Tag: a-sha

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2024 Edition

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If there’s one thing that’s a certainty, companies from Taiwan tend to send me product samples more often than from any other country. They’re constantly innovating and refining, coming out with neat new things. Taiwan is a great place I’ve had the luck to visit twice. On one visit, I went to a large store and they had two aisles of just instant noodles that I really wish I would have taken pictures of. Now, what you’ll see on this list is mainly Taiwanese dry noodle. An ‘instant’ noodle is one that you can simply cover in boiling water for a short time and they spring to life. These require cooking. I hope to hear from Taiwanese instant noodle companies in the coming year; this is an invitation to you! It would be really nice to release a list of instant noodles alongside a list of dry noodles. This list is comprised of reviews of Taiwanese noodles up to #4650. Please check at the bottom for some special messages as well. With that, I hope you enjoy The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2024 Edition! ...see full post

#4606: A-Sha Meteor Noodles With Braised Beef Sauce – Taiwan

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#4799: A-Sha Meteor Noodles With Braised Beef Sauce - Taiwan

This sounds great and I’m really quite curious. Braised beef noodle is a really wonderful thing in Taiwan. I’ve had the fortune of trying it over there and it’s just spectaular – rich flavor and beef that’s melt in your mouth wonderful. A-Sha also makes a boxed premium noodle with beef that’s been on the global top ten for a couple of years now. Let’s see what this new braised beef noodle tastes like – it can be prepared two different ways, too! ...see full post

#4446: A-Sha BT21 Dan Dan Noodle Dream Team Scallion Sauce – United States

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#4441: A-Sha BT21 Dan Dan Noodle With BT21 Sauce - United States

First off, thanks to the folks at A-Sha USA for sending these over! There are two different boxes, four varieties in total. I thought I’d go with this box first. So, I live under a rock; I’m not exceedingly hip to things that aren’t noodle related or politics related. God, I’m old. I do know there is a Korean group called BTS that’s quite popular, and a messaging service called LINE. Well, LINE did a collab with BTS and made BT21 characters, and A-Sha collaborated with LINE and made these noodles featuring these characters. ...see full post

#4441: A-Sha BT21 Dan Dan Noodle With BT21 Sauce – United States

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#4441: A-Sha BT21 Dan Dan Noodle With BT21 Sauce - United States

First off, thanks to the folks at A-Sha USA for sending these over! There are two different boxes, four varieties in total. I thought I’d go with this box first. So, I live under a rock; I’m not exceedingly hip to things that aren’t noodle related or politics related. God, I’m old. I do know there is a Korean group called BTS that’s quite popular, and a messaging service called LINE. Well, LINE did a collab with BTS and made BT21 characters, and A-Sha collaborated with LINE and made these noodles featuring these characters. ...see full post

#4407: A-Sha BT21 Universtar Noodle With Galaxy Spicy Sauce – United States

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#4407: A-Sha BT21 Universtar Noodle With Galaxy Spicy Sauce - United States

Here is the second variety from the Galaxy Variety Noodle Box – this one’s spicy! As mentioned in a review posted a few days ago, this is a tie in with LINE, a messaging/social app, and A-Sha. Also, the BT21 characters have something to do with Korean popular music group BTS. With that, let’s cook up some noodles. ...see full post

#4402: A-Sha BT21 Universtar Noodle With BT21 Sauce – United States

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#4402: A-Sha BT21 Universtar Noodle With BT21 Sauce - United States

First off, thanks to the folks at A-Sha USA for sending these over! There are two different boxes, four varieties in total. I thought I’d go with this box first. So, I live under a rock; I’m not exceedingly hip to things that aren’t noodle related or politics related. God, I’m old. I do know there is a Korean group called BTS that’s quite popular, and a messaging service called LINE. Well, LINE did a collab with BTS and made BT21 characters, and A-Sha collaborated with LINE and made these noodles featuring these characters. ...see full post

#4337: A-Sha Crazy Rich Ramen – United States

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#4337: A-Sha Crazy Rich Ramen - United States

Okay so first off, a big thanks to A-Sha for sending one of these! Second off, this is a very premium box. Within are noodles, sauce/seasonings, and then some very fancy extras. This box retails for $199. Yeah – that’s a lot. I often tell people when they’re sick there’s nothing better than noodles. Well, that’s maybe if you have influenza. This box however is if you have affluenza. Read on and see what is within! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2023 Edition

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The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2023 Edition

Usually, The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese list gets posted mid September. This year it’s been pretty busy around here. Better late than never, I say. These are my absolutely favorite Taiwanese varieties I’ve tried. All ratings are on the base product – before I add anything to make them look nice. This list is current as of review #4300. Want me to review your product? Contact me! Let’s check out The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2023 Edition! ...see full post

#4272: A-Sha Dry Noodle Badtz-Maru Mandarin Style With Sesame Boss Sauce – United States

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#4272: A-Sha Dry Noodle Badtz-Maru Mandarin Style With Sesame Sauce Boss Sauce - United States

Well, folks – this is it. I’ve had a lot of fun reviewing this special Sanrio tie-in series over the last short while. Everything’s quite good. Now we come to the end of the line with this Badtz-Maru variety. Badtz-Maru is one of Hello Kitty’s friends – let’s give it a try. ...see full post

#4268: A-Sha Dry Noodle Keroppi Mandarin Style Noodles With Silly Spicy Sauce – United States

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#4268: A-Sha Dry Noodle Keroppi Mandarin Style Noodles With Silly Spicy Sauce - United States

Onto the third review! There are four varieties of these you can find over at www.ashadrynoodle.com. This one is another of Hello Kitty’s friends. I don’t believe it’s frog flavor, but probably more akin to the Hello Kitty supercute soy sauce flavor with some heat. Let’s give it a try! ...see full post

#4264: A-Sha Dry Noodle My Melody Mandarin Style Noodles With Friendly Scallion Sauce – United States

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#4264: A-Sha Dry Noodle My Melody Mandarin Style Noodles With Friendly Scallion Sauce - United States

Here’s the second in a series of four Hello Kitty & Friends varieties from A-Sha Dry Noodle of Taiwan. This one’s made for the US market. So far, impressed as the soy sauce one was excellent. Let’s continue on with some friendly scallion sauce noodle – should be able to find them at www.ashadrynoodle.com. ...see full post

#4262: A-Sha Dry Noodle Hello Kitty Mandarin Style Dry Noodles With Supercute Soy Sauce – United States

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#4262: A-Sha Dry Noodle Hello Kitty Mandarin Style Dry Noodles With Supercute Soy Sauce - United States

Well, I’ll have you know that my daughter is incredibly pleased this was sent to me. She’s a big fan of Hello Kitty and her friends. My daughter’s name is Mimi, which is the name of Hello Kitty’s sister. Now where it gets weird is that the creator of Hello Kitty says is that she is NOT a cat. She is a girl named Kitty White. Oddly though she does have ears, whiskers, and no mouth. Well, she does in the cartoon and she talks too. Let’s give them a try – definitely one Hello Kitty fans will want to try – should be able to find them at www.ashadrynoodle.com. ...see full post

#4145: Prince Katsu Hello Kitty Chicken Noodle Soup – United States

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#4145: Prince Katsu Hello Kitty Chicken Noodle Soup - United States

This one came by way of the fine folks at Asha Dry Noodle USA – interesting! When they mentioned it to me, I knew who would be fascinated by this – my daughter. Mimi is into Hello Kitty. Anyways, she’s in the episode of Instant Noodle Recipe Time – so check it out! Let’s give this stuff a try! ...see full post

#4139: Prince Katsu Hello Kitty Spicy Noodle Soup – United States

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#4139: Prince Katsu Hello Kitty Spicy Noodle Soup - United States

This is an interesting one. It appears this is a variety made just for the United States by Taiwanese company A-Sha, however it is produced in Vietnam. What’s more interesting is that it’s a Hello Kitty licensed product and it’s spicy – better do a mukbang! How spicy could it be with the cutesy factor? We’ll find out. ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2021 Edition

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The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2021 Edition

After one very turbulent year, The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time is back. My mother died, we had an auto accident, the kids missed in-person schooling, and of course the pandemic. It’s been a really rough go but we’re back. Vaccines are rolling out everywhere and hopefully we can all get back together someday son. One thing I’ve found inspiration and enjoyment from during these times is a book I’d been hoping to find was sent to me by a noodle company exec called Momofuku Ando Speaks. It’s a book of quotes (kind of like the Ferengi Rules Of Acquisition if you’re a Star Trek fan) by the inventor of the instant noodle. I’ve been reading one on my show Instant Noodle Recipe Time every day – a lot of fun and a very interesting perspective. Little things like that have been really important as of late. Today, I’m proud to announce the show hits its 1000th episode! ...see full post

#3714: A-Sha Dan Dan Noodle – Taiwan

#3819: A-Sha Dan Dan Noodle - Taiwan

This one is from A-Sha and it’s going to be available at Costco for a limited period just in time for Chinese New Year! Like is says on the box, there’s aren’t any sachets in here; it’s literally just blocks of noodles in individual packages. I’ve got an idea for something to do with these, and I thought I’d get this review out in a timely fashio. So let’s check ’em out and give ’em a try! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2021 Edition

The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2021 Edition

I’ve got to give it to Taiwan. They’ve really done well with the pandemic, that’s for sure. Just another reason why I love that place; I’ve visited twice and hope I get to again soon. People there are nice, Lots of interesting things going on, and of course… the food! This list is born out of controversy – in 2013 when Taiwan wasn’t on my annual top ten, their media took notice and they got mad. So, I decided to try some ‘noodle diplomacy’ and asked companies to send some samples and they did – and they have been for years now. All sorts of neat innovations, unique styles, and more. If you have a company or a favorite variety you’d like me to review, contact me. Also, I invite everyone to join the Instant Noodles – The Ramen Rater group on Facebook – a large community of people who enjoy noodles and share their thoughts on them. Let’s check out this years shortlist of my favorites from this beautiful and fascinating place. ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2020 Edition

.The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2020 Edition

Despite all the tumultuous and unnerving events of our current age,, I am happy to announce that I’ve got a new list for our year, 2020. In the past fe hundred reviews I’ve done this past year there have been some real standouts and of course many have remained. These are my absolute favorites of reviews 1 through 3487. It’s hard – I feel like I should be doing a top 20, or even a top 50 at this point, but the sheer amount of time that would take with being a stay at home father of two while trying to get in a few hours of exercise every day just isn’t in the cards. I’m hoping in the coming months to come out with the regular top tens and maybe some new ones, but it’s a tough juggle these days. ...see full post

#3352: A-Sha Rainbow Noodles – Taiwan

#3352: A-Sha Rainbow Noodles - Taiwan

Check this out! Multi-colored noodles! This is an interesting set. What is coloring these? Well, you have Matcha noodle (green) with original sauce, Red Yeast Noodle (red) with onion sauce, Purple Yam Noodle (purple with sesame paste sauce, Danzai Noodle (yellow) with spicy BBQ sauce, and finally Blue-Green Algae Noodle (blue-green) with chili sauce. Pretty neat! I want to try making a bowl of multi-colored noodles I think. This could be interesting! Let’s check it out! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2019 Edition

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Top Ten Best Instant Noodles Of All Time 2019

This is my list of my all time favorites (compiled up to review #3132). These are the best and most memorable varieties – some you’ll be able to find easily, some you won’t. In the images you see, you’ll see garnished bowls of noodles. Note – reviewing is done BEFORE products have anything externally added by myself, and I follow directions on the package – for better or for worse. I should also note that going forward, the official last day for companies to submit varieties to be considered for the annual top ten will be January 31st. That’s enough – let’s have a look at The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2019 Edition! ...see full post

#3139: A-Sha Guanmiao Noodle Spicy Fennel – Taiwan

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#3139: A-Sha Guanmiao Noodle Spicy Fennel - Taiwan

This is the second of two A-Sha varieties I got a little while back. I’ve been cranking out three reviews a day lately and chugging through a lot of new stuff. Now that a lot of the varieties are churned through, I can focus on some things in the hamper. See, my hampers are very full. When I get new stuff, they go into the area next to the kitchen. Instead of tripping over boxes, I try to run through them quickly! So here we have a wide noodle from Taiwan. Let’s get started. ...see full post

#3117: A-Sha Gourmet Sesame Paste Noodle – Taiwan

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#3117: A-Sha Gourmet Sesame Paste Noodle - Taiwan-sha

This is the last of the quartet of varieties from A-Sha that they sent to me a little while back. With this, I think I’ve cleared out all the odds and ends of noodle varieties that have been sitting in the kitchen – boo yah! Next will be the boxes next to counter in the kitchen lol – should be able to whittle those down quite a bit this week as well. ...see full post

#3114: A-Sha Gourmet Sichuan Peppercorn Flavor – Taiwan

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Here’s the third of the A-Sha Gourmet varieties I’m trying today. There’s one more left. So translation isn’t my strong suit and I often turn to friends and colleagues as to what different varieties are called and translate them. At this exact moment, I’m dumbfounded. Google’s not very helpful; one says hemp. I could be mistaken, but I think hemp isn’t going to be in the name of this one. I’ve had varieties say they’re dolphin bone as well, which most certain isn’t the case! I’ll find out shortly though! ...see full post

Unboxing A $15 Gourmet Wagyu Beef Noodle Box – Taiwan

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So this is some epic looking stuff. A-Sha USA was kind enough to send one of the fanciest products A-Sha Taiwan makes – their Gourmet Wagyu Beef Noodle Soup. So first things first – you want to get some? Well, it’s only available during the holidays i.e. Lunar New Year – so you might have a year to wait for it. But here I can show you what it looks like and tell you some about it – including the fact that this goes for $15. ...see full post

#2941: A-Sha Dry Noodle Guanmiao Noodle Hakka Sesame Oil Scallion

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#2883: A-Sha Dry Noodle Guanmiao Noodle Hakka Sesame Oil Scallion

A-Sha’s US distributor messaged me a little while ago about these new varieties about to hit the US market that are very popular in Taiwan right now. Guanmiao noodles hail from southern Taiwan in the agricultural heartland. Hotter weather and lot of noodles! Let’s crack it open and have a look! ...see full post