Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
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.
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.
Here’s something new and different from Nongshim. The name might seem a little odd, but it’s a play on the name of a traditional South Korean beef soup called Seoulleongtang, which has a broth which is simmered for a long time with ox bones. I’ve liked non-spicy South Korean beef noodle soups in the past – let’s see how this one fares!
Here’s a new one from Nongshim for the vegetable crown. At first, I thought it would be a tofu based variety; the reason was that I’ve gone to a local Korean restaurant and ordered ‘Soon Tofu’ a few times, which is a spicy soup with tofu in it. Well, ‘soon’ translates to ‘soft.’ Well, tofu is a vegetarian friendly construct, so I thought I’d give it a try today with this new one. A few people have been asking about this one, so with that, let’s check it out.
In March of 2012, I tried this new Garlic Teriyaki Udon by Nongshim – review #683. It was really great stuff – my wife Kit absolutely loved it (she doesn’t usually go crazy like I do for noodles, but this one was her fave). Well, a little while later, it was discontinued. Well, now it’s back and a little different. The first one had a whopping 3040mg of sodium per pack, but this new one has only 720mg for the whole thing. Let’s see how this one stacks up against the old version.
Yesterday I saw the FedEx truck coming around the corner through the patio door window. They stopped. What’s nice is that the guy just parks and comes up to the window these days. Let’s see what inside!
Seems like it’s been a while since I’ve reviewed something from Nongshim. Well, let’s check out this one – and it’s kimchi flavor!
The FedEx truck pulled up and the guy ran over and gave me this envelope – what’s inside?
It’s no secret that I eat a lot of instant noodles. Last year alone, I did 320 new reviews! I’m often asked, “when you aren’t reviewing, what instant noodles do you like to eat?” South Korean ramyun is the answer. In 1963, instant noodles were first introduced to South Korea as ‘ramyun.’ People were a little confused at first; they thought it was a textile! They also weren’t super keen on it being chicken flavored; South Koreans prefer rich beef flavors as opposed to lighter poultry tastes. With a little tweaking, the spicy rich beef noodles synonymous with ramyun were born. The thick noodles, rich broth and spiciness keep me coming back for more. This list contains my favorites from the 1272 reviews I’ve done thus far. They are all made in South Korea, and many will be hard to find in the United States, if not impossible. With that, here’s my list.
Got a box from Nongshim America today. They were stoked on the story that came out about my ramyun burger recipe. Thank you very much! Let’s see what’s inside!
Here we have a Shin Ramyun cup – this one was bought in South Korea and brought back to me by Kristen W. or Arizona – thanks! Let’s check it out!
You might be thinking, ‘hey – didn’t he already review this?’ Nope – I reviewed the Shin Ramyun Black cup from South Korea. This is the one that is manufactured here in the United States in Rancho Cucamonga, California.So what is this ‘Pot-au-feu’ flavor? I consulted Wikipedia and found this:
Recently, I came up with the ramyun slider. I thought since I’ve got some Shin Black on hand, why not a full-fledged ramyun burger? This recipe came out great and really wasn’t that hard to do.
Got a nice and hefty box in the mail!
Nongshim America sent three of my favorites (they all made the Top Ten USA list) as a thank you for recognizing their products worthy of being in the list! Thanks! Think I’ll attempt a Shin Black Ramyun Burger for Labor Day!
When we got home from the hospital yesterday, I called the apartment office to see if there were any packages – they said there was one. A mailer from Nongshim America – what’s inside?
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 over 1,100 reviews to date. With that, here’s your top ten, America!
Here’s one that I’ve waiting to review for a while. This is a variety specifically marketed for the summer months – cold South Korean noodles! Thought I’d consult Wikipedia to give some more information on South Korean cold noodle dishes:
After more than a year of pondering and reviewing since the last list, here’s the new top ten instant noodle bowls. This encompasses all instant noodle bowls reviewed up to today, June 15th, 2013. With no further adieu, the top ten instant noodle bowls of all time, 2013 edition.
Another from my trip to Canada for my birthday. Wow – what a past two days here! The Top Ten 2013 list came out to a clamor of Taiwanese disapproval – Taiwan didn’t make the list. But, hopefully out of it all I’ll get contacted by one of the companies in Taiwan, but so far nothing. On to other things though – that being this interesting bowl by Nongshim. This one’s made in Shanghai, China. Let’s check it out.
Another one I got while in Canada for my birthday. I’m sure many folks will immediately ask ‘where did you get this’ and ‘where can I get it,’ and I’ll just say I’ve only seen this in Canada. See, they get stuff in the Vancouver area from not only the Nongshim plant here in the states but the one in Shanghai, China. Got a couple more coming down the pipe of reviews soon that hail from China. Let’s check this out!
Got a call from the office at my apartment complex about a package…
Awesome! So Nongshim America had a contest around Easter on their Facebook Page and I was one of the winners!
The FedEx guy knocked on my window the other day with a package!
Holy cow – a flat of Neoguri and a flat of Chapagetti! I did a review of Chapaguri a couple weeks ago and to say thanks, they made sure I can make it whenever I like! Thanks!
I’ve heard of recipes people make where they combine two different types of instant noodles to make something new. Well, here’s one from South Korea that is very popular right now! Chapaguri! 짜파구리 !
Hey look at that! The new Shin Ramyun Black cup! Been wanting to review it since I first saw it. I reviewed the other Shin Ramyun Black cup (which was onion flavored) a while back and really enjoyed it immensely. This one’s being promoted by PSY! Yep – Mr. Gangnam Style himself. Let’s check it out…
The FedEx guy apologized for the box getting a beating…
Its contents however were resilient!
I’ve been wanting to re-review this one for a while, and so here we are. Potato noodles! Chewy! Let’s check it out.
Kristen W. of Arizona sent me some noodles she got while she was in South Korea!
This is a great little collection of South Korean varieties you can’t easily find here! Ottogi Cheese Ramyun and Spaghetti bowls – been wanting to try them for a while! The two above are Paldo Korea varieties – I think Rabokki and Jjajang. The Nongshim Shin Cup in the lower right is the South Korean version. Thank, Kristen! Soon as they’re made, some The Ramen Rater stickers will be coming your way!
I reviewed the original version (non-microwavable) quite a while back and really liked it – it even made the Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls list. Today I’m going to check out the new version.
First, I’d like to say that tomorrow, a new Meet The Manufacturer will kick off! Sakurai Foods of Japan has been kind enough to send samples and do a quick little interview! It promises to be quite interesting!
My Aunt and her daughter went to an Asian store in San Francisco and picked up some noodles for me! Here’s one of them. Been wanting to re-review therm for a while! Thanks!!!
I got a couple of these family packs sent as samples from Nongshim America the other day…
Hey – a package from Nongshim America – but what’s inside?
This just came out for sale in the USA and I can’t wait to try it! If it’s the same as what they make in Korea (see review), then it’s some serious 5.0/5.0 star stuff. Made for sale here in California! Awesome! Thanks to Ray A. and Hanna C. over at NSA! Might do this review later today!
I am in charge of throwing the turkey in the oven this year at noon. I figured breakfast shouldn’t have anything turkey like involved and pardon the turkey at least ramen-wise for a day. Then Black Friday will be a day that the turkeys will cower – planning on using turkey in some ramen meals for the next week or so – should be awesome! But for now, here’s something I decided to make for breakfast. By the way, here’s what I did for 2011’s Thanksgiving.
You’re probably wonder ‘gee, he sure reviews that Jinjja Jinjja quite a lot – what gives?’ Well, they sent me a lot of it and since I really like it, I want to enjoy it before it expires. Well, actually it expired in September, but I’m just about out of it. Here’s the last full review of it.
Here’s the last of the new Nongshim cups – looks like a good one too!
Here’s a close-up of the lid.
Lunch (click to enlarge)!!!So I decided to have some of the Nongshim Jinjja Jinjja that they sent me a while back for lunch. I’ve reviewed it before – here’s the link. I added a slice of cheese, Crystal hot sauce, some Urashima Sesame & Salt furikake, an egg that I boiled with the noodles, some new odeng and onions. Oh – and of course kimchi! This is the first instant noodle that I devoured with the help of chopsticks! Yep – The Ramen Rater is going to be a chopstick eater! Funny; I wasn’t able to use them very well before but I tried them with kimbap, then some yakisoba I had at a restaurant and finally today and I’m stoked! Woot woot!
If you look at review #911, #912 and now #913, I think you can see a theme here. Yeah – shrimp! I don’t usually have any shrimp on hand so I thought I should take advantage of it. This is a new one from Nongshim – spicy shrimp. Let’s check it out!
Unless you’ve been hiding under a proverbial rock for the last couple of months, you have heard the song ‘Gangnam Style‘ by South Korean pop star PSY at one time or another, seen the horse dance, etc. Well, After he sent Nongshim a video asking if he could do a commercial for them, they said yes.
Here’s something new – Neoguri Spicy in a cup! Kind of interesting; Neoguri usually has a wider Udon-like noodle and I don’t know that I’ve seen anything like that in a cup form before. Well, let’s have a look.
10/17/2012
I saw a video recently about PSY being a huge fan of Korean instant ramyun – Nongshim’s Shin Ramyun in particular. He sent a video showing him eating their noodles with a definite excitement and pride. He wants to be the next representative of their products! I got to say, this was really was cool to see. I feel a definite kinship with PSY on this matter – instant ramyun is amazing stuff!
