Good news and bad news. Bad news: no reviews for about a week (we’re going on vacation). The good news: I will leave you with the first ever bacon monstrosity!
Category: United States
The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time
* UPDATE * See here.
A couple of days ago, I received an email from a man who was angry. He was angry that the instant noodles he bought said that they were spicy Chicken flavor but weren’t spicy whatsoever and that I needed to change the seasonings ASAP. Every once in a while, I get a comment or email from someone who thinks that I make instant noodles or am affiliated with an instant noodle company. I decided to reply and do a review of the product he had problems with, adding some hot spices, sauces and peppers from around the world to really heat it up. It then occurred to me that a lot of people really like spicy instant noodles and that there’s really no list of the hottest ones out there. I figured I’d better do something about that, and so here’s the Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time!
#799: Nongshim Bowl Noodle Soup Savory Chicken Flavor
Today Andy wanted to try something new. Knowing he’s a little timid of things that are too far off the map, I went with this. I’m pretty sure he’ll like it.
My Son’s First Taste Of Kimchi
#792: Nongshim Bowl Noodle Soup Spicy Chicken Flavor (New Version)
The 200th review I did was the old version of this stuff! Over 500 reviews later, we come to the new version. So far, these new ones have been quite good.
#783: Nissin Cup Noodles Salsa Picante Chicken Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup
This one was taking a little punishment in the noodle hamper, so I decided it better see the light of day and become ingested.
#782: Nongshim Bowl Noodle Soup Savory Shrimp Flavor
#772: Nongshim Bowl Noodle Soup Hot & Spicy Beef Flavor (New Version)
I’m pretty jazzed – got a couple things this last trip to the Asian grocery and going to try one of them today. Here’s another one of the new version Nongshim Bowl Noodle varieties.
#769: Nissin Cup Noodles With Shrimp Picante Style
Yep – a Cup Noodle! Just sounded good. I reviewed one that I ate much earlier and just got done reviewing three that I only had a bite of each. This sounds like something tasty.
#761: Thai Kitchen Garlic & Vegetable Instant Rice Noodle Soup
#760: Nissin Big Cup Noodles Roast Chicken Flavor
Here’s a big cup from Nissin. Roast chicken sounds pretty good – especially to my son!
#759: Nongshim Bowl Noodle Soup Savory Lobster (New Version)
There’s quite a few of these to review since the new design and flavors! Was surprised that my son (who by the way has his own blog at www.AndysLEGOStuff.com ) was up for trying some Lobster flavor noodles! I’ll steal a bite and a slurp and see how they are.
Re-Review: Meet The Manufacturer: Nongshim Chapagetti Chajang Noodle
Here’s another well-known Nongshim pack – Chapagetti. Basically, you take spaghetti and combine it with Chajang, which is a black bean sauce – now you have Chapagetti!
Meet The Manufacturer: An Interview With Nongshim America
Re-Review: Meet The Manufacturer: Nongshim Jinjja Jinjja (Really Really) Ramyun
Since my last review of this product, I found out that I made it wrong! Yup… I suppose if I could read Korean I would’ve made it right. It turns out that the red packet goes in first with the noodles and cooks, and the peanut and veggies go in last after everything’s cooked! I’m hungry – gonna do it exactly as I’m supposed to this time! Here’s the old review.
The Ramen Rater On KBS America TV!
During my trip to Nongshim America, I was interviewed – here’s what they aired on TV! This is the first time I’ve ever been on television! Pretty exciting! If someone would like to translate this, I would be very appreciative.
#754: Nongshim Ansungtangmyun Spicy Miso Noodle Soup (USA version)
Okay so I thought this was interesting. Look at the noodle block in this one – very different isn’t it? Well, Let’s give this one a try – this one was made in the USA in Rancho Cucamonga, California.
Re-Review: Meet The Manufacturer: Nongshim HooRooRook Premium Korean Noodle Soup
It’s funny how much my wife and I enjoy saying ‘HooRooRook!’ I wonder what it means though… Well, after some research, it came to my attention that it is the sound of slurping noodles.
#752: Meet The Manufacturer: Nongshim Bowl Noodle Savory Soup Tempura Udon Flavor
Re-Review: Meet The Manufacturer: Nongshim Shin Ramyun Black Premiun Noodle Soup
Here we go with the last of the Shin Ramyun varieties I’ll be doing for Nongshim Meet The Manufacturer week. Shin Ramyun Black!
Re-Review: Meet The Manufacturer: Nongshim Shin Ramyun Noodle Soup
It’s been a heck of a long time since I had one of these – over three years! Shin Ramyun is Nongshim’s most well known product – let’s see how it goes now, after trying over 600 varieties since I last tried it!
#750: Meet The Manufacturer: Nongshim Bowl Noodles Spicy Kimchi Flavor (New Version)
I figured for Meet The Manufacturer Week: Nongshim, I would start with a Bowl Noodles I saw get made while I was at their plant! They were cranking them out en masse! I’ve reviewed the old packaging / version in the past and these new ones are very different. They’re made to be cooked in the microwave, so that’s how I’ll cook them.
Meet The Manufacturer: Nongshim America Visit
Here we go with another Meet The Manufacturer week! This one’s a little different of course since my wife and I actually took a trip and met the people who are Nongshim America! It was an amazing and fun visit – so without further adieu, here’s what happened. By the way, if you click on the images they get much bigger.
#749: Top Ten: Sapporo Ichiban Chow Mein (New Version)
We were at 99 Ranch Market yesterday and I noticed that Sapporo Ichiban Chow Mein has a new packaging. Wondering if it’s got a different flavor as well.
#748: Naengmyeon Combo at Hosoonyi In Edmonds, WA
Okay I know – I don’t usually review restaurant food but I thought I would this time. After our trip to Nongshim and learning about Korean food and culture, we were curious about this local restaurant. I looked through the menu and decided I should give their noodles a try! I found Naengmyeon combo and thought that might be good. I had no idea what it would be about, except that noodles were involved and that it was ‘good in the Summer.’ Here’s what Wikipedia says about Naengmyeon:
Awesome Promotional Gifts From Nongshim America!
#745: Nongshim Jinjja Jinjja (Really Really) Ramyun
Here’s something really new and very different from a lot of the instant noodles I’ve reviewed before. Jinjja Jinjja translates to “Really Really” (Spicy Spicy) – and I suppose in this review we’re going to find out how really really spicy Jinjja is! I should say that I sampled this one at Nongshim America while I was down there, so I have tried it before – but not a while bowl of it. I found out that the flavor comes from boiling pork bones for a long time, black beans and peanuts! It also turns out that the wheat flour used to make these has some red pepper powder added to them – heat in the noodle as well as from the dry seasonings! Let’s give this a try!
Donation Of Samples From Nongshim America & Nongshim Korea!
I got two shipments today – one from Nongshim America, which I visited last week (there’ll be a lot of stuff all about the visit, the plant tour and the people very soon!). Here’s the first one from Nongshim America!
Back From Nongshim USA!
Well, we’re back from outr trip to Nongshim USA! It was absolutely amazing! The people were so nice, seeing how noodles were made amazing, and the new flavors I tasted were great! I’ll be posting a bit about the trip very soon! For now, I’d like to thank Ray Adams for introducing my wife and I to the world of Nongshim USA! His boss Ray Kim made us feel very welcome and it was so much fun talking with them and everyone else there about noodles and the Nongshim culture. We are so lucky to have been afforded this opportunity and really appreciated it! Can’t wait to do Meet The Manufacturer: Nongshim week! Until then, I’ll be posting a bit of info about the tour and what happened while I was there. Keep your eyes peeled!
The Ramen Rater Really Meets The Manufacturer On Nongshim USA Trip!
Tomorrow, my wife and I are headed to the airport to fly down to the Nongshim USA plant in Rancho Cucamonga, California! There, we’re going to do a plant tour, a noodle tasting, and a videotaped interview for the next Meet The Manufacturer, which (you guessed it) will feature Nongshim. We’ll return on Saturday with stories and pictures – I might do a post while we’re down there from my phone possibly. I want to say thank you to the wonderful folks at Nongshim USA for this opportunity to learn more about their company and instant noodles! We’re really looking forward to this! Next stop, southern California.
#736: Maruchan Yakisoba Spicy Vegetable Flavor Homestyle Japanese Noodles
Haven’t done one of these in a while! This is another one donated by Ramen Place. Spicy vegetable huh? That’s a kind of weird flavor. I have seen vegetable / vegetarian flavor and then spicy varieties, but not usually spicy vegetable. Well, let’s try it out!
#719: Nissin Spoon it Beef Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup
Yep – yet another one of these. So far I’ve enjoyed them as lot! They’re part of the box of samples that Nissin Foods USA sent for Meet The Manufacturer week. Anyways, check it out!
#717: Nissin Ramen Bowl Spicy Chicken Flavor
Here’s another one of the samples Nissin Foods USA were kind enough to send me. Thanks! Spicy chicken today huh? sounds good to me.
#713: Nissin Spoon it Creamy Chicken Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup
Last evening, my wife and I both started really getting attacked by an insidious enemy. One that doesn’t show itself but just occurs without warning. Allergies. Eyes, nose throat; everything just seemed to be very busy making us miserable. At this point, I would usually turn to an old standby my mother used to make for me when my face’s innards went awry like this – Mrs. Grass Chicken Soup Mix. Wonderful stuff – it has a little rubbery golden egg shaped thing called (I’m totally not kidding about this) ‘The Golden Flavor Nugget.’ Lots and lots of noodles and chickenny goodness. Well, we don’t have any, so I thought I’d go ahead and hit up this one. Creamy chicken flavor is one of my favorites – and Nissin doesn’t make creamy chicken Top Ramen anymore so I wonder how this stuff is. So off we go intgo noodle land!
#709: Nissin Original Chow Mein Spicy Chicken Flavor
Here’s another Nissin – had to make something quick today – it’s my wife’s birthday! Happy birthday, Kitten!
#704: Meet The Manufacturer – Nissin Original Chow Mein Chinese Chicken Vegetable Flavor
#703: Meet The Manufacturer – Nissin Spoon it Rich & Hearty Beef Stew Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup
Here’s another of the new Spoon it line of noodle soups from Nissin! Beef stew sounds tasty…
#701: Meet The Manufacturer – Nissin Big Cup Noodles Lime Chili Shrimp
Re-Review: Meet The Manufacturer – Nissin Top Ramen Beef Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup
Last time I had a bowl of Beef Top Ramen was way back at review #221! That seems like forever ago! Well, it’s Meet The Manufacturer: Nissin week and I couldn’t go without reviewing some Top Ramen, right? Decided I’d go with beef. Here we go!
#698: Meet The Manufacturer – Nissin Original Chow Mein Orange Chicken Flavor
Here’s a new flavor of chow mein to check out! Sounds pretty good – I like orange chicken.