Back in mid 2018, I reviewed this right after their ‘new recipe’ change for review #2910. Around that time, it seemed that US manufacturers decided to change the product names of economy pillow packs that were initially known as ‘Oriental’ flavor to Soy Sauce. The term ‘Oriental’ has come under fire in recent years, hence the change. What does Oriental mean? Basically it derives from Latin, meaning ‘of the east’ – the opposite being Occidental being ‘of the west.’ From what I’ve gathered from running the Ramen Junkie facebook group for a while as this has come up from time to time is that many things and businesses will use the term; ‘insert city name here’ Oriental Market for example, however it isn’t a term to be used for people, at least that’s what I found. I read an L.A. Times article about this very subject that I thought was very interesting – you can read it here. One particular quote from the author I found fascinating was ‘A funny thing I noticed is that my Caucasian colleagues, not my Asian colleagues, are most eager to remove Oriental from public discourse.’
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#2910: Nissin Top Ramen Soy Sauce Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup
Well would you look at that! Top Ramen. An American original. You might be thinking ‘aww that’s Japanese,’ but this stuff is as American as it gets. The flavor is made to appeal to the local market. What bums me out is when I say ‘an American original’ all I can think about is my favorite political show which is no more. My dad used to watch The McLaughlin Group for years and I finally hit an age after he was gone that I checked it out and got hooked on it. I’d torture poor Andy and make him watch it all the time. But Dr. McLaughlin died a couple years ago, and they ended the series long run. I would be curious how it would have been if he would have stayed alive longer – how the show would be these days. Anyways, I’ve gone way off track. So soy sauce is known as Shoyu in Japan. This is a kind of Shoyu ramen. Let’s check i tout!
Re-Review: Nissin Top Ramen Chicken Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup
From time to time, it’s a good idea to revisit a baseline. Top Ramen Chicken is something I compare all noodles to in one way or another. The noodles themselves are classic – they’re not bad and soak up the flavor well. They’re not mushy although not exactly what one would call chewy. When reviewing chicken instant noodles I always think to this stuff. Of course, when I see an article someone has blogged or written on the Internet about ramen, a good 80% of the time there’s a nice big picture of the product you see above. Youtube’s no stranger to this either; there are about a zillion videos telling you simply how to prepare a packet of instant Top Ramen. It’s not only good but its everywhere. Eaten raw or cooked, people seem to like it. Well, I like it too and so I revisit it with a sore throat and runny nose. Here we go!
#65: Nissin Top Ramen Oriental Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup
So after years of reviewing instant ramen noodles, here it is. Finally. Hold onto your coiffure taming device: oriental flavor. I have always considered this to be the most boring of all flavors as it really isn’t that adventurous. We’ll see if it stays in that realm of blandness as I review the latest instant noodles for ramenrater.com.