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Again, my wife has a keen eye for noodles. She saw these and asked if I’d tried them – I hadn’t! Don’t know what I would do without her! So these are very interesting – IbuRamen – sounds like Ibumie – in fact, on the back of the package it says it’s made in Malaysia. The Mi Goreng font looks like Ibumie’s as well (and Indomie’s, Salam Mie etc). Mi goreng is Southeast Asian , however Bento is Japanese. What’s more, there’s a Mexican reference; wait, where? Let’s look inside.
Here’s one from Myanmar. This looks unlike about everything I’ve ever seen by MAMA insofar as packaging goes. I notice I also have a Korean Kitchen one which also looks much different. Sounds interesting – let’s check it out!
Here’s another one that was sent to me from Thailand by the Thai President Foods folks. This is made in Hungary. Let’s have a look!
My wife and I were at the grocery store the other day and she saw this series by Myojo. ‘Have you tried these yet?’ she asked. It’s funny – she finds lots of varieties for me that I never even notice – it’s pretty awesome! Since she’s a fan of udon, I thought I would make her some today. Let’s check ’em out!
Here’s one sent to me by Casey P. in Hong Kong – thank you! It’s not common that I have crab varieties. I think the majority of them have come from Singapore, so this Japanese variety is a real treat! Let’s check it out!
Turns out I had one left from my trip to Malaysia in October 2014! This one’s made by the same company that makes MAMA noodles – just for the Malaysian market. I’ve had chand clear soup varieties in the past but this one just says it’s clear soup. Let’s check out this rice vermicelli!
Here’s one of the last I have from Bangladesh! Got these send to me after my trip to Thailand to visit the folks who make MAMA noodles! Thanks again! Shrimp sounds good today – let’s check ’em out!
Today, we bid a fond farewell to another Meet The Manufacturer. Forest Noodles products all have one thing in common – they’re all dried in the sun. They also highlight nature which is pretty great as well. Let’s have a look at the last in this series, their sesame oil sauce variety with sunbaked noodles.
Today, we’ve got a sunbaked noodle. Forest Noodles dried their noodles in the sun – which means no sun, no noodles. This variety is served cold – let’s check it out!
Today, we start with Forest Noodles’ sweet potato noodles. They’re sun-dried (no sun, no noodles). I think it would be neat to have a sun-dried noodle company here in the Seattle company, but it’s so cloudy around here that it probably wouldn’t work very well! Maybe in the summer months though… anyways, let’s see what we’ve got here!
Mi Goreng Pedas translates to Spicy Fried Noodles. I brought some of this back after my visit to Penang, Malaysia last year. Mi goreng has long been a favorite of mine – a little sweet, a little spicy, a little salty, kind of like an Indonesian yakisoba – sounds good, right? Let’s give this one another try, about 140 reviews later.
One of the standard varieties most instant noodle companies produce is chicken. However when you move east towards Malaysia and Singapore, curry ends up as one that is exceedingly common. Curry is a flavor I have loved since my childhood – in fact I remember at a very young ago really enjoying my mother’s curried chicken liver over rice. There’s something seductive about curry that I can’t quite put my finger on, but perhaps that’s part of it’s charm. It kind of has an earthy and mystical property that just enthralls me. Let’s delve into this pack again, one I originally tried about a hundred reviews ago.
To start things off, I thought I’d go back in time with this one. This is part of the Vit’s Classic line of products. Definitely has that ‘old school’ look to it, eh? Well, let’s have a look inside!
Here’s one of the last ones I got during my trip to Thailand to visit the nice folks that make MAMA noodles in May. It was really great over there – really hot, but wow – the 7-11 next to the hotel was a treasure trove as far as instant noodles I can’t source here are concerned! Let’s check this one out.
Okay so you might be wondering – plum mayo ramen – that couldn’t possibly mean… Yes – plum and mayonnaise flavor. Where did I get it?
I made some instant noodle the other day with beef balls in them and Kit really thought they were good, so I thought I’d make this one with some beef balls in it for her today! This one was sent to me after my trip to the Thai President Foods European Agent Meeting in May! It was really great – while I’m not a distributor for TF, they were super kind to invited me to come and check out Thailand and their factories. I did a travelogue you can check out here. I found out they don’t only make products in Thailand but have factories throughout the world. This one comes from Cambodia – let’s have a look!
So every product MyKuali has come up with so far had made it into the big annual Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time list. It’s pretty mind-blowing; their products are so good, diverse and high quality. Well, today I’m going to check out a new one – a mee goreng offering. During our trip, I got to try some local hawker mee goreng last October in Penang.
Sweet! An Indonesian variety I’ve not tried! I wish there were more that I could get around here. I rarely get any from Indonesia – one reader sent a couple of packages a while back full of all sorts of wonderful varieties – maybe someone will again? I hope so! Let’s check out this one from Mie Sedaap.
My wife and I were at the grocery store the other day and she saw this series by Myojo. ‘Have you tried these yet?’ she asked. It’s funny – she finds lots of varieties for me that I never even notice – it’s pretty awesome! Since she’s a fan of udon, I thought I would make her some today. Let’s check ’em out!
Prawn Mee as it is called in Penang, Malaysia is a very popular dish. Mee means noodles by the way. A broth that’s sweet and absolutely jam packed with prawn flavor is the norm, but in this one, we have a vegetarian option. Let’s see how well vegetarian elements can come together to mimic a full-bodied prawn mee!
This one came by way of Michael over at EastLand Foods – thanks! I haven’t reviewed a Vietnamese instant noodle in ages it seems like – let’s see what we have here!
This one came from Shinichi over at Ramen Mania, a new monthly subscription box you can check out! They have special regional Japanese ramen varieties – good stuff so far! Thanks! So today it’s a special shio ramen. What’s shio you ask? Shio translates to salt. Here’s a little more on shio from Wikipedia:
Here’s another one that was sent to me by James B. from The Netherlands – thanks! First off, this one is oosterse groenten, which translates to oriental vegetable. These are from The Netherlands and made by Unilever. Let’s check ’em out!
This is one I saw posted on facebook by one of the nice folks I met at MAMA in May. I was very curious about it and so I asked if I could get some samples – thank you! This one and the vegetarian tom yum are made specifically for October. Why? Well, there’s a special Vegetarian Festival in Thailand during October! Here’s a little about it:
Here’s one I found at the 7-11 next to our hotel when we visit Thai President Foods in Bangkok back in May! I think the first time I tried a tom yum flavored instant, I didn’t like it. Through the years, I’ve gained a serious love for the flavor – the chilli, the shrimp, the lemongrass. It all comes together so well and the place where I had some of the best of course was in Thailand. Really hope to return someday with my sons and have them try all the amazing foods there! Anyways, let’s check out this cup!
So this is the last one that I got during my trip last October to meet the folks at MyKuali in Malaysia. We took a ferry from Georgetown, Penang over to Butterworth, Penang and went to an Econsave where I got to get a ton of instant noodles! It was a real blast for sure. Almost exactly a year ago today we were on our way home – probably was over the pacific at this point! Wow – truly was an amazing trip. I want to thank them for their kindness and for showing us such a good time! Let’s check out this last one that I brought back.
Here’s another one that the nice folks at Thai President Foods in Thailand sent me after my trip in May. These are made in Bangladesh by their factory there! Tandoori flavor though – what’s that? Wikipedia had this to say:
This is a special one sent to me by the kind folks at Thai President Foods – thanks again! So this month (October) there is a special festival that takes place in Thailand and other places in Asia involving vegetarianism. Here’s a little info on it from wikipedia:
Hey check it out – Nissin Cup Noodles got a big facelift.
Here’s how they used to look – cardboard outer packaging is now gone. Less packaging and different materials have been used to make them more environmentally friendly. Also, they’re now microwavable! Yes, I’m sure many of you microwaved them before, but you weren’t supposed to. The new cups also have a little extra room so you can add veggies and meats or whatever you want to oomph up your noodles! Let’s check this new cup out!
To those of you have followed my blogs and my Bottom Ten lists for a while, you know what this is. To those who haven’t, let me introduce you to this one. In my original review, I was really put off by this one. I thought it had some kind of ‘dirt and urine’ odor to it. But this is a new version. First, what’s fei chang? Here’s something I found on a blog called Food And Drink Chengdu:
Here’s another one my sister got for me while up in Canada a couple of weeks ago! Thanks, Sue! I’ve been really hoping to try more rice vermicelli lately but been having trouble sourcing any from around here and hoping to find some manufacturer who might want me to review some of their stuff! The top ten rice noodles list this year was a lot of fun and definitely want to make it a yearly kind of thing! Anyways, let’s check out these crab flavored noodles from Thailand!
Another one got in Penang on my Malaysia trip last year I want to get reviewed before expiry. So from looking around, this sounds to be bah kut teh flavor. What’s that? Wikipedia, if you please…
The onslaught of Malaysian varieties continues! This is yet another I got on last year’s trip to Penang, Malaysia. If you’re wondering what Ayam Cendawan means, basically it’s chicken mushroom. My wife Kit really likes mushrooms, so I thought I’d make this one for her today. Let’s check it out!
Another I picked up in Butterworth, Penang during my Malaysia trip last year. That Econsave was really great – so many varieties! Trying to run through them before they expire! Not this one’s a little interesting – you might say the logo kind of looks familiar… Well, it’s made in Thailand for the Malaysian market by President Rice Products. They make all of the MAMA branded rice vermicelli – and in Malaysia their products go under the name PAMA. Simple really. Anyways, let’s check this one out!
One of the last ones I got during my trip to Penang, Malaysia last year to visit the folks at MyKuali. This is from a store called Econsave. I had seen this Super brand before but was always curious if I’d end up with any of them; very elusive. Let’s check out the pepper crab mi goreng!
I’ve tried quite a few tomato flavored instant noodles over the years. What’s kind of interesting s that many of them hail from Taiwan – including this one I’ll be trying today, I can count three in all, and that could be missing one or more. I like tomatoes – they’re pretty tasty and have a seemingly endless global appeal. Let’s have a look at this Taiwanese variety with a tomato taste.
As we come close to the end of this Meet The Manufacturer, we have the third bowl that includes an egg: the spicy flavor bowl. Let’s check it out!
Here’s one that’s truly unique – not only does it have a stewed egg but something called sour beans. I’m wondering if they’re akin to something I tried in Penang at a Nyonya restaurant. Hmmm. Well, I just looked them up and from what I gather, what is in this may be pickled Chinese long bean whereas the smelly beans I had in Penang are somewhat akin to looking like a lima bean but bigger. Anyways, let’s have a look at this one!
This is a real treat – you might be wondering what’s so special. Well, look at the picture – egg! Yep – this one comes with a n egg. Not dehydrated or in an egg block and scrambled, but a stewed egg! Let’s dig in!
Here’s one that should be familiar to instant noodle fans from almost everywhere, and especially those from Cambodia! This one is made specifically for the Cambodian marketplace. I got this sent to me after seeing it at the 2015 TF Eurpean Agent meeting I was invited to check out earlier this year in Bangkok, Thailand! Curious to see if it’s different than the one sold here in the US. Let’s find out!
