Category: * Stars 1.1 – 2.0

#2544: Lipton Cup-a-Soup Chicken Noodle With White Meat Instant Soup

#2544: Lipton Cup-a-Soup Chicken Noodle With White Meat Instant Soup - United States - The Ramen Rater

Okay so I’m guessing what you are thinking right now. He must be out of varieties to review. Nope. Actually, I saw this on the shelf and thought about the uncountable times that people have called domestic instant noodles Cup-a-Soup. This could be due to the fact that Nissin Cup Noodles here in the USA were called Cup ‘O Noodles up until 1993. Yep – sounds kind of alike, doesn’t it? ...see full post

#2542: Acecook Super Cup Yochan Ika Yakisoba

#2542: Acecook Super Cup Yochan Ika Yakisoba - Japan - squid - The Ramen Rater

My wife and I have been trying out something new. We trade cooking for the week. I make all the dinners one week, she the next. It’s actually been a lot of fun – some positives (I have learned how to make some pretty awesome yakisoba in the kitchen) and some fails (red curry slow cooked in a crock pot really isn’t the way to go when the beef  released a thick sheen of greasy fat). Nothing better than to make something your significant other really enjoys! ...see full post

#2502: Indomie Instant Noodles Onion Chicken Flavor

#2502: Indomie Instant Noodles Onion Chicken Flavor

Here’s one sent by Chef Ron from Mama Pat’s Foods – thank you! So I’ve reviewed a LOT of Indomie in the past, yet it’s hard to come by new varieties to try. Luckily, here’s the first of hopefully more from Indomie’s product line from Nigeria! As far as continents go, Africa has been just the toughest for me to get varieties from. Here’s a little about Indomie from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2473: Tokyo Noodle Mini Instant Noodle Mild Curry Flavor

#2473: Tokyo Noodle Mini Instant Noodle Mild Curry Flavor - Japan - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

These came by Way of my sister Sue – thanks! She found them up in Canada – I believe at PriceSmart Foods in Richmond, BC. Been a couple of years since I made the trip north in search of instant noodles for my birthday. The way I look at it, I have to lay off Canada for a little while to let the big stores up there percolate; then they’ll have new stuff I’ve not tried. Well, hopefully. Last time I found a lot of the same stuff from the time before. ...see full post

#2267: Shirakiku Karami Ramen Spicy Chili Flavor Japanese Style Noodle With Soup Base

Here’s another one sent by a reader named Colin from the east coast – thanks again! I’m giving this one not a re-review but a full new review. I tried it in the past – it was review #125. Why a new review and not a re-review? Well, I don’t see anything on the old one mentioning non-fried noodles and think that maybe this has changed. The packaging has changed, but unsure if that’s denoting a difference. The brand Shirakiku is one of Nishimoto. Basically, kind of think of Trader Joe’s – they source foreign/domestic brands and re-brand them for sale in the USA under their name. That’s the case usually with Shirakiku.  Let’s have a look! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2201: Mr. Lee’s Noodles Penang Chicken Curry Laksa

Penang. It’s a place I really miss, specifically because friends and flavors live there. some of the most amazing things that I’ve ever tasted are from Malaysia and specifically Penang. I decided to save this for last as I wanted to see how everything else was before I tried something that promises to be good. Today we say hello to this exotic variety and goodbye to the Meet The Manufacturer for Mr. Lee’s Noodles. Here we go! ...see full post

#2135: Doll Instant Noodle Supreme Abalone And Chicken Flavour

Another one I reviewed as part of a series of Hong Kong varieties in conjunction with an interview by Apple Daily news of HK. I have a feeling if you dig through my reviews for the word abalone, you’re not going to find scads of varieties I’ve been very fond of. I’m hoping this might be one I enjoy, but I have my doubts. I guess the only way to find out it to try it with an open mind and mouth. Let’s give it a go! ...see full post

#1948: Sichuan Baijia Artificial Pickled Cabbage Fish Flavor Instant Vermicelli

2016_1_27_1948_001

I’ve been checking out a few of these Baijia varieties recently, and they’ve been interesting. When I first started reviewing, I generally found the flavors and varieties to be pretty horrid, but after a few years , I’m starting to come around. Pickled cabbage and fish, eh? Well, let’s have a look. ...see full post

Re-Review: Quickchow Instant Bihon Guisado Instant Rice Noodles Saute

So my sister got me a neat plate a couple weeks ago at Shipwreck Day. Shipwreck Day is like a big citywide garage sale up in Anacortes, Washington – my hometown. The plate was part of a set and the lady didn’t want to break up the set, but my sister came back a little later and the lady gave in and let her buy one after she mentioned what I would use it for. The lady was originally from the Philippines and was a travel agent. I decided maybe I ought to do a review of something from the Philippines in honor of her relenting, and that’s what today’s review is about. Bihon is like bihun – it’s rice noodles. I reviewed this one originally almost 5 years ago – and really didn’t like it. Wondering if my palate might be a little more interested, I thought it’d be nice to try again, and so here we are – let’s check it out. ...see full post

#1664: Mamee Oriental Noodles Prawn Flavour

Picked this one up this year at the PriceSmart foods in Richmond, BC in Canada during my birthday trip! This is definitely an export version. How do you know? Well, look at the myriad of languages here – French, German, Arabic and English are all here on the front. A lot of companies make export versions and sometimes they’ll make a spicy version which for their local market is spicier than for the export market. There’s so much that goes into figuring out how to tune flavors and such for different places. Let’s check out these Mamee Prawn Flavour instant noodles! ...see full post

#1640: Long Jun Hang Tainan Yi Mien With Onion Oil Sauce

These tend to be a little hard to figure out; what flavor? What brand? Luckily, I had help from Bobby Y. on the first of these I found, and knowing some of the standard flavors of Taiwanese instants, the translation I got of a page that came up from the bar code on Google was logical. Anyways, Let’s try this onion oil flavor Taiwanese noodle offering. ...see full post

#1558: No Name Beef Flavour Oriental Noodles And Soup Mix

Here’s one I got from Justin M. from Winfield, BC up north of here in Canada! Thanks! This one’s rather fascinating to me as the brand name is literally ‘no name.’ It’s made in China for Loblaw’s, a Canadian grocery store chain. I’m crossing my fingers here; Canadian instant noodles haven’t really been my favorites – but this is a new one so we’ll have to see. With an open mind, let’s delve into No Name Beef Flavour Oriental Noodles And Soup Mix! ...see full post