Category: * Stars 4.1 – 5.0

#2514: Ogasawara Kirin Giraffe Shoyu Ramen

Here’s one I got at the Carrefour store in Taipei at the bottom of the Miramar Entertainment Park mall. It was on sale and definitely something I didn’t expect to see. There was a bunch of articles that came out about this variety a while back – it was popular many years ago and discontinued and then brought back to the delight of consumers. Noodles with a picture of a giraffe in a bow tie on the front? Yeah; this sounds neat. Let’s check out this revisited classic from Japan! ...see full post

#2482: TTL Chicken Noodles With Chinese Shaoxing Wine

#2482: TTL Chicken Noodles With Chinese Shaoxing Wine - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater

This is one I was sent by Daniel of Exotic Noods, a subscription service specializing in instant noodles. I should note that this was something special he put in after a recent trip to Taiwan – thanks again! So these are manufactured by Wei Lih for TTL. TTL stands for Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor. Tobacco and liquor – what?! Indeed, this is a boozy noodle. It contains rice wine, something apparently that goes well in noodles and cooking. Ireviewed the bowl version of this a few weeks back. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2478: Kiki Noodles Scallion Oil & Soy Sauce Flavor Noodle

Meet The Manufacturer: #2478: Kiki Noodles Scallion Oil & Soy Sauce Flavor Noodle - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater - KiKi蔥油拌麵

Today we have the second of the Kiki Noodles products – the scallion oil and soy sauce. Definitely a lighter and more mild taste than a Sichuan peppercorn. These noodles come from Tainan in the south of Taiwan. Here’s some background on the city from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2462: TTL Sesame Oil Chicken Noodle With Rice Wine

#2462: TTL Sesame Oil Chicken Noodle With Rice Wine - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater - boozy noodles

This is one I was sent by Daniel of Exotic Noods, a subscription service specializing in instant noodles. I should note that this was something special he put in after a recent trip to Taiwan – thanks again! So these are manufactured by Wei Lih for TTL. TTL stands for Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor. Tobacco and liquor – what?! Indeed, this is a boozy noodle. It contains rice wine, something apparently that goes well in noodles and cooking. Ireviewed the bowl version of this a few weeks back. ...see full post

#2461: Fujiwara Hokkaido Hakodate Shio Ramen

#2461: Fujiwara Hokkaido Hakodate Shio Ramen - Japan - The Ramen Rater - instant ramen

Seems like a little while since I did a pack instant ramen from Japan. This is one I found during my trip to Taiwan last November at the Carrefour in Taipei by the Miramar Entertainment Park. I tell you – they had quite an impressive instant noodle aisle – like 4 aisles really. So this one is a shio instant ramen. Here’s a little from Wikipedia about shio – ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2455: KOKA Creamy Soup With Crushed Noodles Sweet Corn Flavor

Meet The Manufacturer: #2455: KOKA Creamy Soup With Crushed Noodles Sweet Corn Flavor - Singapore - The Ramen Rater - corn in a cup

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. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2449: KOKA Delight Tomato Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles

Meet The Manufacturer: #2449: KOKA Delight Tomato Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles - Singapore - The Ramen Rater - Tat Hui

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! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #2446: KOKA Creamy Soup With Crushed Noodles Curry Flavor

Meet The Manufacturer: #2446: KOKA Creamy Soup With Crushed Noodles Curry Flavor - Singapore - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

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! ...see full post

Met The Manufacturer: #2445: KOKA Delight Laksa Singapura Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles

Met The Manufacturer: #2445: KOKA Delight Laksa Singapura Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles - The Ramen Rater - Singapore - Tat Hui Foods

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 – ...see full post

#2439: Uni-President Man Han Feast Super Hot Pot Beef Flavor Instant Noodles

#2439: Uni-President Man Han Feast Super Hot Pot Beef Flavor Instant Noodles - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater - 統一企業 滿漢大餐

Here’s one I picked up during my November 2016 trip to Taiwan. So I found this one at 7-Eleven I believe. Indeed for years I’ve been told by people from Taiwan to give this one a try. They’ve been downright exclamatory about it, but nobody ever sent me one to try. Moreover it took me actually bringing one home from Taiwan to get it and so here we are. This is part of Uni-President’s Man Han Feast range. Here’s a little about Man Han (short for Manchu Han) Feast from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2438: World O’Noodle Mi Goreng Original Flavour Fried Noodles

#2438: World O'Noodle Mi Goreng Original Flavour Fried Noodles - Indonesia - The Ramen Rater - instant noodle

I found this one during my November 2016 trip to Taiwan. So this was at a Jason’s Market at the bottom of the Taipei 101. Mi Goreng is a very popular stir nodle dish. Mi Goreng instant noodles are most well known from Indonesia, indeed where this one is from. Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about Mi Goreng – ...see full post

#2428: TTL Sesame Oil Chicken Noodle With Rice Wine

#2428: TTL Sesame Oil Chicken Noodle With Rice Wine - Taiwan - The Ramen Rater - boozy noodles

This is one I found at a 7-Eleven during my November 2016 trip to Taiwan. So these are manufactured by Wei Lih for TTL. TTL stands for Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor. Tobacco and liquor – what?! Indeed, this is a boozy noodle. It contains rice wine, something apparently that goes well in noodles and cooking. I’m unsure, but I think this may be the first variety I’ve reviewed with alcohol in it – could be wrong. ...see full post