the Philippines isn’t a place known for it’s chilly climate. Would a beef instant translate well for colder places that’s been made there? I think I’ll have to see! Let’s revisit Lucky Me! Beef Na Beef! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1532: Lucky Me! Special Instant Noodles Jjamppong Flavor

Well everyone, today is Thanksgiving! I thought I’d like to thank everyone who visit The Ramen Rater every day – your attention and interest inspires me to continue on in my journey to find the best instant noodles in the world and let you know about them! I wanted to also thank you for buying things using the Amazon links I provide. These aren’t products directly from me, but from people/companies selling them on Amazon, and I get a little something every time one of you uses a link and either buys the item shown or browses and finds something else they’d like. This really helps us out, especially around the holidays. If you’re planning on doing holiday shopping on Amazon, consider something from the Noodle Shop or simply go to the Noodle Shop and click on the Amazon logo. You’ll be helping keep The Ramen Rater running ! Thanks, and Happy Thanksgiving! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1531: Lucky Me! Special Instant Sopas Chicken Flavor

Thought this would be one my son would like. He’s been keen on trying new things, and I doubt he’s ever had any Filipino soups before. Sopas is basically chicken soup, but has a Filipino twist to it. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about Sopas in the Philippines: ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1530: Lucky Me! Spicy Beef Mami Instant Noodle Soup

Lucky Me! Spicy Beef Mami is a newer product I’m pretty sure. A couple neat things about this one is tyhat they use Labuyo pepper. It’s also known as Bird’s Eye chilli as well a cili padi (chilli paddi) in Indonesia and Malaysia. What’s more, this is another instance of instant noodles being referred to as ‘mami.’ As far as I know, this in a purely Filipino thing; never seen instant noodles called mami anywhere else (although there is a Malaysian company called Mamee, (a play on mee and MAMA) and a Thai brand called MAMA (for the same reason). I thought I’d see what Wikipedia has to say about the various meanings of mami and got this list: ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1529: Lucky Me! Special Instant Curly Spaghetti With Yummy Red Sauce

I have tried a few quick spaghetti in the past – from South Korea, Japan and Indonesia, but never from the Philippines! I had a look to see if there’s a particular way in which spaghetti is enjoyed in the Philippines and as it turns out, I found some recipes that included hot dogs. Interesting! Well, let’s have a look at this unique instant variety = Lucky Me! Curly spaghetti! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1528: Lucky Me! Supreme Pinoy Chicken Instant Noodles

As you can see, Lucky Me! not only makes packaged instant noodles but cups as well (they also produce bowls). This one is a variety called Supreme Pinoy Chicken. From what I gather, these are supposed to be adobo chicken flavored instant noodles. What’s adobo chicken? Let’s ask Wikipedia: ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Lucky Me! Instant Pancit Canton (Chow Mein) Original Flavor

Pancit Canton is a Filipino favorite whose roots began in China. It is also very much like Mi Goreng, an Indonesian dish. Basically, noodles and cooked, drained, and then combined with a dry powder and oil and sauce combination to create a tasty broth-free dish. These Lucky Me! Pancit Canton come in a variety of flavors, this being their original flavor. I’ll be reviewing more of these during Meet The Manufacturer as well, since it’s such a prominent product of theirs. Let’s check out Lucky Me! original Pancit Canton. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Lucky Me! Chicken Na Chicken Instant Noodles

Chicken instant noodles are known the world over. In fact the first instant noodles ever sold were chicken flavored! Seems like chicken is a very accessible flavor for people. I reviewed this one over 3 years ago the first time – let’s see how Chicken na Chicken by Lucky Me! fares this time around! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1527: Lucky Me! Special Baked Mac Style Instant Macaroni

Macaroni is used in a lot of Filipino cuisine. One I’ve tried in instant form is Sopas, a soup with macaroni in it. The weather here is really quite cold (at least for Washington). It’s gotten down to as low as 26 degrees Fahrenheit the last few nights. This looks like a nice warm stick-to-your-ribsy kind of thing. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Lucky Me! Instant Pancit Canton (Chow Mein) Chili & Citrus

It’s been a while since I had any Lucky Me! Pancit Canton. This is a re-review of the 40th instant I ever reviewed! That puts it around 2002 or 2003 being the last time I tried this one. Not only that, it’s been about 1,000 reviews since I had any Pancit Canton. So what’s Pencit? Wikipedia has this to say: ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Interview With Monde Nissin – Lucky Me!

#1525: Pama Instant Kua Teow Tom Yam

Yet another one got in Malaysia during our trip! Thank you, Thomas! A popular dish in Penang is Char Kuay Teow, fried rice noodles. It’s kind of like the mee goreng of rice noodles. Kua Teow is rice noodles – and this is rice noodles with tom yam broth. From what I found online, it’s more a popular Thai dish. Either way, this sounds really good! Let’s dig in to some spicy stuff from Malaysia! ...see full post

#1523: Paldo Jjamppong Seafood Noodle King Bowl

Here’s a new Jjamppong King Bowl from Paldo. The king bowl is yet another instant noodle form factor. There are cups, king cups, bowls and king bowls. I think the main different between cups and bowls are really the portability factor. I think a king cup and a king bowl hold the same amount of liquid though; I’ll have to compare them some day. But I digress. This is Jjamppong – here’s a little from Wikipedia about Jjamppong who are unclear about what it is: ...see full post

#1522: Vifon Instant Porridge Seafood Flavour

The first thing you’re going to say is ‘porridge isn’t ramen.’ Well aware of that, dude. Then again, these often show up on the instant noodle aisle of an Asian grocery and as such, I thought it could use some attention. This is a Vietnamese seafood porridge, much like what they call congee in China. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about Vietnamese rice porridge: ...see full post

#1521: Maruchan Gotsumori Sauce Yakisoba

Okay, I’m familiar with yakisoba, but what’s Gotsumori sauce all about? After some scouring of the Internet, I didn’t find a whole lot. I found on the manufacturer’s site that the sauce is spicy and also has a sachet of Kewpie karashimayonnaise (kind of a mayo-mustard thing). Anyways, yeah I’m definitely coming up short on this one! Let’s have a look. ...see full post