#1824: Nongshim Soon Veggie Noodle Soup

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I’ve seen this one online a few times recently, but never in the store – until a couple of weeks ago, that is! I really liked the pack version of this one – made the 2014 Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time list – the first vegetarian one to do so. The pack was made in South Korea – but this cup is made here in the United States at Nongshim America down in sunny Rancho Cucamonga, California. I went and visited Nongshim America in 2012 – was really neat – big factory and nice people! Let’s check out this cup and see how it compares to the pack version. ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Add-Ons Of All Time 2015 Edition

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In the last few years, I’ve seen a large amount of articles with titles like ‘Best Ramen Hacks,’ ‘Pimp Your Ramen’ and so on. These titles fall under the category of clickbait – using hipster terminology and such to entice one to click on them. Usually, they’re all things people know about already; vegetables, oils and such. This is a list of my favorite add-ons and garnishes. While some may be familiar to you, others may not be. It’s also geared to help you navigate the Asian Grocery, a place many find to be alien to them but I have found to be one of the most vibrant and wonderful places I visit very regularly. Finally, I also included some tips of storage and how long these products last for those on a tight budget. In no particular order, here’s this new list! ...see full post

#1823: MyKuali Spicy Fried Noodle MeeKuali Goreng Pedas

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So every product MyKuali has come up with so far had made it into the big annual Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time list. It’s pretty mind-blowing; their products are so good, diverse and high quality. Well, today I’m going to check out a new one – a mee goreng offering. During our trip, I got to try some local hawker mee goreng last October in Penang. ...see full post

#1821: Myojo Udon Japanese Style Pre-Cooked Noodles With Soup Beef Flavor

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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! ...see full post

#1819: Yum Yum Premier Bowl Instant Noodles Suki Flavour

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This is one I found at 7-11 in Bankok, Thailand dur the trip in May. I wish there were instant noodle tie-ins with 7-11 here in the United States – it would be really awesome! I think if you’re lucky, you might find 3 or 4 instant noodle variants by the same brand in 7-11’s here. Anyways, this one looks interesting. I read that this is sukiyaki flavor, however the Thai have a twist on the Japanese version. Thai Suki as it is known has more flavor closely knit to Thai traditional tastes. Let’s have a look! ...see full post

#1818: Sugakiya Foods Nara Tenri Shoyu Ramen

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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! This one says got Chinese cabbage with a sweet soup and a deep flavor which is from something called ‘rajan,’ a strong and spicy red pepper seasoning fermented with rice koji. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

#1817: Hao Way Penang Vegetarian Prawn Instant Bowl Noodles

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Prawn Mee as it is called in Penang, Malaysia is a very popular dish. Mee means noodles by the way. A broth that’s sweet and absolutely jam packed with prawn flavor is the norm, but in this one, we have a vegetarian option. Let’s see how well vegetarian elements can come together to mimic a full-bodied prawn mee! ...see full post

#1812: Master Kong Mushroom Instant Noodle

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There’s a new Asian Food Center on 130th & Aurora – went there hunting for some of the fruit I got to try in Thailand and found mangosteen – and quite a few instant noodle varieties, this being one of them. It’s pretty far and few between that I find Master Kong varieties – always kind of a treat! I want to thank Bobby Y. from Canada for help in translation on this one! Let’s have a look at this one from China! ...see full post

#1810: MyKuali Penang White Curry Noodle (New Version)

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As most of you should know, thishas been one of my all time favorites in the past couple years. When it came out, it was a real game-changer; so much so that over 20 different manufacturers started making their own white curry variants to compete. MyKuali has decided to standardize their packaging and now this is how the product looks. Let’s have a look inside and see if anything else has changed. ...see full post

#1808: MAMA Vegetarian Instant Cup Noodle Tofu & Shiitake Flavour

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This is one I saw posted on facebook by one of the nice folks I met at MAMA in May. I was very curious about it and so I asked if I could get some samples – thank you! This one and the vegetarian tom yum are made specifically for October. Why? Well, there’s a special Vegetarian Festival in Thailand during October! Here’s a little about it: ...see full post

#1807: Wai Wai Tom Yum Goong Flavour Instant Noodle

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Here’s one I found at the 7-11 next to our hotel when we visit Thai President Foods in Bangkok back in May! I think the first time I tried a tom yum flavored instant, I didn’t like it. Through the years, I’ve gained a serious love for the flavor – the chilli, the shrimp, the lemongrass. It all comes together so well and the place where I had some of the best of course was in Thailand. Really hope to return someday with my sons and have them try all the amazing foods there! Anyways, let’s check out this cup! ...see full post

#1806: Cintan Mi Segera Mmm… Perisa Goreng Ala Indonesia

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So this is the last one that I got during my trip last October to meet the folks at MyKuali in Malaysia. We took a ferry from Georgetown, Penang over to Butterworth, Penang and went to an Econsave where I got to get a ton of instant noodles! It was a real blast for sure. Almost exactly a year ago today we were on our way home – probably was over the pacific at this point! Wow – truly was an amazing trip. I want to thank them for their kindness and for showing us such a good time! Let’s check out this last one that I brought back. ...see full post

Vote The Ramen Rater For Best Food Blog!

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Image by Steven C. - Thank you!

Hey everyone! I’m hoping you have been enjoying the website and my reviews! I was hoping you could do me a huge favor. There’s a yearly contest (longtime followers of the blog will remember it from previous years) called KING5’s BEST Of Western Washington. Basically, it’s a local contest where people can vote for their favorites. I’ve been in the Best Food Blog category for a couple of years now and hoping this year could be a little different – I really want to win this! The only downside is that you have to sign up and give your email address. Well, this year you can do so and tick a box during the process to ‘opt out’ of receiving any junk mail from them. It would mean a great deal to me if you could spend a minute and vote! It doesn’t matter where or what country you’re in, and if you’re a manufacturer, get everone at your factory to vote, please! You can do so by clicking here. Thank you very much! ...see full post

#1802: Nissin Cup Noodles Ramen Noodle Soup Beef Flavor [New Package]

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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! ...see full post

1801: Sichuan Baijia Spicy Artificial Fei-Chang Flavor Instant Vermicelli (New Version)

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To those of you have followed my blogs and my Bottom Ten lists for a while, you know what this is. To those who haven’t, let me introduce you to this one. In my original review, I was really put off by this one. I thought it had some kind of ‘dirt and urine’ odor to it. But this is a new version. First, what’s fei chang? Here’s something I found on a blog called Food And Drink Chengdu: ...see full post

#1800: Crystal Noodle Soup All Natural Hot & Sour

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Wow – review #1800. I must admit my surprise on how quickly I’m closing in on #2000. I haven’t reviewed one of these Crystal Noodle varieties in quite a while. I was talking to a friend of mine about instant noodles we weren’t particularly fond of and he mentioned his wife really liked these. We both agreed that Crystal Noodle was one of our least favorites. I figure though hey, you never know. This might be the one I really like! Let’s have a look. ...see full post

#1799: Thai Smile Spring Onion Rice Noodle Soup Bowl

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Another one my lovely wife found for me at BigLOTS. This one’s made in Thailand for the US market it seems. Spring onion is an interesting thing; it’s also known as green onion and also as scallions. Another one like that is coriander, which in the USA is known as cilantro – at least uin it’s fresh form. In a seasoning jar, it’s known here as coriander. Weird. anyways, let’s check out this bowl! ...see full post

#1798: iMee Instant Noodles Vegetable Flavour

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Here’s another one that was sent to me by James B. from The Netherlands – thanks! So this one is made in Thailand for the Dutch market. Vegetable flavor can be interesting; there are so many vegetables and so many takes on what ‘vegetable’ flavor is. Some taste like mushroom predominantly while other have a strong broccoli flavor. Some even taste like butter! Very curious to see what kind of vegetable flavor this one has – let’s find out! ...see full post

#1797: Wai Wai Instant Rice Vermicelli Crab Flavour

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Here’s another one my sister got for me while up in Canada a couple of weeks ago! Thanks, Sue! I’ve been really hoping to try more rice vermicelli lately but been having trouble sourcing any from around here and hoping to find some manufacturer who might want me to review some of their stuff! The top ten rice noodles list this year was a lot of fun and definitely want to make it a yearly kind of thing! Anyways, let’s check out these crab flavored noodles from Thailand! ...see full post

#1793: Cintan Mi Segera Mmm… Perisa Asam Laksa

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Yet another from last year’s Malaysia trip I gotta wolf down before it goes bad! Asam Laksa is a flavor probably most people in the USA haven’t heard of or know how to pronounce when read or spell for that matter. Well, it’s a sour spicy soup with fish. At least that’s the layman’s way or explaining it. It’s really good – had it while in Penang – man I wish I could go have some more… Anyways, let’s check this one out! ...see full post