The Definitive Source For Instant Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Tonight at 11pm, we leave for the airport! I didn’t expect how our first leg to Taipei would go north then south. One thing I just realized is that body of water at the top left. When I was a kid, I had a map on the wall of my room. I would look at it and found that body of water fascinating – just the name – The Sea Of Okhotsk. It sounded so strange and so far away. I never expected I would be that close to it; really quite amazing to me.
Welcome to the 2nd annual The Ramen Rater’s top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time – the 2014 edition. In the last year, I’ve tried a slew of new varieties from Taiwan that were just amazing. Really discovered some great new products that I think everyone should try! What’s special this time is that I’m actually going to be in Taiwan during a layover on my trip to Malaysia! Figured I’d put this out a week early as it’ll be quite hard to post when I’m overseas. This is a list comprised of the best of the best of the 127 different varieties of instant noodles that I’ve tried that were made in Taiwan. As a side note – I’m also going to be traveling through Singapore and then my destination of Malaysia – there will be top ten lists for those two countries coming as well as soon as I’ve reviewed enough varieties to have a wide sampling. I’ve done just over 40 from each so far. With that, let’s have a look at the best noodles I’ve tried from Taiwan!
I’ve recently seen a whole lot of misinformation being spewed lately about the instant noodle. Why do I care? Well, primarily because I’m really into instant noodles. I’ve been a fan of them since a child and been reviewing them since 2002. A kind of strange obsession, but there are definitely stranger ones out there. What gets me is information that is presented by news and social media sources often is really quite inept; lack of research and frankly poor quality journalism on their parts. So, I’ve decided to come out with an annual list of ten facts about instant noodles starting today! Ready? Well, here you go.
Meet Matt Stonie. This guy has eaten a lot of different things, stressing on the term ‘a lot.’ He’s got a ton of videos of him eating amazing quantities of food, competitive eating style. I have to take my hat off to him on this – there’s just so much instant noodle that he puts in his gut. I don’t think I could come close to doing this, nor would I attempt it – I’ll leave it to this pro.
So last year, The Ramen Rater was #5 out of 90+ entrants, thanks to your votes! This year, let’s see if we can hit #1 in the Best Of Western Washington Food Blog competition!
For this Friday’s video, here’s something I found posted by a commenter on a recent HuffPost article. I’ve found myself doing a LOT of commenting on HuffPost article as of late, usually because people either writing them or reading them and commenting are so confused about instant noodles. Anyways, this fellow posted a link to this YouTube video which chronicles his one month of eating nothing but instant noodles. It’s pretty cool and I thought folks might like to check it out.
My friend Moses over at Paldo America sent me a package!
Wow these are really big bowls! Jjajangmyen is a noodle with spicy black bean sauce and Jjamppong is a spicy seafood noodle soup! Thanks!
I was recently contacted by a fellow named Kyle over in Taiwan asking if I’d like to sample his company’s noodles. Well, of course I would! Let’s see what we have here.
I was contacted by a reader from Sweden that wanted to send me some instant noodles I hadn’t tried before! Thank you very much! Here they are!
Well I’m really excited today! My wife and I have been invited to visit MyKuali in Penang, Malaysia! Wow! Our flight’s booked and we’re getting ready for it later this month! The furthest from home here in the northwest I’ve been was the east coast in Georgia way back in 1995, and the only other country I’ve visited has been Canada. This is going to be really amazing! Thank you so much to MyKuali – this is absolutely great and I can’t wait to share pictures and words about our trip with everyone when we return! It’s still a few weeks away and we’re really excited!
Was contacted a couple week ago by a fellow who wanted to know if I wanted to try some new White Curry Noodles his company makes. Sure – and here they are!
The instant noodle originated in 1958 in Japan, but since that time, they’ve expanded in popularity all over the world, including of course, the United States. Seeing this, instant noodle companies thought it wise to start building plants here in the 1970s. Since then, many brands operate factories here in the US, mostly in southern California. This is a list of my favorite varieties produced here, encompassing my 1,461 reviews to date. With that, here’s your top ten, America!
If you like it hot, you’re in for a real treat here. These are the spiciest instant noodles you can get that I’ve reviewed from my 1,446 reviews thus far. If you can’t handle spicy foods, these definitely aren’t for you – these are serious! Many of these were so hot, I couldn’t finish the bowl – and I can handle a decent amount of heat! I used to review hot sauces! Anyways, Hope everyone is having a great summer and here are the spiciest instant noodles of all time for 2014!
If you’ve wanted a really in-depth documentary about the instant noodle, this is a great one. From past to present and beyond, this documentary follows the journey – from Momofuku Ando’s process of inventing the instant noodle, to how it’s developed in different cultures.
My contact at MyKuali told me she was sending some samples of their new Penang Hokkien Prawn Noodle over! If your follow my annual Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time lists, you’ll know that MyKuali hit #1 with their Penang White Curry Noodle this year. These two big boxes showed up yesterday…
Here’s something I’ve been waiting for – three new products from Nongshim America! Let’s see what’s inside!
A few months back, a fellow named Tomonori contacted me asking for some help with a television program in Japan. He wanted to know if he could use some of my images and get some info. I said sure – if you could send me a real Japanese ramen bowl! He was more than happy to do so and so we exchanged some info. A little later, the television program came out.
Yeah – it’s that time of year again! Cups are interesting; they usually hold a lot less water than a bowl, so the steeping process is a little different and so are the noodles. I’ve had some horrendous cups over the years, but then there are some that are really quite good. This last year has been a great one where cups are concerned! Let’s have a look at the best of the best! The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Cups Of All Time 2014 Edition!
I was recently contacted by a fellow named Justin Herd. He is the creator of a product called the OneBowl – a special bowl that will cook instant as well as other noodles in the microwave. What’s more, it will drain them. He can do the most justice to explaining the product and it’s features of course, so I recently conducted this interview with him.
Fridays are usually a slow day on the site so I thought I’d start putting up a video from YouTube on Fridays (unless of course it’s Meet The Manufacturer time!). Recently, a story came out on RocketNews24 about putting a little pudding cup in with Cup Noodles. As it turns out, this is a big new craze in Taiwan. It’s kind of like cigarettes; why would someone who had never done it before roll up leaves, set them on fire and stick them in their mouth?! Why would someone dump pudding or what is also known as cup flan in their noodles? Bizarre! These guys give it a try.
Another year, another list. With a range of zero to five stars, there are some that, well… Do quite poorly. These are my least favorite varieties I’ve ever tried – and I’ve 1,419 at the time of this posting. That’s a lot of instant noodles. Here they are, in all of their non-glory, the Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2014 Edition.
Right after the 2014 Top Ten List was pudblished, I got contacted by a person from Win Onn Foods in Malaysia. They were keen on me trying their variety of instant Penang white curry noodles, and I liked the idea of trying more iterations of them, so I said please send some. Well, the first time they tried to send me some, I received this box.
I got this colorful package a few weeks ago from a reader. She had asked if I could identify and find an instant noodle for her.
I guess I have come to the point where my crankiness has pushed me beyond the edge. What’s more, I think it’s a sign of my impending doom as someone who is getting older and coming to the point of no return: the cranky rant. Strangely enough, my love for instant noodles has influenced me to put pen to paper, or in this case, fingers to keyboard.
Bowls of noodles. They’re made all around the world and are a great option for those with access to boiling water and are ‘on the go.’ Some are basic and have very little imagination to them or perks, while others are really full meals that include meat and vegetables, seafood and other niceties. I’ve review 1,410 different noodle varieties and of those, many have been bowls. Here’s a list of the best, most memorable bowls I’ve come across is my adventure in tasting.
Got a package the other day – samples from A-Sha Dry Noodle! Curious as to what’s inside…
In China, there’s a popular program called “Bite Of China.” It’s all about cooking and cuisine. I just found out about this great video which is a parody of it called “Bite Of Dormitory,” which was made by University students and is all about instant noodles. It’s a short film and very good – you get to see a glimpse of a Chinese convenience store in China, and some pretty great footage of them making and enjoying instant noodles and the daily life of a Chinese University student. This is great stuff – definitely worth a look. It’s in Chinese of course, and would be better if you can understand Chinese, but I liked it immensely. Bravo, guys! 5.0 out of 5.0 stars! Now I wish I knew what you were putting in those noodles! If you want to see a video of the guys who made this short film getting their due respect, see here!
So I’m still looking for some more folks that might be interested in doing a short theme for The Ramen Rater to be used in my upcoming podcast show as well as when I do TV/radio/other podcasts. I can’t afford to pay anything other than my gratitude and I’ll plug you/your band a lot, exposing you to my large audience. Interested? Please contact me at hans@theramenrater.com for more info.
After almost two years since I first found out about this neat invention, I thought it time to give it another look. The Rapid Ramen Cooker was invented by a fellow named Chris Johnson. It’s a tool that allows you to cook instant noodles in the microwave in four minutes. What’s great is that it also lets you use only half of the seasoning sachet, cutting sodium by half for those with sodium intake concerns. What’s also nice is that you use it, and then can eat out of it, toss it in the dishwasher, and you’re done. I love this thing – so does my son, who doesn’t like a lot of broth (you only use 1 cup of water as opposed to the usual 2 cups with domestic instant noodles). As far as ramen kitchen accoutrements go, this gets 5.0 out of 5.0 stars easily. Hope you enjoy the video and if you”re interested, here’s my original review of The Rapid Ramen Cooker which includes an interview with Chris and a test with quite a few instants. Also, here’s a video of as Chris Johnson’s appearance on the ABC show ‘Shark Tank’ where he gets a deal with Mark Cuban for The Rapid Ramen Cooker! By the way – tomorrow I’ll use The Rapid Ramen in an instant noodle review, not only to cook the noodles but as the bowl they will be eaten out of. Stay tuned!
Hey folks! So I will be starting a podcast soon of The Ramen Rater Noodle News. I need some theme music and that’s where you musicians come in. If you would like to submit some theme music (music would need to be about instant noodles and mention The Ramen Rater prominently), I would definitely use it on the podcast. Not opnly that, I’ll tell everyone about your band and how to contact you! Please contact me – hans@theramenrater.com and put ‘The Ramen Rater Music’ in the subject line. Who knows – enough people sumbit music, there could be an album!
I thought some of you might be interested about my experiences with having my own website. Why? Because maybe you’re thinking about starting a blog or website and don’t know where to start. Anyways, here’s my entire history of websites, the ups and downs and everything in between.
I’ve been really lucky – the FedEx guy has been coming to my patio for ages when I have a package but he’s retired! This is the last box he brought me.
I did an interview with Devin yesterday over at Pretend Radio – check it out! You can find him on iTunes as well.
Well folks, it’s that time again. Since the last list, I’ve reviewed another 335 varieties – almost one a day This list reflects the ones I’ve reviewed in the last year as well as those reviewed before that – 1,365 varieties in all. It seems to get tougher each time – so many good ones! Here’s this year’s list – the best of the best. With that, I present to you The Ramen Rater’s top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2014 Edition.
Last Saturday, my wife Kit, son Andy and I took a trip to Canada! We started at my mom and sister’s house in Anacortes. It’s where I grew up!
When I was very young, we had a visitor from a music group come into our classroom. He told us about a song his band did that was written by a band member when he was sick. He talked to us about how when you don’t feel good, sometimes your mind can go in different directions; that it can be a good time to embrace creativity. I thought that kind of odd, but have also found it to be true. I remember playing Asteroid on my old Atari 2600 and using a different strategy and getting a really high school – I was home with the flu.
Well today, I’m under the weather. I’ve been sneezing and runny-nosed and achy – you know the drill. Well, inspiration reared it’s head again. With all the things people have been trying with instant noodles lately, I thought maybe this would be good. I would absolutely love to see some pictures if you guys attempt making it! With that, I introduce the instant noodle cheese bite.
China: the birthplace of the noodle. Billions of serving of instant noodles are consumed there every year – more than any other country in the world! I thought today being Chinese New Year (more widely known as Lunar New Year), it would be an opportune time to release a list of my favorite instant noodles that are made in China. These are the most memorable and finest varieties I have enjoyed from China of the 1,290+ I’ve reviewed over the years.
The contest had four submissions! Here are the rankings of the four as judged by my wife Kit. She didn’t see any of the pictures until a minute ago and had no idea who submitted them.
Momofuku Ando (安藤 百福) – (March 5, 1910 – January 5, 2007)
Today is January 19th, 2014 – and you know what that means? Momofuku Ando Day! In 1958, Momofuku Ando invented the very first instant noodles and started Nissin Foods. I do a special video every year to commemorate the occasion (see below). First, here’s what the Nissin Foods USA website has to say about the man:
Tomorrow is Momofuku Ando Day and I thought it would be fun to let my son Andreas do a video review. Just a reminder – today (January 18th, 2014) is the last day to enter the Momofuku Ando Day Photo Contest! The winner will be announced tomorrow. My Momofuku Ando Day video will be up tomorrow!
