The Definitive Source For Instant Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Another one I figured I ought to get to before we move. This one is from Hong Kong and one of a line of interesting flavored macaroni instants by Nissin. Amongst them are seafood, chicken and abalone and many more. Let’s check out this mushroom vegetable flavored Nissin Demae Iccho variant!
I thought to myself recently that it would be great to end 2014 and start 2015 with a new top ten list – but from where? A couple places came to mind, and Hong Kong sounded like a good one. I’ve found a lot of excellent instant noodles that have been from Hong Kong. Been hoping to see more arrive here in the United States, but many of the ones on this list I’ve found up in Canada. I would definitely like to reach out to instant noodle companies in Hong Kong to take part in Meet The Manufacturer; there’s not been a Hong Kong participant yet! With that, here’s the top ten instant noodles of Hong Kong – the best and most memorable – from the last 1,553 reviews. Enjoy and Happy New Year, Hong Kong!
After going through the big noodle hamper the other day and getting rid of some ancient ones that had expired, I noticed this one that I needed to get to quickly. There’s a urban myth that instant noodles last forever, will survive all forms of apocalypse and deliver great flavor for the next hundred years. While frying noodles extrudes moisture and makes them shelf stable without refrigeration for a much longer time than their fresh counterparts, they do go bad. I also take into account that as a reviewer, it’s only fair to review them if they’re all not expired, hence the culling of the old. Luckily, I have scads of non expired instants to go through! Anyways, let’s check out this rice vermicelli from Nissin – Demae Beef Flavour!
I reviewed one of these the other day – the pork ribs flavor. Got my son Andy over here today and he’s been a little more adventurous in trying new flavors. I thought this one might be a good match – I had him choose between duck, mushroom and this. I knew he’d pick the tomato; kind of a no-brainer there.
I used to a lot of barbecuing a few years back and one thing I always liked to grill up were pork ribs. I would often have a couple of friends over and we would drink a few beers and exclaim ‘spicy pork ribs’ in a strange overdone Southern accent which would end up sounding more like Boss Hogg from Dukes Of Hazzard screaming ‘spassy poke relbs.’ I always liked to get the boneless ‘country style’ ribs in bulk and then do a nice dry rub. Nowadays, I don’t barbecue as much (mainly because I don’t have a barbecue) and my wife’s Uncle Joe has a really snazzy barbecue rig that you can control wirelessly and slow cook/smoke meats for hours effortlessly. His stuff comes out just amazingly – so now I leave it the pros. American barbecue ribs are generally a lot different than what you’ll find in Asia. Sau Tao is a company out of Hong Kong which makes a lot of different varieties of noodles. Today it’s oat noodles. They’re non-fried and have a nice texture to them (at least the ones I’ve had in the past did). Let’s check out Sau Tao’s Oat Noodles with Pork Ribs flavor!
A friend on facebook referred me to this film – thank you! This comedy is really quite good and made it’s debut in 1996. Stephen Chow has been in quite a few ‘God Of” films, including a series called God Of Gamblers. You’ll want your subtitles on – no overdub. Enjoy and happy Friday!
I figured since I have some cabbage I need to use before it goes bad, yakisoba would be a good call for today. This is one of those interesting ones. The product is from a Hong Kong company called Chewy, made in South Korea, and a Japanese flavor. Yakisoba is great stuff – vegetables and meats fried with noodles and oil and some flavoring. Time to have some breakfast – let’s check out this one from Chewy.
Next Friday is Halloween and we’ve got some plans with Andy this weekend! Thought he might like this one for breakfast today! He’s been curious about expanding his palate a little bit lately since our trip to Malaysia – something I really like. It took me a while to get to the age that I wanted to be more adventurous with food, and it’s great to see him starting to explore.
Here’s yet another one from a trip to Canada. This company is particularly interesting – they always include a big sachet of seaweed in their packs and bowls of instant noodles. What’s more, their bowl have two noodle blocks instead of just one – they sport some of the largest instant noodle meals I’ve ever seen! This one’s mushroom and beef flavored hot and spicy – which you find out by reading the back of the packaging. Anyways, sounds like an interesting one – let’s give it a try!
Here’s something you wouldn’t find in the United States usually! Macaroni and cheese is a common thing here; almost a national dish! But macaroni and chicken and abalone – in a broth? Nope – not something most would even consider. One thing’s for sure: macaroni is almost always accompanied by cheese here. Let’s see what it’s like cheese free!
Here’s one I got up in Canada a while back. These noodles are made with oats. A lot of different ways to make noodles – different gauges, lengths, colors – and ingredients make them all different. Oats sound like a logical way to go – wondering if anyone has ever heard of a soybean noodle ever made? Hmm… I bet someone’s made one! Anyways, let’s try these ones – abalone flavor!
I’ll admit, I have a problem. I have a TON of noodles waiting to be reviewed. Today, I went and put them all on the floor as sorted them by expiration date. No small task, that’s for sure! It took a little while, but everything’s all sorted out and ready to go in the most efficient way I can figure. Today I’m going to review this Chewy variety from Hong Kong. I got it up in Canada a while back – let’s have a look.
Here”s another one from a birthday trip to Canada. This one isn’t fried and really low fat. But will it be low on flavor? It seems that many companies are now offering options for those interested in low fat instant noodles. Let’s see how this one comes out.
Bowls of noodles. They’re made all around the world and are a great option for those with access to boiling water and are ‘on the go.’ Some are basic and have very little imagination to them or perks, while others are really full meals that include meat and vegetables, seafood and other niceties. I’ve review 1,410 different noodle varieties and of those, many have been bowls. Here’s a list of the best, most memorable bowls I’ve come across is my adventure in tasting.
I’ve always found these quite interesting. Why? Well for starters, they seem to always have a pack of seaweed with them, and not a small one but a decent portion. Also, the noodle blocks are unique as well. How? Well, read on and you’ll see. This one is from Hong Kong – let’s check it out!
I think most people think of wonton soup and think of what they find in Chinese restaurants in the United States. Usually a thin broth, maybe a glass noodle or two and some little dumplings with meat inside. Well, I have a feeling that’s more geared to the American palate. Just look at the picture on the front of this package; whole head-on shrimps well as mushrooms too. Looks really good! Let’s see what this Sau Tao variety is like.
Pork! Purple! Sounds good! Let’s hit it!
Here’s the back of the package (click image to enlarge). Contains fish products. To prepare, cook noodles in 500ml water for 3 minutes. Put sachet contents into a bowl. Pour out water from noodles into the bowl and stir, then add noodles. Enjoy!
Here’s another one my lovely wife got for me on our trip to Canada for my birthday last year – thanks! Interesting – tube shaped ramen? A couple of brands make these – kind of a neat twist on it. Let’s check it out!
I thought why not have something a little different today. This cup’s been around the bottom of the hamper for a while… So, what does QQ mean? Pretty much really thin noodle. Let’s check it out!
Thought Andy might like this one with some shrimp in it perhaps. Told him if it’s spicy and doesn’t like it he can have something different. I guess we’ll see! Let’s check it out.
Here’s one we got while up in Canada for my birthday. Let’s give it a try.
The distributor’s sticker (click image to enlarge). Contains chicken.
Hey – who’s the instant noodle king? Always kind of hoped I held that throne… anyways, I kind of miss the Thanksgiving turkey, but I’m not a turkey cooking kind of guy – so going with something chicken flavored. Let’s check it out!
Here’s one my wife got me earlier this year on my birthday trip to Canada! Thanks, Kit! Today I’ll be using the very last of the amazingly succulent and perfect turkey Kit made this Thanksgiving – trust me – it was absolutely perfect. That’s why it’s chicken flavored noodles today; I don’t think it’d be very logical to add it to shrimp or beef flavored. Maybe duck, but I don’t believe there’s any duck flavored in my stash. So the noodles were bought in Canada, distributed in Hong Kong and a product of Thailand – got all that? Let’s check it out!
I was pretty surprised my son wanted to try this one; he asked if it was spicy or bitter. I told him I wouldn’t imagine so. Well, I guess we’ll find out!
This was sent by Abbie C. of Hong Kong – thank you! She offered to find a Pokemon cup for my son but couldn’t find one, so this is an Ultraman cup! Awesome! It’s really small – smallest sized noodle cup I’ve tried yet! Let’s check it out!
Here’s one that was sent by Abbie C. of Hong Kong – thanks! I always try to source Hello Kitty and Pokemon related instants as my wife likes Hello Kitty and my son’s a Pokemaniac. Let’s check this one out!
Got a package the other day from reader Abbie C. of Hong Kong! She offered to see if she could send a couple things I’ve been looking for: Hello Kitty and Pokemon branded noodle products. As I’ve said before, my wife likes Hello Kitty and my son is aPokefanatic!
Hey welcome to November! Here’s another one we got on my birthday trip to Canada in March! I was just looking at the little kid caricature on the side of this bowl and was thinking how it looks like he’s sick. I mean he has a very red nose and his cheeks are red and covered in spots. Measles? Mumps? I think I’m reading too much into it. Let’s check it out!
Here’s another one my wife got me up in Canada on my birthday earlier this year! This is one big cup of noodles! You might be wondering what XO Sauce is. Well, the ‘XO’ part is a status thing; it’s considered to be a prestigious prefix in Asia denoting luxury or high quality as in cognac. As for what’s in it, Wikipedia says:
Here’s one that is manufactured in Shenzhen, China and distributed in Hong Kong. Let’s check it out!
Let me say that the past couple of days have been probably a couple of the most crazy, fascinating and rewarding of my run so far as The Ramen Rater. I did am interview with Quartz (part of The Atlantic) and it went viral; Huffington Post picked it up, Grub Street, Digg,… Did an interview with South Korea’s Cultwo Veranda Show and appeared, and have two interviews with radio and television lined up in the next couple of days. A couple of interesting opportunities I can’t talk about yet have popped up and I’m very excited about them and will share as soon as I can. Thursday I went up to Canada and met with some folks at a big Asian grocery called T&T Supermarket. They were really nice people and even sent me home with some great new varieties to review and share! Thank you so much! This is one of them. Oat noodles? This sounds different – see the little circle on the lower right? It says ‘health is important. Let’s check it out!
Another one from my birthday trip to Canada – thanks, Kit! I’ve seen plenty of Demae Ramen varieties, but not until I visited Canada did I find bowls! Let’s check it out.
I’ve had other macaroni quick serve products before by a different brand. I always thought these were interesting. Usually the only thing you’d find in the United States coupled with macaroni would be cheese, but elsewhere, the options are much different. Let’s check it out.
Here’s another one we got in Canada on my birthday! I was surprised to see a Demae Ramen bowl – always nice to see something new on the shelf! This one’s from Hong Kong. Let’s check it out.
My son Andy, my wife Kit and I walked to the local 99 Ranch Market on Friday. He decided he needed more kamaboko and wanted to pick out some ramen himself to try. Here’s one he picked (he likes all things chicken flavored) and will get to try today. He’s letting me have a bite and a slurp of broth for making it for him.
Here’s one that my sister brought me back from a trip to Canada earlier this year. So to recap, bought in Canada, Singaporean flavored, made in China – capiche?
Here’s another one that was sent to me by Carter B. – he bought it in Mali but it originally comes from Hong Kong. Chicken time!
Here’s one my sister brought me down from Canada! Thanks, Sue!!! Seaweed flavor, huh? Well, let’s check it out!
Well folks, this is the last one I’ll be reviewing for Meet The Manufacturer: Nissin week. There will be more Nissin reviews coming of course so don’t worry. The ramen hamper runneth over with new varieties to try! So this is a very old one – old as in I reviewed it was back at number #85 – over 600 reviews ago. I think it’s due.
Here’s another that my sister brought me back from Canada! XO Sauce Seafood flavor sounds good – I think I’ll drop a couple discs of naruto in it too!
