Author: Hans "The Ramen Rater" Lienesch

#2458: Samyang Foods Sari Ramen

#2545: Samyang Foods Sari Ramen - South Korea - The Ramen Rater -

This one was a surprise. Okay, so one question people ask me from time to time is ‘where can I get the noodles, but not the seasoning?’ Indeed, there actually are many many ways one can do trhis. Here’s yet another. So I’ve had sari ramen in the past as well, however it was with a different name. Sari ramen is (you guessed it) a single pack of instant noodles and no flavoring. ...see full post

라면 완전정복 저 지영준 / ‘Ramen Conqueror,’ By Ji Young Jun

About a year ago I was contacted by a man in South Korea. He was very interested in knowing my story – he also wanted me to help him and contribute to a book he was writing. He seemed like a nice guy so I figured hey – sounds like fun!My only stipulation was that when done, that he would send me three copies.Well, the book is finished! It’s in Korean and I can’t read it unfortunately, but I’m hoping someone will be able to help me out on that soon. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2455: KOKA Creamy Soup With Crushed Noodles Sweet Corn Flavor

Meet The Manufacturer: #2455: KOKA Creamy Soup With Crushed Noodles Sweet Corn Flavor - Singapore - The Ramen Rater - corn in a cup

I often remember my experience with corn in Southeast Asia in the past, however it wasn’t involving a creamy soup. First off, you don’t see corn very often – definitely nowhere near as much as you see it here in the United States. What I did see what in the Penang International Airport, they had a little snack stand. I think they had ice cream, beefburgers (they call them that because ham is not taken by so many people over there and just calling it a beefburger makes sure there’s no confusion), and corn in a cup. Here, we have corn on the cob. However over there I saw this corn in a cup – I asked our host what this was all about. Basically, it’s not popcorn, but yellow corn in a cup with butter and seasonings. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2449: KOKA Delight Tomato Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles

Meet The Manufacturer: #2449: KOKA Delight Tomato Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles - Singapore - The Ramen Rater - Tat Hui

Today we have one I have had the export version of in the past. This however, is the local Singapore version. One thing to note for the Vegetarian crowd is that these have that little box with the green circle inside. There’s two kinds – the green circle or the red circle. Green means suitable for Vegetarians and red means not suitable. Also, they’re steamed and not fried, and to top it off, there’s no added MSG, something people are always interested in. Well, let’s get started with this tomato variety from KOKA! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2447: KOKA Signature Stir-Fry Original Flavor Instant Noodles

Meet The Manufacturer: #2447: KOKA Signature Stir-Fry Original Flavor Instant Noodles- - Singapore - The Ramen Rater - Tat Hui Foods

Today we have stir-fry noodles. Curious about what these are going to be like – sweet? Spicy? Salty? I do like stir-fry, however it’s like a sandwich. You can put all kinds of things in a sandwich. But a grilled cheese is a long way from a Monte Cristo. Singaporean stir-fry noodles sound good though – let’s have a look! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2446: KOKA Creamy Soup With Crushed Noodles Curry Flavor

Meet The Manufacturer: #2446: KOKA Creamy Soup With Crushed Noodles Curry Flavor - Singapore - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

Here we have something new. So I usually only review instant noodles, not soups. However, this is a soup with instant noodles. Wait, what?! Yeah that’s what I thought too! I’ve never heard of such a thing – but it doesn’t sound bad. As I have always said, I love seeing innovation and something new. It definitely is a nice surprise when something unique and new crosses my desk and this certainty is that on both accounts. Let’s check out this cup of soup – with crushed noodles! ...see full post

Met The Manufacturer: #2445: KOKA Delight Laksa Singapura Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles

Met The Manufacturer: #2445: KOKA Delight Laksa Singapura Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles - The Ramen Rater - Singapore - Tat Hui Foods

I’m reviewing this on March 14th and it’s actually my birthday today! I just got done doing a really big project on spicy noodles and though maybe it would be nice to do a review of something curry. I was looking through the samples and saw this one and realized I do have laksa leaves in my fridge so I’d better review it. So, what’s Laksa Singapura? Wikipedia has this to say – ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Product Samples From Tat Hui 1

Meet The Manufacturer: KOKA Product Samples - Singapore - The Ramen Rater - Instant Noodles - tat hui

This big box was sent by the folks at Tat Hui, makers of KOKAS brand instant noodles in Singapore. A few years ago, I saw an article in a news feed about KOKA products at a trade show in the United States and it hit me: maybe I should contact the guy they mentioned. I also thought maybe I could interview him and ask some questions about instant noodles. This is how the whole Meet The Manufacturer concept was born. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Interview With Tat Hui Foods Pte. Ltd.

#2442: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Hot Sauce Con Camaron

#2442: Nissin Cup Noodles Sopa Nissin Hot Sauce Con Camaron - Mexico - The Ramen Rater - shrimp instant noodles

Here’s one left over from the Meet The Manufacturer I did with Nissin Mexico a little while ago. These are very cool – they have little packets of hot sauce in them! Indeed, I think these should be available in the United States as well. I think they’d do really well! Indeed, who wouldn’t like the Cup Noodles here to come with a little packet of hot sauce? I know I would. ...see full post

#2439: Uni-President Man Han Feast Super Hot Pot Beef Flavor Instant Noodles

#2439: Uni-President Man Han Feast Super Hot Pot Beef Flavor Instant Noodles - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater - 統一企業 滿漢大餐

Here’s one I picked up during my November 2016 trip to Taiwan. So I found this one at 7-Eleven I believe. Indeed for years I’ve been told by people from Taiwan to give this one a try. They’ve been downright exclamatory about it, but nobody ever sent me one to try. Moreover it took me actually bringing one home from Taiwan to get it and so here we are. This is part of Uni-President’s Man Han Feast range. Here’s a little about Man Han (short for Manchu Han) Feast from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2438: World O’Noodle Mi Goreng Original Flavour Fried Noodles

#2438: World O'Noodle Mi Goreng Original Flavour Fried Noodles - Indonesia - The Ramen Rater - instant noodle

I found this one during my November 2016 trip to Taiwan. So this was at a Jason’s Market at the bottom of the Taipei 101. Mi Goreng is a very popular stir nodle dish. Mi Goreng instant noodles are most well known from Indonesia, indeed where this one is from. Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about Mi Goreng – ...see full post

#2435: Mum Ngon Lau Tom Chua Cay

#2435: Mum Ngon Lau Tom Chua Cay - Vietnam - The Ramen Rater - instant noodle vietnamese

Here’s another one I found during a November 2016 trip to Taiwan. I found this one at Carrefour in Taipei at the Miramar Entertainment Center. So one thing I found while there was that almost everything (unless you go to a Family Mart of a 7-Eleven) comes in a multi pack. I really didn’t want to get any of those – they take up extra space in luggage and a lot of the time they were really big multi packs. This one’s from Vietnam and looks to be a shrimp variant. ...see full post

#2433: Nissin Cup Noodles Indonesia Mie Goreng

#2433: Nissin Cup Noodles Indonesia Mie Goreng - Indonesia - The Ramen Rater - Instant Noodles

This was sent to me by Ippin, a purveyor of wonderful Japanese items! Thank you again!

Here’s something a little different. So Nissin has a series of Cup Noodles with flavors from around Southeast Asia. Laksa from Singapore, Tom Yum from Thailand and here we have Mie Goreng from Indonesia. I’m very curious how this on will be. Indeed, it looks interesting enough and a decently sized cup. If you don’t know about Mie Goreng, you should! Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about the dish: ...see full post

#2432: Fashion Food Yummy Spicy Rice Soup With Seafood

#2432: Fashion Food Yummy Spicy Rice Soup With Seafood - Thailand - The Ramen Rater - rice soup

Okay first off, this isn’t a noodle review and I know, I know… But this one looks exactly like the other ones they sell that are noodles. FF (Fashion Foods) has these little bowls with lids everywhere, and usually they’re either a wheat instant noodle or instant vermicelli. I looked at it, didn’t recognize it, and popped it in my basket thinking I’ve just found a rice noodle version of their stuff I hadn’t tried previously. Well, this is a broth with rice. I only realized this until I had done the picture of the side panels. ...see full post

#2429: New Touch T’s Restaurant Sura Tanmen

#2429: New Touch T's Restaurant Sura Tanmen - Japan - The Ramen Rater - instant ramen

Went to Uwajimaya, a local Japanese grocery store chain in the northwest the other day. So I found that you can get chashu pork there – it’s really nice for Japanese instants since I can slap one on top! Indeed what I do is get a few packs of it from the deli and then bag them individually  and throw them in the freezer – it’s pricy stuff, but done this way it really stretches it a long way. So $15 or pork will yield me about 18-20 slices and since it’s frozen, it’ll last nicely until I’ve done that many Japanese reviews. ...see full post

#2428: TTL Sesame Oil Chicken Noodle With Rice Wine

#2428: TTL Sesame Oil Chicken Noodle With Rice Wine - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater - boozy noodles

This is one I found at a 7-Eleven during my November 2016 trip to Taiwan. So these are manufactured by Wei Lih for TTL. TTL stands for Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor. Tobacco and liquor – what?! Indeed, this is a boozy noodle. It contains rice wine, something apparently that goes well in noodles and cooking. I’m unsure, but I think this may be the first variety I’ve reviewed with alcohol in it – could be wrong. ...see full post