Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
What a week! So last week I didn’t do a single regular review. I was knee deep editing all sorts of unboxings and episodes of The Chocolate Break. While we were out I found this one. I’ve seen it many times before, but buying 5 packs isn’t something I like to do at all anymore as first they’re expensive and second I end up with three extra packs to give a home to.
Okay so this one is interesting to me. First, I thought the name Cup Noodles was a Nissin thing? But then I thought Jinmailang was owned by Nissin, but then not anymore? I should note Jinmailang is most definitely a Chinese company, but it’s pretty obvious from the labeling that this is specifically for the United States. Interesting. Also, the nutrition facts seem a little interesting to me. It’s a pretty big cup – is everything actually doubled in reality? Unsure. Either way, I found this at Fred Meyer, a chain of grocery stores in Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Idaho. Was surprised to see this brand there! Anyways, I’ve found a couple varieties there recently I’ve not seen elsewhere. Curious. Let’s check this one out!
Today we have a Zenpop.JP variety – so what’s Zenpop? They’re a subscription service for all things Japanese! Definitely, check them out. By the way, use coupon code RAMENRATER to get $2 off! Here’s what they had to say about this one – ‘Spicy but tasty tonkotsu shoyu soup with garlic and red pepper. Add pork kimuchi flavored oil to enjoy delicious smell of kimchi. Ingredients are well seasoned pork, two kinds of kimchi seasoned with special sauce, green onion, and red pepper.’
Here’s another interesting one from South Korea for a French company. Pretty neat I must say. Korean BBQ is one of my absolutely favorite things. Marinated meats cooked at your table and served with a myriad of banchan; an array of small plates with different pickled and otherwise modified vegetables and tofu. Let’s give this a close look.
Today we have a Zenpop.JP variety – so what’s Zenpop? They’re a subscription service for all things Japanese! Definitely, check them out. By the way, use coupon code RAMENRATER to get $2 off! Here’s what they had to say about this one – ‘QTTA (kuu-ta) gives your stomach a satisying feeling because it means ‘I ate enough.’ The curry soup with wavy noodles coming in the golden packaging is nice and spicy. Contains meat, potato, onion and green onion, too, which will make you shout ‘QTTA!’ when you finish the meal.’
This is my list of my all time favorites (compiled up to review #3132). These are the best and most memorable varieties – some you’ll be able to find easily, some you won’t. In the images you see, you’ll see garnished bowls of noodles. Note – reviewing is done BEFORE products have anything externally added by myself, and I follow directions on the package – for better or for worse. I should also note that going forward, the official last day for companies to submit varieties to be considered for the annual top ten will be January 31st. That’s enough – let’s have a look at The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2019 Edition!
I’ve always released the annual The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2019 Edition on the Monday closest to April 20th, except for this year. It originally debuted at the beginning of this month, and I think many were confused. April 22nd will be the official release date of the list! See you tomorrow!
Got a message from a fellow named Mark recently about a couple new varieties to try. Shortly after, I got a package containing them. Thanks! This is the first of two. Here’s a little about shoyu ramen from Wikibedia –
Okay so we had baby udon – now somen (ramen)! Pretty rad – Hey kid – here you go – noodles! I wish I’d have known about this when my kids were super young! Let’s check it out!
Well, the last one didn’t get a review and this one doesn’t get a number, but I really wanted to let you guys check it out. I’ve been enjoying this stuff for the last few weeks and it’s good! Lots of great health benefits. I usually drop a 1/4 cup of it into a pot of soup and let it cook up for 15~20 minutes. Let’s check i tout!
This isn’t my usual thing – noodles without seasoning. But it seemed interesting to me – udon meant for very small children. I figure hey – maybe little kids might be hitting up my website for suitable varieties? Why not! Let’s check it out.
Here’s the second variety from Hakubaku to cross my desk recently. This is a shelf stable fresh noodle variety – let’s give it a try!
This is the second box of samples from Hakubaku USA. I want to say that I have really fallen in love with one of these products – the Mochi Barley. No, it’s not ramen. But it’s become a big part of my diet lately and it’s really good! Breaking away from the standard way I just focus on ramen, I’ll do a special review of it as well as I’ve been eating it almost daily for a couple of weeks now.
First things first – let check out the first of two boxes of samples that Hakubaku USA sent over. This one has the ramen, the next will have other goodies!
This is a new one – a smaller Buldak Bokkeummyun! However it packs a big punch. This one’s clocking in at 12,000SHU, the highest heat level to date in the range. This is to celebrate the 7th anniversary of Buldak Bokkeummyun – happy birthday! What’s cool too is that the character Hochi’s birthday is the same as my wife’s! I thought hey – I should put this out on her birthday! Let’s give it a try.
Are you ready? Here’s a recipe from Lane of Antlers, Oklahoma – thanks! Watch me cook it up on a special episode of Instant Noodle Recipe Time EXTRA!
Woot woot! It is so rare these days I can get my hands on a variety from the Philippines that I’ve not reviewed yet and so I’m really stoked on this one. What’s interesting is that there are two Nissin companies in the Philippines. Nissin Monde and Nissin Universal Robina. Nissin Monde is actually a company that first started out selling biscuits. Nissin Universal-Robina is an arm of the well known Japanese empire of instant noodles. Nissin Monde is responsible for the Lucky Me! brand. Kind of interesting and odd. Anyways, let’s check this yakisoba out!
I was looking on Facebook and a friend from Samyang Foods posted something about developing a range specifically for France. Having never reviewed anything for the French marketplace, I thought this would be really great to try. Well, they arrived recently and so today we start with this interesting variety. What is it? Well, most likely it’s the standard buldak bokkeummyun fire noodle in different clothes. But we’ll find out. Let’s have a look!
So a happy birthday is in order for Samyang’s Buldak Bokeummyun range. They started 7 years ago with the first variety. What’s more, the birthday of their mascot Hochi is on April 13th – same as my wife’s! Pretty rad. So Let’s unbox this one and we’ll have a look at it up close and personal on Saturday!
Wanna see something different? This is a super premium and high end ramen subscription box from Japan. It’s full of neat stuff and I’ll let you just take a look because it’s pretty rad! Get a Ramen Trunk at http://bit.ly/ramentrunk Use coupon code RAMENRATER20OFF for 20% off a subscription or single gift box!
I was contacted by a contact over at Thai President Foods about a new variety – and here it is! Salted egg. This may be an unfamiliar flavor to westerners, so here’s a little about it from Wikipedia –
Found this up in Canada at Osaka Supermarket at Yaohan Centre in Richmond, BC. I must admit that the first time I tried one of Sau Tao’s Tom Yum Kung varieties I was kind of surprised. Tom Yum from Hong Kong? That’s a way for Thailand! But one of my favorites lately has been their straight noodle variety. This one’s a rice vermicelli – sounds interesting. Let’s check it out!
I’ve been working hard on weight-loss and exercise for the last 6 months. Part of that is making sure I’m getting all the right nutrients and vitamins. Well, Tim and Tom Zheng over at Vite Ramen have something really cool – a pack of instant noodles that are very different from what you’re probably used to seeing. These have vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber – even low sodium! Let’s take a look!
Oh yeah – I’m going there. Maruchan Ramen is pretty versatile as are most instant ramen varieties – and now you can live the dream with is recipe for Maruchan Ramen Burritos!
Here’s one that was sent by a Brazilian reader named Daniel – thank you again! I couldn’t figure out a whole lot about this one – I do know that galinha is young hen. Usually tends to be on the oilier side. So let’s give it a try!
Today we have a Zenpop.JP variety – so what’s Zenpop? They’re a subscription service for all things Japanese! Definitely, check them out. By the way, use coupon code RAMENRATER to get $2 off! Here’s what they had to say about this one -“Japanese people love the fusion of udon and J-style curry, but here we can try it with Thai Red Curry. With tasty flavors of lemongrass, coconut milk and other ethnic spices of Asia, this curry is translated into a Japanese version. How do you like it?!”
Well, I’ll let you know! Let’s find out.
This is my list of my all time favorites (compiled up to review #3132). These are the best and most memorable varieties – some you’ll be able to find easily, some you won’t. In the images you see, you’ll see garnished bowls of noodles. Note – reviewing is done BEFORE products have anything externally added by myself, and I follow directions on the package – for better or for worse. I should also note that going forward, the official last day for companies to submit varieties to be considered for the annual top ten will be January 31st. That’s enough – let’s have a look at The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2019 Edition!
Alright. So you know about the Buldak Bokkeummyun Topokki variety – well, this one comes with actual topokki as well. It’s a big bag, too! Let’s tear into this and see what we have here!
This is the second of two A-Sha varieties I got a little while back. I’ve been cranking out three reviews a day lately and chugging through a lot of new stuff. Now that a lot of the varieties are churned through, I can focus on some things in the hamper. See, my hampers are very full. When I get new stuff, they go into the area next to the kitchen. Instead of tripping over boxes, I try to run through them quickly! So here we have a wide noodle from Taiwan. Let’s get started.
This is a message from us, to you. A message about where you are and what we are about. A message of hope for the children, a message of dreams for the brighter future. A simply weird message, and one you might be terrified by and also enamored with at the same time.
Our final stop on the Suimin Origins range is their Thai Green Curry variety. Here’s a little about this flavor from Wikipedia –
The second in the trifecta of Suimin Origins varieties I’ll be trying is Beef Massaman. If you’re unfamiliar with the flavor, here’s a little snippet from Wikipedia –
To start things off, I thought I’d go with this seafood laksa. I like laksa – curious what it will be like. Here’s a little about laksa from Wikipedia –
So you might be wondering ‘hey – where’s the interview?’ Well, you can totally blame that on me as I got the samples, did the reviews and forgot to send the questions. Ugh. I’m working on getting this added soon so keep your eye out! In the meantime, enjoy the review series and watch me unbox what you’ll be seeing!
I’ve been a fan of Red Chef’s stuff for quite a while now – their regular Spicy Sakura Prawn Soup Noodle hit the Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2018 Edition at #2 and that’s pretty amazing. Today we’ve got a new version – this one has two different kinds of noodle in it – wheat AND rice vermicelli! Let’s crack it open!
Today we have a Zenpop.JP variety – so what’s Zenpop? They’re a subscription service for all things Japanese! Definitely, check them out. By the way, use coupon code RAMENRATER to get $2 off! Here’s what they had to say about this one -“Chikin Ramen is the very first instant noodles in the world. It was invented by Momofuku Ando in 1958, and it is said that instant noodle is one of the greatest invention in 20th century. We definitely think so! This year is the 60th anniversary of Chikin Ramen, so enjoy the classic instant noodle to celebrate it!”
Today, we have one that was part of Japan Crate’s Umai Crate. So Japan Crate is a subscription service which has all sorts of different options for you. Pretty neat stuff from Japan! There’s a coupon code for you too – just use THERAMENRATER to get a special discount at check out.
Today we have a Zenpop.JP variety – so what’s Zenpop? They’re a subscription service for all things Japanese! Definitely, check them out. By the way, use coupon code RAMENRATER to get $2 off! Here’s what they had to say about this one -“Mellow and rich miso ramen with noodles which are easy to eat. Great smell of roasted vegetables and special flavor oil will fill your mouth!”
