The Definitive Source For Instant Noodle Reviews Since 2002
So I have this neat little formula; go to Canada, hit a store or two, bring back noodles. Usually bring back peanut butter and maybe oatmeal is involved, but that’s a different formula. These came from Foodyworld up in Richmond, BC. If you can go there, just go that – you’ll be glad you did! Anyways, these look like they’ll be some spicy ones – let’s take a look!
Well here’s something interesting. A big bowl from China! Burning! Spicy! Hot! Man, I hope this one is good – let’s find out!
Okay, so you might be thinking – United States? Why is he marking these as United States? Well, they’re made in Hong Kong it seems, then they’re only distributor from what I’m seeing is in New York.
Here’s another one I found up at FoodyWorld in Richmond, BC. It’s nice – we can drive up to Canada in only a couple of hours and visit he largest population of Asian folks in North America. I’m really lucky to live where I do, doing what I do. Destiny? Perhaps. A lot of luck though!
Found this interesting one up at FoodyWorld in Richmond, BC. They’re all geared up for Mid-Autumn Festival and so the mooncakes are out in force! They have display ones that are the size of a huge car tire!
Okay so my lovely wife Kit saw this one up at FoodyWorld in Richmond BC while we were up there. She previously saw the Liang Cheng Mei Biang Biang up there too, and that made the 2019 Top Ten list. She’s got a good track record! Being a person with low vision and light sensitivity, I depend on her a lot when we go somewhere – she will ask me ‘have you seen/ tried this one?’ She doesn’t do it every place we go, but when she does, 99% of the time it’s something I’ve not seen or tried before – she’s got noodle ESP! Let’s check this one out!
Another one I found at that fascination bastian of things Asia in Canada, Smart’n’Save at the Lansdowne Centre mall in Richmond, BC. This is something new to me – green pepper? Sichuan? Hmm… What’s it all about? Let’s fint out.
Yet again, that awesome little store called Smart’N’Save up in Richmond, BC at the Lansdowne Centre Mall never fails to impress. They had an array of these varieties and they certainly piqued my interest.
I’ve seen these recently at our local 99 Ranch Market in Edmonds, Washington. They’re on the more expensive end – closer to $6USD which is pretty steep, but I wanted to do a Spicy Noodle Mukbang video, was in the mood for something new from Taiwan… This just smacked of something interesting to try. Not only that, it was in a box. I swear, although more expensive, little boxes that are fancy with instant noodles in them are pretty dang cool.
Another one found at FoodyWorld up in Richmond, BC. That place never ceases to amaze me where really out of the way varieties are concerned. This one should definitely be hot and spicy – curious in which way it will swing – savory or deluge of pain. Let’s find out!
Here’s one that came by way of World Ramens, a new business specializing in international instant noodle subscription boes. Use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount!
This is an interesting one. Made in China for the US market. I found this one at a Fred Meyer supermarket here in Lynnwood – the last place I’d expect to see something like this. It’s nice to see stores expanding these kinds of things. Let’s give it a try!
This is an interesting one. Made in China for the US market. I found this one at a Fred Meyer supermarket here in Lynnwood – the last place I’d expect to see something like this. Not a complaint by any means – nice to see more diversity at domestic grocery stores. Curious what vegetable this one will taste like – broccoli? Peas? Bell peppers? Let’s find out!
Another one from my trips to Chin World up in Richmond, BC. Remember kids, if you’re coming from the states, bring your Canadian cash because they’re not going to take your cards or exchange your greenbacks for ya! Really interested in how this one’s going to be – last one I tried wasn’t too shabby from this brand so let’s take a look!
Alright so here’s one we found up in Canada at China Worlsd in Richmond, BC. That’s a really fascinating store with lots of products I’ve never seen before. But hey if you go there – bring cash if you’re coming from the US – and make sure it’s Canadian cash! Let’s get started.
Found this one up in Canada at Foodyworld and it looks really neat! The kids are really interested in this one but I’m sure it’s definitely off the charts spicy for them. I’m always curious when I see a cartoon or comic character on a product. Definitely looks interesting, that’s for sure! Let’s crack it open!
Okay so this one is interesting to me. First, I thought the name Cup Noodles was a Nissin thing? But then I thought Jinmailang was owned by Nissin, but then not anymore? I should note Jinmailang is most definitely a Chinese company, but it’s pretty obvious from the labeling that this is specifically for the United States. Interesting. Also, the nutrition facts seem a little interesting to me. It’s a pretty big cup – is everything actually doubled in reality? Unsure. Either way, I found this at Fred Meyer, a chain of grocery stores in Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Idaho. Was surprised to see this brand there! Anyways, I’ve found a couple varieties there recently I’ve not seen elsewhere. Curious. Let’s check this one out!
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!
Here’s another Lianchengmei product that my wife found while we were perusing the aisles at Foodyworld up in Richmond, BC. She found one a while back – 30″ Hot Bird, a fire noodle clone. What’s Biang Biang? Here’s what Wikipedia had to say –
This one is from a box from Exotic Noods. Exotic Noods has subscription boxes you can get every month! Use coupon code BOOM for an added discount!
Here’s the second of the two Luosiking varieties Jack sent – thanks again! Two reviews ago, I tried the soup version. Let’s see what happens when you take the broth out!
Here’s one that was sent to me directly by the manufacturer – thank you! It is a brand I’ve not tried in the past – Luosiking. River snail – that I’ve tried before. Let’s take a look.
Here’s another one found at The Real Canadian SuperStore up in Richmond, BC. These are made in China for Loblaw’s, a Canadian company that has a huge empire of supermarkets.
Here’s one that was sent to me by the man who runs this company! He sent a very nice letter along with these – check out the Unboxing Time video to hear more! This one’s satay flavor and has been around now for over 30 years! Wow! Let’s give it a try!
Here’s one we found up in Richmond, BC at China World. That was a tough store. Mainly it was because we went there and got a ton of noodles and then find out they only accept cash. That sucked. So we ended up coming back! Let’s look at this one!
Here’s one I found up in Canada – can’t remember where. Green curry is one of my favorite flavors, however not one that I think I’ve ever seen coming out of China. Sichuan Baijia has been coming out with more and more different varieties – and different little cartoon characters on their packaging. Let’s give this one a try and see how it fares.
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!
Found this at the brand spanking new T&T Supermarket at Lansdowne Centre up in Richmond, BC recently. That place was a zoo the day we visited – so many people! But got out of there with a couple things. Anyways, a straight noodle tom yum sounds just bizarre – and possibly really good! Let’s find out.
First off, thanks to Kyle K. for help with translating this one! I found this up in Canada at FoodyWorld – a huge Asian supermarket which is a must see for anyone doing the tour of Asian grocery stores up in Richmond – lots of fun and much to see. These were on sale and looked neat so I went and got all the varieties. Let’s give this one a try!
Here’s one the folksd at Samyang Foods sent along – thanks again! This is a bibimmyun – a cold noodle generally enjoyed during the hot summer months. I wasn’t sure what the difference was with this one was, but it appears this is a Chinese-style variety, so flavors are a little different. Awesome! Let’s give this one a try!
Here’s one we found at China World in Richmond, BC. The name definitely didn’t translate all that great. I think acid probably will be closer to something like tangy. I mean, acid and beef? Perhaps it could be referring to a process of cooking beef that uses something acidic? Either way I’m fascinated. Let’s see what happens when we open it and cook it!
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!
Found this one recently up in Canada at a T&T Supermarket. There’s a few of them in Richmond, BC – they’re all pretty big. The one we went to was connected to an Olympic skating oval which was kind of interesting. What was kind of hard at this as is with many stores I’ve been to is that I would’ve been able to get more varieties, however they were in multi-packs instead of singles. I’m only going to review one item, so not into spending ten bucks on a multi-pack of noodles. Anyhoo, let’s check this one from China out!
Here’s one I found up in Canada at China World I believe. The sheer amount of varieties up there is pretty intense – especially ones from this company. Curious how it will be. Let’s find out!
Found this one among others up at FoodyWorld in Richmond, B. I just can’t get enough of Canada – it’s such a nice place with nice people and nice everything. This one looked fascinating – let’s check it out.
Here’s another one I found up at Foodyworld in Richmond, BC. I’ve seen these as cups before but never bowls. Now, borscht sounds like an odd flavor from Asia – let’s ask wiki a little about it –
Time for another one of these self heating/self cooking hot pots from China. I’ve found so far that the draw of these for me seems to be more of novelty than an thorough enjoyment of the innards of these. But hey – all it’s been up til now is mala – now we’ve got sour turnip duck vermicelli! Let’s check it out!
Hey it’s a self heating hot pot! I got this one at China World on St. Patrick’s Day this year. The weekend before, we drove up to Canada and checked out China World in Richmond, BC. It was amazing – awesome! Got two baskets of noodles. Went tot he front and boom – cash and Canadian debit only. That sucked. So we came back the next weekend! I found about eight different varieties of these hot pots and so here’s the first. I’ve reviewed two others in the past. Let’s open this thing up and see what makes it tick – yeah – it cooks itself!
Alright so when I found this up at China World in Richmond, BC, I was curious. ‘What’s this torpid all about, anyway?’ Well, Thanks to my friend Kyle, that’s been cleared up. It’s a really bad translation. This really should be Sichuan Spicy Flavor. As far as torpid goes, here’s the definition –
mentally or physically inactive; lethargic.
“we sat around in a torpid state”
Spicy and lethargic beef flavor? Yummy! Translation is a seriously tough thing. It’s definitely an uphill battle for me – Google is of very little help. I’ve been asked in the past by companies what I would call a product and helped them with translating and making it sound like a good name for something sold in the west. I think that would be a neat job – helping companies with western translations. So I guess if you need help with someone proofreading a packaging bound to be on products for the west, contact me maybe I can help. Alright – let’s do up some spicy beef vermicelli!
