Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Here’s one that was sent to me from Australian by Jen – thank you very much! It’s pretty rare that I get anything from Australia and her package a while back was a trove of neat stuff! This one’s sold in Australia and elsewhere and made in Singapore by the folks at Tat Hui. Let’s check it out!
I really loved the Nyor Nyar non-vegetarian PWC a lot – a whole lot! Very curious as to how this vegetarian variety will be. Let’s give it a look!
I know, I know… ‘You haven’t reviewed THIS one yet?!’ This was sent to me by a reader named Colin (thanks again!) and he got it at a specialty shop in Mexico. This is a really common Japanese Cup Noodle but I’ve never been able to get a hoold of it – until now. Let’s give it a look!
Today I’ll be trying something new sent to me by Yongmin Park of Paldo – thank you very much! Very curious about this one as I’ve never seen it before. This is Budae Jigae – let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about it:
Here’s one I got from Jen in Australia a while back – thanks! I was waiting for the right time to review this. I thought maybe cooking some bacon sous vide style and then frying it up could be pretty epic. I did the sous vide-ing and my wife will be frying the bacon. Ready for meat candy time? Let’s do it!
Okay now this – this sounds good. I absolutely love a few things in this world. Curries, Korean BBQ, dim sum… Something new has been anything braised and Taiwanese. We’ve got a little restaurant nearby called Looking For Chai and their braised pork and braised beef is so good – tender and so full of flavor. Just a nice slab of it on a bed of rice and that’s all you need – well, that and a little milk tea. Let’s check out this spicy braised noodle!
One of the many varieties sent by Nissin HK for Meet The Manufacturer. This sounds good to try today; it’s been really warm around the area lately (northwest USA) and it’s cooled off a little and so something spicy should bring the temp back up a little. I should mentioned that I have now gotten new bowls that I’ll start using today for the seasonings/oil/vegetables. They’re sake and soju cups! Let’s take a look!
Here’s the third of the A-Sha microwavable tray varieties – let’s give it a looksie!
Today it’s the third and final of the trifecta of Mee Goreng varieties from Myojo of Singapore – spicy flavor. Let’s see if this thing has some real zing!
Here’s another one sent to me by Javier from Box From Japan. Box From Japan has subscriptions for all sorts of neat Japanese things. I regret to say that I was informed that they won’t be taking subscriptions for their ramen boxes for now – hopefully that will start again soon. He mentioned that you can purchase instant noodles from them here. Here’s what he had to say about this particular variety:
Here’s another one sent by reader Colin – thanks again man! So it’s been a while since I’ve had any of these Vietnamese Acecook variants. Sounds like a good one for today – let’s check it out!
Here’s a new Jjamppong from Paldo of South Korea sent by Yongmin Park of Paldo. Thank you very much! I really like jjamppong so let’s check it out!
I’m really excited about these – got 5 different varieties from Nissin Thailand – always looking for anything kid related when it comes to instant noodles! The fact is that there’s a market all over the world for instant noodles for kids; think about it – we have adult breakfast cereal here and then ones marketed to kids. Same with instant noodle abroad. Let check it out!
I got an email last week from a company that sells all sorts of neat Japanese stuff – Ippin! A marketer named Lee contacted me! There’s Ippin for the United States and Ippin for Singapore. Let’s see what Lee put in this neat package from Japan!
Here’s one sent to me by a reader from fort Worth, TX named Marvin R. – thanks again! This pack is from Pakistan and has some neat languages all over it including Russian! Let’s give this masala favor instant a try!
Here’s another Demae Ramen from Hong Kong! Spicy tonkotsu sounds really good. I’ve got chashu pork in the freezer so that should go nicely. Let’s check it out!
A big thanks to Colin for finding and sending me this one! Okay, so I have been trying to get this one for a while; anything by Roland honestly. I called them, emailed them, and always got the same reply – ‘we don’t send sample.’ I really love it when companies have such a rigid policy against basically what amounts to free advertising. This one is made in Singapore for Roland company here in the USA, and I have a feeling it’s a private label by Tat Hui/KOKA – all boils down to one aspect which is a giveaway. Let’s check this one out and I’ll show you what that is.
Since my wife is home today, I thought I’d make something for her. She’s not a big fan of spicy or fishy, so I thought maybe this cup might do her right. Let’s check it out!
Here’s another one sent to me by Javier from Box From Japan. Box From Japan has subscriptions for all sorts of neat Japanese things. I regret to say that I was informed that they won’t be taking subscriptions for their ramen boxes for now – hopefully that will start again soon. He mentioned that you can purchase instant noodles from them here. Here’s what he had to say about this particular variety:
Tonkotsu is probably my favorite traditional ramen flavor. This and creamy broth with pork. Can’t beat it. Well, it’s now available from Maruchan in the USA in this bowl form! Let’s see how it fares!
Thanks again to Adriana and Steve O. for sending me these great Brazillian instants! I think this is the last of them – was a lot of fun! So I *think* this one translates to country style chicken. Well, let’s give it a look!
Okay so I guess karma will get you. I dunno. Let me explain… So I got this pack along with a couple others at HMart a week or two ago (great store, HMart by the way) and they had one of this series in single packs to buy, but the other two were in 5 packs that were around $9 each. Well, I went to the trouble of opening a couple of the 5 packs and taking out one each . Now, I’m unsure if this is truly a horrible thing to do; I’m sure they just put them on the shelf with the others that are sold in singles. Plus hey – I got them at HMart (there – the third time I mentioned HMart! Ooh a fourth!), so if you want to get these you can find them there. Well, as it turns out I reviewed this one in May and now I’m reviewing it again! Wasn’t my plan to do a re-review today but here we are. So perhaps the pulling of single packs from the multipack is why this happened. But probably not; I’m just getting old. Anyways, this is a jjajang/zha jiang (black bean sauce) noodle. Let’s hit it!
Okay so I live in a small town in between a lot of bigger ones called Kenmore. We get a LOT of power outages here, and it looks like we’re probably going to have one tonight! Remnants of typhoon Songda shot out of the south pacific and made a beeline right for western Washington state. This neat box of samples arrived about an hour ago – I asked for more of these since I really like them a lot and they were kind enough to send some! Let’s crack this box open!
I saw this at the local supermarket the other day and just couldn’t pass it up. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an instant noodle showing such patriotism before! Also, before anyone starts sending me comments saying ‘how dare they use our flag – that’s made in South Korea,’ I have news for you. Nongshim America is down in Rancho Cucamonga, California and employs a LOT of Americans! Yep – chances are that if you’re living in the USA and enjoy Shin Ramyun or Shin Black or any of the Bowl Noodles, it was most likely made here in the states. Make sure to check out the factory tour video at the end of this post – I went on it in 2012 and it was a blast! Anyways, let’s check this one out!
Here’s another one from the Meet The Manufacturer I did with Nissin Hong Kong. So vongole is a kind of clam and pasta dish very popular in southeast Asia. Let’s check it out!
Penang. It’s a place I really miss, specifically because friends and flavors live there. some of the most amazing things that I’ve ever tasted are from Malaysia and specifically Penang. I decided to save this for last as I wanted to see how everything else was before I tried something that promises to be good. Today we say hello to this exotic variety and goodbye to the Meet The Manufacturer for Mr. Lee’s Noodles. Here we go!
I think I was talking about Kung Fu Theater and David Carradine’s career the other day. He played Grasshoppe – a pupil of the Shaolin on that show. Still bugs he; why didn’t they get, oh – I don’t know… A more fitting person to play a Chinese martial arts student? Maybe someone.. Chinese? Anyways, it’s veggie time – let’s get it on!
Tai chi makes me think of the slow moving exercise many people do in large groups. This is an instant noodle blog though and so you get 3 minutes to do your tai chi! This is the chicken noodle – the basis of where all instant noodles come from. I believe a company’s chicken instant defines them. Let’s give it a look!
Today it’s mushrooms! Looks like spicy mushrooms too! Let’s check it out!
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, add boiling water to ridge line (just under the lip). Stir then cover for 3 minutes. Stir and enjoy!
The second review will be this beef cup! Very curious what will be in here – beef? To beef or not to beef? Well, only one way to find out!
We start today with a seafood variety. I do believe this is the first instant noodle I’ve reviewed with the words ‘kick-ass’ on the front – hopefully a good sign, especiallywhen it comes to how spicy they truly will be. Let’s have a look at this, the first of six varieties I’ll be reviewing for Meet The Manufacturer this go around!
So this awesome box came today!
Ah I see – it was two boxes connected together!
Opening a box, you are greeted by this little sheet (click to enlarge)
Interview with Mr. Lee’s Noodles * Product Samples from Mr. Lee’s Noodles * Mr. Lee’s Noodles Warrior Fighting Shrimp * Mr. Lee’s Noodles Hong Kong Street Beef * Mr. Lee’s Noodles Dragon Fire Mushroom * Mr. Lee’s Noodles Tai Chi Chicken * Mr. Lee’s Noodles Shaolin Monk Vegetables * Mr. Lee’s Noodles Penang Chicken Curry Laksa
Here’s a new one from Javier over at www.BoxFromJapan.com. Box From Japan offers subscription boxes of instant noodles and other Japan related awesomeness like candy! For $25/month, you get 4 really unique instant noodle bowls to your door – that includes shipping. What’s more, so far I’ve not received one duplicate or any I’ve ever reviewed before, which is quite amazing since I’m approaching 2,200 reviews. Here’s what they had to say about this variety –
I usually wake up at 5 in the morning, take a ton of pictures, edit them, get a post ready and then around lunchtime do the actual pictures and cooking and review. I’ve done it this way for a while and it’s a pretty good schedule for me, especially with a one year old in the house with his own schedule. Today I thought I’d take a day off and maybe have something different for lunch.
Here’s another one lkeftover from the Nissin Hong Kong Meet Tehe Manufacturer! I used to think there was only one variety of Fuku instant noodles in existence but there’s a whole slew of them! This one’s chicken and look – Hiyoko Chan on the pack! Let’s have a look!
Here’s one that Marvin R. sent me from Fort Worth, Texas recently – thank you! Knorr’s a pretty worldwide brand of Unilever. These are from Pakistan! Anyways, let’s have a look at these and give ’em a try!
When I got an email from a company asking if I’d like to sample their Penang White Curry noodle, I was very happy. It’s been a long time since anyone’s asked me to try one – for a while there, it seemed like I was reviewing a different PWC once a week. A couple things t note about this one. First – the name Nyor Nyar – I really enjoying saying it; it’s fun to say – and I’m probably saying it incorrectly. I noticed that on the top left of the package, it mentions ‘inspired by Penang Air Hitam’s White Curry.’ I think they’re referring to the Two Sisters/Two Aunties stall that’s been around for years in Penang and is extremely well known. Although I’ve not tried that White Curry, I’ve tried many, many others – let’s see how this one tastes!
I was contacted by someone from a Taiwanese company called Choumama asking if I’d try their noodles. A few weeks later, these arrived. The packages certainly look fancy – very interested to see how they come out. Let’s give ’em a look!
Here’s another one from Javier over at BoxFromJapan.com! Box From Japan is a subscription service – you can get a box of ramen (and candy too) from Japan every month for $25. I can honestly say I still haven’t gotten a variety I’ve reviewed before from them – something pretty amazing! Here’s what they had to say about this variety:
