The Definitive Source For Instant Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Yes, I can hear it again ‘wot?! You’ve not had this before?’ Well, yeah but it was back on December 11th of 2011. Pretty crazy, eh? It was review #600. Back then the packaging was different. Let’s give it a try over a decade later – now with a new recipe and new clothes.
I was contacted recently by a woman named Michelle over at www.homiah.com – a website specializing in the flavors of Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. She asked if I’d like to try some of their products and of course I’m all in on that. So this is the second of three reviews I’ll be doing – stay tuned for the last one. The products are gluten free and as I’m writing this after trying this red curry, so far so very good. Let’s cook some laksa!
Another super recent find from S-Mart. This one sounded like it would be good. This is definitely for export, but for multiple countries so it’lll get the South Korea label instead of for a specific country being exported to. Let’s try some kimchi noodle soup!
I’ve seen these a few times and luckily, found them a bit cheaper the other day. This is a stir noodle – no broth. Sounds interesting and a lot of sachets to be sure. Let’s check it out!
Here’s one found during the holy hunt for the pumpkin spice noodle of late 2021. This was at Walmart in Bellevue I believe. Let’s check it out!
Okay yeah I know. ‘What? You’ve never had this? The hell kind of Ramen Rater are you?’ Fine. That’s a logical thing. Well, let’s see – that was over 4000 reviews before. This isn’t a re-review, this is a completely new review. Suppliers and sourcing changes throughout the years, and tastes change. here is the original review. #104! This is review @4300. God, that’s insane. Only 700 reviews until I hit 5000. What am I going to review for 5000? It better be absolutely fascinating. Well, let’s do this up.
This is one found during a Saturday hunt for more varieties for review. Found it at a store called S-Mart in Bellevue, Washington (yeah like in Army Of Darkness!). This is one by the same company that actually sent me a pallet – 400lbs of samples!!! Let’s check it out and give it a try!
Found this during a special trek to find some varieties of instant noodles to review in Redmond, Washington at Asian Family Market. This is nothing like anything I’ve ever found – hopefully I can find enough info to do it justice. Let’s figure it out!
Well this sounds nice – found it while hunting for more stuff to review. As of this moment, this is it; I have nothing left to review! Hoping tomorrow to hit Bellevue – we shall see… There should be some good stuff over there I think. Meanwhile, let’s give this one a try.
If you’ve been following my reviews lately, you might wonder why this isn’t marked as for the USA – but the thing is if you look, it’s in English as well as French. This definitely means this is for the US and Canada – so, since I can’t pin it down for one or the other, this one gets the country of origin’s stamp on the review.
I’ve tried a few of the soup varieties that Annie Chun’s makes, so I thought perhaps I’ll give the ones that are more saucy a shot. Previously, the soupy ones didn’t fare too well. Maybe these are better?
It’s probably a surprise to you, but I haven’t done a regular review in about a month. Why? Well, for almost two months I was doing 3 reviews a day, almost every day. So, I got way ahead of myself and decided to take a break. I also ran out of noodles and thought maybe I’d let my noodle supply grow a little bit, which it has. This is a variety that came in the last month. I did an interview for a fancy food publication called Magazine F from South Korea – they did a ramen themed issue. They hired a local photographer to do a photo shoot and I made some of this for it. It’s Friday right now – June 23rd. I’m guessing it’ll be late autumn when it comes out. Let’s check it out!
Here’s the last of the three A-Kuan varieties. A while back they were called ‘Big Boss’ and had this guy on the packaging. This fellow looks to be pretty jovial – let’s give it a try.
I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure I have only reviewed the non-rice vermicelli pack version of this – with a wheat noodle. This is some of my favorite soup these folks make. They never fail to surprise – first twas the White Curry, then the Hokkien Mee, and then the Red Tom Yum Goong – and then this one. I should mention the mi goreng that has a spicy prawn bite to it as well. These folks are a real powerhouse when it comes to my tastebuds. Let’s give this pack version of their White Fish Broth rice vermicelli!
This is the third of atrio of varieties I found at 99 Ranch Market by Wu-Mu. This one sounds particularly interesting – let give it a try.
Here’s the second of two Sempio varieties I found recently. This one’s anchovy flavor. Sounds simple enough. Their noodles are unique, that’s for sure. Let’s give this a try!
I tried this way back – looks like I reviewed it on Christmas Day of 2014! They’ve changed packaging a bit since then; they used to feature a little info about Malaysia and Penang in particular – but that’s fallen by the wayside it seems. This pack is very interesting as it comes with a ‘free face mask holder’ which I find thoroughly fascinating. I’m guessing in the almost seven years between tastings, this has changed a bit. When companies make things on a large sale, they rely on ingredients from different sources. Those sources may not be able to supply the ingredients they once did, so a new ingredient may be used instead. Also, companies (especially Malaysian ones) like to update their recipes often. Let’s give this one a try – and check out that mask holder!
Here’s another one of these varieties with a cartoon looking boss on the cup. I found this at 99 Ranch Market and while I’ve found quite of this style cup there that I’ve enjoyed, the last one I tried wasn’t my favorite. Let’s give this one a try!
It’s been a rough go for brands from the US I’ve not reviewed a ton of before. It really surprises me how many zero star scores I’ve given lately. I have a feeling (and hope) this one’s different. See where it says CJ Foods next to the Annie Chun’s logo? That’s a Korean company. If they’re making this line, I would think that they could make a great spicy Korean ramen. Then again I see corn is an ingredient which is very odd. Ah well – come on let’s give it a go!
It’s been a long time since I reviewed a Buldak variety, that’s for sure! I have tried the curry before, but it’s been a very, very long time. The packaging is new, and I’m guessing the recipe is slightly different as well. Below you can see everything about this including my review, a video of cooking it, and then of course, a mukbang. This is the version for export to the United States. Let’s give it a go – hope I can handle it!
The last one of these I tried was really quite good. It had a ton of noodles, and an excellent chicken flavor which was perfect for Western palates. I’m curious how the spicy element will go with this one. Shall we find out? I should add that if you look in the ingredients, it mentions habanero!
Well, hmm. This is the third variety of these I’ll be trying and the first two did very poorly. They both got zero stars. It really bums me out because these folks make some amazing rice products, but I have to say the translation into ramen makes my palate wretch. Hopefully, this one will be better! Third time’s the charm? We shall see.
This one’s an interesting specimen . You might be a hardcore instant noodle fan and notice the font of ‘premium’ and the color scheme. Definitely might remind you of something completely different. This one’s definitely packaged for US sale. I’ve had quite a few varieties from Dragonfly and found them generally to be quite good. Let’s check it out!
This is pretty cool – it only arrived a day or so ago and it’s only around for a short time I believe, so I’m rushing it out. I definitely like carbonara. Truffles are interesting from what I’ve experienced of them. I used to visit a restaurant every once in a while called Perche No in Seattle – an Italian restaurant whose head chef was Malaysian! Anyways, he made all sorts of fascinating fusions. Was at a special dinner there once and he brought out a big container of truffles and let us check them out. Truffles are hard to describe; kind of like the finest old book smell but edible. It’s really different and compelling. Well, this yakisoba has aromatics of truffle which is very interesting to me. Big thank you goes out to Nissin Singapore for contacting me about these and sending some! Let’s get to it.
The last one of these I tried was quite good. This one is a sesame paste flavor. Many would liken it to peanut butter, but it’s a bit different usually. It’s really a nice way to liven up dry noodles, that’s for sure. I’ve had it cold on the streets of Taipei – and it was really delicious. I have to say, visiting Taiwan has been a highlight of my days on Earth. It’s a vibrant place full of new things to try. Yeah – don’t be a square – visit the beautiful island of Taiwan.
You know, I can’t find anything anywhere about this one and what it’s actually called; I’m guess it’s an apt title, and the label looks to be an import label from the actual company itself. However, I bet the name is different. I bet. A dollar. I have a dollar. I’d have to open the piggy bank to get the cash out, but I’m good for a buck. It’s definitely a rice noodle as opposed to a wheat noodle – and I’m guessing that would be mentioned on the packaging. I looked further on the Sempio website –
Well, hmm. Last time wasn’t so ultra wonderful. I’m hoping this one is super awesome! Going to use the microwave directions this go-round. Tom Yum is a soup out of Thailand with bright, spicy, and strong flavors. I’m hoping it’s reflected here; time to find out.
You know, my favorite foods always have ambiguous and generalisms in them. Well, not really, but my favorite titles do. Miscellaneous sauce? Could be assorted sauce? This is one where the distributor’s label has a bit of a translation error I’m guessing. But this is how you’ll find it if you get it here in the United States, so I’ll leave it. Anyways, let’s give it a try.
This sounded interesting enough. Well, hopefully it’s alright. I dunno. I haven’t had all that much luck with this brand lately so we shall see. The last one was a shoyu and really kind of tame/bland. Hoping this will be a nice luxuriant and creamy tonkotsu with a lot of flavor.
Found this (as well as review 4275) over at H-Mart the other day. I swear Menraku just keeps coming out with new varieties constantly – it’s pretty hard to keep up with but that’s fine – the more the merrier. This is made in Japan but for the US market. Flaming hot, eh? Let’s find out.
It took a little finagling to wrap my head around this one – insofar as translation. Bar code was a no-go and the only English text referred to the caloric content and not much else. But what helped was that phone number with the 070 prefix. Boom! They were even kind enough to have an English version of their website. So, let’s check out this South Korean variety!
October 6th is National Noodle Day! I knew it existed, but every year I find out when it’s too late to do a special post or something to commemorate the day. This year, Nissin Foods USA overnighted me a box especially for National Noodle Day – and it arrived the day before! So, I’ve spent the day before National Noodle Day shooting video, doing special research, and sitting in the bathroom. Well, it’s been fun, and now it’s time to show you what you may have or have not heard about – the Nissin Cup Noodles Soup Soaker. It’s a bath bomb which came in this special box in a noodle cup. What’s more is it’s kind of chickenny. Yeah. A chicken broth bath bomb. Watch it fizz!!!
Here’s another one of the Ramen Bowl varieties from Maruchan here in the United States. This is one of those varieties I figured I’ll leave as they’re so easy to find and save for a rainy day. Well, it’s raining – I’ve kind of hit a low amounts of instant noodles slump – happens from time to time. So, let’s get our chicken on.
I did a Meet The Manufacturer series with this company about four years ago – really good stuff, especially with this range. This variety features a straight noodle and a sauce. Looking forward to seeing how it is.
Well, folks – this is it. I’ve had a lot of fun reviewing this special Sanrio tie-in series over the last short while. Everything’s quite good. Now we come to the end of the line with this Badtz-Maru variety. Badtz-Maru is one of Hello Kitty’s friends – let’s give it a try.
I haven’t tried anything from these guys in quite a while. Their pillow packs were definitely not well received by this reviewer, but that was a very long time ago. These cups look interesting. These folks also make rice which is quite good – especially the ‘forbidden rice.’ Let’s give this thing a try.
A while back I discovered some of this brand’s Big Boss varieties – and it looks like there are more now, so that’s neat. Spicy and sesame sounds good enough – let’s find out.
Lately, I’ve found myself in a slight pickle. I’m low on varieties of review… Well, it’s mainly my fault – I think for over two weeks I’ve been in such a good groove that I’ve been able to do three reviews a day and walk about ten miles per day as well. That’s a lot of unique varieties of noodles… So, I’ve had to resort to finding a bunch in a bit of a hurry. I found this one locally at the grocery store today. In fact, I found five different varieties. Let’s see what this is all about – it sounds a little bit interesting. Guess we’ll see.
Onto the third review! There are four varieties of these you can find over at www.ashadrynoodle.com. This one is another of Hello Kitty’s friends. I don’t believe it’s frog flavor, but probably more akin to the Hello Kitty supercute soy sauce flavor with some heat. Let’s give it a try!
Here’s something from a company that doesn’t put out new varieties here in the United states very ofte, but when they do – they’re usually quite good. This is a spicy yakisoba and I’m very curious – let’s have a look!
