Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
The day is upon us – the day to review the new Hokkien Prawn Noodle – the second instant noodle from the company that made the number one on my 2014 Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time list! As with their Penang White Curry Noodle, Hokkien Prawn Noodle is a bit of a mystery for me. I had never tried White Curry before I tried their product, nor have I ever had Hokkien Prawn Noodle before. I did a little digging online and found the Penang Hawker Food Blog. I found this text there:
Here’s a new one from Nongshim, and it’s definitely unique. It’s a stir noodle, which means that there’s no broth, but a sauce that it stirred in to coat the noodles. Another unique thing is that it can be served hot OR cold! I was thinking of using a special divided bowl I have, but one side is bigger than the other and so I came up with an idea: since they sent a few packs, I’ll make one hot, sample it and then make one cold and sample it – easy enough. Something else I found interesting was on the right and left sides of the package. It says “NONGSHIM BLACK CLASS NOODLE DISH.” The final interesting this about this one is the inclusion of chipotle. Chipotle? Now that’s different – don’t think I’ve come across that being used in an instant before. Well, let’s open this one up and see what’s inside!
Well this looks like a fancy one. This is a new premium laksa from Maggi that’s supposed to be really special. Their goal was to make a laksa with a great ‘just like from home’ kind of feel and flavor. Sounds interesting!
Two of my favorite things are well represented on the front of this pack: spiciness and curry. I’ve been really curious about trying Maggi Extra Spicy Curry ever since I received some samples – how spicy is it? On a signed poster they sent, the marketing team at Maggi sent the dare ‘can you handle the hotness?’ I’m definitely keen on finding out today!
It was only a matter of time that I would get to try yet another Malaysian Penang white curry variety. There are quite a few out there now! Unfortunately, most of them are only available in Malaysia, so it’s tricky to get them. If I can get enough of them, I’d like to do a top ten of those! As far as I know, there are ten varieties, but now there could be more. Win Onn makes this Penang white curry – and they really wanted me to try it! After the first try and the noodles being destroyed by the US Department of Agriculture for having a little chicken in them, they tried again with some documentation – and the USDA saw fit to let them through! Yay! Let’s have a look at this, the third Penang white curry variety I’ve gotten my hands on.
Hey look – it’s the return of the happy little cheese guy with the sign! He looks so happy that he will be eaten – after having been reduced to a powder mix! I wonder how he would look if he really knew he would be eaten?
Found this one at Uwajimaya in Bellevue. What I found particularly interesting was that it was a curry variant from Taiwan. I think I’ve only had one curry instant from Taiwan before and it was truly excellent. I thought maybe I’d try some of the new stuff my wife is growing with it!
Here”s something new from Annie Chun’s! It was sent a little while back and ended up at the bottom of my noodle hamper… I’ve been going through everything lately as we’re moving and found it! It sounds really good – very curious… Let”s see how it comes out!
Hey look – another prototype! Thanks, Moses of Paldo America! Kokomen is one of Paldo’s signature products. It’s a spicy chicken and jalapeno broth accompanied by a nice amount of noodles and a garnish that includes these little strips of chicken. Good stuff. This is a milder version. Let’s see how this one compares!
Here’s another one that Annie T. over at MyKuali sent me! Thank you very much! Curry seems to be a regular flavor over in Malaysia – and with good reason. Malaysian curry noodles are out of this world good! I’ve always liked curry, but curry from Southeast Asia are just superb. Let’s see how this one fares.
Here’s one I’ve been waiting for just the right day to try. Iga Penyet is a dish which is extremely popular in Jakarta, Indonesia. But, exactly what is it? Well, from looking around, I found that it translates to Smashed Beef Ribs ala Jakarta. I’ve also seen it referred to as Fried Beef Ribs. Either way, beef ribs and a spicy sambal sauce are involved, as well as garlic. I didn’t have any beef ribs to cook alongside, but I’ll figure something out – let’s check out this Indomie Iga Penyet!
Well, we’re almost to the end of this Meet The Manufacturer. It’s been a really fun journey through all of these Japanese flavors. Today, I’m going to review a beefy sukiyaki udon stew! But what is sukiyaki? Let’s ask Wikipedia:
During this week, we’ve been reviewing different types of yakisoba – but what is Futomen yakisoba? Futomen is a variety with a slight wider gauge noodle than the regular soba noodle. Also I am told that the flavoring is a little spicier. Let’s check it out!
We;ve had some nice sunny days already this spring here in Washington. Had a day that got close to 80 degrees! Was really nice. The review today is on a noodle dish that is served cold. Cold noodles are enjoyed throughout Asia, but it’s really something that isn’t commonly seen in the United States. Let’s have a look at this unique variety.
Hey it’s curry time! Japanese curry is much different from other curries around the world. Often with a sweet and less spicy hit, it’s really excellent stuff to behold and taste. I’m really curious about this one – let’s dig in!
On the menu today is something I’ve been very curious to try – yaki-udon! As you might surmise, the yaki prefix means fried. Yakisoba are fried soba noodles, and so yaki-udon are fried udon noodles; simple! Anyways, it sounds really interesting – let’s have a look at this one.
Here’s something new and different from Nongshim. The name might seem a little odd, but it’s a play on the name of a traditional South Korean beef soup called Seoulleongtang, which has a broth which is simmered for a long time with ox bones. I’ve liked non-spicy South Korean beef noodle soups in the past – let’s see how this one fares!
Last June, I’d never heard of Penang, nor really had tried many varieties of Malaysian instant noodles for that matter. I had no clue what to expect and was absolutely elated with this one – my core interest in reviewing instant noodles is that I want to try new things every day. This was definitely something new to me. Let’s look inside the package and see why it’s on the 2014 top ten list!
There’s a reason there are three Prima Taste products are on the top ten list – they’re amazing. Two big sachets with serious ingredients and noodles that are so nice and tasty. I’ve really enjoyed the products they’ve made and hope they make lots of more noodle varieties in the future! Let’s give this one an up close and personal look.
When I first had curry it was when I was a kid. My mom would make curried chicken liver over rice and it was really good. Yep – liver. I really liked some things I don’t think my 8 year old son would touch with a ten foot pole! My mom would use curry powder and it came out really good. Since then, I’ve relished on many, many different curries. I think my favorites by far have been in paste form; there’s such variety and strong flavors that are involved – a true playground for the senses. Let’s have a look and see why this one made the last two top ten lists.
This Meet The Manufacturer has been a lot of fun. Over the last year, I’ve been finding myself enjoying curries and tom yum varieties a lot more, and Mamee makes some great ones. Thisd is the last of the Mamee Chef varieties I have to review – the pack version of the Creamy Tom Yam. I reviewed the cup version a week or so ago. Let’s see how this one fares.
The other day, I reviewed the pack version of this one and found it to be absolutely excellent. Today, I’m going to try the cup. I’m glad I had two different versions as I found something on Mamee’s page that I was really excited about.
This is the second of the two Mie Goreng Indonesia cup varieties Mamee Double-Decker sent me for Meet The Manufacturer. The first one was really good! This one sounds good too. Sambal is spicy stuff! I like spicy. Today before I do the review, I’m going to trek up to our local Indonesian grocery Waroeng Jajanan. They clued me in about a couple of great additions to mie goreng – Kerapuk Aci and BonCabe! Kerapuk Aci is a big round Indonesian cracker made with tapioca and other ingredients. It’s crunchy and goes really well with mie goreng when I’ve made it in the past. BonCabe is a spicy chilli seasoning – bits of chilli powder, flake, some salt and crunchy bits as well as other spices are in it and it’s great stuff! Off I go to the Indonesian grocery to find some additions…
In the last year, I’ve got to say I’ve had the fortune to learn about and try a lot of new additions to instant noodles. Most of them have been seafood related – which I’m really lucky to have access to. I’ve gotten many emails asking where to find kamaboko or fish cake etc – I always thought all of those things were easily accessed by all, but as it turns out, I’m lucky to live in an area with lots of Asian grocery stores that specialize in such things. The latest I’ve been really enjoying are fish balls, particularly ones from Singapore that I get at a store that’s a short walk away. I usually only buy a couple, and the seafood counter guys usually look at me a little funny; “5 pounds?” they’ll ask. “No – just five fish balls.” My son and I walked over a couple of weeks ago and he wanted to buy me a whole pound of fish balls which I thought was very nice of him – and so I let him ask them himself. Then, my eight year old boy kind of puffed out his chest and exclaimed “excuse me – I would like one pound of those fish balls please!” Definitely a proud moment for me – sounded so authoritative! When we got home, I boiled some up and let him try – I received a resounding “yuck!” and a look of disgust. At least he tried them – he’s more a fan of macaroni and cheese and pizza, but I try to get him to try new things as much as possible. But I digress. Today’s noodle review will include the last of the fish balls from that trip to the store. I’m going to also follow the microwave instructions for this one, something I don’t usually do. Let’s see how it goes!
The 2013 top ten list I did was highlighted by two flavors at the very top: laksa and curry. Here we find both together! This is one of Mamee’s new Mamee Chef line of premium instant noodles. They use a technology that emulates ‘la mian,’ or hand-pulled noodles. I went to the store yesterday to see if I could find some nice acompaniments for this special pack – let’s check out how laksa and curry play together!
Mie goreng is one of my favorites – – noodles with a sweet, salty and spicy flavor. To be honest, it was mie goreng that really got me fanatical about instant noodles many years ago. Let’s have a look at this Malaysian take on an Indonesian standard.
I’ve been trying lots of new varieties from Malaysia lately. Malaysian varieties have a lot of interesting tastes and flavors. I find it fascinating that there are so many countries in the world using so many different ingredients in a multitude of ways. Let’s check out this curry.
Pho is a great noodle soup enjoyed world wide. I’ve had varieties in packs and bowls before, but really nothing like this; it’s truly something completely different from what I’ve had in the past. It’s in a bowl, frozen, and water is added. Very different in respect to design and cooking for sure. Also, never tried any frozen pho varieties either. Let’s give this a try!
Well, today is the last day of the Meet The Manufacturer for Sakura Noodle Inc. It’s been interesting – I don’t think I’ve had udon so many days in a row – I was surprised how much I enjoyed it! One thing that was nice was that there’s only one gram of fat in these, which is a far cry from the amounts I usually have. Anyways, let’s have a look at this one – beef!
I got some really good sized shrimp the other day at the store thinking they’d go really well with this. I like shrimp – they’re tasty! The ones I’ve been getting are frozen and have a thin layer of ice all around them so they don’t stick together. Pretty brilliant – quite enjoyable. Anyways, today it’s shrimp. Let’s shrimp it up!
Here’s some more noodles I picked up last July in Canada. It’s been a while now, so I’ll tell you the story of the July trip. I saw a blog post from a guy up in Vancouver, BC who was talking about my top ten list. He had a really neat little graphic icon that looked cool, so I tried to figure out where it was from. Finally, he was the one who let me in on it. It was a graphic someone had made of my top ten list! I was curious to find out where it had come from…
Here’s one that Annie T. from MyKuali sent me from Malaysia – thanks again! It’s been a lot of fun trying varieties from Malaysia and Singapore in the last year. Usually they’re pretty hard to come by where I live, so new stuff is always welcome. I’d never heard of Adabi brand until a couple of months ago. The first one I tried was #1276: Adabi Mi Bandung Prawn Mee – and it was really good! I’m curious if this is going to be your standard chicken curry or something a little different. Let’s have a loot inside!
Korean beef soup is usually something that isn’t spicy; a departure from what people usually see in most ramyun varieties. Gomtang translates to ‘bear soup,’ but there’s no bear in there! It’s been – boiled for a long time. The ‘men’ at the end of gomtangmen is where the noodles come in. Men, myun, myeon and myon are all suffixes that mean noodles in Korean. I’ve had Paldo’s Gomtang variety in the gold packaging – that stuff is quite good. I’m very curious to find out how this one is. Let’s have a look.
Here’s a new one from Nongshim for the vegetable crown. At first, I thought it would be a tofu based variety; the reason was that I’ve gone to a local Korean restaurant and ordered ‘Soon Tofu’ a few times, which is a spicy soup with tofu in it. Well, ‘soon’ translates to ‘soft.’ Well, tofu is a vegetarian friendly construct, so I thought I’d give it a try today with this new one. A few people have been asking about this one, so with that, let’s check it out.
Pork! Purple! Sounds good! Let’s hit it!
Here’s the back of the package (click image to enlarge). Contains fish products. To prepare, cook noodles in 500ml water for 3 minutes. Put sachet contents into a bowl. Pour out water from noodles into the bowl and stir, then add noodles. Enjoy!
Here’s one with a flavor I’ve never heard of – well, except for the tom yum part. Here’s what Wikipedia had to say about the yentafo:
Wow – number 1300! Would’ve ever thought I would’ve done this many reviews; seems like I did the 500th review not very long ago. Let’s check this one out – a spicy South Korean jjampong!
Here’s another one sent by Annie T. of MyKuali! Thanks! This one sounds interesting, and I have something neat to go with it considering my recent fascination with fish balls – prawn flavored fish balls! These noodles are from Singapore, as are the fish balls! Let’s check it out!
In March of 2012, I tried this new Garlic Teriyaki Udon by Nongshim – review #683. It was really great stuff – my wife Kit absolutely loved it (she doesn’t usually go crazy like I do for noodles, but this one was her fave). Well, a little while later, it was discontinued. Well, now it’s back and a little different. The first one had a whopping 3040mg of sodium per pack, but this new one has only 720mg for the whole thing. Let’s see how this one stacks up against the old version.
Hey check this happy looking guy out! I’m thinking he’s happy because today’s my sister’s birthday! Happy Birthday Sue! This looks like one she’d probably like. Last year, I made her some birthday noodles – maybe I’ll see if she wants to have some again this year! The happy guy on the package’s name is Kumamon, a mascot that the government of Kumamoto, Japan invented. Let’s check these out.
