Here’s another one sent by reader Colin – thanks again! Salted beef? This is new to me; it just makes me think of beef jerky, but I know that’s probably way off the mark. Let’s see how this one taste.
The Ramen Rater On Local TV
I was on KOMO TV, an ABC affiliate recently! How did this come to pass? Well, I posted a pocture that was sent to me by Samyu Group, a noodle company over in Malaysia. They have a wall of clocks for important timezones like London, Tokyo, New York, etc. Well, They’d done one for Kenmore, WA for where I live! The PR person contacted their PR agency who contacted KOMO TV and in a few weeks, I had a few people over and a big light pointed at me and a huge video camera in here! I want to thank Leslie Harris from the City Of Kenmore, Eric Schudiske from Gallatin Public Affairs, and Leslie Cohen and Eric Jensen from KOMO TV Seattle! Here are some videos and the story on their website.
#2129: CarJEN Hot & Spicy Dry Curry With Chives Soup
CarJEN has come up with something new! This one has not only a dry mee goreng, but a companion soup that you can enjoy alongside it. I’ve seen this before, but never in Malaysian varieties. There’s a popular Taiwanese instant that has a noodle and a soup separate kind of thing going too. Very curious about this one indeed. Let’s see how this all works!
#2128: Sapporo Ichiban Taimeiken Yousyoku Yasangatsukutta Omumen
Here’s another one from BoxFromJapan.com. They’re a subscription service where you can get a box of noodles from Japan every month (they also have neat candy boxes from Japan as well). Still to this date I haven’t gotten a repeat or anothing I’ve ever reviewed in the past – pretty awesome! Here’s what they have to say about this one:
#2127: Suimin Noodles With Chicken & Sweet Corn Flavour
Thanks again to Jen from Australia for sending this and myriad of other Australian varieties! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a chicken and sweet corn flavored instant noodle before. Let’s crack it open and see what we have here!
#2126: Nissin Mennippon Oumi Chanpon
A lot of Meet The Manufacturers lately! Nice to get back to going through my hampers and picking something different every day! This one hails from Japan and was sent to me by Javier of www.BoxFromJapan.com. You can go there and subscribe to a monthly box of instant ramen – really a great deal! I’ve never gotten a repeat or one that I’ve reviewed before – pretty awesome! Here’s what Javier has to say about this one:
#2125: Happy Family Curry Flavour Instant Noodles
A while back I asked people to send me some noodles as I was really running low on varieties to review. Well, many people did – including some companies. Prima Taste sent these from Singapore – thank you! These look like a store brand perhaps – let’s take a look!
The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2016 Edition
Every year, I review a ton of instant noodles – and every year I come out with quite a few lists. This list tends to change the least of all my lists – I’ve had a lot of spicy instant noodles in my time and just seems like nobody’s getting any spicier products to market. Could be that they don’t want to melt people’s faces off perhaps. Anyways, here’s this year’s list – the spiciest varieties out of over 2,100 reviews. Enjoy – if you dare!
Meet The Manufacturer: #2124: 7 Select Nissin Instant Noodles Tom Yum Seafood Creamy Flavour King Cup
Today, we bid farewell to this Meet The Manufacturer series. This is a special one made for 7-Eleven in Thailand! Let’s have a close look as wel say goodbye to Nissin Thailand – for now.
Meet The Manufacturer: #2123: Nissin Cup Noodles Tom Yum Shrimp Sabb Flavour
As we begin to wind down this Meet The Manufacturer, we again come to the hallmark flavor of Thailand, tom yum. Red. Spicy. Lemongrass. Shrimp. Let’s crack it open and delve within!
Meet The Manufacturer: #2122: Nissin Chilli Noodles Stir Fried Holy Basil Flavour
This one sounds particularly interesting – from the picture, it looks like a seafood fried noodle. However, holy basil sounds alluring – let’s check this unique variety out!
Meet The Manufacturer: #2121: Nissin Instant Noodles Moo Manao Flavour
I already reviewed the cup version of this one a few days back. Today it’s the pack version! Moo Manao is kind of a lime and pork flavor – very good! Let’s dig in!
Meet The Manufacturer: #2120: Nissin Super Tom Yum Shrimp
Today we have another 7-Eleven tie-in from Nissin Thailand. Extra shrimp and tom yum sounds great! Let’s crack it open and explore inside!
Meet The Manufacturer: #2119: Nissin Cup Noodles Minced Pork Flavour
I previously reviewed the pack version of this one a couple days back – now it’s time for the Cup Noodles version. The Cup Noodles usually have a few extras in there – let’s have a look!
Meet The Manufacturer: #2118: Nissin Chilli Noodles Tom Yum Shrimp Creamy Soup Flavour
Creamy shrimp tom yum is one of my favorite flavors of Thailand – definitely my favorite of the tom yum varieties. It looks,amazing, tastes amazing from the strong tom yum flavors and has that cream… Ahhh! Let’s check this one out – with a noodle that has chilli infused into it!
Meet The Manufacturer: #2117: 7-Select Nissin Instant Noodles Shrimp Ma Nao Lui Suan Flavour King Cup
7-Eleven in Thailand was a fascinating place to visit last year. It’s different than what we have here insofar as there is a whole aisle of instant noodle varieties inside! I wish we had that here – it’d be so awesome! Lots of different brand partner with 7-Eleven there and have special flavors only available at 7-Eleven – kind of an exclusive. This one sounds interesting – really unsure about what it will be like – the manao sounds like lime perhaps, but aside from that… I do see shrimp! Hey! Let’s crack it open and delve into the mysteries within.
Meet The Manufacturer: #2116: Nissin Instant Noodles Tom Yum Shrimp Saab Flavour
Kind of a weird day today. Why? Well, this is review 2116. Today is the 16th. It’s 2016. Aside from that, just another day. This looks like a good one – I definitely like tom yum, but what is saab? I looked around a bit and have come to the conclusion that it’s something denoting sourness. Am I right? I guess we’ll seee! Let’s check i tout!
Meet The Manufacturer: #2115: Nissin Cup Noodles Moo Manao Flavour
Today, I’m reviewing moo manao – a popular lime and spicy pork flavor dish from Thailand. Sounds good to me! Let’s crack this cup open!
Meet The Manufacturer: #2114: Nissin Instant Noodles Minced Pork Flavour
Today, I’ll be trying a minced pork instant noodle from Nissin Thailand. I’ve tried a few different minced pork noodles from Thailand in the past and curious as to how this one compares. Let’s give it a try!
Meet The Manufacturer: #2113: Nissin Cup Noodles Seafood Creamy Flavour
Nissin Thailand not only makes pack instant noodles but cups as well, and of course they’re the iconic Nissin Cup Noodles. Today, it’s a creamy seafood flavored cup. Let’s take a look!
Meet The Manufacturer: #2112: Nissin Chilli Noodle Spicy Tom Yum Shrimp Flavour
To kick things off for Meet The Manufacturer: Nissin Thailand, I thought how could I go wrong with some spicy tom yum? Tom Yum is the signature flavor of Thailand; lemongrass, spiciness, shrimp – they all go together in a harmony that I really enjoy. Let’s give this one with an extra spicy hit a try!
Meet The Manufacturer: Product Samples From Nissin Thailand
A big box arrived from Thailand!
Shredded paper for packing material.
Their three flagship flavors (click to enlarge) – tom yum sabb, moo manao and minced pork.
Meet The Manufacturer: Interview With Nissin Thailand
Interview With Nissin Thailand * Product Samples From Nissin Thailand * Nissin Chilli Noodle Spicy Tom Yum Shrimp Flavour * Nissin Cup Noodles Seafood Creamy Flavour * Nissin Instant Noodles Minced Pork Flavour * Nissin Cup Noodles Moo Manao Flavour * Nissin Instant Noodles Tom Yum Shrimp Saab Flavour * 7-Select Nissin Instant Noodles Shrimp Ma Nao Lui Suan Flavour King Cup * Nissin Chilli Noodles Tom Yum Shrimp Creamy Soup Flavour * Nissin Cup Noodles Minced Pork Flavour * Nissin Super Tom Yum Shrimp * Nissin Instant Noodles Moo Manao Flavour * Nissin Chilli Noodles Stir Fried Holy Basil Flavour * Nissin Cup Noodles Tom Yum Shrimp Sabb Flavour * 7 Select Nissin Instant Noodles Tom Yum Seafood Creamy Flavour King Cup
#2111: Nissin Cup Noodles Chilli Crab Flavour
I put out a call for varieties to review a couple of months ago – my hamper had gone very low on supplies! Here’s one that the folks from Prima Taste in Singapore sent – thank you! Now this one’s interesting – chilli crab is a Singaporean flavor, but this is a Cup Noodles from Hissin Hong Kong. A few days ago I reviewed a Cup Noodles from Japan which was Laksa flavor – another popular Singaporean taste. Interesting! Anyways, let’s crack it open and see what’s going on here!
#2110: Great Value Vegetable Flavour Ramen Noodles
I’m still a little surprised at how much I’ve liked these Walmart instant noodles from Canada; they’re really not at all bad. Sure, they’re very basic, but then again what do you expect? My sister got me these for my birthday! Thanks again, Sue! Well, let’s dig in!
The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Cups Of All Time 2016 Edition
This is the fourth Top Ten Instant Noodle Cups list I’ve done since 2013 and I just looked at the first one – none of them are still on this list! I will say one thing though – the ones on the 2013 list are all really good too. It’s hard picking a list to be honest; maybe a top fifty? Naw – ten is enough. Maybe when I’ve done 5000 reviews a top fifty might be in order. But for now, here’s the best of the best – my absolute favorite cup varieties from the 2,100+ reviews I’ve done.
#2109: Oni Hot Pot Tuna With Shallot Flavor Noodle
So far, I’ve tried Oni Hot Pot’s Ghost Pepper, XO Sauce and Seaweed and Pepper varieties. This one is a bit of a departure though – I think the only tun aflavored instant noodles I’ve had in the past were the Skipjack Tuna varieties from Indonesia. Well, let’s check this one out!
#2108: Wei Lih GGE Noodle Snack Wheat Crackers Original Ramen
Been a little while since I’ve done a snack noodle review, so here we are. This one is by Wei Lih and hails from Taiwan. Let’s give it a look.
#2107: Nissin Lamen Sabor Frango Assado Com Toque De Limao
Thank you again to cousins Adriana and Mike O. for sending this one to me! As I’ve said in the past, anything south of the United States has been just near impossible for me to get – until somewhat recently. This one’s from Brazil. As for the translation? Well, Google says frango assado simply means roast chicken – let’s give it a try!
#2106: Itomen Onion Flavor Shoyu Ramen
Here’s an interesting one from Colin – thanks again! This is an onion flavored shoyu. I’ve had a few onion flavor varieties – let’s give this one from Itomen a try!
#2105: Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup Chicken Tortilla Flavor
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!
#2104: Wang Rice Noodle Kimchi Flavor
Got a few varieties of these bowls a month of two ago and thought they sounded interesting. Let’s take a look!
Meet The Manufacturer: NuTek Food Science
Lowering sodium without compromising taste: a visit to NuTek Food Science
‘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?
#2103: Roland Ramen Japanese Style Quick-Cooking Alimentary Paste With Beef Artificially Flavored Soup Base
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.
#2102: Nissin Cup Noodles Singapore Laksa
Here’s one left over from the Nissin Japan Meet The Manufacturer! Seems like I just did it but that was about 100 reviews ago. time flies! Anyways, this is one of their international flavors varieties – Laksa! Laksa is a popular flavor of Cup Noodles in Singapore, but this one if made in Japan. Let’s check it out!
#2101: Samyang Foods Pojangmacha Udon
Here’s another one from Colin – thanks! Pojangmacha are street food stalls found in South Korea – I really hope to try this some day! This is a spicy seafood soup from South Korea. Let’s check it out!
#2100: Myojo Mee Goreng Original Flavour
Myojo has three new Mee Goreng varieties. I’m unsure if there’s a difference between this one and their regular one I reviewed in the past other than the packaging, but I guess we’ll see! It’s a good day for some mee goreng I think – let’s crack it open and have a look!
#2099: Sanpo Yakibuta Ramen
Here’s another one from the Box From Japan box from March! BoxFromJapan.com is a monthly subscription service – you get 4 neat and very unique bowls of ramen sent from Japan along with a few chopsticks and a little letter! Really awesome – I’ve not gotten any that I’ve reviewed before at this point which is really quite amazing! Anyways, check them out! Today’s variety looks interesting – they mention that the piece of pork is shaped like a heart to show the care they put into their products. Neat! Let’s check it out!
#2098: Nongshim Kimchi Flavor Noodle Soup
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!
The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Rice Noodles Of All Time 2016 Edition
Seems like it wasn’t that long ago I came out with the first Top Ten Rice Noodles list – was thinking I might not do an update since I hadn’t reviewed a ton of new ones in the last year but since a couple were definitely worthy, here it is. Here’s The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Rice Noodles Of All Time 2016 Edition!