Author: Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch

#4196: Lin Jia Ya Tou One Noodle One Soup Pepper Noodle – China

#4196: Lin Jia Ya Tou One Noodle One Soup Pepper Noodle - China

Found this one right before Lunar New Year. Looked interesting and there were three of them we could get, so we got all three. The last one I tried said it was spicy, but didn’t seem to be so much. Luckily, this time I got some really great advice on what this was and how to cook it from Annie over at Red Chef – thanks you! Let’s give it a try! ...see full post

Stuffed Shin Black Bread!

I know you’re wondering ‘why does he do these things?’ I pose the opposite question – ‘why don’t you do these things?’ I’ll be honest – I’m playing with food. It’s something different to try. Sometimes it doesn’t work, but I’m finding many times it does work and it works pretty well! Let’s make some stuffed bread with a popular variety! ...see full post

#4193: Bull Head Dry Noodle Spicy Sichuan Pepper Flavor – Taiwan

#4193: Bull Head Dry Noodle Spicy Sichuan Pepper Flavor - Taiwan

Here’s one that came from Daniel over at www.exoticnoods.com – check ’em out – you can use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount, too! So I saw these at a local Asian market and was curious, but didn’t want to buy a multipack, so receiving this was really great. Taiwanese dry noodles. Let’s check ’em out! ...see full post

#4192: NeoStar Ramen Delight Savory Chicken – United States

Thank you to James of Lakeside, California for sending this. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I heard about this stuff and have really wanted to review it for a couple months after Stumpy of N Little Rock, AR told me about it. He wasn’t a fan and by the looks of things, I probably won’t find this to be the second coming either. But the thing is for me, my favorite instant noodle is the one I haven’t tried yet – and this is not only one I’ve not tried, but a brand I’m completely unfamiliar with. This is made in China. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

#4191: Kung Fu Noodle Spicy Duck Blood With Mung Bean Noodle Soup – Taiwan

#4191: Kung Fu Noodle Spicy Duck Blood With Mung Bean Noodle Soup - Taiwan

The guy in the corner says ‘hey check this out’ and hey I will buddy just hold on a second! I’ve had duck and pork blood many times in the past. While many Westerners might think this is far too exotic and wouldn’t ever think of trying a dish with blood as it’s main feature, let me tell you a little something about it. Pork blood cake in Taiwan is exquisite. It’s a little wonderful square with a very rich and tasty flavor. Duck blood is a bit different, but very, very rich. Coagulated duck blood is popular in white curry in Malaysia as well, and pork blood is popular in dishes from Thailand and Vietnam too. The last Taiwanese duck blood noodle I tried was exquisite; let’s see how this one is! ...see full post

Zenpop Ramen Subscription Unboxing – June 2022 + COUPON CODE

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! ...see full post

Umai Crate Ramen Noodle Subscription Box – July 2022

Umai Crate Ramen Noodle Subscription Box – July 2022

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 July 2022 Umai Crate! ...see full post

Shin Ramyun & MyKuali Tom Yum Pizzas!

Well, it’s been a long time coming, but here we are. It’s pizza time. I could go into detail to start with, but let me just say – this pizza is wonderful and I’ll tell you how to make it. Probably the best bready thing I’ve ever made. Before we start, let me say this also – if you’re looking for a pizza crust from instant noodles, you will not find that here. What I’ve found is that instant noodles are best as is and not screwed around with too much. A filling for bread, but not part of the dough.  Let’s begin. ...see full post

Pumpkin Spice Cup Noodles Stuffed Bread!

Pumpkin Spicy Cup Noodles Stuffed Bread!

Yeah it’s June – mid june. Mid towards later June. But I don’t care about your temporal insecurities. ANY TIME IS TIME TO USE PUMPKIN SPICE CUP NOODLES. Period. Chronometrics be damned! I figured cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, pumpkin spice cup noodles. I know a lot of people don’t get the bread thing, but it seems to me that bread will be the gateway drug that leads to pizza, and maybe other stuffed bread?  Let’s do this. ...see full post

Sapporo Ichiban Chow Mein Stuffed Bread!

Sapporo Ichiban Chow Mein Stuffed Bread!

Recently, I thought it would be interesting to revisit my fascination with bread – and ramen. I’ve found that baking bread with a bread machine isn’t all it’s cracked up to be – but using one to make dough is very cool! In the past, I’ve infused instant noodles directly into the dough; something that produced something a little funky. In my last endeavor, I used a mold shaped like a fish and we took the dough out, put it in, filled it, then added more bread on top. Since then, I’ve tried making a pizza – which had excellent results! I even used gluten free pizza dough to make my wife a pizza and that honestly was even better. ...see full post

Zenpop Ramen Subscription Unboxing – May 2022 + COUPON CODE

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! ...see full post

Umai Crate Ramen Noodle Subscription Box – June 2022

Umai Crate Ramen Noodle Subscription Box – June 2022

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 June 2022 Umai Crate! ...see full post

Prima Taste Sends Promo Materials From Singapore

Every once in a while, I get to see stuff that consumers might see overseas, and this is one such time. This was a neat package full of promo stuff Prima Taste made this year, celebrating their 7th time leading the pack on my top ten list! If you haven’t tried their laksa, I highly recommend it (obviously). I really love getting this kind of stuff – thank you very much! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2022 Edition

The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2022 Edition

Lots of people enjoy bowls full of noodles from around the world. They often come with a utensil, and all you need it hot water. For a quick meal, they’re hard to beat insofar as convenience. Some bowls however go above and beyond a utilitarian sense and are truly gourmet. This list is comprised of my favorite bowl varieties from all reviews up to #4120. All scoring is done prior to garnish being added. Do you want me to review something I haven’t? Drop me a line! With that, let’s peruse my top picks on The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2022 Edition! ...see full post

#4176: Simply Food Chicken Vermicelli With Bamboo Shoot – Vietnam

#4176: Simply Food Chicken Vermicelli With Bamboo Shoot - Vietnam

You might not know, but there have been huge lapses in my reviews lately. I usually don’t review every day, however I do a few reviews on days when I do. Well, it’s Saturday night and I’m setting up reviews right now to do tomorrow. I’ll have done three reviews a day since last Monday. It feels good – especially since I’ve been able to get out and do my walking and everrything. Anyways, this sounds like an interesting variety, so here we go. ...see full post

#4174: 7 Select Cheese & Herbs Pasta Cup – United States

#4174: 7 Select Cheese & Herbs Pasta Cup - United States

This is the second of two instant cups found at a local 7-Eleven store. 7-Eleven is based in Japan and a mainstay throughout Asia. I remember check it out in Taiwan and holy cow – they have tons of stuff. People go there to pay their utility bills, make their car payments, and buy all sorts of stuff. This reminds me of the kinds of products they have overseas, but more localized for the US consumer. Let’s check it out! ...see full post