Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
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.
It should be noted that this is being posted on National Noodle Day – October 6th, 2025. I didn’t really see anything pointing for the reason for the inception of this day. All I find are things about noodles. Anyways, I guess every day is National Noodle Day over here.
Well, this is it. The last of the Momofuku varieties. I’ve been waiting to do this one and as this is Thanksgiving eve eve, hopefully I’ll be doing this one tomorrow. On with the pre-turkey noodling!
This is another new packaging variety from Prima Taste of Singapore. Different package and size – possibly different flavorings? Let’s find out.
Another shroomy one from James of Lakeside, California – thanks! The first one of these I reviewed I was very surprised by insofar as I actually liked it. I’m not a fungi (well, my wife thinks I am at least) and have never really been all in for mushrooms. She is though – bI have seen her devour them with such zeal; I feel kind of left out of the spore thing. But I digress; let’s see how it goes with a rice noodle version.
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 – “The city of Tenri in Nara is known for two things – the Tenrikyo religion…and RAMEN! The local ramen is referred to as “Stamina Ramen”. It’s rather unique. For one, the shoyu (soy sauce) seasoned soup is packed with Chinese cabbage, or hakusai. Hakusai is a topping you rarely see in ramen. Alongside the tangy shoyu base, the soup is a bit spicy from togarashi spice and broad bean chili paste. You’ll also notice the strong presence of garlic. In summary, this is an underrated, delicious ramen that hits the spot any time of year.”
Big thanks to Pher Engi for sending this along! These are really neat varieties and they come with braised egg or braised quail egg! Let’s see what is in there!
Thanks again to Pher Engi for sending this one! This is from their ‘syiok’ range – in Singapore (and I guess syiok (or shiok) mean wow or cool or excellend or rad. This sounds interestoing. Let us cook!
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 – “This is is the official instant ramen from Junren, one of Sapporo’s most celebrated miso ramen shops! This is saying a lot, as miso ramen originally comes from Sapporo….and there are countless miso ramen shops there. But Junren has a history going back to 1964. This instant ramen pays proper homage to this. The soup is rich with pork bones, but isn’t too rich. A bold miso flavors still shines through as well. The thick, Sapporo style noodles are wonderfully chewy and the generous amount of minced ork adds extra meatiness to the soup.”
This is the last of this range sent by James from Lakeside, California – thanks again! They’ve been pretty decent and I must say 6 minutes is the right timing to use. Let’s try it out.
You may have seen this before – on my top ten global noodles list. It’s incredibly good and the folks at A-Sha sent me the new packaged version. Read the review and I’ll go over changes if any to the product. Hope they haven’t as it was great.
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 – “This instant ramen beautifully showcases Japan’s Nagano region. First of all, “Shinshu” is the ancient name for Nagano. Furthermore, “Shinshu Miso” comes from Nagano and is the most prized type of miso in Japan. This instant ramen features a rich soup with a bright Shinshu Miso flavor. It also includes two toppings straight from Nagano – nozawana (a leafy green) and shimeji mushrooms. Lastly, there’s a little bit of heat coming from shichimi spice prepared by a company that’s famous for it.”
Here’s one sent by James of Lakeside, California – thanks! The first of these was good as I remember and this one sounds very good. While made in China, everything is done specificall for the USA. Let’s give it a whirl!
I’m really intrigued with these bowls. This was sent by Pher Engi – thanks again! A beef tomato eh? It looks to have a nice little spherical surprise – let’s have a look!
A big thanks to Noodle Journey for sending this one. So this cold noodle usually has apple I believe but this time it’s strawberry. Very curious about this, so lett’s cook!
Here’s the last of the Kenchan Ramen varieties they sent over – thanks! I think I might end up doing this cold today. Let’s give it a try!
This and the next Kenchan Ramen varieties I’m trying will be gluten free, which I think will appeal to many. I’m very curious about these – let’s give ’em a go!
In addition to fresh noodles, Kenchan Ramen also has shelf stable stuff like these. These can go hot or cold. Let’s try em hot!
Kenchan Ramen is providing a myriad of different delivery ramen options. The recently sent a box on ice with fresh as well as shelf stable varieties. The fresh boxes contain two servings of everything. This one today is their tonkotsu – a lot of nice garnish and looks good to me – let’s give it a go!
Kenchan Ramen is providing a myriad of different delivery ramen options. The recently sent a box on ice with fresh as well as shelf stable varieties. The fresh boxes contain two servings of everything. This one today is their tonkotsu – a lot of nice garnish and looks good to me – let’s give it a go!
Big thanks to Pher Engi for this one! Let’s start with a little info from Wikipedia –
