Eventually, I’ll get through everything I want to do for the Maruchan Meet The Manufacturer series – there’s a lot of them to go through and then unite all together. I’m cobbling everything together slowly. I got this one at the Kenmore, Washington Safeway store – your standard American domestic grocery store. In these stores, there are two areas you will commonly find instant noodles. There’s the soup aisle, and the ethnic foods aisle. These are in the soup aisle. They’ve got a few varieties of trays – some Maruchan, and some by a competitor . I think I’ll have to see what other Maruchan ones they’ve got, but thought this might be a good one for the trays. Let’s check it out!
#4517: Nissin no Donbei Ontsuyu Osoumen Mini – Japan
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
#4516: Wicked Foods Late Night Rice Noodles – United States
Here’s the second of two of these Wicked Foods varieties we found recently at the Lake City Fred Meyer grocery store. The last one was pretty slimy. Let’s see what this one has in store…
#4515: Myojo Charumera Donburi Tokyo Kaidashi Chuka Soba – Japan
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
#4514: Nongshim Bowl Noodles Ramen Noodles With Seasoning Mix Hot & Spicy Flavor – United States
New clothes for the classic! Originally, it was a foam bowl with a paper lid in shrinlkwrap. Then, they reformulated for microwave and had a cardboard sleeve. Now, it’s a plastic wrap with the graphics on that. This is classic – ubiquitous with gas stations and little corner shops, many o which are run by Korean Americans. I used to live in a place that had a little grocery/deli mini mart across the way. The fellow there was Korean American and he had these in there, but with a ridiculous markup. I asked him why once. ‘Because that’s my lunch!’
#4513: Urai Bihun Jagung Corn Vermicelli – Indonesia
Here’s something different – corn vermicelli! I’ve tried a different gauge of this paired with Ciptarasa mi goreng seasoning and it was really quite nice. This time I’ll try doing up a soup with Ciptaras onion chicken flavor. Let’s give it a go!
#4512: Wicked Foods Spicy Coconut & Rice Noodles – United States
Here’s one we found at the Fred Meyer store in Lake City. These are made in the UK – unsure if they’re related to the Naked Noodles line of someone else’s. Either way, it’s something I’ve not seen before, so I’m reviewing it.
#4511: Acecook Soup Harusame Hakata Mizutaki fu Yuzu Kosho – Japan
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
#4510: Myojo Charumera Cup Miso – Japan
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
#4509: Cup O’ Crazy Gummy Noodles United States
In December, we went to Party City. They had a new one opened up next to us and so we were getting stuff for our daughter Miriam’s birthday. Well, they had two candy noodle things and this was one of them. A Cup O’ Crazy. That’s pretty weird. It’s got goo, edible chopsticks, and gummy noodles. I really don’t like things like this so much but I have to review it of course. Qho knoqa; it could be masterfully crafted; like a jelly noodle with a sauce that’s made from fine ingredients and chopsticks of sweet coconut powder that melt in your mouth. But I wouldn’t count on it. Let’s commense this, the 4,509th session of my personal congress of noodling.
#4508: Sapporo Ichiban Pokémon Noodle Corn Butter Shoyu – Japan
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
#4507: MyKuali Penang Black Curry Noodle – Malaysia
This is a review I’m rushing out as kind of a special ‘grand re-opening.’ For the past couple of months I haven’t done more than a small handful of reviews. I’ve been dieting and walking a lot – like over 500 miles in May a lot. With the kids ending their school year today and a couple of months with them at home, I’m back to attempting to do three reviews a day Monday through Friday. I thought I would push this one through because it’s brand new and I know a lot of your will be interested. There’s something else brand new here I’m very excited about which you will be seeing in a while. The finished picture here has a background I created using AI. The ability to make my own backgrounds this was is really something else – I’m stoked. Spent an hour yesterday trying different things – prompts like ‘tranditional Malaysian style wallpaper centered with dark colors’ – things like that. You’ll see them regularly in the fall as even though I’ve taken all this time off, I’m still almost 150 reviews ahead. Yesterday I make a ton of new intros and outros for Instant Noodle Recipe Time, plus a new set of music for the show. So that’s coming up. On with the review!
#4506: A-Sha Mandarin Style Noodle With Original Soy Sauce 40% Reduced Sodium – United States
While we’re knee deep in 2023, I reviewed this one on January 4th – and actually it’s the first review I’ve done in 2023. Big thanks to the nice folks at A-Sha for sending this over – they said it’s available at Costco. Let’s give it a shot.
#4505: Maruchan GOLD Spicy Miso Ramen – United states
It’s a couple days after Christmas and one of the last reviews of 2022. Obviously, it’s not coming out in 2022, but that’s when I did this up. I used some things I got for Christmas, including leftovers from dinner – let’s give this one a try – I reviewed it quite a while back but figure it’s due another looksie.
#4504: Kikkoman Noodle Kit With Sauce Teriyaki Sesame – United States
This is a gluten free product we found at a local store. My wife does the gluten free thing, so making this for her today. It’s currently 23 degrees outside with a wind chill as low at 15. That’s pretty cold for these parts. I’ve got to go to the store to get some stuff, so I’ll probably be talking about how cold it is. Anyways, let’s cook this one up.
#4503: Dara Urai Original x Ciptarasa Mi Goreng – Indonesia
What we have here is a noodle and a seasoning combo – both by the same company. Should be pretty good – in the mood to try. Let’s check it out!
#4502: Quickchow Pancit Canton Toyomansi Flavor – Philippines
Toyomansi is a combo of soy sauce and calamansi flavors. Calamansi is a kind of citrus kind of similar to lime. This is great – rarely come across Filipino varieties and they’re some really good ones to try. Found this one at HMart with my daughter after her birthday party this year. We took her to Chuck E. Cheese – what an interesting place – very throwback. Let’s check this one out!
#4501: Pran Mr. Noodles Instant Noodles Spicy Tomato Flavour – Bangladesh
#4501: Mr. Noodles Spicy Tomato –
Here’s another one I found at JD’s Market in Lynnwood, Washington – and in fact, the last of them. Running low on noodles again at this point but that’s okay for now – got top tens to work on. This has been an interesting range to try. Let’s check it out.
#4500: Nissin Miojo Lamen Doce Sabor Beijinho – Brazil
A long time coming, this one. A reader named Cian sent me this one (thanks again!) as well as a few other Brazilian varieties. He sent the chocolate version of this which was a real score – but this one led me down a research rabbit hole, but yesterday I caught the rabbit. Beijinho is a Brazilian treat – see those little balls in the bowl? Beijinho is basically condensed milk and powdered sugar mixed with unsweetened coconut, chilled, made into balls, and then rolled in more unsweetended coconut and topped with a clove. Problem is the cloves alone were kind of spendy and all the coconut you find here is sweetened. It seemed that making it myself would be a little tricky as well as expensive. I asked in local groups and people mentioned Kitanda, a Brazilian cafe/bakery/mini store in Kirkland, Washington. First time we went, no dice – they only had the chocolate ones. The second time, however – they had what I was looking for, but sans clove and that’s what I’ll be using for garnish. So, let’s do up this 4500th review!
#4499: Acecook Tategata Nomihosu Ippai Sapporo Ebi Miso Ramen – Japan
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
The Ramen Rater Diet: How I Lost 56lbs in 92 days
I’m sure you’re a little confused, so here goes. I was told by my doctor back in 2018 that I needed to lose weight – I was at 364lbs and looking at pre-diabetes and going on a statin drug as well. So, I got a stroller and started pushing my daughter around a lot and limited intake. In six month, I’d lost around 60 pounds. I ended up down to 200 pounds in the next year which was pretty good. Well, In 2021 my mom died and early the next year I got COVID and ended up in the ICU. I gained 88 pounds back – definitely not what was on the menu but it happened. In early March, I saw my doc and he said I was back at 288lbs and said to lose weight again. I modified the diet I had done back in 2018. The next visit was in June and I’d lost 56 pounds which is an average of 0.6 pounds per day for 92 days.
#4498: Nissin Miojo Turma Do Chico Bento Sabor Caldinho De Feijao – Brazil
Pretty stoked – found this locally in Kirkland (no, not Costco, but the city of which is where Costco started, actually) at a coffee shop/store called Kitanda. What’s kind of a bummer though is that caldinho de feijao is a creamy black bean soup and what it appears is a standard garnish is nothing I have in my kitchen. Hmm… Well, I’ll make do with what I’ve got .
MyKuali Releases New Black Curry & Mi Goreng Varieties
Over the past couple months, I’ve been releasing reviews that I did quite a while back – I got very, very far ahead and so have been concentrating on other things lately. Well, Once I get reviewing again, this Black Curry will be the first one I try out. Let’s check this out!
Super Size Me: White Curry XXL
You like white curry? These folks in Malaysia give you what you want – a big pack of rice vermicelli with white curry broth! Check it out!
James From Lakeside, California – STRIKES AGAIN!
Another box has arrived from James of Lakeside, California – thanks! He always seems to find stuff I’ve been looking for or never knew existed – let’s check everything out!
Umai Crate Ramen Subscription Box – July 2023 + Coupon Code
Check this out! These subscription boxes come straight to your door and have some neat stuff inside! It’s a pretty great thing to get people who are into ramen for the holidays! Check out www.japancrate.com and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER to score a sweet discount and get some neat noodles! Here’s the latest unboxing of the March 2023 Umai Crate!
Zenpop.jp Japanese Ramen Unboxing – June 2023
It’s time to unbox a Zenpop.jp box – you get seven varieties of instant noodles to try! I would say that almost every time I’ve gotten one of these, I’ve never tried any of them before which is really awesome. Great as a gift or to hoard for yourself! Use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount! Let’s check it out!
Umai Crate Ramen Subscription Box – June 2023 + Coupon Code
Check this out! These subscription boxes come straight to your door and have some neat stuff inside! It’s a pretty great thing to get people who are into ramen for the holidays! Check out www.japancrate.com and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER to score a sweet discount and get some neat noodles! Here’s the latest unboxing of the March 2023 Umai Crate!
#4497: Ottogi Jin Ramen Veggie – United States
Found this one at HMart recently. Looks to be a Vegan version of Jin Ramen and that sounds neat as a change of pace. I’m in the mood for something different – haven’t done a lot of Korean varieties lately. This one is of course made in South Korea but packaged for sale in the United States. Let’s give it a try!
#4496: Seven&i Premium x Nissin Star Soupless Tantanmen – Japan
This came out of a box from Frank over at 5amRamen! Check out his stuff over at www.instantramen.jp – use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount! Super premium stuff!
#4495: Kolson Noodle Doodle Fiery Catpata – Pakistan
Here’s one I found at JD’s Market in Lynnwood. I found the cup variety of this at Imran’s Market, further north in Lynnwood a while back. I remember the cup version said fiery on it but was anything but. I’m hopeful this might have some heat to it. Let’s hope!
#4494: Acecook Sumatan x Wantanmen Donburi Ebishio Aji – Japan
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
#4493: Miliket MiliOne Huong Vi Suon – United States
This one came by way of James from Lakeside, California – thanks! This is an export version for the US from the looks of it. Spareribs flavor eh? I’m enthused. Let’s have a look.
#4492: Nissin Miojo Turma Da Monica Sabor Galinha Suave – Brazil
I’m very happy to say that I found this one locally! Brazilian instant noodles only a town over! So, I’m trying to find something specific to go with review #4500 – abd the only place I can get it is a coffee joint called Kitanda. Really great place with coffee and acai smoothies and a baklery and a small grocery selection – all Brazilian. They’ve got instant noodles! What I’m looking for is something called Beijinho – so that’s a giveaway for what it’s going to be. Anyways, let’s do up this one which is flavor of young hen.
#4491: Acecook Noodle Harusame 1/3 Nichibun Chanpon Aji – Japan
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
#4490: Vite Ramen Roasted Soy Sauce Chicken v3.0 – United States
Here’s another one from Vite Ramen – another cup! Really liking these new v3.0 variants they sent – this is an older flavor I’ve liked in the past. Is it good? Should be interesting. Let’s find out!
#4489: Dara Urai Flat x Cipratasa Rasa Ayam Bawang – Indonesia
So this is a noodle with no seasoning, however the company that make this makes seasoning as well, so that works out great! These are made by Suprama of Indonesia – the same folks that make Best Wok – a great line of mi goreng varieties I really like. Let’s try this noodle in concert with some special onion chicken seasoning!
#4488: Maruchan x TRY Toybox Shoyu Ramen – Japan
This came out of a box from Frank over at 5amRamen! Check out his stuff over at www.instantramen.jp – use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount! Super premium stuff!
Zenpop.jp Japanese Snack Box Taste Test June 2023
It’s time to unbox a Zenpop.jp box – this is a new one. I usually do unboxing of their ramen boxes – which I will still be doing. However, they’re also sending me their new snack boxes which have a noodle variety, and then a ton of candy and snacks. What’s cool is I’ll be not only doing the unboxing, but inline with it will be a taste test with my daughter Mimi. Great as a gift or to hoard for yourself! Use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount! Let’s check it out!
#4487: Nissin Assari Oishii Cup Noodle Curry – Japan
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!