
Happy Halloween! Today, I thought I’d go with something spicy – and not just spicy but hell spicy! But what about Mala – what’s that mean? Here’s what Wikipedia had to say:
Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002

Happy Halloween! Today, I thought I’d go with something spicy – and not just spicy but hell spicy! But what about Mala – what’s that mean? Here’s what Wikipedia had to say:

Here’s another one that was sent to me by Joe B. of Nottingham, UK – thanks! Super Noodles – are they ‘super?’ Let’s see.

I’ve reviewed a bunch of these – got them up in Canada during my birthday. They’re really big! Let’s check it out.

Yakisoba is great but add some mayo with wasabi? Man that sounds really good! Let’s have a look at this one!

Here’s one I got up in Canada at T&T Supermarket – thanks! Never tried this before. Looks interesting though – let’s check it out!

Here’s one that was sent from Germany by a fellow named Samonporn – thank you! I am really happy to be trying these since it’s been a few days since I had any pork on hand to pair anything with. Let’s check it out!

Here’s another one of the new varities available in Colombia. Gallina means hen
and from what I was told by Hector C. from Panama (who lives in Costa Rica) that
it is kind of like the veal of chicken ; young hen. I researched a bit online and
found a few recipes for soups from Colombia mentioning Gallina. Wikipedia had
this to say of the Colombian variety of ‘Sancocho:’

I saw a recipe that sounded interesting a few weeks ago, and decided I wanted to try it. The issue: I only had one bowl of Samyang Foods’ Budalk Bokkumyeon, a fiery and spicy fest whose close relative the package version made the Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2013 list. I emailed Samyang Foods about it and they kindly sent some as well as some other new varieties.

Another one that was sent from Indonesia – thank you! Soto varieties usually have a broth with them, rather than mi goreng which are dry. Cabe means chilli and hijau means green; so green chilli flavor noodle soup. Let’s check it out!

So my friend Adam B. over at Ladies’ Choice Productions clued me into an article in Hip Rock Magazine called “Reigning Ramens: Stellar artists introducing a new ramen noodle recipe.” Looks like this is a monthly column where they do a bio about a hip hop/metal band and get them to submit a recipe.

Got a box from Nongshim America today. They were stoked on the story that came out about my ramyun burger recipe. Thank you very much! Let’s see what’s inside!

Hey this looks really good! It’s a foggy day here and I can hear the ships out in the sea blowing their horns in the distance. Time for seafood! Let’s check this one out!

Been a little while since I reviewed anything by A-Sha. I did a Meet The Manufacturer in May, but nothing new since then. Well, today’s the day! Curry. It’s always been a favorite flavor of mine and I think this is the first time I’ll be trying a Taiwanese take on it. Let’s give it a try!

Got a package from Courtnay N. of Surrey BC today. She traveled to Japan this year and brought something bac to send me. Let’s check it out!

Review #1200! Wow – only 800 to go to #2000! By the way if you’ve got a second, can you vote for The Ramen Rater in the Best of Western Washington contest? Trying to get first place in the food blog category! Here’s the link. So here’s an interesting one I picked up in Canada. Took a bit of figuring to tell what it was for sure – let’s check it out!

MAMA! Thai! Green curry! Chicken! It sounds really good – let’s check it out as we are on the cusp of another hundred reviews down!

Here’s a brand new one from Samyang Foods of South Korea. They sent instructions on how to cook them as well as a little info about this new variety:

Robert F. of Hoboken, NJ was kind enough to send one of these – thanks! Very curious how it will be… Only one way to find out!

Here’s another one from Scott A. over at Nissin Foods USA – thanks! This is a straight chicken flavor bowl – a new product. My son Andy really likes chicken noodles – I’ll steal a taste of it and let him demolish it! Let’s check it out.

Here’s one that’s made in Malaysia but sold in the UK. Tomato! Usually a good bet. Some varieties taste like tomatoes au natural while others have a ketchup taste. Sawadee is Thai for hello. Let’s see how this one fares.

Here it is! Now you can get a big cup of Namja here in the states! I reviewed the South Korean Namja King Cup before, and there are differences between the two. If you’re wondering, Namja means ‘men’s’ or ‘guy’s’ – still wondering if they will make a ramyun for the ladies. Let’s check this new one out.

Here we go with the 32nd edition of The Ramen Rater Noodle News! I scour the Internet for articles about ramen and instant noodles and bring them to you! Here are some recent stories you might find interesting!

I got a big envelope int he mail today…

The K Herald is a supplement that goes to certain zip codes in the Los Angeles Times. It came out last Friday! Click here to check out the full article. Thanks to Michelle Y. Cho at K-Herald!

Here’s another one from Scott over at Nissin USA – thanks! These are neat little cups. They’re made in the EU for the European market. Let’s check it out!

A month or so ago I read an article mentioning a new book about instant noodles. Books regarding instant noodles generally fall into a couple categories: recipe books written and published by individuals and recipe books that are mass-produced and published by the millions.

Here’s another one I got at T&T Supermarket up in Canada. I find it interesting; I got three pork varieties there – stewed pork, steamed pork and simmered pork! I asked my wife which one I should have as I couldn’t decide. She told me to simmer down and so here we are. Let’s check it out!

Got a box in the mail from the A-Sha guys in California today – wonder what’s inside…

Just wanted to congratulate Chris Johnson on his success with his Rapid Ramen Cooker – his invention that allows you to cook a standard pack of instant noodles in 3-4 minutes in the microwave with 1/2 the sodium. He was on Shark Tank last week and got himself a great deal! Here’s the interview I conducted with him last December and my rigorous test of The Rapid Ramen Cooker – see the video below!

Here’s another from my friend in Indonesia – thank you! When I translate ‘seribu,’ it says ‘thousand.’ This may be a reference to the Thousand Islands – here’s a Wikipedia excerpt:

Saw some varieties on Amazon recently I’d never heard of before. Thought I’d introduce myself to the seller and see if they had any samples they could send.

Check this out! This is one I got from Mira at Record China news in Japan! Thank you! I’ve been desperately seeking noodles that have Hello Kitty on them. You might be thinking, ‘dude, really?’ Yeah – it’s true. My wife really likes Hello Kitty stuff (her nickname is Kitten after all). Let’s check out this Hello Kitty laden variety that comes with a reusable bowl!

A big box!

These are the new Paldo Namja Ramen King Cups – I’ve reviewed the South Korean ones, but these are the new ones for sale here in the USA. Thanks to Moses over at Paldo America!

After reading ‘The Noodle Narratives,’ I told my friend Matt B. of Port Townsend, WA about it, and he ordered a copy to read. He offered to get me a book, and here it is.

I saw an article about a new book and emailed the company, UC Berkeley Press about getting a review copy and doing a review. Here it is!

Recently I heard about this recipe using Samyang Foods Budalk Bokkumyeon (Hot fried chicken flavor ramyun). I only have one of the bowls so I needed at least onhe more so I could do a regular review as well as try the recipe. I asked a friend at Samyang Foods if they could possibly send some more and I got a yes! Today this box arrived.

Here’s one sent from Japan by Ichiro Yamoto of Yakantei! Thank you! This one was a little tricky to translate – I want to thank Courtnay N. of Canada and Mari S. of Tennessee! Tan tan men is more widely known as dandanmian. It heralds from China and is named after a pole street vendors would use to carry their wares. It’s usually a spicy broth with oil and minced pork affair. After some research, I figured out who the woman on the lid is. She’s part of AKB48 – here’s what Wikipedia says about them:

Here’s another from the trip to Canada my wife took me on for my birthday – thank you, Kit! Pork. Ribs. Let’s do this.

Here we have a Shin Ramyun cup – this one was bought in South Korea and brought back to me by Kristen W. or Arizona – thanks! Let’s check it out!

I read an article recently about Nissin starting to sell instant noodle in Colombia, so I shot an email to my friend Scott over at Nissin Foods USA and asked if I could maybe get some samples. He sent some! Thanks, man! This is pretty much identical to beef Top Ramen, but packaged for the Colombian market. Speaking of Top Ramen, Nissin is having a neat contest (here’s a link). Neat prizes and it’s easy. Anyways, let’s check it out!
Earlier this year, people from Taiwan voiced their displeasure with not being included in the 2013 Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time. They came in droves, shouting the praises of their beloved varieties. They were equally unhinged by having two varieties listed in my Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2013 list. Two were included there. After all of this outcry and seeing the pride and passion about their noodles, I thought it was a must to do a Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2013 list; these people are easily as interested in noodles as much as I am! This new list encompasses all of the Taiwanese varieties that I’ve reviewed thus far. So, without further ado, I hope you will enjoy The Ramen Rater’s top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2013 edition!