Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Here’s a pretty well known variety from Japan but actually made in Indonesia for Singapore and Malaysia. This one was sent to me by Nissin Singapore (thank you!) and has some big differences when you compare to it’s Japanese cousin – spicy mayonnaise to start with. Let’s unwrap this yakisoba and have a look inside U.F.O.!
It is truly amazing I still have quite a few KOKA varieties to review! Can’t complain, that is for sure – having my hampers stocked well is a good thing and lets me be at ease about not running out of varieties to try. Today its chicken and I got up at 4 am and cooked some chicken in the oven to go into this one. Let’s have a look.
Here’s another left from the Tat Hui Meet The Manufacturer from earlier this year. I’ve had a lot of pho instant varieties over the years and to be honest, I’ve liked only a couple of them, so I’m really hoping this is one I’ll like.
Today, it’s yet another of the KOKA varieties leftover from the Meet The Manufacturer from earlier this year! I must say that the fact that instant noodle products have long shelf lives is really a nice thing!
The package says ‘yummy just got yummier.’ I can’t argue with that; I like yummy and more yummy is a paramount concern. Indeed, the proliferation of yummy is something that should be on everyone’s agenda. I mean, who doesn’t like yummy; the term passing through the mouth evokes a feeling of childhood giddiness and reckless abandon for anything else that’s a concern of the day. It’s a pure admission of surrender to the palate.
So yesterday, I reviewed the Cup Noodles Tom Yam Seafood. Today, it’s the potato chip with the same flavor! Sounds good to me – I like seafood and seafood potato chips are among those things never seen in the United States. Let’s give ’em a try!
Another one from the recent KOKA Meet The Manufacturer. A curry from Singapore – can’t say I’ve met one of those I didn’t like. Let’s have a look.
Ahh, Laksa – nothing like it. In fact, there are lots of kinds of laksa; sweet, creamy, curry, fish – every area has their own take on the dish. Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about laksa –
Still have some different varieties from KOKA left over from their Meet The Manufacturer! This one is pepper crab – here’s a little about it from 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!
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.
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 recently did a Meet The Manufacturer series with KOKA (actually the company that makes KOKA is called Tat Hui) – they sent pretty much every SKU they make! Thanks again! So during a Meet The Manufacturer, I only review up to 15 varieties. So, there are some leftovers which are always nice. Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about tom yum –
I remember discussing moon cake with my contact over at Prima Taste just around a year ago. They mentioned that they made it too – they are primarily a flour company and so make lots of different products that use flour as a main ingredient – instant noodles, bread mix, moon cakes, etc. October 4th this year is the big Mid Autumn Festival over in Asia and moon cakes are a big part of it. They are very dense and ornate and come in very ornate packages for the auspicious occasion. Let’s see what they sent!
Here’s another one left from the KOKA Meet The Manufacturer series. They sent so many different varieties – it’s great! Thanks!
Here’s another left over from the KOKA Meet The Manufacturer – thanks again for participating For almost a whole year I was reviewing two varieties per day – this is how I got so far ahead in my reviews. Now I’m only doing one at this point and I think I probably will for a while. You see, having a 5 month old baby girl and a very inquisitive 21 month old boy in the house can be a little crazy. He’s really interested in grabbing things and flinging them on the floor. He’s also a big fan of stealing remote controls (we got him a couple just for him, but he still steals ours). He loves the mouse and keyboard too, so I have to put those up when he’s running around.
Here’s one I believe I’ve reviewed before – but with a new recipe. Indeed, being more shrimptacular denote more stuff in there! I like that. Let’s see if it’s more shrimptacular!
Got a box from Nissin Singapore yesterday – thanks! They’ve been updating recipes and so I reached out to them for some samples. Let’s have a look!
So here we have one that’s on the 2017 Top Ten list – under two names. It was originally Straits Kitchen and they re-branded it as Straits Reborn. Literally no different in recipe – just the name. However I thought it would be good for me to do a review just so you could see. Here’s some info about laksa from Wikipedia –
Okay before you start swinging your fists around and marching in the street screaming ‘these aren’t instant noodles,’ Well, for the instant noodles version of this, go to the last review. These are potato chips infused the the same seasoning! Sounds good to me – here’s a little about black pepper crab from Wikipedia –
So this is one they’ve had before however now it has more angry crab! I love angry crab! Actually, black pepper crab is good stuff and I don’t know anyone who would argue with more crab in there. Let’s check it out!
So for the past few years I’ve been thinking about putting out a top ten list for Singapore. It took me a while though; I wanted to have a TON of Singaporean varieties that I’d tried before doing so. Well, I’ve tried a TON of them now and I felt it would be nice to put out a new list. I’m posting this on Singapore’s National Day – thought it would be fitting. If you’re not familiar with the half lion half fish image in the picture above, that’s a Merlion. It’s the national symbol of Singapore. Here’s a little more about it here. Well, it’s time. These are my favorite varieties that come from Singapore from the over 2,500 reviews I’ve done to date. All these Singaporean varieties are most definitely shiok – so grab your favorite beer (mine’s Tiger) and check it out!
Here’s another leftover from the KOKA Meet The Manufacturer series I did a little while back. Chicken flavor sounds pretty safe – I mean, who doesn’t like chicken except vegetarians? Let’s give this chicken flavor variety a try!
Here’s one left over from the KOKA Meet The Manufacturer. These soups are interesting; instead of noodles with soup it’s more like soup with noodles! Let’s have a look at this creamy soup!
Now for the third year, I’m coming out with the latest Top Ten Instant Rice Noodles list. Rice noodles have some benefits as opposed to their fried wheat counterparts. First, they’re virtually fat-free. Also, they’re not fried. Rice noodles are gluten-free by nature, although the ingredients in the sachets that come with these varieties might not be. People ask me for a gluten-free list often, but that would be rather difficult as I’d have to pore over every ingredient list on every review to do this. Well, let’s have a look at these great rice noodle varieties – the best instant rice noodles varieties of the almost 2,500 reviews to date!
Here’s one of the packs left over from the Tat Hui Meet The Manufacturer. They sent around 36 kinds and I only do a max of 15 varieties for a Meet The Manufacturer series. I looked at Wikipedia for some words on curry in Singapore, however got this about Malaysia – they’re neighbors so hope that’s alright –
I don’t think I’ve had a satay flavor variety in a long time so this should be interesting. Indeed, we should see what Wikipedia has to say about satay –
Today we have something I find interesting. I’ve heard before about the popularity of ‘Singapore Noodles’ in Britain, and that they’re not actually from Singapore. Here’s a little about that from Wikipedia –
I often remember my experience with corn in Southeast Asia in the past, however it wasn’t involving a creamy soup. First off, you don’t see corn very often – definitely nowhere near as much as you see it here in the United States. What I did see what in the Penang International Airport, they had a little snack stand. I think they had ice cream, beefburgers (they call them that because ham is not taken by so many people over there and just calling it a beefburger makes sure there’s no confusion), and corn in a cup. Here, we have corn on the cob. However over there I saw this corn in a cup – I asked our host what this was all about. Basically, it’s not popcorn, but yellow corn in a cup with butter and seasonings.
Today we have a rice noodle variety. Pho is a noodle soup that hails originally from Vietnam – here’s a little about it from Wikipedia –
I’ve always found that sesame seeds get stuck in my teeth. Yeah, they do. However, I still like them. I think I like pretty much anything sesame – especially sesame oil. I also like spicy things. Sounds like a slam dunk here but I suppose we will have to see.
Previously, I reviewed the package version of Laksa Singapura – the Delight version. The Signature and Delight ranges have a couple of key difference in that the Delight is non-fried whereas the Signature are fried.
Black pepper flavor is popular in Singapore. Indeed, black pepper crab is one of those signature dishes over there. Moreover, it makes sense with it’s location – here’s some on the history of the spice from Wikipedia –
Purple – the color of royalty. It’s also the color of eggplants, grape candy and Barney the dinosaur. But these are purple noodles. So how do they get this hue? These noodles have Anthocyanins in them. Indeed, I needed to turn to Wikipedia to learn more –
Today we have one I have had the export version of in the past. This however, is the local Singapore version. One thing to note for the Vegetarian crowd is that these have that little box with the green circle inside. There’s two kinds – the green circle or the red circle. Green means suitable for Vegetarians and red means not suitable. Also, they’re steamed and not fried, and to top it off, there’s no added MSG, something people are always interested in. Well, let’s get started with this tomato variety from KOKA!
Most people don’t know, but I’ve been to Singapore. It was in 2014 – and it was a very short visit.
Today we have stir-fry noodles. Curious about what these are going to be like – sweet? Spicy? Salty? I do like stir-fry, however it’s like a sandwich. You can put all kinds of things in a sandwich. But a grilled cheese is a long way from a Monte Cristo. Singaporean stir-fry noodles sound good though – let’s have a look!
Here we have something new. So I usually only review instant noodles, not soups. However, this is a soup with instant noodles. Wait, what?! Yeah that’s what I thought too! I’ve never heard of such a thing – but it doesn’t sound bad. As I have always said, I love seeing innovation and something new. It definitely is a nice surprise when something unique and new crosses my desk and this certainty is that on both accounts. Let’s check out this cup of soup – with crushed noodles!
I’m reviewing this on March 14th and it’s actually my birthday today! I just got done doing a really big project on spicy noodles and though maybe it would be nice to do a review of something curry. I was looking through the samples and saw this one and realized I do have laksa leaves in my fridge so I’d better review it. So, what’s Laksa Singapura? Wikipedia has this to say –
Today it’s a rice noodle variety with an Italian twist: spicy marinara. So, what is marinara? Wikipedia, if you please –
