Well, here we are again. I goit one of these bowls a long time ago and guess what happened? I opened the retort pouch and spilled it all over my leg and on the floor! Was crushed; hard to find this one and I had only one of them. Egad! Luckily, TTL sent all of these for Meet The Manufacturer (thank you again!) and now I can give it another go. I should note I didn’t spill anything this time – let’s give it a go!
Tag: cooking
Meet The Manufacturer: Re-Review: TTL Spring Chicken With Hua-Diao Liquor Instant Noodle – Taiwan
I thought I ought to start at the beginning. I’m pretty sure this and the rice wine spring chicken varieties are the first that TTL shared with the world and it just made sense to go with those to begin Meet The Manufacturer. Here’s a little about Shaoxing wine, featured in this variety from Wikipedia –
#2902: Yumei Instant Sour Turnip Duck Vermicelli Hot Pot
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!
#2835: Da Long Yi Self Heating Hot Pot – Vegetable Version
Alright – now if this isn’t something that doesn’t make you wanna check your head… So we went up to Canada yesterday. What was up there? This, the second one I’ve reviewed that has a little sachet that actually heats the bowl of noodles and cooks it. Where did I find it? I’m sure you’re thinking ‘oh some neat Asian grocery store.’ No. Hold onto your butts. My wife saw this one. At Walmart. Yeah. Walmart. The Walmart locations both in Richmond, BC and Vancouver, BC have decent noodle aisles with varieties from all over. It should be noted though that there’s a huge Asian population in this area – and so kind of makes sense in a demographic way. I mean, you certainly won’t see this near Walmart HQ in Bentonville, Arkansas…I thought it would be really cool if my son Andy got a chance to try and cook one of these. It should be fun! Glad we found it at Walmart – it was our last stop before heading back home. We go to Walmart every time we go to Canada. It’s really nice up there. Let’s cook this sucker up!
#1649: Master Kong Seafood Flavour Instant Cooking Noodles
Here’s another one sent by a kind reader in Sweden! Thank you! Master Kong is really popular in China and what surprises me is that there are no places that I’ve seen that you can get their products here in the United States. Luckily, people send them to me from time to time, but it seems to me that I really need to figure out a way to contact them and do a Meet The Manufacturer with them. The Chinese consume billions of packages of instant noodles a year and I’ve never done a Chinese Meet The Manufacturer yet! It’s about time. Well, let’s check out these seafood flavor Master Kong instant noodles!
#1110: GS25 Gonghwachun Jjajangmyun
This was sent to me by Kristina W. of Arizona – thank you! Jjajangmyun is basically a noodle that is coated in a black bean sauce. Let’s check it out!
The Ramen Rater Noodle News #28
Here we go with the 28th edition of The Ramen Rater Noodle News! I scour the Internet for articles about ramen and instant noodles and bring them to you! Here are some recent stories you might find interesting!
A Message To The People Of Taiwan From The Ramen Rater
In the last week, I’ve had a lot of traffic from upset Taiwanese that none of their country’s beloved instant noodles made the list. I saw videos like this one and then this angry one. I felt a video message would be appropriate, and here it is.
#1047: New Touch Yakisoba Noodle
Another one from my March birthday trip to Canada. I tried to translate this one but no luck – the name I got from the distributor’s sticker, so if anyone knows for sure this is the wrong name, please let me know. Let’s check it out!
#1046: Myojo Stir Fry Noodles Japanese Style Noodles With Sauce
Found this one at Uwajimaya in Bellevue and thought it was worth a try. I do like Worcestershire sauce!
#1045: Nissin Chow Mein Chicken Flavor Chow Mein Noodles
This is one you can probably find quite easily in a grocery store here in the United States. Let’s have a look.
#1044: Nongshim Shin Ramyun Noodle Spicy Mushroom Flavour
Another from my trip to Canada for my birthday. Wow – what a past two days here! The Top Ten 2013 list came out to a clamor of Taiwanese disapproval – Taiwan didn’t make the list. But, hopefully out of it all I’ll get contacted by one of the companies in Taiwan, but so far nothing. On to other things though – that being this interesting bowl by Nongshim. This one’s made in Shanghai, China. Let’s check it out.
The Ramen Rater Movie: Almost Two Hours Of Instant Noodles
If you watch this from beginning to end, not only proven yourself a true fan of the instant noodle, but also seen pretty much every single instant noodle review and re-review I’ve ever done. Clocking in at an hour and forty-nine minutes, this is pretty heavy duty. Enjoy!
#1043: Chewy Rice Vermicelli Satay Chicken Flavour
#1042: Nongshim Potato Pork Ramyun
Another one I got while in Canada for my birthday. I’m sure many folks will immediately ask ‘where did you get this’ and ‘where can I get it,’ and I’ll just say I’ve only seen this in Canada. See, they get stuff in the Vancouver area from not only the Nongshim plant here in the states but the one in Shanghai, China. Got a couple more coming down the pipe of reviews soon that hail from China. Let’s check this out!
#1041: Ko-Lee Instant Noodles Super Chow Mein Flavour
One of the last that Joe & Gil from the UK sent a while back – thanks again! I like chow mein, but what’s ‘super’ chow mein? Let’s see!
#1040: Western Family Instant Noodles Vegetable Flavour
#1039: Maruchan Bowl Hot & Spicy Shrimp Flavor Ramen Noodles With Vegetables
Here’s the last of the three product samples sent by the nice folks at Maruchan – thanks again! Spicy shrimp sounds good – let’s check it out.
#1038: Itomen Chanponmen
Here’s one that the folks from God Of Patena sent – thanks! Very little English on here – searched and translated via UPC code and kept coming up with ‘chanpon’ over and over so I’m calling it that. Also found it called ‘champon’ too, but more often than not it was ‘chanpon.’ Most things show it as a seafood broth, but as you can see on the package, it looks like ham or smoked pork. I also saw mention that this was a borrowed noodle soup from Chinese culture; like jjamppong perhaps? Let’s check it out!
#1037: emart Dare You Habanero Jjamppong
Time for some extremely spicy noodles! This is another one from eMart, makers of Dare You Habanero Ramyun. Dare You weighs in at 5,930SHU (Scoville Heat Units) – the hottest I’ve had thus far. This one’s 3,960SHU – not as fiery hot, but definitely not to be trifled with! Jjampong is a seafood soup. You ready?
#1036: Golden Wheat Korean Style Shrimp Noodle Soup
Another one from my Canada trip! Needed something I could make quickly today so thought this would do the trick. Let’s check it out!
#1035: Wei Lih Spicy Sichuan Flavor Steam Instant Noodle
Here’s another one found in Canada on my birthday trip there. I’ve had Sichuan flavors before and not a big fan, but I’ve been pretty happy with Wei Lih’s products in the past – looks interesting! Let’s check it out.
#1034: Western Family Instant Noodles In A Cup Spicy Chicken
Here’s another one from my birthday trip to Canada in March! Let’s check ‘er out.
#1033: Nissin King Cup Noodle BBQ Chicken & Onion
Check this sucker out – this is one huge Cup Noodle! Scott from Nissin got this one for me during a recent trip to Asia – thanks! Let’s see what’s going on here…
#1032: MAMA Authentic Thai Cuisine Pad Thai
I reviewed the instant in a smaller pack quite a while ago. It’s got a few seasoning packets and this one only has one big packet. Definitely not instant as the instructions ask for an interesting preparation method. Let’s dig in!
The Ramen Rater On Japan’s MBS TV Show ‘God Of Patena’
Ealier this year, I got a call from Japan, asking if I would like to be interviewed for a TV show. I answered in the affirmative! They were interested in my Top Ten list, but something shorter. I picked three varietiesand did the interview via Skype. The guy interviewing me is Charles V. Lee. He told me he’s the most popular comedian in Japan. He’s originally from Oregon! So how the show works is a random topic is picked and a question is asked. Then they find someone who knows the answer and they interview them. The term ‘patena’ means random. With that, here’s the video!
Thank You Package From Japanese TV Show ‘God Of Patena’
I was on Japanese TV at the end of February! The folks there were very kind to send some ramen from Japan!
Prize From The Nongshim America Easter Contest!
Got a call from the office at my apartment complex about a package…
Awesome! So Nongshim America had a contest around Easter on their Facebook Page and I was one of the winners!
A Neat Donation From Nongshim America!
The FedEx guy knocked on my window the other day with a package!
Holy cow – a flat of Neoguri and a flat of Chapagetti! I did a review of Chapaguri a couple weeks ago and to say thanks, they made sure I can make it whenever I like! Thanks!
New Varieties From Nissin Foods
A package from Scott A. over at Nissin Foods USA!
Scott recently traveled to Asia and brought some really neat varieties back for me! Notice that cup on the lower left? That’s a King Cup Noodle – it’s friggin’ huge! The trays on the right are a new line from Nissin Foods USA called Pan Asian Kitchen. Thanks!
Meet The Manufacturer: #1031: HoMyeonDang Premium Noodle House Don Ramyun
Today is the last review of the Samyang Foods Meet The Manufacturer spotlight. Rest assured, there will definitely be more of their products reviewed in the future – I only do a maximum of 15 reviews in a row for a company during a Meet The Manufacturer and they sent more than 15, so lots of neat stuff coming! I want to thank Samyang Foods for their samples and everything else – really nice people!
Meet The Manufacturer: #1030: Samyang Foods Assorted Vegetables (60 Ingredients) Ramyun (SK Version)
So here in the US, this is simply called Assorted Vegetable – although I think the 60 Ingredients is definitely important. I’d love to know what all of the ingredients are… Let’s check this one out!
Meet The Manufacturer: #1029: Samyang Foods Nagasaki Crab Jjampong
Most people who are keen on South Korean ramyun have heard of the craze for ‘white broth’ ramyuns. Nagasaki Jjampong was Samyang Foods’ entry into the white broth realm, but they made another variety – Nagasaki Crab Jjampong – that has a milder taste. Let’s check it out.
Meet The Manufacturer: #1028: Samyang Foods Buldalk Bokkeummyeon (Hot Fried Chicken Ramyun)
Well this one looks to be extremely spicy. Samyang Foods sent some instructions along as everything on the back of these packages are in Korean. Well, they also added a little advice:
Meet The Manufacturer: #1027: Samyang Foods Yukgaejang Beef Ramyun
Meet The Manufacturer: #1026: Samyang Foods Bajirak Kalgugsu
Okay folks – here’s something I’ve never seen before. This is bajirak kalgugsu. I’ve had kalgugsu before, but this has a special ingredient: actual clams in shells! Here we go!
Meet The Manufacturer: #1025: Samyang Foods Hot Chacharoni
Okay so what’s Hot Chacharoni? Well, its a form of jjajangmyeon. What’s jjajangmyeon? Wheat noodles with a black bean sauce! Pretty much every South Korean instant noodle company has their own take on the popular dish, but this is the only one that I’m aware of that is spicy! Let’s check it out.
Meet The Manufacturer: #1024: HoMyeonDang Premium Noodle House Tofu Fried Noodle
Here’s another of the HoMyeonDang private label varieties. This is a stir noodle – drain the noodles after cooking and add the sauce and stir. Let’s check it out.
Meet The Manufacturer: #1023: Samyang Foods 三養라면 (Samyang Ramyun) (South Korean Version)
First, I want to wish my wife a Happy Birthday! Love you! Well folks, here it is. This is the ramyun that started it all. Here’s an except from my interview with Samyang Foods about their first product:
Meet The Manufacturer: #1022: HoMyeonDang Premium Noodle House Crab Jjampong
This sure looks fancy! This is a premium private label variety made by Samyang Foods. HoMyeonDang is a restaurant in South Korea – here’s their website. They’re a organic noodle bar! Crab jjampong! Let’s check it out…