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Here we go with another Meet The Manufacturer week! This one’s a little different of course since my wife and I actually took a trip and met the people who are Nongshim America! It was an amazing and fun visit – so without further adieu, here’s what happened. By the way, if you click on the images they get much bigger.
Okay I know – I don’t usually review restaurant food but I thought I would this time. After our trip to Nongshim and learning about Korean food and culture, we were curious about this local restaurant. I looked through the menu and decided I should give their noodles a try! I found Naengmyeon combo and thought that might be good. I had no idea what it would be about, except that noodles were involved and that it was ‘good in the Summer.’ Here’s what Wikipedia says about Naengmyeon:
I’ve got to just say it – wow! They sent us a huge box of neat noodle knick knacks and other Ningshim niceties! This is pretty epic – check it out! By the way – I think this has to be the coolest packing tape in existence!
Here’s something really new and very different from a lot of the instant noodles I’ve reviewed before. Jinjja Jinjja translates to “Really Really” (Spicy Spicy) – and I suppose in this review we’re going to find out how really really spicy Jinjja is! I should say that I sampled this one at Nongshim America while I was down there, so I have tried it before – but not a while bowl of it. I found out that the flavor comes from boiling pork bones for a long time, black beans and peanuts! It also turns out that the wheat flour used to make these has some red pepper powder added to them – heat in the noodle as well as from the dry seasonings! Let’s give this a try!
I got two shipments today – one from Nongshim America, which I visited last week (there’ll be a lot of stuff all about the visit, the plant tour and the people very soon!). Here’s the first one from Nongshim America!
Well, we’re back from outr trip to Nongshim USA! It was absolutely amazing! The people were so nice, seeing how noodles were made amazing, and the new flavors I tasted were great! I’ll be posting a bit about the trip very soon! For now, I’d like to thank Ray Adams for introducing my wife and I to the world of Nongshim USA! His boss Ray Kim made us feel very welcome and it was so much fun talking with them and everyone else there about noodles and the Nongshim culture. We are so lucky to have been afforded this opportunity and really appreciated it! Can’t wait to do Meet The Manufacturer: Nongshim week! Until then, I’ll be posting a bit of info about the tour and what happened while I was there. Keep your eyes peeled!
Tomorrow, my wife and I are headed to the airport to fly down to the Nongshim USA plant in Rancho Cucamonga, California! There, we’re going to do a plant tour, a noodle tasting, and a videotaped interview for the next Meet The Manufacturer, which (you guessed it) will feature Nongshim. We’ll return on Saturday with stories and pictures – I might do a post while we’re down there from my phone possibly. I want to say thank you to the wonderful folks at Nongshim USA for this opportunity to learn more about their company and instant noodles! We’re really looking forward to this! Next stop, southern California.
In the last week, I did a ‘Meet The Manufacturer on Indomie and have been enjoying Indonesian instant noodles. Today, I am going to try something completely different – donated by Ramen Place. It’s a Korean seafood big bowl – spicy stuff! This should be interesting as Indonesian noodles have been so different. Here we go!
The nice folks at Nongshim were kind enough to send some samples of this new beef variety recently. Haven’t tried any of them since they’ve gone with the new outer packaging! Let’s give it a try!
Thanks to this sample from Nick over at OrderRamen, today I’m trying the third entry into the ring of ‘white broth’ ramyuns from Korea. The others, Paldo’s Kko Kko Myun and Samyang’s Nagasaki Jjampong I found to taste a lot like Jalapeno Cheese Cheetos! Very curious if Ottogi’s offering is like that too. Let’s find out!
Nick at www.OrderRamen.com mentioned he got in something new last week and asked if I’d like a sample.
Here’s a rather uniquely titled one that the nice folks at Ramen Place sent along! I think I would rearrange the title right now to Is Nature Delicious? I guess that what we’re trying to find out with this review. Pulmuone seems to put out products that try to appeal to the health conscious. Let give it a try!
I thought today I’d review this one, sent to me by the nice folks at Ramen Place – thanks! Was thinking it would go nicely with some of the stir fry veggies I’ve been enjoying lately. I also talked with Ray from Nongshim today – found out a little bit of information that you might find interesting if you didn’t know. Nongshim’s logo is a seed, and Nongshim translates to ‘Farmer’s Heart.’ I like that – and we’ll see how I like these noodles now!
Here’s another one from Ramen Place! I’ve tried the cup version which just said 60 Ingredients, but it’s got to be the same thing here, just in a pack. Let’s give it a try!
The ultra-mega hip happening noodle pot of the future is here!
Actually, not exactly here – this hot new item is in Korea! The ‘Half and Half Noodle Pot’ ( 반반라면 ) is apparently all the buzz on Google. I read an article stating that it’s the most popular search right now – weird, eh? Maybe not – this is a pretty neat little invention!
This is one that came from the nice folks at Ramen Place! Thanks again! Hot and spicy? Soy peptide? Korean? Yeah this should be awesome stuff!
The folks at Nong Shim sent me a box of these last week! Thanks again! Can’t wait to visit the big factory in May! I’ve not seen this before and from what I gather it is brand spanking new! Garlic teriyaki sounds awesome – let’s see how it goes!
This is one that’s been in the ramen hamper for a while and so it’s time to give it a go. I’m usually a little leery of the noodles with the thick black coating, but I’m throwing caution to the wind; I liked the last Jjajangmen I had so why not!
Here’s another one from the nice people at RamenPleace.com! This is a Korean udon bowl with fried tofu – usually something I would imagine in a Japanese bowl. Let’s see how it tastes!
My sister was up in Canada at a big grocery store and found this for me! Shin Ramyun Shrimp Flavor! Never heard or seen it before – what a score! Let’s see how it goes with this one!
I’ve been waiting for everything to be all set up to post about this, but I have excellent news! Nong Shim America has invited my wife and I to come and tour their plant in Rancho Cucamonga, California! They’re going to fly us down for a weekend in late May where we will take a tour, sample their products and do an interview! This is about as cool as it gets! Want to say thanks to Nong Shim America for this wonderful opportunity for us to see a real instant noodle factory and to be able to bring it to everyone who enjoys the website! I’ll mention this again as time draws nearer. We’re very excited!
Here’s the second of the two packs sent to me by Chris H. of Westport, CT – thanks again! So this is the other extremely popular variety out of Korea, Samyang’s Nagasaki Jjampong. I read that ‘white broth’ instant noodles are all the rage there – none are for sale in the Asian grocery stores I frequent and the ones Chris sent are from Korea. Anyways, let’s give it a try!
Here’s something extra special, sent by Chris H. of Westport, CT. This is the extremely popular Kko Kko Myun. What I know is that this is made using chicken broth instead of spicy red peppers. It is based on a recipe created by Korean comedian Lee Kyung-kyu. It has an unusual white broth – everything for the most part coming out of Korea has that bright red chili-infused broth. In the first five months of this stuff being released in Korea, they sold 100 million packs! Very popular! So here we go with a review – this is from Korea and not a regular export so the packaging doesn’t have all of its info, but hopefully you can glean info from the nutrition facts, etc off of the label.
Here’s the first one of the reviews I’ll be doing of the big donation from Jennifer Kim at Ramen Place (www.ramenplace.com)! Thanks again! This one’s a new brand – Ohsung. It’s from Korea! Let’s have a look!
Starting yesterday evening, I noticed a huge amount of people from Korea coming to the site. Apparently, they were all coming in droves because of a news story about my Top Ten list including Nong Shim’s Shin Ramyun Black noodles! Well, here’s some links and some pictures of the articles. I’m really hoping someone can translate them soon as Google Translate has done a really crummy job where it usually does so well.
Here’s one I’ve been meaning to get to and here we go! Thisd one is from Greg B. of Marathon, FL! Thanks Greg – let’s give this one a try!
Here it is – the new Ramen Rater Top Ten List! It was originally released on Foodiggity.com on January 9th, 2011 as an exclusive guest post I did. Now, here it is on The Ramen Rater for your perusal with links to all of the corresponding reviews! Enjoy!
Hey look! Mega-enormous Korean noodle bowl! Found this one at H Mart in Lynnwood, WA. Had the pack and the cup – now we’ll find out Hwa-ssup with this enormous King Cup! Yes we will. Yes.
This was sent to me by Greg B. of Marathon, Florida! I was a little surprised that I haven’t reviewed this one before, but sure enough, I haven’t! Let’s rip open some Korean ramyun!
Chicken Oolongmen – here we go.
Side panels (click image to enlarge).
A single packet…
This was literally at the bottom of the hamper – it’s time.
Side panels (click image to enlarge).
So this guy named Dave P. posted a YouTube video on the Ramen Rater Facebook page showing some people in Korea making a bowl of Shin Ramyun a little different that I’ve made it in the past. I thought I’d try to get the ingredients and give it a try. Here’s the video:
Otay! It’s time for some cold noodles – not usually my favorite but we’ll just have to give them a try.
Assorted seasfood eh? Trout and octopus? Sardine and shrimp? Crab and sea cucumber? Not sure but Let’s find out.
Mr. Udon, I presume? I was looking in the fridge yesterday putting groceries away. A couple sodas wouldn’t fit – something was blocking them. Two packs of Mr. Udon noodles that I got early lasrt year. Hmmm… I wondered if they were still good – May 2012 exclaimed the expiration date! So let’s give this stuff a try before it goes bad!
Here’s a bowl from Korea – some spicy Yeul!
Here’s the side panel (click image to enlarge).
I’ve heard now from two separate sources that this Kkokkomyeon stuff is really popular and is going to be a really big deal when it comes to the USA. Both a seller of instant noodles alluded to it as well as a mention by name by the lady at the Kitty House at 99 Ranch Market (they sell Hello Kitty stuff there).
You like it hot? This stuff is good and it delivers some decent heat too. I’ve had the cup, the pack and now, the big bowl. Wonder if there’s a regular sized bowl? Hmm…
Happy New Year! Let’s start things off a little different with some cold noodles – or should I say cold noodle Regardless, in the past I haven’t been a great fan of cold noodles, but hey, new year, new noodle. Let’s give it a try.
Here’s another from Michelle L. of New York. I have liked pretty much everything I’ve had that Six Fortune makes – hopefully this is no exception. U-Dong is a thicker noodle and it mentions it’s got “udon flavour,” which I would imagine will be seafood.
