Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
I’ve reviewed many fresh varieties in the past and this is a new variety from a brand I’ve never reviewed any products from before! What’s more, it’s a company in the United States. I must say that the packaging is rather striking; it’s thick cardboard and the little cut out of the bowl and steam coming out above it is really neat.
I really wasn’t happy with the photos I took of the coconut bowl when I took them, so I asked if they’d be able to send another. They were really nice and did! Thanks!
A big box – a big box that’s cold! Let’s see what’s inside.
A foam cooler.
This is the third of the rice vermicelli (bihun) varieties that MyKuali has come out with in cups. I was very surprised yesterday – happily so. They now have them at the 99 Ranch store near me – all of their pack range, the rice vermicelli bowls and the cup versions as well. Pretty surprised to see them actually – but it’s a good thing since it seems Malaysian flavors are really making a big punch into the outer world.
So in late August 2017, a fellow named Jay from Taiwan told me about a very spicy noodle I should try. I had recently put out the new Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time for 2017 and was definitely keen on trying anything and everything spicy of course to begin the search for newcomers for the 2018 list.
Here’s one sent by Javier over at Box From Japan. At Box From Japan, you can receive boxes of instant ramen from Japan as well as different subscription boxes like Japanese candy! Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? What’s more, in the two years I’ve been reviewing these, I’ve not ever received one that I’d reviewed before!
I’ve reviewed the pack version of this one and now it’s time for the bowl. A few months ago I did a series of seriously spicy reviews for my guide to this series. Let’s see if my palate still can handle the heat!
The second of two I found recently at Uwajimaya in Bellevue, Washington. The last one was good so I’m hoping this will as well. Here’s a littler about Tantanmen from Wikipedia –
This variety comes by way of Colin, a reader from Massachusetts – thank you! It was originally said by Oscar Wilde: ‘Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.’ I have often found this to be true for the most part. Indeed, why would someone want to imitate exactly what you do unless they want to attain something that you did prior? Well, sometimes it just seems like it takes a bit of a spiral from flattery to pure copying.
I think this is the last of the new versions of the Cup Noodles from the USA. They changed the recipe last year to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Cup Noodles. Here’s a little from Wikipedia about the history of Cup Noodles –
I’ve tried a lot of these instant noodle snacks from GGE (aka Everybody Loves Good Good Eat). They come in little cubes, loose noodle style, round little cylinders and these strips. Let’s bust open this bag of GGE ramen snack and see what’s going on inside!
Well, I found quite a few of these new packaged versions recently at an Indian market in Bellevue, Washington. Now, this is what they call ‘Desi Chinese’ food. What’s that? Let’s ask Wikipedia –
Today we have Song Song Kimchi Ramen. Kimchi varieties out of South Korea are among my favorites. I really like the tangy as well as bright, spicy flavors. Kimchi is interesting; it’s cabbage as well as many other ingredients that is allowed to ferment for an amount of time.
Here’s one that came by way of the guys over at Exotic Noods. Thanks! You can subscribe and get great boxes of different noodles every month – they also have The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Box! Definitely take a look. So today it’s udon from Japan. Kitsune udon comes with some fried tofu – which is really good stuff. Udon is a very thick noodle, but what is a nabeyaki? Here’s a little from Wikipedia –
Here’s one I picked up in Taiwan last November. I’d always seen these but never really thought they existed. I’ve seen the design on t-shirts and other things. Ripe and dry sounds like a fart, too! So this one is soy sauce flavor – which would be known as shoyu in Japan. Let’s look up shoyu ramen on Wikipedia –
Here’s one from KOKA left over from the KOKA Meet The Manufacturer series earlier this year. This one certainly looks like an export version. How can you tell? A big giveaway is a number of different languages on the packaging. Not a lot of German-speaking folk in Singapore. Let’s have a look at this one and give it a try!
So I haven’t done a review of this company’s products before, however I have had therm in the past. Tao Kae Noi is pretty well known for their crunchy seaweed snacks. They make them in quite a few flavors – my favorite are their tom yum flavored ones – spicy and tasty.This pack comes with a couple pieces of their snack seaweed. Let’s see a little from Wikipedia about Tom Yum Kung –
So this is the last of the three fresh varieties sent to me by Yamachan – thank you again! First off, Yamachan is pretty easily found in the United States – I’ve not only seen their products in Japanese/Asian supermarkets but at higher-end domestic grocery stores. Here’s a little from Wikipedia on Tonkotsu and Shoyu Ramen –
So I have a new contact named Danny at Nongshim Korea – one of the guys from Happy Souper helped me get a hold of him via email – thanks! Danny was kind enough to send along these new Mr. Bibim varieties. They’re dry noodles with a liquid base and kimchi included. Here’s a little about kimchi from wikipedia –
A reader named Jon was kind enough to send along some ultra spicy noodles. They beat me down before – watch the video below to find out all about them.
Here’s one sent by Javier over at Box From Japan. At Box From Japan, you can receive boxes of instant ramen from Japan as well as different subscription boxes like Japanese candy! Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? What’s more, in the two years I’ve been reviewing these, I’ve not ever received one that I’d reviewed before! This one has a unique flavor – let’s see a little more from Wikipedia –
So here’s one of the new Nissin Hong Kong straight noodle variants. I had to do a little looking to find what ‘aka tonkotsu’ was. Mainly the ‘aka’ part wasn’t something I’d heard of before. As it turned out, ‘aka’ refers to the spicy cod roe (eggs) in this one. Sounds interesting! Here’s a little about the tonkotsu style of broth from Wikipedia –
I’ll be the first to admit – I’m not particularly keen on mushrooms. I mean sure – they’re alright sometimes in with other things, but I’m just not a big fan of fungus. I always try to give them a good chance as with any kind of food -= and the same with instant noodles that are mushroom flavored. Let’s see how this one is.
This is one I found a few weeks ago looking at an Indian grocery in Bellevue, Washington. I’ve never seen nor heard of this one before and thought it looked kind of interesting. I rarely find much if anything new locally and so this was a score. Let’s check it out!
These came by way of Kimmy N. of Connecticut, USA! Thanks again! It’s rare these days that a new Vietnamese variety crosses my desk – always welcome of course! I know there’s quite a few that I’m not getting which bums me out. Definitely would love to try more of them. I’ve tried a ton of them in the past, but going forward I’d like to do a lot more of these reviews.
Colin from Massachusetts was kind enough to shoot this one my way! Thanks again! So Gomtang is a flavor I really like -it’s kind of like a creamy beef soup broth. What’s kind of funny is that I’ve only sampled Gomtang made by Paldo. I know there are other brands making it in South Korea, yet I’ve never found any here. Let’s look up[ Gomtang on Wikipedia:
Here is a new Cup Noodles variety from Nissin Hong Kong – Laksa! It’s interesting how a lot of flavors of Malaysia and Singapore are making their way further east lately. Many different Laksa varieties exist, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one from Hong Kong before. Here’s a little from Wikipedia about Laksa –
On June 22nd, we met my sister up in Tulalip, Washington to check out the outlet mall. It’s kind of a misnomer; you think outlet mall, you think cheap prices, right? Well, these are outlet stores for stuff like Coach, Burberry, etc – so you can get overpriced things that are still overpriced but not as cool as if you got it currently for this season. Ugh.
Here’s another left over from the Tat Hui/KOKA Meet The Manufacturer series. Indeed, I’ve been really enjoying their Creamy Soup line. Actually, it’s not just an enjoyment, but a fascination – is it a soup with noodles or a noodles with soup? It’s kind of more the former rather than the latter as it comes with a pack of crushed noodles.
I contacted Yamachan a couple of weeks ago and they had new varieties for me to review! I did a Meet The Manufacturer with them a long time ago and their stuff is really great. Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about miso –
Okay for a couple years now, the old pack version of Ching’s Secret Hot Garlic has been on The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time list. I heard through the grapevine though that Hot Garlic didn’t seem that hot to another review site, Ramen Regret Rater. So, I thought I’d hunt it down to give it another try.
Today we have Song Song Kimchi Ramen. Kimchi varieties out of South Korea are among my favorites. I really like the tangy as well as bright, spicy flavors. Kimchi is interesting; it’s cabbage as well as many other ingredients that is allowed to ferment for an amount of time.
This one was sent to me by Chef Ron of Mama Pat’s Foods – thanks again! This is the first Yum-Mie variety I’ve ever tried and hails from Ghana, a country in Africa. Really like the name ‘Yum-Mie!’Here’s a little about Ghana –
Mid-Autumn Festival will be upon us very soon. October 3rd! A-Sha Dry Noodle, a company whose products have been in the Taiwanese Top Ten and once in the annual Top Ten list also makes quite a few different items.
Here’s another one, sent by Javier over at Box From Japan. So boxfromjapan.com is a subscription service where you can get a box with four different instant ramen bowls sent to you directly from Japan every month! Rarely have I found a box from them with varieties I’ve reviewed before, and never have I seen varieties available here in the USA. Definitely worth a look if you’re a big fan of Japanese varieties.
Here’s another fresh variety from Yamachan. Yamachan’s in Southern California. So this is a fresh noodle (must be refrigerated) and is a shoyu variety. Shoyu translated to soy sauce, but it’s definitely not just a soy sauce flavor. Here’s a little from Wikipedia on Shoyu style ramen:
