Tag: china

#2051: Master Kong Artificial Pork Ribs Flavor Instant Noodle

Here’s another one sent to my by Colin from the eastern USA – thanks again! So these have always been interesting; they have the little chef guy much like Kang Shi Fu (Master Kong), but often the bar code search will come up with Kailo brand. This morning, I called the number on the back and they gave me another number, and they gave me an email address. I emailed the address I was given and will get the info on what brand this is exactly when they reply – and hopefully they do. Prok ribs – let’s do this! ...see full post

#2032: Kamfen Noodle King Artificial Beef Soup Flavored

A couple of months ago, I experienced an instant noodle drought. I was looking in my hampers and there were maybe 10 varieties left! We hit 99 Ranch and I found about 10 or so varieties to review (later after putting a call out on the site, I ended up with people sending all sorts of varieties and now my hampers runneth over – my thanks!). Here’s one I found at 99 Ranch – let’s check it out. ...see full post

#2008: Sichuan Baijia Hot Spicy Flavor Instant Vermicelli

I’m pretty sure this is the first Baijia bowl I’ve reviewed. For the longest time, I was extremely leery of these; I have a couple Baijia products I really disliked. However, after some time, I found that my tastes have really changed (especially after tring different things overseas and reviewing hundreds of instant noodles) and now I’m keen on giving them a new look. Well, let’s check this one out! ...see full post

#2006: Kamfen Wonton Noodles Beef Flavor

Being low on instant noodles to review, I went to 99 Ranch to see if I could find anything I’d not reviewed yet. I ended up at the bottom end of the noodle aisle and found a ton of Kamfen stuff I haven’t gotten to yet. I always knew it was there, just didn’t get to the point of checking it out really. So being at that point, we’ll start trying these here and there. This one’s beef flavor wonton. Let’s give it a looksie. ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2016 Edition

It’s been quite a year for The Ramen Rater. I’ve reviewed 357 new instant noodle varieties. I got to visit an instant noodle company in Thailand. I just hit my 2000th review. Since the beginning of this ‘noodle journey,’ I’ve wanted to try flavors from around the world and have been able to do just that. This new list is a compilation of the best of the best; the most memorable and most wonderful of the 2,004 varieties I’ve sampled thus far. If you are an instant noodle company and I haven’t reviewed your products, please contact me – I would love to review them. I decided to include what I added to them this year – however note the products are scored before anything is added. With that, let’s have a look at The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of all Time 2016 Edition. ...see full post

#1982: Master Kong Assorted Pork Bone Noodle

Here’s one sent by Colin from Massachusetts – thanks! I used to work with a lady who couldn’t say Massachusetts. It seemed a little ridiculous to me, but she would stumble over the word repeatedly and it would sound like massive two shits. Anyways, this one seems interesting – why assorted pork bone? Are they from different kinds of pigs? Well, let’s give this one a try! ...see full post

#1948: Sichuan Baijia Artificial Pickled Cabbage Fish Flavor Instant Vermicelli

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I’ve been checking out a few of these Baijia varieties recently, and they’ve been interesting. When I first started reviewing, I generally found the flavors and varieties to be pretty horrid, but after a few years , I’m starting to come around. Pickled cabbage and fish, eh? Well, let’s have a look. ...see full post

#1924: Sichuan Baijia Broad Noodle Artificial Beef Flavor

So the last one of these broad noodles I tried I made incorrectly (yeah, it happens once in a blue moon) and I’ll re-review it soon. See, the first one was a broth free variant and I just assumed that the rest would be. Well, it looks like the one I tired first was the exception to the rule. Anyways, let’s have a look at this beef flavored variety from Sichuan Baijia. ...see full post

ERROR – RE-REVIEW NECESSARY – #1863: Sichuan Baijia Broad Noodle Pickled Vegetable Artificial Beef Flavor

NOTE: I assumed that all of the Sichuan Baijia Broad Noodle series were supposed to be drained. This was apparently was NOT supposed to be drained, hence the review score of 0 stars. It will be re-reviewed soon! Thanks to Bundi R. for bringing this to my attention. ...see full post

#1825: Sichuan Baijia Broad Noodle Chili Oil Flavor

It’s always awesome when I go to the store with my poor vision and my wife sees something and asks me if I’ve tried it. Sure enough, this was one of those occasions. I recently had the Sichuan Baijia Artificial Spicy Fei Chang a couple of weeks ago – it had been on my bottom ten list for years and really kind of one of the main reasons I wasn’t reviewing Baijia stuff so much. After not trying it in 5 years, I found that my tastebuds had done a bit of a metamorphosis. Where I found this more traditional Chinese flavor horrible before, I found it much more to my liking. So now at the store, I’m looking at Baijia in a different way. Today, I’ll try something I’ve not seen before – a broad noodle. I’ve seen broad noodles before, but not this broad – you’ll see what I mean. I want to thank Bobby Y. for helping me decipher the cooking instructions – hope the Blue Jays did good in the ALCS and won the World Series! ...see full post

#1812: Master Kong Mushroom Instant Noodle

There’s a new Asian Food Center on 130th & Aurora – went there hunting for some of the fruit I got to try in Thailand and found mangosteen – and quite a few instant noodle varieties, this being one of them. It’s pretty far and few between that I find Master Kong varieties – always kind of a treat! I want to thank Bobby Y. from Canada for help in translation on this one! Let’s have a look at this one from China! ...see full post

1801: Sichuan Baijia Spicy Artificial Fei-Chang Flavor Instant Vermicelli (New Version)

To those of you have followed my blogs and my Bottom Ten lists for a while, you know what this is. To those who haven’t, let me introduce you to this one. In my original review, I was really put off by this one. I thought it had some kind of ‘dirt and urine’ odor to it. But this is a new version. First, what’s fei chang? Here’s something I found on a blog called Food And Drink Chengdu: ...see full post

#1800: Crystal Noodle Soup All Natural Hot & Sour

Wow – review #1800. I must admit my surprise on how quickly I’m closing in on #2000. I haven’t reviewed one of these Crystal Noodle varieties in quite a while. I was talking to a friend of mine about instant noodles we weren’t particularly fond of and he mentioned his wife really liked these. We both agreed that Crystal Noodle was one of our least favorites. I figure though hey, you never know. This might be the one I really like! Let’s have a look. ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1778: JML Spicy King Spicy Chicken Noodle

Today, we come to the end of this Meet The Manufacturer. On a side note, I reviewed one that has the exact same packaging that I received from a reader in Scandinavia a while back. I asked if it was the same as this and was told it is a little different. sometimes companies will change levels of different ingredients depending on where they’re sold. Anyways…  Lots of interesting new things in this one – lots of great flavors as well! I want to thank Alvin Leung for all his help with making this happen! Let’s have a look at the package version of JML’s Spicy King Spicy Chicken! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1776: JML Spicy King Bowl Noodle Spicy Chicken Noodle

I received a package version of this one a while back from a reader in Sweden. Well, this is the bowl version. I was also told that the version that can be found in Europe (which has exactly the same packaging) is different than the version sold in Hong Kong. Interesting! I’m curious about the spiciness in this one – the one I got in the mail was on this year’s Top Ten spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2015 Edition list! Let’s have a look! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1773: JML Supreme Bowl Noodles With Stewed Egg Sour Beans With Pork Flavour

Here’s one that’s truly unique – not only does it have a stewed egg but something called sour beans. I’m wondering if they’re akin to something I tried in Penang at a Nyonya restaurant. Hmmm. Well, I just looked them up and from what I gather, what is in this may be pickled Chinese long bean whereas the smelly beans I had in Penang are somewhat akin to looking like a lima bean but bigger. Anyways, let’s have a look at this one! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1770: JML Spicy King Bowl Noodle Spicy Pork

So to start things off, I thought this looked like an interesting cup. I had one that had a smiliar design quite a while back – and it ended up on the Top Ten Spicy list for 2015! So, I’m wondering how this one’s going to be – spicy? I’m going to bet it’s spicy. Let’s open the lid and look within! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: Interview With JML

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2015 Edition

As many might know, I started The Ramen Rater (click to see the old site) in 2002 and did about 60 reviews. Then, I turned my attention to spicy hot sauces with The Sauce Rater. In 2010, I resumed my instant noodle reviewing. I’ve long been a fan of the spicy side of things – strong heat and good flavor are a couple of my favorite things. Let’s have a look at the absolutely hottest varieties I’ve found in my over 1,700 reviews of instant noodles from around the world in this year’s The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2015 Edition. ...see full post

#1735: Master Kong Tomato Sauce Instant Noodle

There’s a new Asian Food Center on 130th & Aurora – went there hunting for some of the fruit I goty to try in Thailand and found mangosteen – and quite a few instant noodle varieties, this being one of them. It’s pretty far and few between that I find Master Kong varieties – always kind of a treat! I want to thank Bobby Y. from Canada for help in translation on this one! Let’s have a look at this one from China! ...see full post

#1723: Baixiang Noodles Artificial Beef Flavour Instant Noodles With Soup Base

Today’s the last day of my son’s two week vacation here. I usually have him every other weekend, and a special breakfast, I made him some noodles. He recently has found he likes beef a lot – usually he’s been a chicken fan, so that’s kind of interesting. He also likes fishcakes – kamaboko, narutop, fishball – something that’s not really popular in American kids his age. That could be though that they’ve never tried them… Anyways, here’s a bowl of noodles for Andy! ...see full post

#1714: Master Kong Sichuan Hot Spicy Fish

This one has been a little tricky to figure out. A lot of the time, distributor stickers aren’t all that helpful; they might say the flavor, but the true name can be elusive. After looking around, I found ‘boiled fish’ and ‘spicy fish’ and ‘hot fish’ (hot fish being the one on the sticker). I think however Sichuan might be in there somewhere, so I included it. As for the lady on the package and the folks on the back, I’m pretty sure they’re involved in some kind of television program in China. Anyways, let’s have a look! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1690: Wugudaochang Sour Bamboo Shoot & Beef In Hot Pot Flavor Noodles

Today we wind up the Wugudaochang Meet The Manufacturer. It’s really been great to try these new flavors and varieties from China in the last few days! I think I have learned a little more about the flavor profiles that are popular in Chinese cooking these days; usually the varieties I get that are from China are for export of course, while these have been varieties only sold and available within China. The flavors have been strong, vibrant and really quite good. I should also say that the quality of these products has been top-notch. A lot has been said of the quality of food coming from China and question of it’s quality. I would say this: China is a big country with many producers – sometimes, things will happen that bring negative attention. They certainly happen here in the United States from time to time don’t they? I don’t think it a reason to stay away from Chinese products – I certainly won’t!  Let’s have a fond farewell look at this bamboo shoot and hot pot flavor bowl! ...see full post

Meet The Manufacturer: #1689: Wugudaochang Tomato Beef Brisket Flavor Purple Sweet Potato Noodles

When I first saw this one, I knew it sounded interesting. Beef brisket and tomato? Sign me up! Then the purple sweet potato – I’ve been a fan of those since back when people called them Space Potatoes! This looks like a nice premium one – let’s give it a look as we start to wind down this great Meet The Manufacturer series. ...see full post