Here’s one I found in an Umai Crate from Japan Crate! They have boxes full of neat Japanese varieties! Check out www.japancrate.com and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER to score a sweet discount and get some neat noodles!
Author: Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch
#4259: Hai Chi Jia Seafood Flavor Sweet Potato Noodle – China
This is the second of four varieties, very popular in China and now abroad. I still am not sure who the man on the packaging is just yet, but I will say the last one I tried was absolutely wonderful. Let’s give this one a try – everything I’ve found about it points to it having a clam flavor.
#4258: Ocean’s Halo Plant Based Vegan Beef Instant Noodle Soup – United States
I’m hopeful for this one, although my recent sampling of the chicken flavor variety didn’t go so well. Fingers crossed.
Prima Taste Laksa & Chili Crab Pizza Party!
Firstly, thanks to Prima Taste for sending some samples! I thought this would be a nice duet of pizza pies to try. I know – ‘why do you do these things?’ Because I have to in order to feed my curiosity to see what different combinations and different vehicles will deliver when it comes to foods. Today it’s singaporean pizzas! Let’s do it!
#4257: Naked Noodle Chinese Chow Mein – United Kingdom
I’m hoping that this variety does not do to the idea or history of Chinese cuisine what they did to Japanese teriyaki. Chow mein and teriyaki are generally not known to have soup, or a ton of gravy in excess. Let’s find out what we got here, folks.
#4256: Hai Chi Jiao Ma Guo Ba Fen – China
Found a whole series of these locally at 99 Ranch Market (yeah that’s how you say it). They all have this fellow on them who I’m pretty sure is a comedian or a magician – I’m not sure. This one is immensely popular in China and features a mala (spicy) broth with chicken notes and special crisp rice. Let’s look within…
#4255: Ocean’s Halo Plant-Based Vegan Chicken Instant Noodle Soup – United States
This was one of three my lovely wife Kit found at Whole Foods a while back. These are really large noodle bowls – as you’ll see below, they have two noodle block in there. I just baked some chicken for the review so it should look somewhat nice. Let’s give it a go!
#4254: Oyatsu Baby Star Crispy Ramen Snack – United States
Nearby where I live, I walk past a community free books/food pantry. I’ve found some interesting things in there – most recently a canned ham. I found this in there and there were a ton of them but only needed one. What is it? It’s a snack, that’s what it is! Let’s check it out.
Maruchan Sends Samples For Special Series
For years, I’ve wanted to do a Meet The Manufacturer series with Maruchan – the company was kind of a missing piece to a puzzle of American companies producing noodles here. Well, that’s now going to happen. I’d also like to let you know that a special Definitive Guide To Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup is forthcoming as well with tons of info and history on the pillow packs everyone knows. With that, let’s crack this box open and look inside!
#4253: Mingzhu Konjac Spicy & Sour Noodles – China
I’m unsure where this one came from, but I’m going to make a guess that it came from an Exotic Noods subscription box. Ya should head over there and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER – he’s got some great subscription boxes and they represent many countries around the world – very much worth a look.
#4251: Sichuan Baijia Chengdu Sweet & Spicy Noodle – China
Went through my bins and found everything I’d not reviewed. Guess what? Only four things. Yep – I’ve all but caught up! Which is good because more should be here tomorrow with more on the way. I’ve been on a roll lately – really found my groove again. Here’s how my day goes (if anyone cares). Get up, get stuff ready for kids, get stuff ready for reviewing. Review. Get my boy on the bus. Have some oatmeal and peanut butter with my daughter. Edit images and video for the reviews I did. Do some walking back and forth in the apartment. Get my daughter ready. Get her on the bus. Walk ten miles. Get home and get my daughter off the bus. Then my son off the bus. Then start taking pictures of the stuff I’ll review the next day and get those posts ready. Then we get the kids dinner done, put em to bed, have our dinner, try not to fall asleep/wake up on the couch and then start the whole thing over. Today is a little different. Today is a new tradition I started a couple of weeks ago. It’s B-roll Sunday. What’s that you probably don’t ask? Well, I go out walking with my rucksack on my back with my monopod, the phone I use to shoot Instant Noodle Recipe Time, and a battery brick in search of benches that have decent views and shoot ten or more minutes of video to do time lapse videos. Today I walked to Seattle – and should have some good intros and outros in store for this and the next couple of episodes of the show. But enought about me and this behind the scenes look at things you probably aren’t interested in. Let’s try this one from China.
#4250: Mr. HOO Rice Noodle Soup Pho Flavor – United States
Here’s one that was sent by James from Lakeside, CA – thanks! I’ve been on a reviewing tear the last week – actually the past couple of weeks. I’m trying to empty bins of varieties I’ve not tried yet. This was in a box above the bins. Anyways, yeah – this is made in South Korea for the US market. Let’s check it out!
#4249: Naked Thai-Style Coconut & Lemongrass Ramen Noodles – United Kingdom
#424
Here’s one I dug out of a box. Pretty sure I found this at a grocery store while hunting for pumpkin noodles a few months back. I’ve tried some of these and they’ve been pretty good honestly. Let’s give this one a shot.
#4248: Dian Zun Crossing The Bridge Noodle – China
First, off a huge thanks to Kyle over at Mom’s Dry Noodle for help in translating this. According to him, this is a special dish – here’s what Wikipedia had to say about it –
#4247: Qinsheng Shaanxi Cold Noodle Sour & Spicy Flavor – China
This is a Shaanxi cold noodle. So, what’s that? Well, it’s from a region of China. It’s really quite good, but a bit of trouble to cook. But I’m going to cook it. You can always watch me battle with it in the episode of Instant Noodle Recipe Time at the bottom of this post. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel as I have a new episode of the show every single day. Anyways, let’s give it a try!
A-Sha x LINE BT21 Collab Noodle Inspired By BTS
Okay so if you’re me, you probably don’t know what’s going on here. I’ll admit it – I’m 47 and not hip to current things as I suppose I should be. So here goes – there’s a K-POP band called BTS. Them, I’ve heard of, although I don’t know if I’ve heard their music. Then there’s LINE, which I think is a social media or messagiong platform? Then there’s BT21 which from what I’m getting are emoji/sticker characters from LINE inspired by BTS. Please correct me if I’m wrong and my apologies – I’m acronym challenged. But what I do know is I do like A-Sha noodles, so these should be pretty good and I’m really looking forward to reviewing them. Let’s check out the unboxing.
Suprama Sends Unique Corn Vermicelli From Indonesia!
I’ve reviewed many varieties in noodles in my tenure as The Ramen Rater – some great, some not so great. A great one is from Suprama’s Best Wok range – they’ve got a knockout mi goreng – made my annual top ten for 2022. Today, they’ve got some neat noodle varieties they’ve send – and corn vermicelli are among them. Never heard of such a thing and tried it – great stuff! Kind of like a cross between rice vermicelli and sweet potato thread – it’s not a nice texture and not too dry. Anyways – check it out!
Little Couples Sends Alishan Tea Dry Noodle
I’ve tried a lot of different Taiwanese dry noodle varieties over the years, but this one is very different. It contains Alishan Oolong Tea which sounds exotic and fancy. The folks who run Little Couples are from Chiayi, Taiwan where the tea is meticulously cultivated. Let’s check out this new variety!
Umai Crate Unboxing September 2022 + Coupon Code
Check this out! These subscription boxes come straight to your door and have some neat stuff inside! 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 September 2022 Umai Crate!
#4246: Ramen Express By Chef Woo Hot & Spicy Shrimp Flavor – United States
I am a big fan of spicy things as well as shrimp, so this should be pretty good. This is the last of the new cups they sent – thanks again! Let’s give this one a try.
#4245: Ramen Express By Chef Woo Hot & Spicy Beef Flavor – United States
My old sometimes on the show guest Stumpy from North Little Rock, Arkansas has provided some humorous quips in the past. One he often mentions are meaty beefs, cheesy beefs, bell-beefin’, and more. These odd phrases have spilled out a bit; I often say ‘I’m the beef and you’re the cheese’ to my 6 yr old son, and then he says it back – we eventually give up on who is the beef and who is the cheese.
#4244: Ramen Express By Chef Woo Hot & Spicy Chicken Flavor – United States
It’s time for something different in this series – something a little spicy – but wait. I think the next two will be spicy as well, so be prepared! Let’s get the guinea pigs on their treadmills and fire up the ‘ol microwave and give this puppy a try! NOTE: we don’t actually make the guinea pigs run on treadmills to power the microwave. Yet.
Pumpkin Spice Cup Noodles Ramen Pizza Party!
You knew it was bound to happen, and now it has. I spent so much time making different things with Nissin Cup Noodles Pumpkin Spice Flavor – but I never made a pizza. Weird? Of course! Insane? Naw, not really. Since I always like to do a duo of pizzas, I also made one with Nissin Fire Wok Sizzlin’ Rich Pork – that’s my favorite of that range. Well, prepare yourselves – some fascinating waters are ahead. Sometime I’ll use lecithin or egg as an emulsifier and grind up noodles to make dough for pizza – that will be interesting. But not I think today. Here we go.
#4243: Ramen Express By Chef Woo Magic Noodle Chicken Flavor – United States
Say what? What. This is what. What is it? Well, it’s noodles but it changes color; kind of. There’s food coloring in the noodle block, and so once you introduce boiling water or microwave and stir, it changes to either pink or blue – at least so far. There might be green as well – I really don’t know. Purple? Mauve? Chartreuse? Taupe? Taupe is not magical. Remember that. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of anything like this and that’s saying something. Very cool and unique! Let’s check it out!
#4242: Ramen Express By Chef Woo Lime & Chili Shrimp Flavor Ramen – United States
Lately, I’ve been getting noodles in the mail. A lot of noodles. I’ve kinda got a stack of them and need to get through reviews, and so I’m doing a bunch in a row. Well, the last sentence I wrote about two hours ago and guess what? More noodles arrived. That’s how it works I swear! This most certainly isn’t a complaint though – the more the merrier – especially if I’ve not reviewed them. Well, let’s hit it!
Buldak Habanero Lime & Quattro Spicy Ramen Pizza Party!
Yep – I’m at it again. Who hates pizza? Maybe if you only ate crummy pizza every day for months, sure – that guy would. But I don’t make crummy pizzas, I make interesting ones that are really quite nice to behold and chew on. Today’s pair are no different. I’m using the noodles and sauce as a base for two ‘south of the border’ inspired new varieties from Samyang Foods. Thanks go to Samyang Foods for sending samples as well as MH from the Ramen Junkies group for sending some too! Let’s check out what happens when new Buldak meets pizza!
#4241: Samyang Buldak Quattro Four Cheese Artificial Spicy Chicken Flavor Ramen – United States
Here’s the second of the two varieties I’ve rushed out that arrived in the mail from MH from the Ramen Junkie group. So… Four cheese… This one’s interesting. First, this is made in South Korea, but packaged for sale in the United States. Second, Hochi looks like she’s dressed up for Halloween. During my research on this one, I found that it’s been in South Korea as well. I also found people trying this variety four months ago – kind of interesting. I wonder if they’ve just been test marketing these in a limited fashion prior to now. In the mukbang video below, I mention I thought I’d only 2 varieties not tried, however that’s not the case. In addition to the creamy carbo and the rose, there’s a jjamppong and a ‘lovely’ variety. Would like to add them to my reviews if anyone’s got some to donate! I did read that someone thought carnitas would go very well with this, and luckily my wife made some last night so I ended up with some nice garnish. Let’s cook these up – don’t forget to watch the mukbang at the bottom as well!
#4240: Samyang Buldak Habanero Lime Artificial Spicy Chicken Flavor Ramen – United States
Well, I’m sure you’ve been curious (or didn’t know) about this one. This is another variety with Hochi wearing some ‘south of the border’ attire. I decided to rush this one out and I’ll be doing the other one tomorrow I think. So much interest in there varieties. This is something different – not the cooking instructions – I’m curious if this is going to be the standard for all of the buldak varieties going forward. Till will tell. I’d like to thank MH, a fellow mod from the Ramen Junkies group for sending this along! Note – this one is made in South Korea and packaged for sale in the United States. Don’t forget to check out the cooking show and the mukbang below! Rushing this one due to popular interest! Let’s give it a go!
Two New Buldak Varieties Arrive To Try!
Here’s something I bet you didn’t know about! Two new varieties joining the popular Buldak range! Big thanks to MH for sending these along! Well, have a look – people are having trouble finding them, but I’m guessing if you look really hard you will.
#4239: Sad Super Hot Noodles Spicy & Sour Glass Noodle Soup – Taiwan
So the last one of these I tried ended up being a hellstorm of Sichuan peppercorn I think. I may be wrong, but I’m pretty sure it was. This one’s got a big vinegar sachet, which is undoubtedly full of black vinegar which will provide a sour aspect. Let’s give ‘er a go.
#4238: MAMA Instant Noodles Chicken Khao Soi Flavour – Thailand
Here we are at the end of the line of three varieties from Thailand – chicken flavor. What’s Khao Soi though? I looked it up on Wikipedia –
#4237: MAMA Instant Whole Wheat Noodles Black Pepper Pork Flavour – Thailand
Here’s the second of the three varieties from Thailand commemorating MAMA and their 50th Anniversary. Black pepper pork sounds quite nice – Let’s give it a try!
Recipe: Simple Indomie Ramen Hack
Here’s something simple to do with Indomie instant noodles. They’re celebrating their 50th anniversary this year – they sent me a bowl about ten years ago since they were celebrating their 40th anniversary. If you like Indomie, I think you’ll like this. Should work fine with any mi goreng.
#4236: MAMA Instant Dried Jade Noodles Duck Flavour – Thailand
Wanted to start this post by wishing Miles a happy 7th birthday! Spider Miles aka the Cheez-It king! Hope you have a happy one! He’s not ever awake yet as it’s barely 7am – got a lot of surprises in store! No instant noodle cooking for me today, buddy! Time to bake a cake! Wahooo!!! Still can’t believe he’s going into second grade!
#4234: Ramen Express By Chef Woo Vegetarian Soy Sauce Ramen – United States
I’ve reviewed quite a few varieties by this new company – I call them new since they’ve only been around for a couple of years. I will say that I’m truly impressed by their products – the pack versions in particular. Really tasty and enjoyable. Let’s give this new soy sauce variety a sample.
Zenpop.jp Ramen Subscription Box Unboxing – September 2022
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!
#4233: Nissin Assari Donbe Umadashi Curry Udon – Japan
Here’s an interesting one from Japan found in a Zenpop box – check out zenpop.jp and use the coupon code RAMENRATER for a discount!
#4232: Nissin Tsuruhashi Fugetsu Yakisoba – Japan
Here’s an interesting one from Japan found in a Zenpop box – check out zenpop.jp and use the coupon code RAMENRATER for a discount!
#4231: Nissin Cup Noodle Ninniku Tonkotsu – Japan
Here’s an interesting one from Japan found in a Zenpop box – check out zenpop.jp and use the coupon code RAMENRATER for a discount!
#4230: Maruchan Menzukuri Ninniku Kaoru Shoyu Tonkotsu – Japan
Here’s an interesting one from Japan found in a Zenpop box – check out zenpop.jp and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount!