Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Found this at HMart during my big early summer noodle drought of 2025… I don’t see a lot of boxed varieties, let along ones for the US. This used to be in a bowl – although maybe it still is. Anyways, sounds like a good one to try out – let’s give it a whirl!
Well, I overslept… So, it’s time to get stuff done. We were up really late – the plan was to watch Stand By Me, but couldn’t find it so we ended up watching the new version of Running Man – at least part of it. Surprisingly it wasn’t bad. Anyways, enough of our exceedingly late night viewing antics – let’s try this pack version of their Chili flavor – the cup version was really great so we shall see.
Well we’re almost there. It’s been a lot of fun thus far. It’s Saturday – kids are now on winter break, aka Xmas break. It’s cold out. I’m hoping tomorrow I’ll be trying out a new camera if the battery charger shows up. Guess we’d better start getting on wrapping gifts – definitely not my strong suit. However, my wife Kit is really good at it – she’s got it down cold and makes them look professional. Well, let’s get to cooking – I really liked the pack version of this so now it’s the cup.
Well, this is about it as far as noodles I have on hand. What a revoltin’ development! Found this one at S*Mart in Bellevue, Washington. The rest of these have been excellent – let’s check it out!
Wow, that stripe at the top of these posts is getting longer and longer to do every day! I have to edit it in every single post! I’m sure there’s some kind of way to automate it, but I am just doing copy paste on each one at the end of the day – easier. Anyways, this is a spicy yakisoba we have here – let’s give it a try!
This one was kindly sent by Mark K. – thanks! I’d never seen this before and thought wow that’s rad – so he sent some! Coconut soup with herbs… Sounds really nice – let’s cook!
I started doing this big advent calendar 2 weeks ago today – pretty crazy! It’s going very well thus far it seems! Thought I’d mention – if you like following, that’s great – I have my posts going out on quite a few platforms, but a couple have barely anyone following. I’m on Substack and Bluesky – it seems people started noticing that and then poof. So, I thought I’d remind folks that if they like those, I’m there. Tumblr too for what it’s worth. Now, on with the review!
Well it’s Saturday and time to start the second half of the advent calendar. Today’s my daughter Mimi’s birthday party so I’ll have to get going here. This is the teriyaki Soba pack version as opposed to the cup I did prior. Let’s cook it up!
This one was hiding in my meager hamper stash – found it at S*Mart in Bellevue, Washington. First off, this is a cold noodle – good for during hot weather – which we’re getting toward as the day I’m reviewing this is the last day of spring. You can steam these or microwave them – and the latter sounds like the easier option. I am making this on the last day of school for the kids. Egad. Let’s get started.
Well, here’s the last of these they sent – thanks again! I seem to be getting to the last of a lot of things… Running low of noodles I’m afraid. Hmmm… Well, let’s cook.
Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These boxes are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – “Here’s a tasty cup of ramen with a punch of flavor! This Kumamoto-style tonkotsu features a savory pork base with hints of garlic in the soup along with Kumamoto’s famous black garlic oil! And with roasted garlic chips and green onion toppings, this cup is full of flavor!”
Started a little late this morning but no harm – it’s one I did recently enough… Curious if today will bring more torrential downpour and gusty winds. Guess we shall see.
Found this one at S*Mart in Bellevue, Washington. It sounds pretty good – let’s cook it up and fund out.
Here’s another one I’ve not tried and it’s interesting. This one isn’t produced in Hungary like the previous ones I’ve shown but instead in Vietnam. I’ve noticed many companies producing in Vietnam – guessing that there’s a really good reason for this, probably has to do with cost and production volume? But that’s kinda outside my purview. This one’s Vegetarian friendly and touts a Korean spicy flavor. Sounds good – let’s give it a go!
Good morning, or good afternoon – it’s Saturday! We were up late – watched a movie called The Substance – if you like weird, it’s gonna fit the bill. Anyways, it’s a big day around here. My daughter Mimi is taking part in a special ‘Chorus Club’ performance at city hall with her school music class so that’s pretty awesome. But first thing I’m doing is editing images of noodles/taking pictures, etc. Next is to do this post and then cook, so that’s what’s going on. Let’s do this.
This s a bigger undertaking thank I expected! Woke up, shot a quick video, edited images… I usually will do three reviews in a day but a set schedule for ones I’ve not reviewed (I’ve had this but not in this version of packaging) is pretty hardcore! It is fun though – let’s get this reviewed!
Here’s one I found in a Project Ramen box! They’ve got quite an array of international varieties – good stuff! Use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a www.projectramen.com.
Here’s the first of the Nissin Germany advent calendar! I didn’t think the first one would be a variety I’ve not reviewed, so here I am wrapping the post up at 8am. Let’s check this one out!
I was kindly given this one by my kids’ morning bus driver. He’s a really nice guy and we’ve talked a lot about instant ramyun from Korea – he’s Korean I should add. As I write this, it’s been almost a month since my last review. I took a week to do editing and readying 5 top ten lists – it takes a lot of time. Then I took a couple more weeks off. It’s been a nice break, but I’m done I need to do my work lol – I really enjoy it and productivity is like a drug to me when it comes to this stuff. What’s funny is that by the time this comes out, my kids will have a new morning bus driver and it’ll be the new school year. I posted #5212 today, so that’s…. Hmmm… Oh wow – mid November? Heck, I could take summer off… But I like doing this. Let’s do this one up real nice and big thanks to my kids’ bus drivers – they’re really nice people.
Well look at this – a unique Chinese variety. Make sure you look at the cooking directions – should find them interesting. Let’s give these a try – konjac noodle is ivery low cal.
They had a sale at HMart of this variety and it was $4. I’ve had it many times and love this stuff – but this is a little different. It’s got a little yellow triangle, mentioning ‘non-soggy noodles.’ Generally, ramyeon that is cooked isn’t soggy or spongy. Is the noodle different from previous versions? The sale kind of seems to me that it might be. This is an export version for the US market. Let’s cook it up.
Another find at S*Mart in Bellevue, Washington. I think what’s happening here is Sapporo Ichiban is distributing Marutai made tonkotsu. Whatever’s going on, I like it – the last one I had was delectable. Let’s give it a try!
Otafuku is a long time brand – mainly known for sauces. I have found their yakisoba sauce to be top notch over the years – I’ve made a lot of yakisoba. This one’s udon so thicker noodle. Let’s try it out.
This looks interesting to me. I’m curious how hot and how sour it’ll be. It’s got that tofu block too – let’s cook.
If you’re wondering, this is budae jjigae – also known as troop stew. It’s what happens when army foods like beanie weenie and macaroni meet Korean flavors. I decided on this one today as I’ve got something neat to try with it – fish skin! I’ve never tried the snack before, but I did last night and it’s really quite good! This particular variety of fish skin is made from pollock. Let’s check it out!
Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These boxes are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – “As an Osaka brand, we love Osaka dishes like okonomiyaki! This yakisoba bowl features tasty, thick noodles in a delicious and slightly sweet sauce inspired by Kansai okonomiyaki sauce. With a hint of onion and mayonnaise for creaminess, we love this bowl!”
Okay, so I don’t live under a rock so I know about these things. In fact, I saw an advert for this awhile back and thought ‘oh – the kids might like this.’ So, I let them check it out and I watched a bit of the movie. I hated it. More than I hate slicing a bagel incorrectly. Well, maybe not that much, but I’m really annoyed by this film. I know that a lot of people really like it and that’s fine. However, I do not. It’s K-Pop’s version of Frozen. I went through that Frozen crap when the kids were really little, so another take on it really isn’t something I can embrace. Plus, the animation is awful. The music is catchy, but not the catchy K-Pop I really like; this is so… Commercial. But I do enjoy a tie-in product and this one’s pretty cool. I should mention that the Korean local version of this (yes, this is made in the United States in a great factory in Rancho Cucamonga, California) came with stickers, and I did hear chatter that people over there were buying tons of Shin, taking out the stickers, then selling sets of those stickers on eBay or their equivalent.
Found this one that demands refrigeration at HMarr recently. Rapokki! Well, tteokbokki and chewy noodle… A troublesome thing happened though – the sticker on the side was very stuck and since refrigerated, the paper wasn’t compliant. Got that sticker halfway off and then r-r-rip! So apologies for that on the pic of the side panels. Anyways, let’s give it a try!
Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! These boxes are discontinued, however you can find their stuff at MiauMall – here is what they said about this one – “The Poké-party continues with a tasty ramen pack! This pack combines thin, curly ramen noodles with a savory, thick yet mild shio tonkotsu (salt & pork bone) broth and extra umami with accents of kelp boiled into the broth! Add the special pepper for extra flavor!”
Here’s another of the new package varieties from Prima Taste – prawn soup. I’ve been saving it for the right time and this be it. Let’s cook!
Here’s a Koreno variety that was in a Project Ramen megabox! Highly recommend checking them out – go to www.projectramen.com and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER to get a discount! So this is interesting as it’s a range by Paldo and a departure from the Volcano curry – Buldak clone? Let’s find out.
So as I type this, it’s Cinco De Mayo. My eyes are watery and I’m sneezing. Really allergied out. This variety was chatted about with friends in the Section 42 mod group – the admins for Ramen Junkies. I decided I’d re-review it; new package, over ten years… Last time, it made my bottom ten. Oh wow – more than ten years – it was review 161! So that’s 15 years ago. Sheesh! This one’s made in South Korea and packaged for US sale. Let’s give it another try – maybe I’ll like it now?
Hey look at this one! Big thank you to my wife Kit for getting me this! Only at Walmart. So, haven’t we gone through this before? Yes and no. Yes, it’s identical in every way to the pumpkin spicy flavor Cup Noodles – except one little thing. The name. They changed the name from spice to pie – why? I don’t know. New barcode now as well. To see both and a myriad of weird things to do with it, check out my definitive guide here. I’m gonna do it up real pretty. Let’s do it up!
Here’s a new non-fried variety from A-Sha! A beef noodle, which is the signature dish of Taiwan. It’s a collab with 88Rising, a record label featuring Asian artists. This is pretty cool – let’s see how it tastes!
Thanks to James from Lakeside, California for sending this one! Never heard of this brand or range before. What’s interesting too is it’s squid as well – I like squid. Let’s try it out!
Frank over at 5am Ramen sent me this in a box of varieties – thanks! He’s got some really premium stuff like this for sale – and he does guides and tours over in Japan as well! This a spicy dandan variety, so should be thick stuff! Let’s give it a try.
This is the third review of the day and this is a fingers crossed situation of saving the best for last. I love rapokki – ramyun is paired with tteokbokki with a sweet and spicy sauce. This can go awry though, especially if the cooking instructions are iffy. I’m hoping we’re gonna make something rad. Let’s start.
Frank over at 5am Ramen sent me this in a box of varieties – thanks! He’s got some really premium stuff like this for sale – and he does guides and tours over in Japan as well! Here’s what he had to say about this variety – “Seasoned with salt, shio ramen is an unsung hero in Japan’s ramen world. Furthermore, it isn’t easy get right because the seasoning is normally light. But they get this one oh so right! The word “Fuyu” means winter in Japanese and this is a shio ramen perfect for winter. The salt base makes way for a sticky rich soup that has a spicy kick to it. The Nappa cabbage make for a great topping too.”
This one is particularly interesting. They changed the package design – and the brand. This has been Ottogi for years but now it’s Otoki. Perhaps a way to get westerners to pronounce the brand name correctly? Well, let’s give it a try!
We found this one at the new T&T Supermarket in Bellevue, Washington. It was out first visit and found some neat stuff there, although I really expected their noodle aisle to be so much more impressive than it ended up being. Did find a nice array of things, though. Let’s try this interesting little box.
