Author: Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch
#1147: Meet The Manufacturer: Asian Thai Foods Rumpum Chicken Soup Base
Chicken sounds good – This is an example of a vitamin fortified instant noodle. In areas of the world where many people eat a large amount of instant noodles, vitamins are added to make them healthier. Let’s check these out!
#1146: Meet The Manufacturer: Asian Thai Foods 2pm Precooked Noodles Chicken Curry Delight
Nope – this is not a reference to the popular South Korean K-Pop group – it’s a reference to the time of day. 2pm is a common time for a quick bite to eat in the afternoon. Let’s have a look.
#1145: Meet The Manufacturer: Asian Thai Foods Fatafat Chicken Flavor
I think this is one of my new favorite packages – those kids are rockin’ out! Fatafat means ‘fast fast,’ referring to the fact that you can just pop it open and eat it as well as a smaller size for a quick meal. I decided to try the only cooking method I’ve seen this brand mention that I hadn’t tried yet: cook, drain, fry and add seasonings. Let’s check it out!
#1144: Meet The Manufacturer: Asian Thai Foods Krrish Instant Noodles Vegetable Curry Flavour
Here’s another journey into something different. It was mentioned that a lot of people will have these noodles uncooked with the seasoning/oil packets mixed in. Adding tomato ketchup and mayonnaise as well was mentioned. I enquired as to whom the fellow on the package was: “Well it’s the superhero for India. It’s actor Hrithik Roshan on the package. You can Google the movie. Krrsh 3 will be releasing soon this year. Do watch the trailer on YouTube. This product was made to attract kids.” Wow cool! I figured let’s try this out!
#1143: Meet The Manufacturer: Asian Thai Foods Rumpum Vegetable Soup Base
Here’s another brown noodle variety from ATF. Rumpum is the flagship product for them. Let’s check it out.
#1142: Meet The Manufacturer: Asian Thai Foods Miteri Instant Noodles Chicken Flavor
This one is called Miteri and it comes from Nepal. The makers of this product mentioned that coriander is a good garnish for all of their varieties.. I went to the store looking for the stuff and found coriander powder so tried that on the review before last. Then I had a thought to look on Google for coriander as the powder just didn’t seem right. Well guess what? Coriander is known here in the US as cilantro. Needless to say, I went and got some and will use it today! As it turns out, miteri means friend in Nepalese.. Let’s check it out!
#1141: Meet The Mnufacturer: Asian Thai Foods Joker Ready To Eat Noodles Chicken Flavor
Today, I’ll be reviewing something different. I’ve reviewed snack noodles before that have been made into various shapes, ones that start as a block and you crush and add seasoning, but none quite like these. These are in a small packet and in a block – they’re also noodles that have been seasoned already. Asian Thai Foods said that you can simply crush the noodles and have them that way; in fact, it is common that people eat many of their varieties this way – including mixing the seasoning packets and oil packets as well – and eating straight. What I’m going to do with it is add a couple things I’ve found before in namkeens. Namkeens are basically savory snack foods that are kind of like trail mix – they usually contain nuts, seeds, raisins and all sorts of different things depending on the region. Let’s have a try!
#1140: Meet The Manufacturer: Asian Thai Foods Preeti Instant Noodles Veg Soup Base
Here’s another one from Nepal! Preeti translates to ‘love.’ I love instant noodles, so what better name for them? Let’s check this pack out!
#1139: Meet The Manufacturer: Asian Thai Foods Gaurav Chicken Seasoning
Here’s the first review of the Asian Thai Foods Meet The Manufacturer spotlight! Wow – noodles from Nepal! Let’s have a look at these, called Gaurav. I couldn’t figure out what Gaurav means – if anyone knows, please comment! UPDATE – Thanks for KC Gabby for letting me know that gaurav means pride! Let’s check it out!
Product Samples From Asian Thai Foods
All of a sudden, a knock at the door – the FedEx guy! What could it be?
Instant noodles from Nepal! Thanks to Arun and Manish for sending these!
Meet The Manufacturer: Interview With Asian Thai Foods
Interview * Samples From Asian Thai Foods * Asian Thai Foods Gaurav Chicken Seasoning * Asian Thai Foods Preeti Instant Noodles With Veg Soup Base * Asian That Foods Joker Ready To Eat Noodles Chicken Flavor * Asian Thai Foods Miteri Instant Noodles Chicken Flavor * Asian Thai Foods Rumpum Vegetable Soup Base * Asian Thai Foods Krrish Instant Noodles Vegetable Curry Flavour * Asian Thai Foods Fatafat Chicken Flavor * Asian Thai Foods 2pm Precooked Noodles Chicken Curry Delight * Asian Thai Foods Rumpum Chicken Soup Base * Asian Thai Foods Miteri Instant Noodles Vegetable Flavor * Asian Thai Foods Preeti Instant Noodles Chicken Soup Base * Asian Thai Foods Krrish Instant Noodles Chicken Flavour * Asian Thai Foods Fatafat Vegetable Flavor
A Nice Surprise From Nongshim America!
Was looking at my posts and found this on that I hadn’t posted for some reason – check it out – it’s from 2013
When we got home from the hospital yesterday, I called the apartment office to see if there were any packages – they said there was one. A mailer from Nongshim America – what’s inside?
#1138: Tablemark Downtown Ramen Shop Shoyu
Here’s another one from T&T Supermarket up in Canada! Looks like a regular Japanese pack, right? This is actually a fresh ramen – frozen! Let’s check it out!
#1137: Koka Oriental Style Instant Noodles Crab Flavour
Here’s one that was sent by Martin A. of Devon, England. Thanks again! There are many varieties of Koka noodles that aren’t yet available in the United States and this is one of them. Let’s check it out!
The Ramen Rater’s Ramyun Sliders
With the recent popularity of the ‘ramen burger,’ I felt it necessary to try them out, but with a twist. South Korean ramyun is easily available by many brand and the noodles are thicker as well as more plentiful than other country’s varieties. Let’s give this a try!
#1136: Nissin Yakisoba
Here’s another one from T&T Supermarket up in Canada. From my research, I found that this product was first introduced in 1963. The little medal on the mid-right is about this – it’s the 50th anniversary of Nissin Yakisoba this year! Let’s check this one out!
The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Made In The USA Of All Time 2013 Edition
The instant noodle originated in 1958 in Japan, but since that time, they’ve expanded in popularity all over the world, including of course, the United States. Seeing this, instant noodle companies thought it wise to start building plants here in the 1970s. Since then, many brands operate factories here in the US, mostly in southern California. This is a list of my favorite varieties produced here, encompassing my over 1,100 reviews to date. With that, here’s your top ten, America!
#1135: Indomie Instant Noodle Beef & Lime Flavour
Found this the other day and hadn’t ever seen it before. Then I looked closer and saw it was Rasa Soto Mie. Now, I’ve reviewed the export version of Soto Mie before, but there’s a difference: this one’s beef and the other was chicken. Interesting! Always nice to see a new Indonesian variety available in the states! Let’s check this one out.
#1134: Hi-Myon Katsuo Udon
Here’s an udon variety – katsuo udon. So what’s katsuo? Katsuo is also called Skipjack Tuna. Here’s an excerpt from a Wikipedia article:
Special August Advertising Promotion On The Ramen Rater
Happy August! The Ramen Rater has entered the advertising game! This chart (click image to enlarge) shows have many impressions (page views) have accumulated per month since October of 2010. The Ramen Rater keeps getting more popular. We feel that it is the best place for grocers that sell instant noodles as well as manufacturers of instant noodles to advertise – people who come to The Ramen Rater are looking for information on instant noodles or where they can find them. Why not tap into that? With more people browsingh the site come new expenses like hosting. Advertising with The Ramen Rater not only helps get the word out and bring people to your company website but also helps support The Ramen Rater continue to bring you daily reviews.
#1133: Kamfen E-Men Noodles Abalone Soup Flavor
Here’s one that is manufactured in Shenzhen, China and distributed in Hong Kong. Let’s check it out!
#1132: Tesco Everyday Value Spicy Curry Flavour Noodles
Here’s a cup I got today that was sent to me by Joe B. from the UK – thanks! Curry. Sounds good to me! Turns out Tesco is a big grocery chain in the UK. Let’s check this one out.
Donation From The UK!
Got this great package from Joe B. who lives over in England – thanks, man! Let’s look inside!
#1131: Wei Lih What’s That? Leisure Meatballs Chicken Flavor
Here’s another one from the T&T Supermarket up in Burnaby, BC. I asked for help with the translation on Facebook. Thanks guys! Snack noodles are very popular in Asia and here’s one variety to check out. Yes – it’s from Taiwan! It’s a package with three little packs inside. Let’s check it out!
#1130: Nissin Big Cup Noodles Habanero Lime Shrimp Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup
#1129: Oyatsu Baby Star Ramen Round Chikinmini
Here’s another one from T&T Supermarket in Canada! I haven’t reviewed on in a while, but here we have a ramen snack. You don’t cook them, it’s a little snack that’s ready to eat and already flavored. Let’s check it out!
#1128: Lucky Me! Special Instant Pancit Bihon With Kalamansi
Hey look! Something from The Philippines! I can’t remember the last time I had anything from The Philippines (looked it up – August 18th, 2012 – almost a whole year ago). You might be wondering, what is pancit bihon? Wikipedia says:
The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All time 2013 Edition
This year, we’ve got some new fiery additions to this list of spicy and burning hot varieties. If you can find them, you’ll be feeling quite the burn! If you think you’ve found anything hotter or noteworthy of being on this list, please comment below or send me an email. Without further adieu, here’s the 2013 picks for the spiciest instant noodles I’ve found after 1,128 reviews!
#1127: Campbell’s Hearty Noodles Chicken Flavour
Here’s another one from T&T Supermarket up in Canada! To be honest, I was absolutely stoked to find this one; I’ve seen pics of the Campbell’s varieties in the past, but they’re not available in the United States as far as I know. Let’s check out this little chicken cup.
#1126: GaGa Mie Gepeng Goreng Rasa Ayam Lada Hitam
In the last day, lots of people have been coming to The Ramen Rater from Indonesia! One person who commented via the facebook page said”you should try this one fried noddle, it has black pepper flavour. will not disappoint you :)” (for those wondering, this is friend black pepper chicken flavor noodles). I looked through the box of varieties my friend in Jakarta sent me and lo and behold, I had it in there! Thank you very much! Let’s check this one out!
Setting The Record Straight: Rampant False Rumors About Instant Noodles
7/31/2013 – UPDATE – I’ve been getting quite a few comments about wax in noodles again, so I thought it would be a good idea to repost this. Recently, an article outlining reasons not to eat instant noodles came out which perpetuates these rumors and false claims.
Greetings Indonesia!
I noticed lots of visitors to the website tonight from Indonesia – it looks like they’re happy that thje Indomie cup was the #1 on the Top Ten Instant Noodle Cups Of All Time 2013 Edition! Well, I’ve been asked if I’ve reviewed more Indomie varieties, and so here is a link to an interview I did with Indomie CBP and lots of links to local varieties – enjoy!
#1125: Myojo Japanese Style Noodles Shio Flavor
Here’s another I got up at T&T Supermarket in Canada! Shio is one of four main categories of ramen in Japan (Tonkotsu, Shoyu and Miso being the others). Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about Shio:
#1124: Samyang Foods Ganjjampong
Here’s one from South Korea. This is a seafood variety, but with no broth. If you look closely, you’ll see three triahles on the lid. These are perforated holes that you poke through and use to drain the noodles. Let’s check this one out!
#1123: Maruchan’s Fresh Yaki-Soba Stir Fry Noodles With Seasoning Sauce Base
Here’s another one I was given by the nice folks at T&T Supermarket up in Canada – thanks again! I thought some fresh noodles would be nice for dinner tonight and I’ve wanted to try these for quite some time. Let’s check ’em out!
#1122: Nagao Noodle Ramen Kamen Thasos Galle Pork Bone
This one was sent by Mr. Yamato of Yakantei in Japan! Thank you! First off – if someone has a better translation of what this particular instant noodle is called, please let me know? The original text is 長尾製麺 ラーメン仮面・タソガレトンコツ. This is quite unique in that the outer packaging is paper. Yes – paper! Let’s have a look at this artsy ramen!
#1121: Sau Tao Oat Noodle Sesame Oil Flavored
Let me say that the past couple of days have been probably a couple of the most crazy, fascinating and rewarding of my run so far as The Ramen Rater. I did am interview with Quartz (part of The Atlantic) and it went viral; Huffington Post picked it up, Grub Street, Digg,… Did an interview with South Korea’s Cultwo Veranda Show and appeared, and have two interviews with radio and television lined up in the next couple of days. A couple of interesting opportunities I can’t talk about yet have popped up and I’m very excited about them and will share as soon as I can. Thursday I went up to Canada and met with some folks at a big Asian grocery called T&T Supermarket. They were really nice people and even sent me home with some great new varieties to review and share! Thank you so much! This is one of them. Oat noodles? This sounds different – see the little circle on the lower right? It says ‘health is important. Let’s check it out!
Advertise On The Ramen Rater
Hey folks – so we’ve re-tooled our rates for August! We now have monthly pricing and 30% off for August! Check out this PDF to find out more. Thank you!
#1120: ABC Selera Pedas Mi Rebus Hot Gulai Chicken Flavour
Another Indonesia variety sent by a kind person in Jakarta! Thanks! This is called ‘gulai’ – something I’ve never heard of. I consulted Wikipedia and found this: