The Definitive Source For Instant Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Note – some weird porn star with the word kimchi in their stage name has apparently decided that this post infringes upon them in some way shape or form. Maybe its the aged or mature part who knows, but it’s quite irritating. I’ve been told I’m in violation of a DMCA issue because of it. As you can see, no porn here. Very weird.
I’ve tried quite a few different varieties of domestic microwavable bowls that have been very lackluster; to the point of finding it to be a bit of a no man’s land of endless zero star fare. Yeah – I really didn’t expect that. Well, I’m hoping to find some nice things here – hoping. Let’s see what happens.
Oh man I’m back – like really back. It’s been over a month of not reviewing. I’ve a ton of varieties to review. It’s tough though; it’s July 1st today. It’s so $#@!@%%$@#$ nice outside – I want to enjoy now that it’s not raining… But I’m back – can’t stay away from reviewing. Yellow curry! Let’s do this!
Oh, don’t get me wrong – I am positive I know what you’re thinking. He’s gone mad. Nope – I just like playing with food. Today, I’m making an ice cream using a Singaporean curry instant noodle variety by Prima Taste. It’s been on my Top Ten lists for years – the noodles, not the ice cream. No, really – I haven’t gone crazy – I just like trying out doing very different things. It fascinates me. Let’s get started!
If you want to try some seriously high end stuff, look no further than www.instantramen.jp – also, use the coupon code THERAMENRATER if you pick something up! This is stuff you’ll never find here in the United States or really anywhere outside of Japan. Check it out!
It’s time to unbox a Zenpop.jp box – you get seven varieties of instant noodles to try! I would say that almost every time I’ve gotten one of these, I’ve never tried any of them before which is really awesome. Great as a gift or to hoard for yourself! Use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount! Let’s check it out!
So if you’re looking for a healthy alternative, this will interest you. Vite Ramen makes cups and packs – with tons of fiber, protein, lower sodium, and vitamins and minerals. It’s pretty impressive stuff – take a look!
You might not know the name United Exchange Corporation, but you might know of the varieties they have. Tapatio, Sriracha, and more. Check em out – there’s a Tapatio variety that’s new you might be interested in…
The Fat Hipster is a fellow ramen afficionado and has a great review channel on YouTube – check it out! He sent a box with a ton of varieties I haven’t tried before – let’s have a look!
Well, this is a horse of a different color! This isn’t exactly what I’d call a dessert noodle, but it is sweet. Check out the unboxing and you’ll see what they’ve sent soon in a full review . All I can say is that this is truly wonderful and fascinating!
I’ve had a couple from this range from Mom’s Dry Noodle in the past – they’ve been pretty good. Sesame oil and ginger sounds very tasty, and these are Vegan friendly. Let’s check this one out!
When I saw these on IG, I figured I should reach out to Myojo USA – and they sent some! Really curious about a habanero yakisoba sauce with a sweet element. Let’s check it out!
As I’ve mentioned on Instant Noodle Recipe Time episodes lately, I’m running incredibly low on instant noodles to review. Found this one at the local Safeway grocery store today. Mind you, today is May 18th, 2022 and this will be probably posting in late September or early October. Why is that? Well, I do three reviews a day – and done that most days in the last month or so, so I’m not only ahead, I’m way ahead. Today I posted review #4153 – this is review #4294, so that’s 139 reviews ahead – possibly the farthest ahead I’ve been ever. I’ve really found a groove and I’m loathe to mess with it. I get up early, get the kids ready for the day, my wife heads to work, and between 715 and 8am, I do three reviews. After I get my son on the bus around 9am, I then come back and do up the videos and images and save my review. Then I get my daughter on the bus a bit later and go out walking ten miles, get home about a half hour before I have to go pick my daughter up from the bus, then start taking pics of the varieties I’ll be reviewing the next morning. It really works out great! But yeah – I’ve run through a hoard of varieties in the past month or so. This one sounded interesting. I also noticed today that the categories drop-down that has been on the website forever wasn’t there anymore, so I fixed that.
Well, today is the big election day – lots of issues, too many political ads. This guy eats babies, that lady wants you to suffer. It’s pretty tiring – but this should serve as a respite before the very end of it… Well, hopefully the end of it – I’m sure it will get even more ridiculous – hopefully I’m wrong. But there’s nothing like ice cream. I’ve sworn off recreational use of ice cream – been over a month. The only ice cream I’m having now comes from these creations in my kitchen. This is research kitchen ice cream.
Definitive Guide Series – Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup * Samyang Buldak * Nongshim Shin Ramyun * Indomie Mi Goreng
Well, once again, it’s pizza time. Time for a pizza party. If you like ramen and pizza, this is the place for you as the two worlds collide in this special post. So, why ramen infused pizza? Why the heck not? Anyone can make pizza, and the pizzas I’ve seen involving ramen in the past have sounded more like silly things rather than something intended to be delightful and somewhat gourmet-ish. Today dear friends, I rescue you from marinara atop uncooked noodle bricks! Today I bring you the Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup Pizza Party!
Over the last year or so, I’ve been experimenting with infusing bread with instant noodles and their seasonings and making pizza with instant noodles. What’s the next logical step? Well, ice cream of course! Perhaps not logical, but it seemed like something to try. This is the first of many different ice creams I’ll be making which include noodles and seasonings from instant varieties.
You know, I was surprised. Thought I’d reviewed the 2x Spicy cup before – but apparently, I hadn’t! Lucky me! I’m curious if this will burn my face off. While I thoroughly enjoyed my recent review of the Curry Buldak, it was less spicy than I’d expected. How will this one fare? I’m guessing it’ll light my mouth on fire! Let’s find out!
Well, it appears it’s time for something from Japan. Hopefully I’ll be doing more Japanese stuff again soon, but currently this is the only variety I have. This is another one I got at the Bellevue S*Mart – and it has a story. It was on the shelf, however it hadn’t been entered into the system as of yet. The lady called the manager to come down and had us wait. We were about to leave (two young children aren’t too interested in standing at a check stand for long before troublemaking ensues). Well, he came down, then went back up to enter it into the system. So we got it. It’s a really interesting store – they’re got a lot of stuff I haven’t seen anywhere else. Well, it’s probably a good one to wait for – Marutai straight noodle ramen products tend to be some of the best around. Let’s check it out!
Yep! I know! Not ramen! But it was with the ramen, it’s from Hong Kong, and it’s something interesting. I’ve reviewed a few macaroni varieties in the past. Let’s give this one a try.
I got an email from Michelle over at Homiah.com recently. She mentioned she started a company out of her apartment in New York – one to expose people here to the flavors and nuance of Southeast Asian cuisine. Well, she sent me a box of her products and it’s really amazing stuff – all 5 stars, all top notch. Check out what she sent as well as images of what I created which will appear in upcoming posts!
This looks to be yet another one from Ya Shua – didn’t realize.. Biang Biang is a favorite of mine – a belt-like noodle with a nice sauce. Let’s give it a try.
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Here’s another interesting one, this time from South Korea. Really no clue what the ‘black’ entails, although there’s another one of these bowls that says ‘red’ on it. Let”s give it a try.
Another one from S-Mart (shop smart, shop S-Mart). They had quite a few of these and we bought all of the varieties they had. Let’s check it out – by the was I went to Huaxi Night Market in Taipei. Just sayin’.
This may sound very weird to you, but this isn’t the first weird ice cream and ramen mashup rodeo I’ve done here. Actually, there are two others but those will be coming soon. This, however is one of the stranger ones and I thought why not just get it to you, the viewer as soon as possible? You like the Shin, don’t you? Yes, all of you do. Well, why not combine that flavor with a frozen treat and have Shin Ice Cream? What a perfect autumn dessert option? Well, Let’s continue onward with what we’re doing – you will enjoy the results possibly!
Here’s another neat and never before seen Shin variety that was sent by The Fat Hipster – Shin Bokkeummyeon. Basically, it’s a dry version of Shin – also looks to be spicy from the packaging. I hope it’s good – let’s find out!
Yes, I can hear it again ‘wot?! You’ve not had this before?’ Well, yeah but it was back on December 11th of 2011. Pretty crazy, eh? It was review #600. Back then the packaging was different. Let’s give it a try over a decade later – now with a new recipe and new clothes.
I was contacted recently by a woman named Michelle over at www.homiah.com – a website specializing in the flavors of Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. She asked if I’d like to try some of their products and of course I’m all in on that. So this is the second of three reviews I’ll be doing – stay tuned for the last one. The products are gluten free and as I’m writing this after trying this red curry, so far so very good. Let’s cook some laksa!
Check this out! These subscription boxes come straight to your door and have some neat stuff inside! It’s a pretty great thing to get people who are into ramen for the holidays! Check out www.japancrate.com and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER to score a sweet discount and get some neat noodles! Here’s the latest unboxing of the November 2022 Umai Crate!
Another super recent find from S-Mart. This one sounded like it would be good. This is definitely for export, but for multiple countries so it’lll get the South Korea label instead of for a specific country being exported to. Let’s try some kimchi noodle soup!
I’ve seen these a few times and luckily, found them a bit cheaper the other day. This is a stir noodle – no broth. Sounds interesting and a lot of sachets to be sure. Let’s check it out!
Here’s one found during the holy hunt for the pumpkin spice noodle of late 2021. This was at Walmart in Bellevue I believe. Let’s check it out!
Okay yeah I know. ‘What? You’ve never had this? The hell kind of Ramen Rater are you?’ Fine. That’s a logical thing. Well, let’s see – that was over 4000 reviews before. This isn’t a re-review, this is a completely new review. Suppliers and sourcing changes throughout the years, and tastes change. here is the original review. #104! This is review @4300. God, that’s insane. Only 700 reviews until I hit 5000. What am I going to review for 5000? It better be absolutely fascinating. Well, let’s do this up.
This is one found during a Saturday hunt for more varieties for review. Found it at a store called S-Mart in Bellevue, Washington (yeah like in Army Of Darkness!). This is one by the same company that actually sent me a pallet – 400lbs of samples!!! Let’s check it out and give it a try!
Found this during a special trek to find some varieties of instant noodles to review in Redmond, Washington at Asian Family Market. This is nothing like anything I’ve ever found – hopefully I can find enough info to do it justice. Let’s figure it out!
Well this sounds nice – found it while hunting for more stuff to review. As of this moment, this is it; I have nothing left to review! Hoping tomorrow to hit Bellevue – we shall see… There should be some good stuff over there I think. Meanwhile, let’s give this one a try.
If you’ve been following my reviews lately, you might wonder why this isn’t marked as for the USA – but the thing is if you look, it’s in English as well as French. This definitely means this is for the US and Canada – so, since I can’t pin it down for one or the other, this one gets the country of origin’s stamp on the review.
I’ve tried a few of the soup varieties that Annie Chun’s makes, so I thought perhaps I’ll give the ones that are more saucy a shot. Previously, the soupy ones didn’t fare too well. Maybe these are better?
It’s probably a surprise to you, but I haven’t done a regular review in about a month. Why? Well, for almost two months I was doing 3 reviews a day, almost every day. So, I got way ahead of myself and decided to take a break. I also ran out of noodles and thought maybe I’d let my noodle supply grow a little bit, which it has. This is a variety that came in the last month. I did an interview for a fancy food publication called Magazine F from South Korea – they did a ramen themed issue. They hired a local photographer to do a photo shoot and I made some of this for it. It’s Friday right now – June 23rd. I’m guessing it’ll be late autumn when it comes out. Let’s check it out!
Here’s the last of the three A-Kuan varieties. A while back they were called ‘Big Boss’ and had this guy on the packaging. This fellow looks to be pretty jovial – let’s give it a try.
