Author: Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch

#2950: Nissin Top Ramen Chili Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup (New Recipe)

#2950: Nissin Top Ramen Chili Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup (New Recipe)

It kind of confuses me on this one – I mean, yeah, it says ‘the original’ and doesn’t really say that there’s been a recipe change. But there has – now there’s no MSG and no artificial flavors., plus a reduction in sodium. These aren’t bad things at all of course, but I’m just kind of left wondering – so shouldn’t it say new and improved instead of ‘the original?’ Anyways, let’s see what’s in this, one of the Vegetarian varieties in the Top Ramen range. ...see full post

August Box From Zenpop – Unboxing Time

August Box From Zenpop - Unboxing Time

So another month, another great box from Zenpop.jp, purveyors of Japanese neat things. They have ramen boxes, they have candy boxes, they have ramen and candy boxes, they have stationery boxes too! Lots of neat stuff to check out over there. Check ’em out and use coupon code RAMENRATER at checkout for a discount! Let’s crack this box open and see what’s inside! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2018 Edition | 2018台灣十大泡麵排行

The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2018 Edition

Another year gone by – hard to believe. As usual, many, many Taiwanese varieties have crossed my desk. This list comes as I’m about to hit 3,000 reviews as well. Pretty crazy. These are my favorite Taiwanese varieties out of all my reviews up to #2,943. As always, if you want me to try something I’ve not – drop me a line. With that, let’s check out The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2018 Edition! ...see full post

#2947: Kiki Sichuan Beef Noodles Soup (台湾KIKI 牛肉面)

#2947: Kiki Sichuan Beef Noodles Soup (台湾KIKI 牛肉面)

Alright – to start off, wow. This is huge. This box screams fancy, that’s for sure. I’ve had a few of Kiki’s dry noodle varieties, but recently this and a Mapo Tofu variety came out as well (which of course I’ll be reviewing soon). Beef Noodle Soup is exceedingly popular in Taiwan – here’s a little about it from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2944: Myojo Japanese Style Noodles Pork Flavor (Gyokai Tonkotsu)

#2978: Myojo Japanese Style Noodles Pork Flavor (Gyokai Tonkotsu)

I thought it would be cool since I got a set of those Egglettes things to make soft boiled eggs and I also have chashu and all my veg to make something from the cold case. I’ve been eyeballing these Myojo refrigerated varieties for quite some time now and thought hey – let’s get one and cook it up! So, that’s what I’m doing and here we go! ...see full post

#2942: Paldo Teumsae Cheddar Cheese Ramyun

#2942: Paldo Teumsae Cheddar Cheese Ramyun

One of my favorite varieties has been Paldo’s Cheese Noodle – that’s a really tasty one. Well, Teumsae is one of their spiciest varieties and they mashed it up with cheese. I really want to get samples of the new ultra spicy Teumsae variety, but I can’t find it anywhere from nobody… At this point, I’m wondering if it even was produced! But it had to be… Come on. It’s hanging out somewhere! Anyways, cheese is good. It’s time to do a mukbang, so check out the video at the bottom of this review.. Let’s give this one a try! ...see full post

#2941: A-Sha Dry Noodle Guanmiao Noodle Hakka Sesame Oil Scallion

#2883: A-Sha Dry Noodle Guanmiao Noodle Hakka Sesame Oil Scallion

A-Sha’s US distributor messaged me a little while ago about these new varieties about to hit the US market that are very popular in Taiwan right now. Guanmiao noodles hail from southern Taiwan in the agricultural heartland. Hotter weather and lot of noodles! Let’s crack it open and have a look! ...see full post

#2938: Buitoni Noodles Gusto Curry

#2938: Buitoni Noodles Gusto Curry

Alrighty so these were sent by the Butlers of Illinois – thank you dso much! Looking at all the references to Maggi on this package, I’m guessing this is going to be about the same as Maggi Curry – a variety popular around the world. Oddly and to the surprise of many, these really isn’t a Maggi Curry you can get in the store here in the USA in regular stores – in fact you really don’t see many Maggi branded products here in the states. Let’s give this one a try! ...see full post

#2931: Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup Creamy Chicken Flavor (New Packaging)

#2931: Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup Creamy Chicken Flavor (New Packaging)

Yesterday, I needed a new pair of pants. I’m not into ultra fashionable stuff – like paying $100 for jeans, so we went to Walmart. Walmart is an interesting place – you’ll see some interesting people there – especially at the one in Lynnwood, Washington. When we got out of the car, there was the sound of some guy at the other side of the parking lot screaming obscenities at someone or some thing – unsure. But that was entertaining. In the store, we g ot to see a lady with a very small dog barking at everyone and every thing ( apparently, if you have an ’emotional support’ dog you can bring it with you, but this dog needed emotional support and was definitely not providing it for anyone). I did get some new pants, and they were extremely cheap. $16 for pants. It’s been a while since we’ve been to Walmart so I thought a trip down the domestic instant noodle aisle might be in order. Surprisingly, they had a very small amount of them, however they did have this pack. Creamy Chicken has been one of my absolute favorites for a very,  very long time. I am curious to see whether or not they’ve changed the recipe as that seems to be a popular thing to do in the US instant noodle market right now. Let’s crack open this new package design and give it a try! ...see full post

#2927: Vedan Wei Wei Premium Dynasty Beef Tendon Instant Noodle

#2927: Vedan Wei Wei Premium Dynasty Beef Tendon Instant Noodle

Here’s one of the six varieties sent by a Taiwanese university student. She asked if I could review a specific set of varieties as special research for her master’s thesis and I said absolutely. I’m not sure about this variety – insofar what Dynasty Beef is. I did some looking, but it seems that the word dynasty kind of takes precedent in search results and so that’s not very helpful. Anyways, let’s have a look at this fancy one from Taiwan. ...see full post

#2924: Samyang Foods Samyang Ramen Spicy Flavor

#2924: Samyang Foods Samyang Ramen Spicy Flavor

Spicy is definitely something that Samyang Foods is known for what with their ubiquitous Buldak Bokkeummyun spicy stir noodle line. This however, should also get some due attention. This is the spicy version of their first-ever product, and indeed the first ramyun to be produced in South Korea. What has come as bit of a surprise lately is that this is not a beef variety – it’s ham. Wait, what?! Ham? Yep. I thought beef was the focal point of this one, but from a TV spot Samyang Foods did, it’s pretty evident that it isn’t. Learn something new all the time. Well, let’s give it a try! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2923: Lemonilo Mie Instan Alami Rasa Mie Goreng – Indonesia

Meet The Manufacturer: #2943: Lemonilo Mie Instan Alami Rasa Mie Goreng

This is the one product for this Meet The Manufacturer. Look – green noodles on the package! They mentioned that they’re green as they’re infused with spinach – plus they’re baked noodles as well. This sounds really interesting – I’ve been a huge fan of mie goreng – I might have started my interest in instant noodles with a Japanese variety, but the second one I was really enamored with was a mie goreng. Let’s crack the pack open and see how it is! ...see full post