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Found this one at the Uwajimaya in Renton, Washington. Never had seen it before and by what it looks like on the label, this is a private label for a big distributor here in the USA by a company in Singapore. Unsure which company makes it though. Let’s check it out!
Here’s another one of these interesting new Maruchan Taste Of Asia bowls… These are really interesting; such a departure for their traditionally domestic flavors that are sold here in the United States. I like it! Let’s give it a try!
Here’s another new one from Maruchan – Chipotle Chicken. It looks like an interesting one – let’s look inside and find out!
It’s been pretty nice lately – I’ve been seeing more domestic products coming to market! I like when I can find something I really like and tell people here in the states that they can just run down to a local supermarket and find it. Found this one at Uwajimaya a few weeks ago. Let’s check it out!
‘Aren’t you worried about the amount of sodium you’re taking in?’ This question has been following me around for years now – from people commenting on a news article to a journalist interviewing me for a story. I’ve usually shrugged it off in some way as I’ve not had high blood pressure – ‘worst I’ve had has been borderline when visiting a doctor from time to time.’ These days however with my second son here and another child on the way, my thinking has shifted a little bit. I’m in my early forties (I mean twenties, cough cough) and thinking about how I definitely want to be there for my children and watch them grow into adults, live forever, and review instant noodles as long as they keep coming up with fascinating and tasty new takes of the local cuisine of the world. I’ve cut back on how much of the noodles I take in when I review in the last year or so – a slurp of broth, a mouthful of noodles and then the supplied garnishes to get the full feel for a product and review it. I then just try to eat the garnishes I might add in after that, and once that’s done, the rest goes down the garbage disposal. It’s hard though; there are varieties that I just have to eat the whole bowl after reviewing – the really tasty stuff, you know?
A big thanks to Colin for finding and sending me this one! Okay, so I have been trying to get this one for a while; anything by Roland honestly. I called them, emailed them, and always got the same reply – ‘we don’t send sample.’ I really love it when companies have such a rigid policy against basically what amounts to free advertising. This one is made in Singapore for Roland company here in the USA, and I have a feeling it’s a private label by Tat Hui/KOKA – all boils down to one aspect which is a giveaway. Let’s check this one out and I’ll show you what that is.
I don’t remember where or when I picked this one up, but it was towards the bottom of my hamper and peering up at me a little bit ago and so I figure hey – I’d better give it some attention! It’s kimchi, it’s Vegan friendly – plus its microwavable! Let’s check it out!
I was checking out Nongshim America’s website a few days ago and noticed a new product I’d not seen before. I sent my friend Ray a message and he sent me a package!
Hey look at this! So every two weeks, my wife and I bring my son Andy down to Renton, Washington to go to Pokemon League. Yeah – there’s such a thing! Kids (and some adults) play the Pokemon card game. Well, my wife and I don’t play Pokemon so we have time to look around and stroll. As it happens, there’s a Uwajimaya nearby which is awesome. The first time we went I found two big bagfulls of noodles! What was a surprise was finding a LOT of Maruchan products I’d not seen before. There are a couple new Instant Lunch cups (sriracha which I reviewed previously as well as a cihpotle chicken) and these Taste of Asia products in the Bowl line. Let’s check out this sukiyaki variety!
Here’s one I’ve been curious about. Looks like South Korean take on rice noodle spaghetti perhaps? It certainly looks tasty… Hmm! Let’s check it out!
So if you like the reviews lately, many of them can be attributed to a guy named Colin from Massachusetts. He has sent three boxes in the past few months, full of varieties I’ve not reviewed. What’s amazing is that he’s in the USA – just on the opposite coast! Thanks, man! Let’s take a loo inside this one.
Can’t remember where I got this one, but it’s been a long time since I’ve reviewed anything by Koyo so I thought I’d check it out. So lower sodium, organic noodles, Vegan… But how will it taste? It’s tough to cover all these bases and make something that’s going to have a lot of flavor. Let’s find out!
Here’s something new – found this at the Uwajimaya in Renton, Washington. It’s funny; we go a little out of our normal sphere of shopping and boom – all sorts of new things! Actually, found quite a few new Maruchan varieties – a Chipotle Instant Lunch as well as three new Bowl varieties – Miso, Sukiyaki and Tonkotsu! Those will be coming up for review soon. Until them, let’s check out this neat little cup.
We were out doing grocery shopping and thought ‘hey there’s that Red Robin over there – wonder if they have those Red Ramen Burgers.’ Well, after a quick phone call to make sure they did, we swooped in to give them a try.
Found this one at Uwajimaya the other day. We thought it sounded interesting – a fettucine alfredo made in South Korea? Hey – why not. I thought the idea of it being made with rice noodles was enthralling as well. Let’s have a look!
A couple years ago, I had the opportunity to check out a course taught by Dr. Gary Hou at the Wheat Marketing Center in Portland, OR. It was a short course on making instant noodles and really fascinating. It’s coming up again and as a thank you for letting everyone know about it, Dr. Hou sent me something!
I WAS SURPRISED TO HEAR HOW MANY OF YOU I FOOLED! HAPPY APRIL FOOL’S DAY – I’LL BE REVIEWING INSTANT NOODLES FOR A LONG TIME COMING!
I was fortunate to be able to check out Dr. Gary Hou’s instant noodle course at the Wheat Marketing Center in Portland, Oregon a couple years ago – turns out he’s doing it again and if you’re interested, you should give it a look!
There are a few different iterations of this one – I reviewed one a long time ago and I think I liked it, and then they came out with a newly packaged version that I never ended up trying. Now in it’s (at least) third set of clothes, I think it’s definitely time for a new review. If you take a look at the package from the old review, you’ll notice the nutrition facts are indeed different – a definite mark of being a different recipe. Let’s dig in!
A year or two ago, Nissin Foods USA started putting a new, updated package on their classic Top Ramen products. I haven’t really done any new reviews of them, but I figured why not. This one’s probably one of the most ubiquitous instant noodles found in the United States. Let’s have a look.
Hey – another box from A-Sha Dry Noodle! Let’s check it out!
Here’s what I saw when I opened the box (click to enlarge).
This is the last of the IbuRamen tray varieties I’ve seen available. I really didn’t care for the other two, but hey, it’s curry day! Let’s see how this one fares with a curry fanatic.
Here’s the last of the three different Nissin Raoh varieties Nissin Foods USa sent me – thanks again! These have been availble overseas for a very long time, however they are now being imported and distributed in new packaging and with slightly different ingredients for easy import into the United States. This would be known as shoyu over in Japan (shoyu translates into soy sauce). Shoyu is a very popular variety of ramen – here’s a little on it from wikipedia:
Ahh the last one of the new cup versions from Nissin Foods, USA. Thanks again to the folks over there for sending them along! We’re all familiar with the old style cups – they had a cardboard outer packaging with the foam cup underneath in plastic wrap. This is much different – a little bigger and free of all the extra cardboard and plastic wrap, making it a little more eco-friendly. I still haven’t spotted this one in the ‘wild’ yet – I hear that they’re only available to start with at the Super Walmarts – the ones with the regular big Walmart stuff and the grocery store as well. Anyways, chicken’s baking in the oven to add to this one, so let’s check it out.
A couple of weeks ago, I posted an urgent call for instant noodle varieties. I’ve gotten a great response and this is one of them. A guy in Arlington, MA named Colin contacted me and offered some varieties! Let’s see what he sent!
Found this one at the new Win?Co Foods store in Edmonds, Washington. I thought ‘ooh – rice noodles and curry’ and so I got it. Let’s check it out!
Instant noodle… snacks? Yeah! Snacks of all kinds have come from instant noodles – candy, crunchy bits, you name it. They’re popular all over Asia and also the United States; have you ever taken a pack of instant noodles, crushed them and added in the seasoning and shaken the bag up and eaten them like potato chips or popcorn? Well, this is popular elsewhere as well! Let’s check out my favorite instant noodle snacks from over 1,900 reviews. Enjoy!
Here’s a new one from Nissin – a lower sodium version of their Hot & Spicy chicken bowl! Not many lower sodium varieties cross my desk usually – this one is 30% lower than the regular Hot & spicy chicken bowl. Let’s check it out!
Hey check it out – Nissin Cup Noodles got a big facelift.
Here’s how they used to look – cardboard outer packaging is now gone. Less packaging and different materials have been used to make them more environmentally friendly. Also, they’re now microwavable! Yes, I’m sure many of you microwaved them before, but you weren’t supposed to. The new cups also have a little extra room so you can add veggies and meats or whatever you want to oomph up your noodles! Let’s check this new cup out!
The last time I had one of these, I found something fascinating inside. The sachets all say Mexi Ramen on them, a brand I have reviewed once in the past (actually it was my 500th review). The package said it was MexiRamen. This one is clearly mentioning mi goreng, a Southeast Asian delicacy, and Bento, a Japanese style meal. Let’s crack this box open and have a look inside.
The last of the stuff I found at BigLots! a while back. BigLots! is a kind of clearance/liquidation chain. What I like is that I usually find something or other in there that I’ve never heard of or reviewed before which is nice. Let’s have a look at this rice noodle bowl.
Today I’m reviewing something new that the folks at Nissin Foods USA sent recently. Pad Thai is a popular dish people get at Thai restaurants – pretty accessible for people in the United States since it’s usually not super spicy and is kind of like an Asian alfedo. Well, technically, it’s nothing like that but I think you know what I mean – it’s something that people aren’t extremely scared of, and a lot of the time, the first time Thai food taster will try it, like it, and decide they like Thai food but only order it when they go out for Thai food. Sad but true, especially when there are so many amazing flavors of Thai food out there. But it’s kind of like Chinese food – it’s Americanized so they get repeat customers. Americanized Thai food is very tasty though – I will definitely say I enjoy it. Let’s give this Pad Thai a try!
It’s pretty rare for me to hit a regular old supermarket here in the USA and find something I’ve not reviewed before, but it happens from time to time. I found this one at a WinCo Foods in Edmonds, Washington. It used to be a Top Foods a while ago but I think they’ve all but gone out of business and WinCo moved in. WinCo is kind of weird – imagine a big grocery store but kind of like Costco but not Costco and kind of cold and you have to bag your own groceries. Oh – and there are tons of signs everywhere in this really basic font. It almost seems like a weird government experiment – but I digress! This is a new one from Nissin – looks tasty for this cold weather. Let’s check it out!
On a recent trip to the Uwajimaya in Bellevue, WA I spotted this one. This is made in the United States and sounds really good. Tonkotsu is characterized by a milky white broth – usually pork, but this one is chicken! It sounds really good and seeing this is my wife’s Friday, I thought I’d surprise her by making her a bowl. Let’s check it out!
I got some new samples from Nissin USA a few weeks ago (thank you!) of some varieties of Nissin’s Raoh from Japan that are now available in the USA. Raoh (meaning King( is a premium line. At this point, you can only get them on Amazon. Not sure if that will change though. So Umami. This is something interesting – first, let’s have a look at what wikipedia has to say about umami –
Here’s a video of me reviewing an instant noodle for an upcoming review. I did it for a TV show in Japan, but they didn’t want to use it so I made them another one. This is the beginning to end of a review – I do this pretty much the same way every time, although it’s a little different when it comes to cups and bowls – I either take pictures of the sides if they’re not able to be removed or scan them, as well as the lid. Hope you find this interesting and enjoy it!
Again, my wife has a keen eye for noodles. She saw these and asked if I’d tried them – I hadn’t! Don’t know what I would do without her! So these are very interesting – IbuRamen – sounds like Ibumie – in fact, on the back of the package it says it’s made in Malaysia. The Mi Goreng font looks like Ibumie’s as well (and Indomie’s, Salam Mie etc). Mi goreng is Southeast Asian , however Bento is Japanese. What’s more, there’s a Mexican reference; wait, where? Let’s look inside.
My wife and I were at the grocery store the other day and she saw this series by Myojo. ‘Have you tried these yet?’ she asked. It’s funny – she finds lots of varieties for me that I never even notice – it’s pretty awesome! Since she’s a fan of udon, I thought I would make her some today. Let’s check ’em out!
I got some new samples from Nissin USA a few weeks ago (thank you!) of some varieties from Japan that are now available in the USA. At this piont, you can only get them on Amazon. Not sure if that will change though. So Umami. This is something interesting – first, let’s have a look at what wikipedia has to say about umami –
Here’s a new one that you should be able to find pretty easily in the store if you’re in the United States. Nissin has been coming out with a few new varieties lately and this is one of them – let’s have a peek under the hood of this tray!
