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I’ve tried quite a few different varieties of domestic microwavable bowls that have been very lackluster; to the point of finding it to be a bit of a no man’s land of endless zero star fare. Yeah – I really didn’t expect that. Well, I’m hoping to find some nice things here – hoping. Let’s see what happens.
I’ve tried a few of the soup varieties that Annie Chun’s makes, so I thought perhaps I’ll give the ones that are more saucy a shot. Previously, the soupy ones didn’t fare too well. Maybe these are better?
The last one of these I tried was really quite good. It had a ton of noodles, and an excellent chicken flavor which was perfect for Western palates. I’m curious how the spicy element will go with this one. Shall we find out? I should add that if you look in the ingredients, it mentions habanero!
Here’s another one of the Ramen Bowl varieties from Maruchan here in the United States. This is one of those varieties I figured I’ll leave as they’re so easy to find and save for a rainy day. Well, it’s raining – I’ve kind of hit a low amounts of instant noodles slump – happens from time to time. So, let’s get our chicken on.
Oh man – so I’ve been digging. I’ve dug through everything in my hampers and assorted boxes. This is it. This is the last one I have that’s kinda old. It’s not expired. It expires next motn though. I know at the local grocery store there’s a couple more I can get so there’s 2/3 of a day of reviewing. I think I’ve been doing three reviews a day for at least 15 days now. Honestly, it’s kind of nice. I’ve got my groove on. It’s going. I’m doing it on the weekends. Full tilt. A slurp, a bite. Let’s see how this new one fares.
My wife went to Whole Foods the other day (not a place we usually frequent, however she’s trying out the gluten free thing) and she came across three of these Ocean’s Halo varieties. The first I’m trying if this Thai coconut. Sounds pretty good in theory at least. I guess we should take a look!
Lots of people enjoy bowls full of noodles from around the world. They often come with a utensil, and all you need it hot water. For a quick meal, they’re hard to beat insofar as convenience. Some bowls however go above and beyond a utilitarian sense and are truly gourmet. This list is comprised of my favorite bowl varieties from all reviews up to #4120. All scoring is done prior to garnish being added. Do you want me to review something I haven’t? Drop me a line! With that, let’s peruse my top picks on The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2022 Edition!
I recently found out about Soupply – a manufacturer of high end pho noodle bowls. I think the best way to describe them is super premium. What’s neat about them is that they contain retort pouches. Retort pouches are popular in many countries, but especially in the instant noodle of Taiwan. They contain meat and other ingredients which push the envelope of instant noodles. Let’s check out Soupply’s offering and see what’s in store!
Here’s one that came via Exotic Noods – check ’em out and use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount!
Here’s one that was inside a subscription box from Exotic Noods! Exotic Noods (www.exoticnoods.com) has monthly subscription boxes with varieties from around the world! Really nice assortments! Check em out and use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount!
Well, it’s been another year of reviews and these are my favorite bowl varieties out of reviews #1 to #3790. All sorts of bowls from all over the world have been tried. It’s been a crazy year and it seems (at least in this neck of the woods) things are starting to mellow which is truly wonderful. It’s been a crazy month too – today is Memorial Day, May 31st, 2021. I’ve walked over 1 million steps this month, and on Friday did my personal record – 33 miles in a day. Yes, my feet hurt. Anyways, if you have varieties you want to see reviewed whether they be bowls, cups, packs or otherwise, please contact me. With that, let’s check out this Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2021 Edition.
Alright so this one’s a little confusing. The bar code on this correlated with review #3035, however there are some distinct differences in the packaging. #3035 doesn’t have side panels and the lid is different. I’m unsure about this one so it’ll get a new review. Let’s give it a try!
Bowls, cups, , trays, packs, and boxes. Well, I haven’t done a list of boxed or tray-style instant noodles – maybe that will come soon. But I think that separating these is important. The experience that a cup is meant for is different than a cup or bowl. Cups are more for a snack on the go, packs for when you’ve got a stove, and bowls are, well, for lunch. Although in the finished shots of these you’ll see them plated here, generally people will be looking at the bowl they came in, possibly using the plastic fork they came with, and tossing everything once they’re done. These are my favorites, current as of review #3545. Let’s have a look at The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2020 Edition.
A very long time ago, I tried their pho as part of a Meet The Manufacturer series – a series of one review! I’ve started seeing their products more and more and thought hey look – it’s in Walmrt – I’ll give it a try. So, here we are. I’m curious how it’s going to be – brown rice noodles! Let’s find out.
I was visiting a prominent spot in the local Safeway supermarket which I walk to almost daily. That area would be the endcap where the mung bean sprouts are located. I noticed this and another bowl I hadn’t really noticed before sitting there and though what the heck I’ll give it a try.
Here’s the second of the three refrigerated bowl sent by Nona Lim – thanks again! This one contains ‘Beyond Meat,’ a meat substitute that sounds interesting. I know I liked Dan Dan Noodle so let’s see how this measures up!
This is an interesting one and took a little research. Is a plant based diet same as a Vegan diet? Well this video explains that they’re two different things. This is a fresh bowl which requires refrigeration. I really like green curry – let’s give it a try!
Found this at Dollarama, a dollar store up in Canada. A cup of beef. See the little microwave icon on the lower right? We don’t have a microwave currently. Our old one was 20 years old, give or take a year and I though ‘hey – we should get a new one.’ It seemed to be cooking things inconsistently so we went and ordered a new one. It was all screwed up so we returned it last night. Found another one which was really neat! Got it home, lugged it in, opened it up to see this –
Every year I come out with new lists in many categories. The more reviews I do, the more I figure the lists will change less and less. It amazes me though how much they do change and how much the industry evolves and changes. Here’s the latest list of bowls, current as on review #3180. All products are prepared according to labeling on the package, and scores are given before any external garnish is added. Let’s check out the Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls for 2019!
Our final stop on the Suimin Origins range is their Thai Green Curry variety. Here’s a little about this flavor from Wikipedia –
The second in the trifecta of Suimin Origins varieties I’ll be trying is Beef Massaman. If you’re unfamiliar with the flavor, here’s a little snippet from Wikipedia –
To start things off, I thought I’d go with this seafood laksa. I like laksa – curious what it will be like. Here’s a little about laksa from Wikipedia –
Here’s the last of the Uni-President varieties my wife spotted a few months ago at Foody World up in Richmond, NC! They were $1.50 apiece which seemed very good. Really like the graphic on this one – looks really neat. Let’s crack into this one and give it a go!
We found this one up at Foodyworld in Richmond, BC. They were on a great sale – 2 for $3CAD! Not bad at all! I have to say I love this packaging’s graphic. The food is all sharp and colorful and contrasts so well with the background. Very old school Chinese! Sorry about the lack of pictures of what’s inside the sachets – woke up late and so rushing to get just this one done! Let’s have a look!
We found this one up at Foodyworld in Richmond, BC. They were on a great sale – 2 for $3CAD! Not bad at all! I have to say I love this packaging’s graphic. The food is all sharp and colorful and contrasts so well with the background. Very old school Chinese! Let’s have a look!
Oh yeah are you ready? Are you? Man, you’re going to think I’m nuts, but I’m a huge fan of store brand instant noodles. Why? Simple – I love the hunt. I really like to go somewhere and say ‘ah ha – I haven’t tried this one,’ put it in the handbasket and move on. Well a few weeks ago we went to Lansdowne Centre, a neat mall in Richmond, BC. We keep finding different places to visit up there which totally rocks. In the mall, there’s a bunch of store of course. The mall really is kind of a blast from the past – very Canadian and looks like it was built in the 70’s – lots of mirrored things abound. What got us there was that we saw this sign saying ‘Dollarama’ when we’d go up to Richmond every time and I thought ‘hmmm… A Canadian dollar store sounds interesting…’ So we check it out and they had their own store brand. They’re made in China for the chain of Dollarama stores and called Bowlfull. Sounds interesting. Yeah – if it sounds interesting, I’, all in. I don’t care if I like it or not – it’s something new, and that’s what my whole instant noodle journey has been about. Let’s crack open this 25 cent pack of noodles and see how things turn out.
It’s been awhile! I did a Meet The Manufacturer series with Blount a while back. Well, they’ve got something new – pho! You can find it in the fresh (not frozen) section – more info at www.blountbowls.com. Very curious as to how it will be. Let’s find out!
It’s time for another top ten list and this time it’s The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2018 Edition! The first list debuted in 2013 – I can’t believe this is the sixth list! As always – if you are a company who would like me to review your products, please contact me via the contact link – I want to talk to you! These are my favorite instant noodle bowl selections from my over 2800 reviews to date. Let’s get started!
Here’s a special one! Got contacted by a company about some fancy new bowls with a familiar flavor. See, I’ve been reviewing instant noodles for a long time, but there was a gap of about 5 years in the middle where I reviewed hot sauces. Tapatio is a popular hot sauce here in the United States – so I’m sure you’ll be excited to see this one!
So this is one that the company sent to me – thanks! So this is one of the new Taste Of Asia series, a range that has some really great varieties. I really liked the Sukiyaki Beef from their first three kinds and then they came out with this one and also a Tom Yum which I would say is my favorite so far.
When I saw this one I was extremely interested. I’ve had tom yum soup many times in Thailand and in Malaysia as well. I’ve reviewed tom yum instant noodle varieties from throughout Southeast Asia – tons of them. I’ve NEVER had one however from the United States. Not only that, this one is a microwavable tom yum. I must admit these are definitely uncharted waters. I’m really hoping this is good. With an open mind and palate, I delve into this bowl.
As you might remember, I recently did a Meety The Manufacturer series of the Blount Bowls – at the time they had a chicken and a coconut chicken variety. Well, they now have rice bowls and asked if I would show them. So here we go!
I’ve reviewed many fresh varieties in the past and this is a new variety from a brand I’ve never reviewed any products from before! What’s more, it’s a company in the United States. I must say that the packaging is rather striking; it’s thick cardboard and the little cut out of the bowl and steam coming out above it is really neat.
The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2017 Edition is a list of the best bowls I’ve tried of the over 2400 reviews posted to date. Bowls are interesting insofar as they often contain extra things, since there is more room for sachets, spoons, fork, etcetera. As always, I implore instant noodle manufacturers to contact me – I would love to review your products and all it costs is sending some samples and your time! So sit back, grab a bowl, some hot water, peel back the lid, stir – and enjoy!
Here’s another one from a reader named Colin from the east coast – thanks again! It amazes me how many varieties he can find from the other side of the USA that I can’t get here. Fascinating; you’d think you could get most things anywhere but apparently companies distribute different things in different places. Anyways, this sounds good – spicy beef! Let’s check it out.
Here’s a new one from Colin – thanks again! Don’t think I’ve reviewed anything by this brand before – let’s have a look!
Instant noodles sold in bowls are very popular as they provide a certain convenience to those ‘on the go.’ They’re great to pack in a bag for a trip or for the office at lunch. These are the best of the best that I’ve tried out of my over 2,060+ reviews to date. With that, open lid halfway, pour in some boiling water, stir – and enjoy!
The last of the stuff I found at BigLots! a while back. BigLots! is a kind of clearance/liquidation chain. What I like is that I usually find something or other in there that I’ve never heard of or reviewed before which is nice. Let’s have a look at this rice noodle bowl.
The next to last variety I found while in Thailand – there was a Seven-Eleven next to our hotel which we visited countless times; so different from the ones we have here! Slurpee machines in the back as always, but you make a 180 degree turn and boom – a huge assortment of instant noodles. It was amazing and burned into my mind! Some companies do special partnerships with Seven-Eleven all over Southeast Asia and have special varieties only available there – this is one of them. Let’s check it out!
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!