Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
The day is upon us – the day to review the new Hokkien Prawn Noodle – the second instant noodle from the company that made the number one on my 2014 Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time list! As with their Penang White Curry Noodle, Hokkien Prawn Noodle is a bit of a mystery for me. I had never tried White Curry before I tried their product, nor have I ever had Hokkien Prawn Noodle before. I did a little digging online and found the Penang Hawker Food Blog. I found this text there:
Woo-hoo! I’ve been looking for a couple varieties by Maruchan for a while and this is one of them. I want to thank Craig Y. and all the nice folks at Maruchan for getting this one in my hands! I’m sure someone out there is going to say ‘Hard to find? It’s at every store around me!’ One thing though is that not every product is marketed or distributed to every area. One example of this kind of thing is a soda called Cheerwine. It’s quite popular and easily found in the southern United States, but it’s relatively unknown on the west coast. Anyways, Jalapeno Cheddar noodles sounds pretty neat! Let’s have a look at this one.
Here’s a new one from Nongshim, and it’s definitely unique. It’s a stir noodle, which means that there’s no broth, but a sauce that it stirred in to coat the noodles. Another unique thing is that it can be served hot OR cold! I was thinking of using a special divided bowl I have, but one side is bigger than the other and so I came up with an idea: since they sent a few packs, I’ll make one hot, sample it and then make one cold and sample it – easy enough. Something else I found interesting was on the right and left sides of the package. It says “NONGSHIM BLACK CLASS NOODLE DISH.” The final interesting this about this one is the inclusion of chipotle. Chipotle? Now that’s different – don’t think I’ve come across that being used in an instant before. Well, let’s open this one up and see what’s inside!
My contact at MyKuali told me she was sending some samples of their new Penang Hokkien Prawn Noodle over! If your follow my annual Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time lists, you’ll know that MyKuali hit #1 with their Penang White Curry Noodle this year. These two big boxes showed up yesterday…
Awesome! Tom Yam! Tom Yam soup is a spicy and citrus seafood extravaganza for the taste buds. I really enjoy it quite a bit. Let’s see how this variety tastes! This one’s made in Malaysia.
Here’s the third package from Maggi Singapore!
Hey these look neat – on the left is Maggi Royale Penang Seafood Curry and on the right, 2 Minute Tom Yam! Thanks!
Interview With Maggi Singapore * Product Samples From Maggi Singapore ( 1 of 3 ) * Product Samples From Maggi Singapore ( 2 of 3 ) * Product Samples From Maggi Singapore ( 3 of 3 ) * Maggi Extra Spicy Curry Instant Noodles * Maggi Senses Laksa Instant Noodles * Maggi 2 Minute Noodles Curry Flavour * Maggi Hot Cup Perisa Kari * Maggi 2 Minute Noodles Assam Laksa Flavour * Maggi 2 Minute Noodles Tom Yam Flavour *
I sent an email whilst down in California to a friend at Maruchan USA as to where to find a couple varieties I couldn’t find here. He was kind enough to arrange some samples!
Wow check this big sucker out! Nissin’s Souper Meals are exactly that – super sized! This was sent over by the nice folks over at Nissin Foods USA the other day – thanks! Let’s peel the lid off of this one and have a peek inside…
So this week there have been a myriad of articles coming out; Eater, HuffPost, TV news websites… All showing this video and headlines like “Stop What You’re Doing: This Is How Ramen Noodles Are Made.”
I’ve reviewed quite a few instant by this brand. They’re made in Taiwan and they come with four of everything; four noodle blocks, four of each sachet. The Interesting twist with this one is that it doesn’t use broth; it’s a stir noodle! I don’t think I’ve found one of those yet. Let’s check it out!
Here’s the last of the Adabi varieties I received from Annie T. of MyKuali in Malaysia – thank you! It’s a wet and rainy day outside this morning. It started raining just before 7am and has been ever since! In northwest Washington state, we sometimes get a big dump of rain in the summertime – even got some thunder! You can see how easily amused I am! Anyways, spicy mi goreng sounds like a nice accompaniment for the day’s weather. Let’s have a look at this one.
Most of us in the United States are familiar with Maruchan’s ramen packs and ‘Instant Lunch’ cups. However, most of us aren’t familiar with Maruchan’s popular products overseas in Japan. Miso is a fermented soybean paste – it’s good stuff, with a kind of musty scent. Notice on the front of this one: it’s also saying that it’s lower calorie. Let’s have a look inside.
Here’s something I’ve been waiting for – three new products from Nongshim America! Let’s see what’s inside!
A few months back, a fellow named Tomonori contacted me asking for some help with a television program in Japan. He wanted to know if he could use some of my images and get some info. I said sure – if you could send me a real Japanese ramen bowl! He was more than happy to do so and so we exchanged some info. A little later, the television program came out.
Here’s something you wouldn’t find in the United States usually! Macaroni and cheese is a common thing here; almost a national dish! But macaroni and chicken and abalone – in a broth? Nope – not something most would even consider. One thing’s for sure: macaroni is almost always accompanied by cheese here. Let’s see what it’s like cheese free!
These little cups always are a nice surprise. I usually expect that they’ll be funky and gross but they usually have been very good! This one sounds interesting – I’m curious what ‘brown sauce’ means; like brown gravy? The pic on the front looks like wide rice noodles too. Well, it looks like fun to me – let’s crack this one open and see what’s going on inside.
Came home from the store yesterday to see this on my doorstep – samples from Nissin USA! Let’s open it up!
Win Onn Foods of Malaysia make Hao Way brand Penang White Curry Noodles. I reviewed them a while back, but they asked if I’d like some more. Very kind!
Yeah – it’s that time of year again! Cups are interesting; they usually hold a lot less water than a bowl, so the steeping process is a little different and so are the noodles. I’ve had some horrendous cups over the years, but then there are some that are really quite good. This last year has been a great one where cups are concerned! Let’s have a look at the best of the best! The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Cups Of All Time 2014 Edition!
A while back I reviewed the Malaysian version of this one. This is the one from Singapore – and it says it’s got a ‘new look, better taste’ – sounds awesome! But what is Assam Laksa? Here’s what Wikipedia says:
Here’s one I’ve been most eager to try. The Ramen Rater is also on Instagram, and I peruse for instant noodle related things. I’ve seen these cups quite a few times and people seem to enjoy them! They come in other varieties such as chicken and tom yam aside from this curry one. This Hot Cup was sent by Maggi Singapore, but made in Malaysia by Maggi Malaysia. Let’s have a look at this one and see what’s inside!
More curry! Man, I really like curry – a lot. This is one people refer to as ‘Maggi Mee’ an awful lot. ‘Mee’ or ‘Mi’ means noodles in many Southeast Asian countries. Sounds good to me – let’s check it out!
Well this looks like a fancy one. This is a new premium laksa from Maggi that’s supposed to be really special. Their goal was to make a laksa with a great ‘just like from home’ kind of feel and flavor. Sounds interesting!
Interview With Maggi Singapore * Product Samples From Maggi Singapore ( 1 of 3 ) * Product Samples From Maggi Singapore ( 2 of 3 ) * Product Samples From Maggi Singapore ( 3 of 3 ) * Maggi Extra Spicy Curry Instant Noodles * Maggi Senses Laksa Instant Noodles * Maggi 2 Minute Noodles Curry Flavour * Maggi Hot Cup Perisa Kari * Maggi 2 Minute Noodles Assam Laksa Flavour * Maggi 2 Minute Noodles Tom Yam Flavour *
Two of my favorite things are well represented on the front of this pack: spiciness and curry. I’ve been really curious about trying Maggi Extra Spicy Curry ever since I received some samples – how spicy is it? On a signed poster they sent, the marketing team at Maggi sent the dare ‘can you handle the hotness?’ I’m definitely keen on finding out today!
Maggi singapore wanted to make sure I got their newest prodct – MAGGI Senses Laksa for review during Meet The Manufacturer. They rolled it out in June and here it is! Let’s see what’s inside!
A big long box – let’s see what’s within!
Somebody spent a long time crumpling up paper – it was very well packed!
Samyang Foods’ Buldak Bokkummyeon. I’ve had the pack form and did up a recipe a while back involving a way to cool the heat. This is the bowl – and a fiery bowl at that. This stuff doesn’t mess around; there’s no broth. The noodles have a violently hot coating that really means business! It’s so hot that people challenge each other to devour a bowl as fast as they can on YouTube all the time! Let’s open up this bowl and see how fiery this one is!
This is the last of the new varieties available in the South American country of Colombia. What is Gallina? Well, it’s young hen. It was explained to me that Gallina is a little more oily. Andy will be enjoying this one today! Let’s have a look.
This is the first bowl of instant noodles I’m having since our California vacation last week and I must say it’s good to be back to reviewing! This is one I picked up while in Canada a while back. Let’s take a look!
I was recently contacted by a fellow named Justin Herd. He is the creator of a product called the OneBowl – a special bowl that will cook instant as well as other noodles in the microwave. What’s more, it will drain them. He can do the most justice to explaining the product and it’s features of course, so I recently conducted this interview with him.
Last week, we went on our big summer vacation! We drove from Lynnwood, WA all the way to Livermore, CA – over 800 miles. Did it in 14 hours – only 3 quick stops, too! We did a bunch of neat stuff – went to the Alameda County Fair, caught a Giants game in San Francisco, and went out for ramen – and not the instant kind. Nope – this is the moment I think many of you have been wanting to see more of. It’s not going to be a common thing around here anytime soon, but I thought I’d share my experience.
I thought I’d make one for my wife today. Kit loves cheese. I mean she really loves cheese! I don’t know anyone who gets happier when cheese is mentioned! I thought this would be a perfect one for her. Cheese noodles for a cheese lover. Let’s check it out!
It was only a matter of time that I would get to try yet another Malaysian Penang white curry variety. There are quite a few out there now! Unfortunately, most of them are only available in Malaysia, so it’s tricky to get them. If I can get enough of them, I’d like to do a top ten of those! As far as I know, there are ten varieties, but now there could be more. Win Onn makes this Penang white curry – and they really wanted me to try it! After the first try and the noodles being destroyed by the US Department of Agriculture for having a little chicken in them, they tried again with some documentation – and the USDA saw fit to let them through! Yay! Let’s have a look at this, the third Penang white curry variety I’ve gotten my hands on.
Here’s one that Joe B. and Sarah B. sent me from Nottingham, UK – thanks! I think I’ve only got one more they sent – been fun doing these British varieties! Curry is a really popular British flavor. I’m calling it a British flavor, because there are so many interpretations of curry; the British make curry powders and cook with them – they’re usually less spicy and exotic than something you’d find in Southeast Asia. Anyways, I thought I’d make some chicken to go along with this and use some of the curry leaf that’s growing in my wife’s garden. What’s interesting is that curry leaf isn’t used in curry! It smells like curry powder though. Should be interesting! Let’s check it out.
Here’s another one we got up in Canada earlier this year during my birthday trip! I wasn’t sure at first if I’d reviewed these; a long time ago I reviewed a series of products by Vina Acecook called King Cook. This is King Chef, so it’s different! I wasn’t sure when I was looking at them up in Canada – glad I went ahead and snagged them. The more noodles, the better. Let’s have a look!
Hey here are some noodle made here in the USA! Interesting – spicy Szechuan… I’m curious how spicy it will be. I’ve had many different takes on Szechuan before – I’m hoping this one is good as usually I don’t tend to like Szechuan variants so much. Actually, I like the ones like this usually more than the ones actually made in China! Let’s see how this one comes out.
As with many instant noodle companies, Nongshim has plants all over the world. Usually, these factories produce flavors that are popular in the countries they are located in, as well as well known favorites. This one is a variety made in China and I found it up in Canada. It seems that many of the ones made in China are available up in Canada, although I’ve never seen them here in the USA – curious. Let’s have a look!
I like the title of this one, because to be honest, I do want to eat Shio ramen today! Shio translates to salt in Japanese, but it’s not like you get a block of noodles and a packet of table salt. There are four main variants of Japanese ramen, with Shio being one of them. Here’s what wikipedia has to say about Shio:
