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When I released my Chili Crisp Roundup & Buyers Guide in late November, it got a lot of attention – from how I called the stuff love sludge to varieties I’d not tried. This was one of the latter, mentioned by a fellow redditor – thank you! Anyways, These are chili crisp varieties from Taiwan you can get at Yum Hai Taiwanese Pantry – let’s have a look!
After 7 years of unboxings, this the absolute last one from Zenpop, now defunct purveyor of ramen noodle boxes. Guess it’s time to retire this last cup.
I was minding my own business, doing a little research… Then I found this Kari Kari chili crisp. Turned out they’re based in Seattle, which is next door. I asked to give it a try and they sent some! Now, your question may be at the outset: how does it compare to Lao Gan Ma? I can say I’d rather have this any day. Check out the video below. You can get it here. Also – check out Time Warp – a bar with arcade and pinball games and instant noodles on Capitol Hill in Seattle!!
Protein and vitamins and fiber and low sodium and pretty low calories for the size of the serving. Let’s begin.
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
I tried this 11 years ago. That’s a long time as far as my reviewing has gone. Back then it was review #761 – I still have the same bowl and I think I’ll use it again! Funny, I thought I got this from my mother in law and that I mentioned it in my review, but maybe it wasn’t this one. Hmm. Well, I gave it a 3.5 back then. Curious if I’ll like it now. It’s gluten free which I’ll mention to my wife. Let’s give it a try!
Here’s an interesting one from Japan found in a Zenpop box – check out zenpop.jp and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount!
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
Okay, this sounds good! This one is from the same folks that brought us Red Chef – two of their four varieties are in my annual global top ten. I’ve got high expectations and hopes these new KampongKu varieties are all I think they probably will be – super good! Let’s give them a go!
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
Wow – it’s been forever since I had this one, so it’s getting a fresh and new review today. Namja mean’s it’s for men in Korean – sorry ladies! I dunno though, it could be an ingenious marketing ploy – tell women it’s not for them, they might just go and eat copious amounts of it to prove that they can handle the heat and garlic. What’s interesting is that I would say when it comes to gender specific ramen, I would say I’ve seen more that are purposefully geared towards women. Anyways, let’s check this one out!
A longtime follower of the site named Joe C. mentioned I should give this one a try – thanks! It was featured on a YouTube video by a channel called Way Of Ramen. I figured why not and was impressed. The video is at the bottom, but have a look. Maybe a little less mayo? I don’t often do a numbered review in this way, but I thought since apparently it’s very popular right now in Japan, why not?
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
We bid a fond farewell to Fu Chung today and I hope we will see more of their products in the future! Let’s try this one – sesame and garlic!
This is another one from Zenpop.jp. Zenpop is pretty cool – they have different boxes you can get – Japanese stationery, snacks, ramen… It’s quite a variety. They’re pretty cheap, too. Here’s what they had to say about this variety:
Hey who doesn’t like garlic? Okay, maybe vampires… But hey – I certainly like garlic. Fried garlic is good too. Let’s see how this one comes out.
I found this one up in Canada at a place called Hen Long Market. Did find a whole lot there, but this was definitely a score. They’re made in Vietnam – however they’re for Poland! Poland! European noodles! Yeah – I’m sure you can tell that makes me happy. Always wish I can find more stuff from/for Europe.
So today it’s the fifth annual The Ramen Rater’s Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time. On my other lists, I exclude varieties that no longer are on the market. On this list, everything’s fair game for the bottom ten. As I say in the video presentation, if you like some of these, there’s nothing wrong with you – I just find these detestable personally. These are my least favorite varieties of the over 2400 varieties posted to date. Without gurther ado, the bottom ten.
Here’s one I got in the Jason’s Market on the first floor of the Taipei 101 in Taiwan last November. I believe this World O’Noodles line is from a big grocery store chain in Southeast Asia – not 100% sure on that, but pretty sure. Garlic Mi Goreng? Oh yeah – sign me up! I’m hoping that this will be a delightful and delicious instant from Indonesia. Let’s have a look at this World O’Noodle variety.
This was sent to me by Ippin, a purveyor of wonderful Japanese items! Thank you again! This is an ultra special one they came out with to commemorate the anniversary of Cup Noodles – the Cup Noodle Rich line.
This looks very interesting. Check out how thin these noodles are! Sesame and garlic are great flavors to marry together as well. So we’ve seen sesame sauce – the tan colored peanutty kind of stuff and today it’s sesame oil – a much lighter fare. Let’s have a look!
Can’t remember where I got this one, but it’s been a long time since I’ve reviewed anything by Koyo so I thought I’d check it out. So lower sodium, organic noodles, Vegan… But how will it taste? It’s tough to cover all these bases and make something that’s going to have a lot of flavor. Let’s find out!
I’m happy to report that this is the first post I’m doing using my new computer setup. Took a while to get everything all happy but now it’s quite happy as am I. Anyways, we found these in Lynnwood, WA at a store called BigLots. I’ve found varieties there in the past – kind of like a liquidation place. This one seems to definitely be for the western market although made in Thailand. Let’s check it out.
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.
Well folks, this is it. The last one for this Meet The Manufacturer. I really have enjoyed reviewing all of these fresh noodle varieties quite a bit, and I think it’s finally gotten me to look at the possibility of a The Ramen Rater’s top Ten Fresh Noodles Of All Time list. They don’t exactly fit into the Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time lists as they’re usually on a different playing field; they’re not fried blocks, but fresh pouches. So that might be something coming up in the near future. I’d like to thank Yuji for the help in making these reviews happen – I’ve messaged him plenty of times with questions throughout as there’s no English on any of the packaging, let alone the title sometimes. Let’s have a look at this interesting variety from Takamori Kosan of Japan as we bid them a fond farewell for now. Yuji has mentioned that there will be new varieties coming, so it’s not goodbye, but til next time.
After looking at the new The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Indonesian Instant Noodles Of All Time 2013 Edition and talking with people from around the world about it all week, I felt like having some Indonesian noodles! To translate, rasa means flavor, bawang is garlic, ayam is chicken and pedas means spicy. Let’s give this one a try!
Here’s the last of the varieties from Poland that were kindly sent by Joe & Gil of the UK! Borscht! I’ve never actually had real borscht before, but I read up on it on the Wikipedia page:
I saw something about a Thai chili sauce mentioned on my favorite hot sauce group on facebook recently. It got me wondering if it would be something that could be an alternative to the standard big bottle of Sriracha that I usually go for. I tracked down the company and asked if they could possibly send a sample – a few days later, it arrived!
Ok so what is this madness I speak of? Well, in Indonesia, there’s Mi Goreng which are fried noodles. I thought since my last recipe got a write up today in Fox News Magazine ( link), maybe I should get a pack and experiment. I thought since Indonesian instant noodles are my all time faves and I really really enjoy Korean ramyun, why not try a mash-up?
I have fallen ill with some kind of head cold it seems and I thought something spicy would be good. My lovely wife Kit was kind enough make me some noodles for breakfast – she’s so good to me! Thought I’d have these – they’re available in the US now, but this is a Re-Review of the pack that is sold in Korea. The version sold in the US will be being reviewed soon! Here’s the link to the original review I did during Paldo’s Meet The Manufacturer.
Here’s a new one from Paldo – Namja. Namja translates to “man” or “guy” – I think they’re saying this is very hot and spicy. I wonder if there will be a product that is made for women as well? Well, let’s see if I’m man enough for this bowl of noodles!
How often do you see Korean instant noodles that aren’t spicy? Well, here’s one of those rare times. Pronounced Gohm-tahng (thanks Moses from Paldo America!), this is a traditional beef noodle soup.
Here’s another one from a friend in Jakarta, Indonesia! Thank you! So what is Rasa Ayam Bawang you ask? Simple: Garlic Chicken Flavor! Sounds awesome! Oh, but wait – when I translate onion to Indonesian it says bawang too. Uh oh – I’m confused. Can anyone make a comment as to this? It would be greatly appreciated! UPDATE – Just got the comment I was looking for:
Check it out – the new Shin Black cup! Onion flavor! I’ve had one of these chilling on my shelf for a while now – been wanting to review it and now that it’s out on the market, I can! Let’s check it out!
Here’s another of these Mee Jang Noodle Soups. I like the label – if you aren’t keen on reading and just scan a bowl of instant food and decide to eat, watch out for this stuff! So far I’ve found these to be quite spicy! Let’s see how this one comes out!
More Indonesian noodles! This one’s a spicy pack of mi goreng – fried noodles!
This is the export label.
Today’s my birthday! Yay! I haven’t had any Vina Acecook in a while so I thought I’d have this one that was in the bags of noodles my sis brought me back from the great white north! Yay! Time fer noodles!
Haven’t had any Lucky Me! in quite some time. This is a smaller version of the Lucky Me! La Paz Batchoy I’ve had before. Let give this one a renewed and smaller look!
