The Definitive Source For Instant Noodle Reviews Since 2002
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.
So a couple months ago I read an article mentioning this high end fancy instant ramen. Having never seen nor heard of it, I thought I’d better investigate. I mean, how can I be The Ramen Rater if I’m not going to hop on board for something like this? I got some eBay gift cards for Christmas and thought I’d seek this one out.
Recently, I added a chat feature to The Ramen Rater, allowing readers to comment and ask me questions directly. It’s been very eye-opening; great to hear about why people are here and what they’re interested in seeing. One thing I have been asked repeatedly is ‘when will there be an update to the Japan list?’ Well, I heard you. The last list came out in 2014. I’ve been reviewing a LOT of Japanese varieties lately, and it looks like there will be an influx of Japanese varieties for the foreseeable future crossing my desk. This most likely will be an annual list from now on. With that being said I should also mention that with the huge amount of varieties that are released annually in Japan, many are discontinued. While this is the ‘of all time list,’ spanning all my reviews, I try to make sure that what is on it is available. This is very hard with Japanese varieties. Finally, I should mention also that if you’re an instant noodle manufacturer from Japan or elsewhere for that matter and you’d like me to review your products, I encourage you to use the contact form and drop me a line. That being said, let’s take a look at this new list, encompassing my favorite and most memorable reviews from the over 2,500 reviews I’ve done to date.
Today we have a special set of fancy ramen. I was asked by IIppin to pick five things to check out from their store to show everyone. Ippin is an online retailer of very fancy Japanese things. Thanks! This set looked like a good bet. The package arrived from Japan yesterday. Busy day yesterday was – this and two other videos to record. Let’s have a look inside!
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.
Many of you will remember the rematch video I did. I tried the ultra spicy Isoyama Shoji 18 Prohibited instant ramen from Japan. It’s one I haven’t been able to conquer and just seriously spicy. I mean, this stuff just throws down and takes no prisoners! Let’s open this box and look within – not only at the instant noodles, but some other products by Isoyama Shoji.
Here’s another one sent by Zenpop. Zenpop is a subscription box service where you can get many varieties of Japanese products sent to your door monthly. Here’s what they had to say about this variety –
Recently I was contacted by a Japanese company called Hobby Link Japan. They asked if I would be interested in picking some varieties from their instant ramen selection to show everyone and I thought this would be pretty cool. Well, let’s open up this box and see what I picked!
Seven years ago I first heard about Momofuku Ando Day. I was curious about it and very happy it existed – so much so that I decided that since I devote so much time to instant noodles and reviewing them, I ought to pay homage to their creator.
I read an article posing the question ‘is $8 ramen worth it?’ and decided I’d better find out. Well, I went to eBay and found no $8 ramen because it was $14.98. Let’s take a look.
These came by way of Snackoo – a company that supplies you with great snack boxes, containing all sorts of fascinating things as well as ramen noodles. Why not check them out?
Alright – bring on the confusion, the shock and the WTF’s. Yes, mayonnaise is very popular as a topping in Japan. Why? Well, it’s freaking awesome – it’s tasty and works very well. Yakisoba without it is just not as good.
Once you get outside the United States, cilantro is known as coriander. This is actually the second coriander variety I’ll be trying from Japan. Didn’t expect that to be a popular flavor for Japan, but hey, why not. I really like coriander. This one comes from Zenpop.jp. They have monthly ramen boxes that are a really great deal – definitely, check them out! Okay – let’s crack this one open.
Happy New Year! This is a new box from Zenpop.JP – they do a few different kinds of boxes but this one’s just ramen. Nine varieties – pretty impressive! Use coupon code RAMENRATER to receive a discount at http://bit.ly/2TPTca5 ! Let’s have a look inside to see what’s going on!
So here’s one I got up in Canada in July. So Nissin Japan does regional varieties – there are tons of Nissin branches all over the world – Nissin Germany is one of them. This is one for the Japanese market and looks a lot like the German Cup Noodles varieties.
Here’s another neat one from Zenpop.JP. Thank you! So Zenpop has all sorts of monthly boxes including ramen boxes. Nine instant ramen in one box for a good price – check ’em out! Here’s what they had to say about this one –
Was stoked to find another box in the mail – this time a box from Zenpop.jp, a company that sells Japanese themed boxes with all sorts of different things in them. Haven’t seen a rfancy box like this one from them before – also wasn’t sure how they were going to fit a lot of varieties of instant noodles in here like the others contained. Let’s crack it open and look within!
This one took a lot of digging on Google and trying various translations and I think I have the name right. I think this may have something to do with egg drop soup? I really am unsure; the ones I see that sound like this one is only cooked 3 minutes and mention the calories on them. I’m completely lost. So I pushed out an ask on The Ramen Rater facebook page so we will see what that brings. In the meantime, let’s continue!
Here’s another interesting one from Zenpop.JP – thanks! So Zenpop is doing monthly boxes of all sorts of things Japan-related including instant ramen of course. This one looks particularly interesting in that it’s an instant yakisoba made with noodles made from… Mochi? Here’s a little about mochi from Wikipedia –
This is another one from Zenpop.jp. Zenpop is pretty cool – they have different boxes you can get – Japanese stationery, snacks, ramen… It’s quite a variety. They’re pretty cheap, too. Here’s what they had to say about this variety:
What have we here? A new company doing subscription boxes, that’s what!
Here’s one that came by way of Javier over at Box From Japan. With Box From Japan, you can get different subscription boxes – whether it be ramen or candy. Sometimes they have other special boxes – they have a Pikachu box, for example. Definitely worth a look!
Here’s another one from Zenpop.JP. Zenpop offers a lot of diverse Japanese boxes – lots of assorted things like ramen and also stationary among other things. Here’s what they have to say about this variety –
I know, I know. ‘You can’t even eat this!’ I hear it already. Well, actually,m you could. I don’t think plastic has much nutritional value, but you could eat it.
Here’s one I got up in Canada in 2017. It’s pretty awesome – a quick drive and we’re in another country! Some might say ‘that’s Canada – it’s not so different.’ Well, it is. It’s full of nice people and interesting things. I like it.
Here’s one of those ‘dilemma’ noodles. I don’t know what the heck it is called and the bar code yields absolutely no results which are annoying. Luckily, I do have the resource of my readers and asked on the Facebook page for The Ramen Rater. A few people got they were tonkotsu, which is very helpful, although usually, ones like this are some kind of tonkotsu – like a little more detailed. But people were of the belief this was just their standard tonkotsu. Thanks for the info! Let’s dig in
Here’s another one from ZenPop. Zenpop offers a wide variety of Japanese product boxes to your door – lots of stationary and ramen as well – check em out! Here’s what they had to say about this curry udon –
Here’s one sent by Javier over at Box From Japan. Box From Japan is a monthly subscription service where you can get boxes of neat Japanese instant ramen or boxes of candy and they have other special ones as well! Definitely, give them a look!
First thing, I want to thank Jay H. from Taiwan for sending this 18禁カレーラーメン over to me. He checked out the Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2017 Edition and thought I should give this a try.
Here’s another instant ramen bowl from Zenpop. Zenpop offers boxes of ramen among other things from Japan – pretty good stuff and definitely worth checking out! Here’s what they have to say about this variety –
Today, we have another box that was received while I was off adventuring in Taiwan – this one’s from Zenpop, a Japanese purveyor of all things Japanese!
Yet another from Javier over at Box From Japan. Box From Japan is a purveyor of monthly subscription boxes – ramen bowls and candy are at the forefront among other neat things – check ’em out! Today it’s a miso ramen – here’s a little something from Wikipedia –
Here’s one that came by way of Zenpop. Zenpop has monthly boxes of instant noodles from Japan you can get as well as a very popular line of Japanese stationary. Here’s what they have to say about this variety:
Here’s yet another great one from Javier over at Box From Japan. Box From Japan offers subscription instant ramen bowls – you can get a box every month! Thank you! So what’s this wakame? Here’s a little from Wikipedia –
Here’s another one sent by Javier over at BoxFromJapan.com. Box From Japan offers subscription boxes of all sorts of neat Japanese things including candy and ramen! Check ’em out!
I couldn’t help myself. I thought that for my 2,600th review, maybe an homage to the first video game console I’d ever played was in order. I thought the pixelated graphics could do a nice job and so here we are. So this is a new range for Nissin Cup Noodle Nice. The Cup Noodle Nice look to me a distant cousin of the Cup Noodle Light+ series – they contain non-fried noodles for starters. They have the same fiber as a ton of lettuce, lower calories, etc. If this comes out as good as the Light+ varieties did, then this should be something special. Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about Nissin Japan –
This one was sent by Javier over at Box From Japan. Box From Japan is a subscription service and every month, you get 4 great new instant ramen bowls from Japan! Definitely worth a look! This one, of course, is from Japan and is kitsune udon! What’s that? Here’s a little from Wikipedia –
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! So what is this Yokosuna all about? Well, I could be wrong, but it looks like Yokozuna is an echelon attained by Japanese sumo wrestlers. The Yokozuna are the best of the best. Let’s check it out!
Found these up in Canada at the Osaka market in Yaohan Centre. So I’ve seen this on instagram a few times and been wondering what the big deal is. Moreover, what is Licca? Here’s something from Wikipedia –
