#1850: Nissin Raoh Ramen Noodle Soup Umami Miso Flavor

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 – ...see full post

#1848: MyKuali Penang Red Tom Yum Goong Noodle (New Version)

So the number one on my annual Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time list got some new clothes! Why do I like this one so much? Well, when I got to visit the island of Langkawi, Malaysia (which is a stone’s throw south of Thailand), I got to try all sorts of tasty foods. One was tom yum. I got to try it a couple of ways – check it out! ...see full post

#1844: Seven & I Gold Sumire Ramen

Here’s another one that was sent to me by Javier over at Box From Japan – thanks! Box From Japan is a subscription service – you can get a box sent to you every month with some great noodles within! Today it’s one from Seven-Eleven in Japan. Seven-Eleven does partnerships with different companies (this on is made by Nissin) and has varieties they make only available there. This is Sumire Ramen, a miso variety. Let’s take a look! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1843: Forest Noodles Sunbaked Noodle With Sesame Oil Sauce

Today, we bid a fond farewell to another Meet The Manufacturer. Forest Noodles products all have one thing in common – they’re all dried in the sun. They also highlight nature which is pretty great as well. Let’s have a look at the last in this series, their sesame oil sauce variety with sunbaked noodles. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1842: Forest Noodles Purple Sweet Potato Noodle With Taiwanese Sauce

I think one of my favorite things are noodles that have something differe – like these. Purple noodles are pretty fascinating – first off, they’re purple. I remember hearing about ‘Space Potatoes’ a while back – somehow crossing the stuff that makes eggplants purple with a potato. I think blue potatoes would be kind of neat, but how would they taste? Well, let’s see how these noodles taste! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1840: Forest Noodles Sweet Potato Noodles With Sesame Paste Sauce

Today, we start with Forest Noodles’ sweet potato noodles. They’re sun-dried (no sun, no noodles). I think it would be neat to have a sun-dried noodle company here in the Seattle company, but it’s so cloudy around here that it probably wouldn’t work very well! Maybe in the summer months though… anyways, let’s see what we’ve got here! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Interview With Forest Noodles

I was contacted a while back by a Taiwanese company I’d never heard of called Forest Noodles. I thought hey – I live near the forest! They had samples sent and I sent interview questions and so here we are! I interviewed MingYo, Founder of Forest Noodles – welcome to a new Meet The Manufacturer – on with the interview! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Vit’s Tom Yam Instant Noodles

Re-reviews are kind of a trip sometimes; they don’t get a number, but they get another try. Usually they end up getting the same score, but sometimes they do a little better or worse. I kind of doubt there’ll be any change – had this one for the first time 40 reviews ago at #1791. Let’s give it a look! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1838: Vit’s Taste Of Malaysia Penang Asam Laksa Fried Instant Noodle

So these new Taste of Malaysia varieties from Vit’s come in two ways: a fried instant noodle accompanying a paste or a fresh ramen pouch with a paste. It’s a very early morning here – we had to be up at 3am! In fact, my first taste of the day was this laksa at 5:42am! Let’s check out this new one from Vit’s! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Vit’s Mi Goreng Pedas Chewy & Springy

Mi Goreng Pedas translates to Spicy Fried Noodles. I brought some of this back after my visit to Penang, Malaysia last year. Mi goreng has long been a favorite of mine – a little sweet, a little spicy, a little salty, kind of like an Indonesian yakisoba – sounds good, right? Let’s give this one another try, about 140 reviews later. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1836: Vit’s Taste Of Malaysia Penang White Curry Fried Instant Noodle

Penang White Curry was a flavor that really piqued my interest in Malaysia back in 2013. I was accustomed to curry flavors, but this was something entirely different. Green, red, yellow – those were all familiar, but white? Nowadays, there are many, many varieties of Penang White Curry instant noodles on the market – let’s check out this new one from Vit’s! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: Vit’s Curry Instant Noodles

One of the standard varieties most instant noodle companies produce is chicken. However when you move east towards Malaysia and Singapore, curry ends up as one that is exceedingly common. Curry is a flavor I have loved since my childhood – in fact I remember at a very young ago really enjoying my mother’s curried chicken liver over rice. There’s something seductive about curry that I can’t quite put my finger on, but perhaps that’s part of it’s charm. It kind of has an earthy and mystical property that just enthralls me. Let’s delve into this pack again, one I originally tried about a hundred reviews ago. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Interview With Vit’s Noodles

#1832: Yum Yum Instant Flat Shaped Noodles Boat Noodles Nam Tok Flavour

Here’s one of the last ones I got during my trip to Thailand to visit the nice folks that make MAMA noodles in May. It was really great over there – really hot, but wow – the 7-11 next to the hotel was a treasure trove as far as instant noodles I can’t source here are concerned! Let’s check this one out. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1830: Zeng Noodles Sichuan Pepper Flavor

Today, we finish off this trifecta by Zeng Noodles with a straight Sichuan Pepper variety.

Here’s the back of the package (click image to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add noodle block to 800ml boiling water and cook for 5 1/2 minutes. Drain. Add in contents of sachets. Stir and enjoy! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1829: Zeng Noodles Hu Sesame Flavor

I think when people here in the United States usually think of something sesame flavor, they think immediately of sesame oil. In Taiwan, sesame is something much different; sesame paste like tahini and peanut combine. The first time we found this out was when my wife got some noodles a few years ago that said sesame flavor and were like this – she’s not a fan of peanut butter, so it didn’t work out so well for her. Very curious about this one though – let’s check it out! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1828: Zeng Noodles Scallion With Sichuan Pepper Flavor

In the past year, I’ve tried quite a few varieties with Sichuan Pepper in them and really gotten a feel for this kind of flavor. In a way, Sichuan Pepper has almost a minty taste to it; it’s really quite different and unique. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

#1827: Nongshim Zha Wang (Jjawang) Noodles With Chajang Sauce

Being a superfan of all things instant noodle, I have newsfeeds I check daily on my phone pertaining to them. I saw an article about Nongshim’s Jjawang in the Korea Times New York edition. It mentioned with it’s release, jjajang variants are flying off the shelves in NY and NJ. I figured hey – I better find this stuff! ...see full post

#1826: MAMA Instant Noodles Stewed Beef Flavour

I made some instant noodle the other day with beef balls in them and Kit really thought they were good, so I thought I’d make this one with some beef balls in it for her today! This one was sent to me after my trip to the Thai President Foods European Agent Meeting in May! It was really great – while I’m not a distributor for TF, they were super kind to invited me to come and check out Thailand and their factories. I did a travelogue you can check out here. I found out they don’t only make products in Thailand but have factories throughout the world. This one comes from Cambodia – let’s have a look! ...see full post

#1825: Sichuan Baijia Broad Noodle Chili Oil Flavor

It’s always awesome when I go to the store with my poor vision and my wife sees something and asks me if I’ve tried it. Sure enough, this was one of those occasions. I recently had the Sichuan Baijia Artificial Spicy Fei Chang a couple of weeks ago – it had been on my bottom ten list for years and really kind of one of the main reasons I wasn’t reviewing Baijia stuff so much. After not trying it in 5 years, I found that my tastebuds had done a bit of a metamorphosis. Where I found this more traditional Chinese flavor horrible before, I found it much more to my liking. So now at the store, I’m looking at Baijia in a different way. Today, I’ll try something I’ve not seen before – a broad noodle. I’ve seen broad noodles before, but not this broad – you’ll see what I mean. I want to thank Bobby Y. for helping me decipher the cooking instructions – hope the Blue Jays did good in the ALCS and won the World Series! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Easy-To-Find Instant Noodles 2015 Edition

A lot of people have come to my site from the United States, knowing only a couple varieties, those usually being chicken or beef, pack or cup. If that’s you, this is kind of a beginner’s guide to exploring the different brands and varieties that are pretty easily sourced here in the States. You can find many of these in your local grocery store, although some might require a trip to the Asian grocery, or to Amazon. But all of them can be found here, unlike many I review that only are sold in their local countries. Many of these have even been on my top ten lists, past and present – so get ready to have some of my favorite and most memorable varieties that you can easily find here in the United States! ...see full post