Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Here’s one that was sent by Myojo of Singapore – thanks again! So, what’s char mee? I did a bit of research on Wikipedia about char mee. It was a little vague but I am hoping what I gleaned was right. So, this is like Hokkien mee without broth. Let’s see what this is all about.
Today, we have one that was part of Japan Crate’s Umai Crate. So Japan Crate is a subscription service which has all sorts of different options for you. pretty neat stuff from Japan! There’s a coupon code for you too – just use THERAMENRATER to get a special discount at check out.
Today, we have one that was part of Japan Crate’s Umai Crate. So Japan Crate is a subscription service which has all sorts of different options for you. pretty neat stuff from Japan! There’s a coupon code for you too – just use THERAMENRATER to get a special discount at check out.
We found this one up at Foodyworld in Richmond, BC. They were on a great sale – 2 for $3CAD! Not bad at all! I have to say I love this packaging’s graphic. The food is all sharp and colorful and contrasts so well with the background. Very old school Chinese! Sorry about the lack of pictures of what’s inside the sachets – woke up late and so rushing to get just this one done! Let’s have a look!
Oh – Canada! How you doin’? So we went up to Canada as we usually do about once a month and we’d been seeing the place called ‘The Real Canadian Super Store’ every time but never visited. So it’s part of Loblaw’s, a mega supermarket group in Canada – the have lots of different stores up there under different names like T&T Supermarket, Loblaw’s, – I think London Drug? Anyways, yeah. This store was like a mega Walmart – but the difference is that it’s real and it’s Canadian. Great noodle aisle – lots of things I’ve not seen elsewhere. Let’s give this one a try – it’s made in China for the Canadian company.
Found this one recently up in Canada at a T&T Supermarket. There’s a few of them in Richmond, BC – they’re all pretty big. The one we went to was connected to an Olympic skating oval which was kind of interesting. What was kind of hard at this as is with many stores I’ve been to is that I would’ve been able to get more varieties, however they were in multi-packs instead of singles. I’m only going to review one item, so not into spending ten bucks on a multi-pack of noodles. Anyhoo, let’s check this one from China out!
Here’s one sent by Daniel in Brazil – thanks again! The characters on the package are from a popular series for children called ‘Monica’s Gang’ in Brazil. This one’s tomato flavor – curious where it’s a fresh tomato, or what I’m guessing – a creamy kind of tomato taste. Let’s find out!
Hey look! Tapatio flavor instant noodles? Yeah! I know many of you have loved Tapatio on your noodles for years and they heard that as well, so here we are. Here’s a little about Tapatio from Wikipedia –
Today we have a Zenpop.JP variety – so what’s Zenpop? They’re a subscription service for all things Japanese! Definitely, check them out. By the way, use coupon code RAMENRATER to get $2 off! Here’s what they had to say about this one –
I’m pretty sure this has been in existence for decades and decades. One thing I truly enjoy is fresh yakisoba and making it for friends and family. I’m having a visitor today who has been hit with some rough times and thought I’d hook him up with some of this stuff. Think I might do a cooking video along with it. done a ton of live cooking vids lately so maybe it’s a good idea – we’ll see… Let’s hit it!
Here’s another one I received from a University student in Taiwan – thanks again! She’s working on her Master’s thesis and wanted info from me on a few products and what I thought of them – an honor! Let’s check out this braised beef variety!
Here’s one of the very last varieties I found in Taiwan during my last visit in November, 2017. Big thanks to Kyle K. for help translating this one! So braised meats from Taiwan are some of the most amazing flavors – anywhere. I’m telling you – find a Taiwanese restaurant and get some braised pork – it’ll blow your freaking mind. Alright – let’s crack this bowl open and get this going.
Here’s another one I got from a box I wasn’t expecting a while back. This is part of that box which was sent by the Itomen distributor in Taiwan – thank you again! Not sure how they got a hold of my address, but they did and sent me noodles so that’s pretty nice of them. This variety is Bansyu Ramen which they explain as, “Soy sauce and Salt from Banyu. Bansyu is famous for its soy sauce and Salt in Japan since 17th century).” Let’s give it a try!
Here’s a new variety sent by the nice folks over at Thai Foods in Thailand – thank you! I’m really excited – my son Miles and I haven’t done a spicy noodle challenge with anything from Thailand thus far and I think this might be the one we’ll try. For those of you who haven’t tried before, tom yum is a spicy, citrussy and tasty flavor from Thailand usually in a soup form, but here is a dry noodle. Let’s give it a try!
Mi Goreng is a variety of nboodles that I gravitated towards when I was very young. My progressions went from a Japanese chicken variety made in the United States, one from Japan and then boom – Indonesian Mi Goreng. Salty, sweet, spicy. Here’s a bit about it from Wikipedia:
It’s been awhile! I did a Meet The Manufacturer series with Blount a while back. Well, they’ve got something new – pho! You can find it in the fresh (not frozen) section – more info at www.blountbowls.com. Very curious as to how it will be. Let’s find out!
Recently, I had the chance to try Kiki’s aged variety and liked it quite a bit. I really don’t know much about vinegar to be honest. Here’s a little about it from Wikipedia –
Found this one among others up at FoodyWorld in Richmond, B. I just can’t get enough of Canada – it’s such a nice place with nice people and nice everything. This one looked fascinating – let’s check it out.
Today, we have one that was part of Japan Crate’s Umai Crate. So Japan Crate is a subscription service which has all sorts of different options for you. pretty neat stuff from Japan! There’s a coupon code for you too – just use THERAMENRATER to get a special discount at check out.
Here’s another neat one from Zenpop.JP. Thank you! So Zenpop has all sorts of monthly boxes including ramen boxes. Nine instant ramen in one box for a good price – check ’em out and use coupon code RAMENRATER at checkout for a discount! Here’s what they had to say about this one –
Alright – to start off, wow. This is huge. This box screams fancy, that’s for sure. I’ve had a few of Kiki’s dry noodle varieties, but recently this and a Mapo Tofu variety came out as well (which of course I’ll be reviewing soon). Beef Noodle Soup is exceedingly popular in Taiwan – here’s a little about it from Wikipedia –
I thought it would be cool since I got a set of those Egglettes things to make soft boiled eggs and I also have chashu and all my veg to make something from the cold case. I’ve been eyeballing these Myojo refrigerated varieties for quite some time now and thought hey – let’s get one and cook it up! So, that’s what I’m doing and here we go!
Hey look at this! A Tapatio instant noodle! I’ve seen people douse their instant noodles in this stuff for years on Instagram. Here’s a little about it from Wikipedia –
Here’s another one that was sent by a University student working on her master’s thesis. She asked me to review a set of six instant noodle varieties by Vedan. Sure! I’ve tried this before in an export version and really didn’t like it. Let’s give this local variety a try.
Yesterday, I needed a new pair of pants. I’m not into ultra fashionable stuff – like paying $100 for jeans, so we went to Walmart. Walmart is an interesting place – you’ll see some interesting people there – especially at the one in Lynnwood, Washington. When we got out of the car, there was the sound of some guy at the other side of the parking lot screaming obscenities at someone or some thing – unsure. But that was entertaining. In the store, we g ot to see a lady with a very small dog barking at everyone and every thing ( apparently, if you have an ’emotional support’ dog you can bring it with you, but this dog needed emotional support and was definitely not providing it for anyone). I did get some new pants, and they were extremely cheap. $16 for pants. It’s been a while since we’ve been to Walmart so I thought a trip down the domestic instant noodle aisle might be in order. Surprisingly, they had a very small amount of them, however they did have this pack. Creamy Chicken has been one of my absolute favorites for a very, very long time. I am curious to see whether or not they’ve changed the recipe as that seems to be a popular thing to do in the US instant noodle market right now. Let’s crack open this new package design and give it a try!
Here’s one of the six varieties sent by a Taiwanese university student. She asked if I could review a specific set of varieties as special research for her master’s thesis and I said absolutely. I’m not sure about this variety – insofar what Dynasty Beef is. I did some looking, but it seems that the word dynasty kind of takes precedent in search results and so that’s not very helpful. Anyways, let’s have a look at this fancy one from Taiwan.
Here’s a new one from Taiwan by A-Sha Foods. This is Dan Zai flavor – one of their new range of more high end products. Some differences are instead of a 75g block it’s 90g. Lots of sauce/paste too.
Spicy is definitely something that Samyang Foods is known for what with their ubiquitous Buldak Bokkeummyun spicy stir noodle line. This however, should also get some due attention. This is the spicy version of their first-ever product, and indeed the first ramyun to be produced in South Korea. What has come as bit of a surprise lately is that this is not a beef variety – it’s ham. Wait, what?! Ham? Yep. I thought beef was the focal point of this one, but from a TV spot Samyang Foods did, it’s pretty evident that it isn’t. Learn something new all the time. Well, let’s give it a try!
Here’s one I’ve not tried before – the wholegrain prawn. I’ve tried the regular prawn, but not the wholegrain. This version married the thick and hearty wholegrain la mian with their prawn soup base. Let’s take a look and see how it is!
Hey look at this! This came by way of Hobby Link Japan, a great site that has all sorts of amazing Japanese things including instant noodles! Thank you very much! This variety is a yakisoba with a cheese curry flavor! I tell ya, this sounds really quite good to me! Here’s a little about it from Wikipedia –
The last time I reviewed Kiki noodles was quite a while agoi. I remember that I really enjoyed them quite a bit – high quality noodles and good tasty flavor. Well, now they’ve come out with two new dry varieties – this one is aged vinegar and the other has a young vinegar. Sounds interesting to me – let’s give it a try!
Here’s another neat one from Zenpop.JP. Thank you! So Zenpop has all sorts of monthly boxes including ramen boxes. Nine instant ramen in one box for a good price – check ’em out and use coupon code RAMENRATER at checkout for a discount! Here’s what they had to say about this one –
Brought this one back with me from Taiwan last year! Time to crack it open and give it a try, that’s for sure. Something about a beef noodle sounds like a good idea today. Let’s do this!
Here’s another neat one from Zenpop.JP. Thank you! So Zenpop has all sorts of monthly boxes including ramen boxes. Nine instant ramen in one box for a good price – check ’em out! Here’s what they had to say about this one – ‘Simple, classic shouyu ramen will never be boring. Flavorful vegetables, roasted garlic, and black pepper boost the savory taste of shouyu based chicken soup. The toppings include chopped roasted pork, shrimps, scrambled eggs and green onions.’
When the Very Veggie line came out, my first thought was that it would just be varieties for Vegans and Vegetarians. Surprisingly, there was no option for this crowd. Well, it seems that that has changed! This one was sent to me by Robert Z. from Kentucky – thanks man – go check out his cooking blog www.dadbert.com! He found this at a local grocery store – nothing about this and the other new Cup Noodles he found and sent on their site or mentioned on Instagram. This has led me to think that perhaps he’s in what’s called a ‘test market.’ In some areas, a product will be introduced to meter how it’s received by the public – if it sells really well, it’ll go nationwide. If not, it might be pulled. Let’s pop the lid and look under the hood.
Alright so today we have one that was sent by Daniel from Brazil – thank you again so much! This one looks to be a bolognese and from the colors of red, white and green, an Italian-themed variety. Sounds good to me! Let’s take a look.
Here’s a big tray of yakisoba I found up in Canada at Osaka Market in Yaohan Centre, Richmond, BC. Yeah, that’s a mouthful. Anyways, sometimes they’ll have a special on Japanese varieties that are somewhat new and this is one of them. Here’s a little about yakisoba from Wikipedia for you –
Lugged this back from Taiwan in November of 2017. After talking to my friend about what this was called, this is what we came up with. Let’s crack it open and take a look!
Here’s one sent to me by Ippin, a purveyor of lots of different Japanese products. This is definitely a fancy variety from a set of Kanto region varieties based on popular ramen shops. Not a lot of boxes come across my desk so this should be interesting! Here’s what the Ippin website had to say about this variety:
Okay so this one was found up in Canada at China World. It was apart from the instant noodles and looked really odd where it was sitting to be honest. So let’s crack it open and give it a try.
