Category: United States

#4739: Samyang Vegetasty Noodle Soup – United States

#4739: Samyang Vegetasty Noodle Soup - United States

You ready for a historic roadshow in a cup? This variety has gone by a few names and packaging wordings, but I’d say this is my favorite.. For example, here is review #695 – savory vegetable flavor. But wait – here’s good old review #1030 – this one is ’60 ingredients’ flavor!  Back in 2011, I reviews the 60 Ingredients cup – review #553! Well, now this one’s called Vegetasty. They’ve dropped the whole looks how many ingredients and given it a very interesting name. I think this one is a troublemaker. The reason I say this is because they want to market it – and indeed it’s been pretty good – but as far as export, it’s a tough one to come up with a good name for perhaps. Vegetasty is kind of catchy, but for a Western audience, it might be a little tricky to pull off. It does bear the Vegan logo on there which is a good thing. Vegetasty sounds very monolithic; like it’s from a sprawling corporate empire. I would say completely revamp. Show farm imagery – crops being cared for or rolling fields in the sun as a background, then in the foreground a basket being held containing lots of different vegetables. Maybe a rustic theme. Then a better name – something like  Nature’s Delight or Back To Nature Vegetable Noodle Soup – granted those aren’t taken already. Either way, vegetable and in particular Vegan varieties are very popular. I;ve been asked many times by companies my thoughts on how to name something for Western markets – a real honor I have to say. Anyways, yeah – let’s cook it – maybe I’m ruminate on the episode on Instant Noodle Recipe Time that appears at the bottom of this post – the finest show in the universe – and you all want to like and subscribe to. Yeah. ...see full post

Revisiting Nissin Cup Noodles Breakfast – The Definitive Guide

Revisiting Nissin Cup Noodle Breakfast - The Definitive Guide

A couple years ago, Nissin Foods USA came out with something called Cup Noodles Pumpkin Spice. Honestly, I really enjoyed it and made many different recipes out of it, stretching it to the limit. This time, it’s a breakfast variety. I couldn’t find it, but luckily Stumpy from North Little Rock, AR, James from Lakeside, CA and Nissin Foods sent me cups which I truly appreciate. Here, I will go into meticulous detail about the product, and create five different things with it. With that, here’s The Ramen Rater’s Definitive Guide To Nissin Cup Noodles Breakfast. ...see full post

#4801: Omsom Saucy Noodles Chili Sesame – United States

#4801: Omsom Saucy Noodles Chili Sesame - United States

Been wanting to try these for a while. We found them at Whole Foods market in Lynnwood, Washington. I’ve tried emailing the company a couple of times, but never received a response. Ah well. These are curious – they really look like Taiwanese dry noodles. Let’s check out this one with more to follow soon. ...see full post

#4795: Pamana Ginataang Monggo Mung Bean Porridge With Coconut Milk – United States

#4795: Pamana Ginataang Monggo Mung Bean Porridge With Coconut Milk - United States

Now this is a name I can get behind – Ginataang Monggo sounds like something from Flash Gordon! But it’s not. It’s porridge – I really like foreign languages! Anyways, yeah this one sounds interesting – let’s give it a go – by the way big thanks to James from Lakeside, California for sending this along! ...see full post

#4791: Samyang Nagasaki Jjambbong – United States

#4791: Samyang Nagasaki Jjambbong - United States

This is one I tried when it debuted way back. There were a couple of versions as well. This one is made in South Korea and packaged for sale in the US market. Jjambbong is like a spicy seafood stew. This on the other hand is the same but with a more milky broth. This is a really great one when I’ve had it in the past – let’s visit it again! ...see full post

#4783: Yamadai Tonkotsu Ramen Japanese Style Noodles – United States

#4783: Yamadai Tonkotsu Ramen Japanese Style Noodles – United States

Found another one of these! This time, not at S*Mart but at the Lynnwood, WA HMart – along with quite a few other things. Usually don’t find a lot there but it was a good haul the other day. I also found a pair of ‘chopsticks for kids that my daughter went crazy for and since she accompanied me in the store, I figured why not. Tonkotsu is one she likes as well, so maybe she’ll get this. Let’s give it a try. ...see full post

#4776: Vite Ramen Plant-Based White Miso v3.0 – United States

#4776: Vite Ramen Plant-Based White Miso v3.0 - United States

Alright – so if you like plants – in particular, eating them – this is for your. Definatly one for the Vegan crowd. I know a lot of non-Vegan people who poo-poo Vegan foods. I must say though – Vegan stuff is really quite good. Gluten Free stuff is excellent as well. I eat a lot of meat and glutenous things, but I’m totally open to these other things, and often like them more. I’ve enjoyed this flavor before that they make and the v3.0 stuff is really great thus far – let’s cook some up! ...see full post

#4773: Kang Shi Fu Artificial Soyed Beef Flavor – United States

#4773: Kang Shi Fu Artificial Soyed Beef Flavor - United States

Found this one the other day at 99 Ranch Market. This one is interesting as the range is very easy to find here, however there was a lot of confusion whether it was another brand – Master Kang. Master Kang translates to Kang Shi Fu, and also has a little chef guy for it’s logo. I remember getting a phone call from a lawyer about it a long time ago asking my opinion on it. It’s been such a long time though that I’m guessing that whatever legal issues were involved are probably kaput at this point, so here we are. Soyed beef – is that like corned beef? Interesting. Let’s cook this stuff up. ...see full post

#4730: Pink Rocket Original Rapokki – United States

#4730: Pink Rocket Original Rapokki - United States

Well, here we are. The standard stuff. This was found at GMart in Lynnwood, Washington. So, what is it? It’s a combination of ramyun and tteokbokki – which are tubes of rice flour that are chewy and truly wondrous. Anyways, these really have been hit and miss on preparation – either dry or exploding in the microwave. Let’s give it another try. ...see full post

Ramen Bae Sends Amazing Ramen Toppings

Ramen Bae Sends Amazing Ramen Toppings

A reader asked if I’d tried Ramen Bae recently and I hadn’t, so I reached out to the company. I got a reply from founder Jonathan Tan and a nice note mentioning he’d send some samples, and here we are. Since this unboxing, I’ve tried both and they’re really quite wonderful – if you’re looking for something like this, this is great stuff. I should also mention he sent another box with the Spicy Garlic version which I’ll share soon! Let’s check this one out. ...see full post

#4727: Maggi 2-Minute Noodles Masala – United States

#4727: Maggi 2-Minute Noodles Masala - United States

Yet another packaging design – it should also be noted that this one doesn’t say spicy masala and just masala. I found this at Indian Sweets & Spices in Shoreline, Washington yesterday. Yesterday was a day of finding particular things. I’ve been doing a lot of curry lately and I got some nice basmati, some noodles, some black cardamom and mango pickle there. I also went and got a half pork belly at Double DD Meats, a great butcher shop and holy grail for hot sauces and all things spicy. I must note that while this is made in India, it’s certainly an export version specifically for sale in the United States.  Anyways, time to cook. ...see full post

#4720: Trader Joe’s Garlic Sauce Thai Noodles – United States

#4719: Trader Joe's Garlic Sauce Thai Noodles - United States

Well folks, this is the last of the Trader Joe’s stuff I had. Honestly, these pouch noodles and sauce bowls have been surprisingly decent. The only problem are the bowls – you can’t just cut it up and scan it before you use it – rather irritating for yours truly, however my issues with the bowl itself probably aren’t an issue for 99.99% of those eating this. Let’s see how the garlic one is. ...see full post

#4716: Nongshim Premium Udon Style Noodles With Shrimp Tempura – United States

#4716: Nongshim Premium Udon Style Noodles With Shrimp Tempura - United States

Well, dang. I really would have loved to been able to review this sooner but tough to get samples from companies in the United States for some reason. Ah well. I found this at S*Mart – yup – shop smart, shop S Mart. Not sure if they just did a repackaging of the old version or not, but I’m guessing it’s a bit more than that. Let’s give it a try! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten American Instant Noodles Of All Time 2024 Edition

The Ramen Rater's Top Ten American Instant Noodles Of All Time 2024 Edition

This list is coming a bit late this year, but I figure late is definitely better than never. This one’s comprised of varieties made in, and specifically for the US market. Some really tasty stuff here is your backyard if you didn’t know! These are my favorite US varieties out of reviews up to review 4,650 that are currently on the market. Got something I’ve not tried? Hit me up! Anyways, let’s check out The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten American Instant Noodles Of All Time 2024 Edition! ...see full post

#4713: Pulmuone Crab Ramen – United States

#4713: Pulmuone Crab Ramen - United States

This one came from James of Lakeside, California – thanks, man! Pulmuone leans towards the healthier end of the stick when it comes to food manufacturing. I believe I read a while back about how there is in fact a large farm Pulmuone runs that is also a school on heritage farming for students in South Korea – pretty cool. Let’s make some crab ramen! ...see full post

#4677: Nissin Hot & Spicy Fire Wok Torched Teriyaki Chicken – United States

Nissin Hot & Spicy Fire Wok Torched Teriyaki Chicken - United States

I was contacted by Nissin USA a few weeks ago and learned about this one and it sounded interesting. Indeed, their Fire Wok bowls are quite good – especially the Sizzlin’ Rich Pork. Pack versions? Interested! So I hit them up and they provided. There’s this one and another. Let’s give it a try! ...see full post