The Definitive Source For Instant Noodle Reviews Since 2002
A week or so ago, I reviewed Mamee Chef Gold Recipe Mi Kari Seribu Rasa. This however is Mamee Chef Gold Recipe Bihun Kari Seribu Rasa. What’s the difference? Well, ‘mi’ means noodles – as in instant wheat flour noodles. Bihun is the Malaysian term for rice vermicelli. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about bihun:
One thing I didn’t expect to see during our stay in Malaysia – in the lobby of the hotel we stayed at, there was a Halloween display! A pretty good sized one, too! It seems that Halloween is somewhat popular over there! Well, last night was Halloween and we got a huge bowl of candy (yes, I tossed in some instant noodles for the trick or treaters as well). Well, nobody came. Not one kid. So, we have a ton of candy. Those kids really missed out – we’re generous when it comes to candy!
I am very proud and happy to introduce the release of The Ramen Rater mobile app for the Apple iPhone! The app is the culmination of many months of work by myself and app developer Calvin Tam of Malaysia (you can see some of his other work here). You may have noticed a while back I posted an ad on the right side asking for folks who might be interested in developing an app with me for mobile users. Well, Calvin answered that call and devoted a great deal of time making this happen! I want to personally thank him for the time and effort expended on this app. Without further adieu, let me introduce you to The Ramen Rater for iPhone!
Today we have a new one from Mamee Chef. Mamee Chef’s products made not only the Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2014 list, but also topped the Top Ten Instant Noodle Cups Of All Time 2014 list. Really exceptional stuff! They have come out with two varieties in this flavor: one with their ‘mi tarik’ noodles (noodles made in a way to emulate hand-pulled noodles) and a version that comes with bihun (pronounced bee-hoon, it’s a very thin rice noodle). Today I’m reviewing the wheat noodle variety.
Wow – 1,500 reviews! 1,500 different varieties of instant noodles! What’s even more crazy is that I don’t even feel like I’ve scratched the surface of the world of instant noodles; there are always new varieties coming out, and I think there’s never going to be a day when I’ve tried every variety. Which is a good thing because I really enjoy reviewing these things! Today’s review is a special one. I usually try to pick one that’s a little more interesting than others – and this one is very unique. Usually, companies either send me samples, readers donate varieties I’ve not tried, or I just go to a store and buy them. This is one of the first ones I’ve received directly from a company – literally handed to me. Not only that, I brought it all the way back here from Penang, Malaysia! That’s a long way! I think it was more than 16,000 miles round trip! I’d like to thank everyone who has supported and enjoyed The Ramen Rater throughout the years – without your support and readership, well, it’d be pretty quiet around here! Anyways, let’s check out this new Tom Yum variety from MyKuali! On with number 1,500!!!
During my trip to Malaysia, I got a notification that I had a package from Malaysia back at my apartment! It was kind of funny; when we were in Kuala Lumpur’s airport, we saw DHL jetys on the tarmac – could be the same ones that brought these my way! These are brand new Mamee Chef varieties! Let’s look inside!
Day 1 * Day 2 * Day 3 * Day 4 * Day 5 * Day 6
Another day of adventure! Today, we flew to Langkawi and tried some of the local foods and had a great time – check it out! I should also mention – pictures in these posts are by myself, my wife Kit and our friend Thomas Tang of Sky Thomas Food Industries Sdn Bhd.
Here’s another poor cup noodle that got beaten up a bit on the flights back from Malaysia. Could’ve been between Penang and Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur and Taipei, or Taipei and Seattle – probably a combo of all three. Poor foam cup! There was a lot of turbulence last Sunday morning over Japan. Luckily, this is a noodle that gets drained anyways, and so it’ll come out fine. What’s funny is that the cup got banged up, but the noodle block is almost completely intact! Got this one at Econsave in Butterworth! Let’s check this mee goreng out! By the way – you may have also seen ‘mi’ goreng. Mi Goreng and Mee Goreng are the same thing; they both mean fried noodles – there’s also Mie Goreng you may see as well.
Day 1 * Day 2 * Day 3 * Day 4 * Day 5 * Day 6
From September 29th to October 4th, my wife Kit and I were treated to a visit to Malaysia by the kind folks at Sky Thomas Food Industries Sdn Bhd, makers of MyKuali Penang White Curry Noodles. The purpose of the trip was not to promote for them, but to show us the foods of Penang. Here is the first day of the trip!
We have returned from our journey to Penang, Malaysia!! Our flight from Taipei, Taiwan arrived in Seattle around 7pm last night. This is a picture of where we were waiting for our shuttle to the parking light where we left our car. The flight left at 11pm Taiwan time, which is the same for Malaysia too – and then arrived the same day but 4 hours earlier! So we got back 15 hours all said and done which was kind of odd – time traveling! Over the next week starting Monday, I am going to do a new daily noodle review, and then a post highlighting everything of that day during our trip. At the end, I’ll be reviewing the new MyKuali Tom Yum instant noodle – my 1,500th review. Stay tuned!
Here’s one that Annie T. of MyKuali sent me a while back from Malaysia – thank you again! I’ve been very curious about this Ibumie Mee Baa..Gus, mainly from the packaging and name. So first off let’s translate a little. Mi Goreng is fried noodle (mi being noodle, goreng being fried). Perisa Asli Pedas is spicy original flavor. But – what about Mee Baa.gus? Well, mee is also noodle, and bagus would be gorgeous or wonderful. So they’re going for something like ‘wonnnnderful!’ with the little extra punctuation in the middle of bagus. Another term on the front of this pack is ‘Shiok.’ Shiok basically is an exclamation – you might have a really great bowl of noodles and say ‘wow – these noodles are really shiok!’ Urban Dictionary said it is a way to express pleasure and happiness. So! Now that we’ve had a little language lesson, let’s see how this mi goreng variety comes out!
Well I’m really excited today! My wife and I have been invited to visit MyKuali in Penang, Malaysia! Wow! Our flight’s booked and we’re getting ready for it later this month! The furthest from home here in the northwest I’ve been was the east coast in Georgia way back in 1995, and the only other country I’ve visited has been Canada. This is going to be really amazing! Thank you so much to MyKuali – this is absolutely great and I can’t wait to share pictures and words about our trip with everyone when we return! It’s still a few weeks away and we’re really excited!
I was a little surprised today to realize that this is the last of the Thai President Foods Meet The Manufacturer! I’ve gotten used to having something ‘tom yum’ almost every day for a couple weeks now. It’s gonna be interesting to going back to the rotation of varieties from my hampers of noodles! Well, let’s check out this one and bid a fond farewell to this Meet The Manufacturer. I still have more varieties they make that I’ve not reviewed yet, so you’ll see them coming along.
As I mentioned yesterday, I was nominated by my sister to do the ALS ice bucket challenge – it’s the thing everyone is doing these days to bring awareness and donations for people with this debilitating condition. You have to have a bucket of ice dumped on you! Well, I did it with a little help from my pal Jason Warden – the video is at the bottom, so be sure to check it out and also have a look at www.ALSA.org and consider donating to help find a cure!
Woke up today to see on the news that there was a big earthquake down in North California near where a large portion of my wife’s side of the family live. Hope everyone in the Bay Area is doing well!
Was contacted a couple week ago by a fellow who wanted to know if I wanted to try some new White Curry Noodles his company makes. Sure – and here they are!
If you like it hot, you’re in for a real treat here. These are the spiciest instant noodles you can get that I’ve reviewed from my 1,446 reviews thus far. If you can’t handle spicy foods, these definitely aren’t for you – these are serious! Many of these were so hot, I couldn’t finish the bowl – and I can handle a decent amount of heat! I used to review hot sauces! Anyways, Hope everyone is having a great summer and here are the spiciest instant noodles of all time for 2014!
Awesome! Tom Yam! Tom Yam soup is a spicy and citrus seafood extravaganza for the taste buds. I really enjoy it quite a bit. Let’s see how this variety tastes! This one’s made in Malaysia.
Here’s the last of the Adabi varieties I received from Annie T. of MyKuali in Malaysia – thank you! It’s a wet and rainy day outside this morning. It started raining just before 7am and has been ever since! In northwest Washington state, we sometimes get a big dump of rain in the summertime – even got some thunder! You can see how easily amused I am! Anyways, spicy mi goreng sounds like a nice accompaniment for the day’s weather. Let’s have a look at this one.
Yeah – it’s that time of year again! Cups are interesting; they usually hold a lot less water than a bowl, so the steeping process is a little different and so are the noodles. I’ve had some horrendous cups over the years, but then there are some that are really quite good. This last year has been a great one where cups are concerned! Let’s have a look at the best of the best! The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Cups Of All Time 2014 Edition!
Here’s one I’ve been most eager to try. The Ramen Rater is also on Instagram, and I peruse for instant noodle related things. I’ve seen these cups quite a few times and people seem to enjoy them! They come in other varieties such as chicken and tom yam aside from this curry one. This Hot Cup was sent by Maggi Singapore, but made in Malaysia by Maggi Malaysia. Let’s have a look at this one and see what’s inside!
Two of my favorite things are well represented on the front of this pack: spiciness and curry. I’ve been really curious about trying Maggi Extra Spicy Curry ever since I received some samples – how spicy is it? On a signed poster they sent, the marketing team at Maggi sent the dare ‘can you handle the hotness?’ I’m definitely keen on finding out today!
It was only a matter of time that I would get to try yet another Malaysian Penang white curry variety. There are quite a few out there now! Unfortunately, most of them are only available in Malaysia, so it’s tricky to get them. If I can get enough of them, I’d like to do a top ten of those! As far as I know, there are ten varieties, but now there could be more. Win Onn makes this Penang white curry – and they really wanted me to try it! After the first try and the noodles being destroyed by the US Department of Agriculture for having a little chicken in them, they tried again with some documentation – and the USDA saw fit to let them through! Yay! Let’s have a look at this, the third Penang white curry variety I’ve gotten my hands on.
Right after the 2014 Top Ten List was pudblished, I got contacted by a person from Win Onn Foods in Malaysia. They were keen on me trying their variety of instant Penang white curry noodles, and I liked the idea of trying more iterations of them, so I said please send some. Well, the first time they tried to send me some, I received this box.
Here’s another one sent to me by Annie T. of MyKuali awhile back – thanks! Today I took a walk in my new neighborhood to HMart. HMart is a big Asian supermarket chain. What’s awesome is they have a little endcap in the frozen foods section devoted to fishballs, little crab claws and seafood flavor tofu pieces! I thought maybe I’d get some and try it with this tom yam. Let’s check it out!
Here’s another one that Annie T. over at MyKuali sent me! Thank you very much! Curry seems to be a regular flavor over in Malaysia – and with good reason. Malaysian curry noodles are out of this world good! I’ve always liked curry, but curry from Southeast Asia are just superb. Let’s see how this one fares.
Here’s one that is made in one country for sale in another. This is made in Malaysia, but most easily found in the UK. Anyways, let’s check this one out!
Well folks, it’s that time again. Since the last list, I’ve reviewed another 335 varieties – almost one a day This list reflects the ones I’ve reviewed in the last year as well as those reviewed before that – 1,365 varieties in all. It seems to get tougher each time – so many good ones! Here’s this year’s list – the best of the best. With that, I present to you The Ramen Rater’s top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2014 Edition.
Last June, I’d never heard of Penang, nor really had tried many varieties of Malaysian instant noodles for that matter. I had no clue what to expect and was absolutely elated with this one – my core interest in reviewing instant noodles is that I want to try new things every day. This was definitely something new to me. Let’s look inside the package and see why it’s on the 2014 top ten list!
Today’s the last of the Mamee Double-Decker Meet The Manufacturer. It’s been really neat trying all these varieties – not a single re-review – really shows how few of their products I’d tried previusly. Today I thought I’d go with one of my favorite all time flavors in the world – curry. There are so many different takes on curry in the world – Malaysian, Singaporean, Japanese, South Korean, Indian and British to name a few. Let’s check this one out as we bid a fond farewell to this 15 day journey through some of Mamee’s products.
This Meet The Manufacturer has been a lot of fun. Over the last year, I’ve been finding myself enjoying curries and tom yum varieties a lot more, and Mamee makes some great ones. Thisd is the last of the Mamee Chef varieties I have to review – the pack version of the Creamy Tom Yam. I reviewed the cup version a week or so ago. Let’s see how this one fares.
Mamee Monster is a snack noodle. Snack noodles are instant noodles that aren’t cooked, but rather crushed into snack bits and enjoyed as a crunchy snack. I’d always wanted to review them and I got my first chance to try them a few days back when I reviewed the chicken flavor variety. First I’ll show your this, the ten pack and then the individual pack. Let’s check this one out!
I’ve tried a couple of laksa varieties now and thought I should have a look at this one. There are a few different types of laksa, this one being asam laksa – but what’s asam laksa all about? I consulted Wikipedia and here’s what it had to say:
This is the second of the two Mie Goreng Indonesia cup varieties Mamee Double-Decker sent me for Meet The Manufacturer. The first one was really good! This one sounds good too. Sambal is spicy stuff! I like spicy. Today before I do the review, I’m going to trek up to our local Indonesian grocery Waroeng Jajanan. They clued me in about a couple of great additions to mie goreng – Kerapuk Aci and BonCabe! Kerapuk Aci is a big round Indonesian cracker made with tapioca and other ingredients. It’s crunchy and goes really well with mie goreng when I’ve made it in the past. BonCabe is a spicy chilli seasoning – bits of chilli powder, flake, some salt and crunchy bits as well as other spices are in it and it’s great stuff! Off I go to the Indonesian grocery to find some additions…
Here’s another one of the Mamee Chef line – spicy chicken shiitake. These are their premium line of products, designed in concert with celebrity Dato’ Chef Ismail. Let’s have a look!
Looks like today is going to be one of the nicest weather-wise yet this year. Here in the northwest, it’s been raining. A lot. We had the wettest March on record last month, which has hindered my exercise. I usually take a mile or two walk everyday, but that’s fallen by the wayside as of late. Definitely have been feeling the effects of not walking… So off I go!
In the last year, I’ve got to say I’ve had the fortune to learn about and try a lot of new additions to instant noodles. Most of them have been seafood related – which I’m really lucky to have access to. I’ve gotten many emails asking where to find kamaboko or fish cake etc – I always thought all of those things were easily accessed by all, but as it turns out, I’m lucky to live in an area with lots of Asian grocery stores that specialize in such things. The latest I’ve been really enjoying are fish balls, particularly ones from Singapore that I get at a store that’s a short walk away. I usually only buy a couple, and the seafood counter guys usually look at me a little funny; “5 pounds?” they’ll ask. “No – just five fish balls.” My son and I walked over a couple of weeks ago and he wanted to buy me a whole pound of fish balls which I thought was very nice of him – and so I let him ask them himself. Then, my eight year old boy kind of puffed out his chest and exclaimed “excuse me – I would like one pound of those fish balls please!” Definitely a proud moment for me – sounded so authoritative! When we got home, I boiled some up and let him try – I received a resounding “yuck!” and a look of disgust. At least he tried them – he’s more a fan of macaroni and cheese and pizza, but I try to get him to try new things as much as possible. But I digress. Today’s noodle review will include the last of the fish balls from that trip to the store. I’m going to also follow the microwave instructions for this one, something I don’t usually do. Let’s see how it goes!
Today we have a bright green package – vegetarian flavor. It seems most product lines have at least one variety that’s vegetarian. The approximations of what a general ‘vegetable’ tastes like however has differed from brand to brand, from the vile to the exalted tasty treat. This one’s made with the ‘Mi Tarik’ technology at Mamee’s factory. This is where they emulate the technique of hand-pulling noodles with their equipment. Hand pulling noodles is interesting; the chef starts with a long thick roll, doubles it up, flours it, then swings it around a bit. This is repeated, doubling the amount of strands every time until there are a couple hundred noodles. I’ll put a video at the end showing someone doing this. Anyways, let’s give these vegetarian noodles a try!
Mamee makes two extra spicy curry varieties – this one and one called Xtra Pedas which I reviewed a short while back. Of the two, this Berapi is not as spicy, but looks like it’s pack a punch! Curry sounds good – let’s dig in!
