Meet The Manufacturer: Interview With Sakura Noodle Inc.

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Interview With Sakura Noodle Inc * Product Samples From Sakura Noodle Inc * Sakura Noodle Inc Chikara Brand Udon Chicken Flavor * Sakura Noodle Inc Chikara Brand Udon Oriental Flavor * Sakura Noodle Inc Chikara Brand Udon Mushroom Flavor * Sakura Noodle Inc Chikara Brand Udon Shrimp Flavor * Sakura Noodle Inc Chikara Brand Udon Hot & Spicy Flavor *
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#1331: Indomie Taste Of Asia Mi Kuah Rasa Tom Yum Ala Thailand

I’ve been asked about this special series from Indomie for a long time and finally got my hands on some! Indomie’s Taste Of Asia line has three components: Laksa representing Singapore, Bulgogi representing South Korea, and finally Tom Yum to represent Thailand. I thought since I embark on a new Meet The Manufacturer tomorrow, I’d try something a little different. So Tom Yum is a Thai soup, usually with very strong spiciness and citrus flavors. I’m very curious as to how they’ll do this one. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

#1330: Sapporo Ichiban Otafuku Okonomi Sauce Yakisoba

Here’s some more noodles I picked up last July in Canada. It’s been a while now, so I’ll tell you the story of the July trip. I saw a blog post from a guy up in Vancouver, BC who was talking about my top ten list. He had a really neat little graphic icon that looked cool, so I tried to figure out where it was from. Finally, he was the one who let me in on it. It was a graphic someone had made of my top ten list! I was curious to find out where it had come from… ...see full post

#1328: A-Sha Hello Kitty La Wei (Spicy Flavor)

This one was sent by the folks at A-Sha – thank you very much! I’m always on the lookout for Hello Kitty instant noodles. Why? Well, my wife really likes Hello Kitty. They wanted me to be sure to let people klnow that these cannot be found for sale in the United States – sorry folks – gotta pack your bags and fly to Taiwan! This one’s spicy – which seems a little funny to me. I would think anything Hello Kitty would be very light in flavor and tame for the kids. I think the kids over in Taiwan can handle their spicy stuff! That’s rad! Let’s check it out! ...see full post

#1327: Unif-100 Instant Noodles Artificial Tart Beef Flavor

Here’s one sent to me by Roger S. – thanks! I haven’t had one of these Unif-100’s in a while. I had the Cayenne Beef a little while back, but this is one of the ones that are distributed here in the US quite widely. Chances are if you have an Asian grocery local to you, they’ll have some of the Unif line of instants. Now, while beef is a very common flavor where instant noodles are concerned, tart beef is something I’ve not encountered before. Let’s see what’s inside and how it tastes. ...see full post

#1326: Mamee Mi Segera SLLRRRP! Perencah Kari Xtra Pedas

Here’s another one sent to me by Annie T. over at MyKuali – thanks again! As I’ve said before, I love curry. There are so many different curries out there – sweet, spicy, slightly bland. Pastes, powders, sauces… It’s pretty enjoyable! I’ve been really enjoying reviewing curries from this region – Malaysia and Singapore – wonderful places that make some awesome curry instants! This one purports to be ‘xtra pedas’ which translates to extra hot. Let’s see if this stuff is really spicy or not. ...see full post

#1325: Koka Noodles Spicy Shrimp Tom Yam Flavour

Here’s another one sent by Charles, a serviceman in Afghanistan – thanks! I’ve seen these cups for a long time online but never have I tried one. It seems KOKA sells their noodles in three places – Singapore, the US and the UK. They have different kinds available in each market too which is logical. Most large noodle manufacturers do this actually; look at the flavors sold here in the US versus the ones by the same company sold in Japan. It’s kind of the ‘when in Rome’ logic and it works for them. Let’s have a look inside this cup by KOKA. ...see full post

#1323: Golden Wheat Korean Style Mushroom Chicken Flavour Cooking Noodle

This is one I got for my birthday last year when my wife took me to Canada – thank you, Kit! I’m going to be blunt: I don’t have high hopes on this one. These Golden Wheat varieties are pretty good, as they’re JML products in camouflage. As you can see from this JML Mushroom Chicken bowl, the sachets are identical. Don’t get me wrong – I’ve really enjoyed a lot of the Golden Wheat and JML varieties, but I really didn’t like the Mushroom Chicken previously. Time to see if this one warrants a low score or if it’s a pleasant surprise. It’s go time. ...see full post

#1321: Takamori Fresh Chow Mein Noodles With Seasoning

A co-worker named Joan at my wife’s work recently went to Hawaii and went out of her way to find something I hadn’t tried yet! She looked through the Big List and lo and behold, I hadn’t tried this chow mein! Thank you very much! These are fresh noodles, usually found in the cold section. They’re also a broth free variety. You might be more familiar with them as yakisoba, a noodle dish that can be found at little teriyaki joints all over. Let’s give this a try! ...see full post

#1320: MAMA Instant Noodles Cup Seafood Flavour

My nose is running, my throat is sore and I feel pretty crummy. Sneezing, sore eyes and sore everything – I’ve got a cold and a bad one at that. Not a fun day, that’s for sure – it’s raining and windy outside as well which makes taking our dogs out a real chore, especially when they’re pugs. Pugs don’t like to get wet; they (at least the pugs we have) aren’t very rugged creatures; they like to sleep and be constantly comfortable. ...see full post

#1319: Adabi Mi Segera Kari Ayam Instant Noodles

Here’s one that Annie T. from MyKuali sent me from Malaysia – thanks again! It’s been a lot of fun trying varieties from Malaysia and Singapore in the last year. Usually they’re pretty hard to come by where I live, so new stuff is always welcome. I’d never heard of Adabi brand until a couple of months ago. The first one I tried was #1276: Adabi Mi Bandung Prawn Mee – and it was really good! I’m curious if this is going to be your standard chicken curry or something a little different. Let’s have a loot inside! ...see full post

#1317: Ve Wong Little Prince Brand Snack Noodles Original Flavor

In Taiwan, there is a huge market for snack noodles, among them Little Prince. You don’t cook them; they’re seasoned and crunchy and in little snack baggies. Here’s a great example of them – you get a big bag with 20 little bags inside. Noodles oodles! They come in a range of flavors – original, seaweed, kimchi and bacon. Yes, bacon! Here’s a link to my review of the bacon variety. Let’s delve into this snack insanity from Taiwan! Noodles oodles from Little Prince! ...see full post

#1316: Ottogi Japchae Vermicelli Noodle

Ottogi sent me a box of noodle samples a while back in hopes of doing a Meet The Manufacturer series. Unfortunately, timing and language barriers made that hard to come to fruition, so I figured I ought to review some of the varieties they’ve sent over time. This one’s Japchae – a traditional South Korean dish of clear noodles, vegetables and meats. Good stuff, at least what I’ve tried in a restaurant! Let’s have a look to see what this is like. ...see full post

Recipe: The Ramen Rater’s Deep Fried Instant Noodle Cheese Bites

When I was very young, we had a visitor from a music group come into our classroom. He told us about a song his band did that was written by a band member when he was sick. He talked to us about how when you don’t feel good, sometimes your mind can go in different directions; that it can be a good time to embrace creativity. I thought that kind of odd, but have also found it to be true. I remember playing Asteroid on my old Atari 2600 and using a different strategy and getting a really high school – I was home with the flu.
Well today, I’m under the weather. I’ve been sneezing and runny-nosed and achy – you know the drill. Well, inspiration reared it’s head again. With all the things people have been trying with instant noodles lately, I thought maybe this would be good. I would absolutely love to see some pictures if you guys attempt making it! With that, I introduce the instant noodle cheese bite. ...see full post

#1315: Sainsbury’s Chicken Flavour Instant Noodles

Here’s one that Joe B. and Sarah B. sent me from Nottingham, UK – thanks! This is a common variety you would find at a store called Sainsbury’s. Sainsbury’s is a chain that can be found throughout England which sells pretty much everything by the looks of it. British varieties usually tend to be on the blander side, as is the way with a lot of food from over there, but sometimes they’re really good. Let’s see which end of the spectrum this one falls into. ...see full post

#1314: Paldo Korean Traditional Beef Gomtangmen

Korean beef soup is usually something that isn’t spicy; a departure from what people usually see in most ramyun varieties. Gomtang translates to ‘bear soup,’ but there’s no bear in there! It’s been – boiled for a long time. The ‘men’ at the end of gomtangmen is where the noodles come in. Men, myun, myeon and myon are all suffixes that mean noodles in Korean. I’ve had Paldo’s Gomtang variety in the gold packaging – that stuff is quite good. I’m very curious to find out how this one is. Let’s have a look. ...see full post

#1313: Healtimie Green Barley Noodle Vegetable Soup

Another from a friend in Indonesia – thank you! I’ve reviewed quite a few instant noodles lately that have been less ‘vanilla’ in color. I had some purple ones, another green one from Taiwan and a Japanese variety a week or two ago that had ‘jet black’ broth! This one’s hook is that it has green barley in it. I did a bit of looking around and found some information on green barley/barley grass here. From what it says, it’s good for you, but how does it do in the case of being added to Healtimie noodles? Let’s have a look. ...see full post

#1312: Maruchan ‘I Want To Eat Ramen’ Miso Flavor

I can honestly say that I want to eat ramen. Every day. Well, if not ramen, ramyun, udon, mi goreng, mee and every other kind of instant noodle out there! It’s fun! Sometimes it’s hard to decide which one to review though, and so my wife was kind enough to pick one out of the bin and toss it to me this morning – and this is it. Let’s have a look! Most people here in the US think of Maruchan as making their instant packs and ‘Instant Lunch’ cups, but they make a varied line of products over in Japan with more traditional flavors from the region. But to start things off before any reviewing, today is Valentine’s Day – happy Valentine’s Day to all! My wife Kit and I spent a special day yesterday in Seattle yesterday… ...see full post

#1308: Nongshim Soon Veggie Noodle Soup

Here’s a new one from Nongshim for the vegetable crown. At first, I thought it would be a tofu based variety; the reason was that I’ve gone to a local Korean restaurant and ordered ‘Soon Tofu’ a few times, which is a spicy soup with tofu in it. Well, ‘soon’ translates to ‘soft.’ Well, tofu is a vegetarian friendly construct, so I thought I’d give it a try today with this new one. A few people have been asking about this one, so with that, let’s check it out. ...see full post

#1306: KOKA Oriental Style Instant Noodles Tom Yam Flavour

Here’s one that was sent by Martin A. of Devon, England. Thanks again! I’ve really been into fish balls lately. They’re tasty, lots of varieties, and pretty low cal. Anyways, they tend to go better in spicy varieties of instant noodles and I think they are wonderful in tom yum/yam. Let’s check this one out! ...see full post

#1298: Good Tto Leu Foods Lightning Beef Bone Tteokguk (Rice Cake Soup)

Thanks go to James K. of KoreAm for translation help as well as educating me on this one! Ramen? Nope. Ramyun? Nope. Udon? Nope. This is tteokguk! Tteok is South Korean rice cake. They’re flat and chewy! It’s often served on Lunar New Year and other special holidays. Let’s give it a try – Happy Lunar New Year! ...see full post