Author: Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch

#4082: MAMA Instant Rice Vermicelli Chicken And Abalone Flavour – Thailand

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#4082: MAMA Instant Rice Vermicelli Chicken And Abalone Flavour - Thailand

For a long time, I’ve thought I didn’t like chicken and abalone flavor. Then something happened – I had some really good varieties. I’m hopeful this is one of them. I visited these folks in 2015 and wow – Thailand is an amazing place. I got to visit the rice noodle factory there and it was really amazing. I highly recommend visiting Thailand if you want a headchange; it’s so bright and colorful – the smiles are endless. Not only that, the 7-Eleven stores have the most wonderful array of instant noodles you’ve ever seen. Let’s check this one out that I found locally. ...see full post

#4080: Ve Wong Artificial Peppered Beef Flavor – Taiwan

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#4080: Ve Wong Artificial Peppered Beef Flavor - Taiwan

September 8th, 2010. That was the last time I tried this one – it was review #132. I’ve been reviewing instant noodles since then – it’s kind of crazy. I mean, over 11 years ago  and almost 4000 reviews later, I’m still into reviewing instant noodles. Let’s revisit these – it’s not a re-review since in that amount of time, a lot of things can happen. For one thing, the packaging has changed. Another thing is that the same ingredients from suppliers may have changed. After 11 years, a lot changed in a product’s lifecycle. Let’s check this one out. ...see full post

#4184: Poco Kitchen Pork & Ginger Ramen – United States

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#4184: Poco Kitchen Pork & Ginger Ramen - United States

I remember a few weeks ago looking at my browser – repeatedly, I would see this same ad. I finally, figured it was a demand that I reach out to this company and so I did. I was sent samples, and now we get to try them! When I initially saw their offerings, I thought these were boil in bag or microwave varieties. That’s not the case – they’re cook on stove – and I’m really curious how they’re going to be. Well, let’s find out! ...see full post

#4076: Nissin Cup Noodles Stir Fry Rice With Noodles Thai Yellow Curry Flavor – United States

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#4076: Nissin Cup Noodles Stir Fry Rice With Noodles Thai Yellow Curry Flavor - United States

Big thanks to James from Lakeside, CA for sending this over! At first I was curious how they would go about doing this and then I opened the lid. Crushed noodles. I had a quick ‘a-ha’ moment and remember way back I reviewed good old #1506. 1506 was Nissin Mug – which was a variety from India and almost the same thing – instant noodles that are in rice sized lengths. This however has both the short crushed noodles AND rice. I’m very intrigued and curious about this. This right here is the kind of innovation and unique thing I have been talking about – and seeing something like this in the US market is a thrill, honestly. Let’s take a look and give this one a try! ...see full post

#4074: Noodie Tonkotsu Irresistible Ramen – United States

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#4074: Noodie Tonkotsu Irresistible Ramen - United States

This is the third variety of Noodie Vegan ramen I have here to try and I’m really stoked! The first I tried was their Peanut Chili which was absolutely fantastic stuff – just loved it. The second was the Smoky Garlic, and sadly, I really disliked that one. But now we have a Vegan Tonkotsu and I’ve had quite a few Vegan tonkotsus in the past, so I’m hoping this one will be great. Let’s give it a try! ...see full post

D8 THC Cup Noodles Professional Mukbang

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D8 THC Cup Noodles Teardown & Mukbang

First off, thanks to The Fat Hipster for sending these over. Honestly, more like curses to you, sir! This really did me in. I read after doing this THC (the stuff that gets you high from smoking marijuana) infused noodle that a gunny has 20mg of THC and that’s a lot for a ‘seasoned marijuana user.’ This has 100mg and it’s been maybe 18 months since I had any. I live in Washington state, and I could just walk to the store and legally buy marijuana. Apparently this D8 stuff is also legal for now, as the D9 comes from cannabis and the D9 somes from hemp, and hemp is legal everywhere. Crazy. Anyways, let’s give this a try. Most of the pertinent info will be in the mukbang below. ...see full post

D8 THC Infused Cup Noodles?

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Certainly a first for me! Thanks to The Fat Hipster on YouTube for sending this over for me to try! I figured it was just an instant noodle cup. Well, this one is infused with a kind of THC which is legal for use most places. I figured it’s gotta be pretty silly stuff and not be that strong. You’ll be able to see in the next video – this is the unboxing. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

Zenpop Ramen Subscription Unboxing – February 2022 + COUPON CODE

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Zenpop Ramen Subscription Unboxing - February 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

#4064: Ramen Express By Chef Woo Hotter & Spicier Chili – United States

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#4064: Ramen Express By Chef Woo Hotter & Spicier Chili - United States

To be honest, this makes me very happy. I’ve really found the Ramen Express varieties to be quite good, and now they’re easily found at Walmart. I’m not extremely keen on the cup versions (although I haven’t had the new shrimp variety so maybe they’ve changed; I will soon), but the packs have a great noodle and very nice flavors. I’m unsure if this is different than the origininal hotter and spicier variety; this one tacks ‘chili’ on the end and has different packaging. Saw it at Walmart a couple of days ago. ...see full post

#4062: A1 Mi Kari Laksa Curry Laksa Noodle – Malaysia

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This is a special one I’m posting today – it’s the subject of a short film I’m doing as I type this about how I review! I want to thank a fellow instant noodle enthusiast named Andres who was kind enough to donate this to me yesterday – he’s a local who has visited a lot of places in search of instant noodle varieties! This one was found up in Canada. ...see full post

Prima Taste Singapore Sends CNY Treats!

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Well it’s that awesome time of year again! February 1st will bring in the year of the Tiger! Prima Taste sends me some tasty treats every year – you might know them from their awesome Laksa and Curry La Mian varieties. But did you know they make a lot more than noodles? Prima Group is a big flour mill and makes anything you can make with flour as far as I can tell – noodles, bread, deli treats, etc. Let’s check out these treats and Happy CNY! ...see full post

#4057: Ishimaru Kagoshima Kibinago & Soy Sauce Ramen Japan

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#4057: Ishimaru Kagoshima Kibinago & Soy Sauce Ramen Japan

Hey look at this – pretty cool! This one came in a neat assortment from Sugoi Mart. Sugoi Mart has a ton of neat Japanese stuff – and I mean a TON. So, what’s the flavor in this one? Kibinago is also known as the Silver-Stripe Round Herring and it’s native to Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan. So this is a herring shoyu variety. Sounds good – let’s give it a try! ...see full post

Out Of The ICU! Maruchan Feel Better Recovery Ramen!

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An older package of Maruchan Chicken flavor Ramen Noodle Soup

You may have seen that I was in the hospital this week. I can describe the whole thing in the video below since it has been typed a lot of times and I had a TON of blood draws in the past few days and to put it short, they had to get them out of my dominant hand and it’s a little sore after being poked so many times, so my apologies. ...see full post

The Definitive Guide To Nongshim Shin Ramyun Noodles

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The Definitive Guide To Nongshim Shin Ramyun Noodles

Definitive Guide Series – Maruchan Ramen Noodle SoupSamyang Buldak * Nongshim Shin Ramyun * Indomie Mi Goreng
UPDATE 3/15/2023 – Added Shin Vegan cup
UPDATE 3/12/2023 – Added section referring to new Shin Gold and Shin Green US variants.

Back in 1986, a South Korean company called Nongshim 농심 (which translates to Farmer’s Heart), introduced a product called Shin Ramyun. Since then it has been one of the most popular varieties around the world. In this post, I’ll do a deep dive into the product – a tear down of the package and it’s contents, my tips of preparation, and some things you might not know about it. While not my favorite variety I’ve tried, chances are it may be yours. I run a group called Ramen Junkies on Facebook and the topic and focus of the bulk of posts on there surround this product. ...see full post