The Definitive Source For Instant Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Here we go with another Meet The Manufacturer week! This one’s a little different of course since my wife and I actually took a trip and met the people who are Nongshim America! It was an amazing and fun visit – so without further adieu, here’s what happened. By the way, if you click on the images they get much bigger.
We were at 99 Ranch Market yesterday and I noticed that Sapporo Ichiban Chow Mein has a new packaging. Wondering if it’s got a different flavor as well.
Okay I know – I don’t usually review restaurant food but I thought I would this time. After our trip to Nongshim and learning about Korean food and culture, we were curious about this local restaurant. I looked through the menu and decided I should give their noodles a try! I found Naengmyeon combo and thought that might be good. I had no idea what it would be about, except that noodles were involved and that it was ‘good in the Summer.’ Here’s what Wikipedia says about Naengmyeon:
Been busy lately so decided it’s time to do this one up! If you’re new to The Ramen Rater’s Show Your Noodles, every week you can email me a picture of some noodles you’ve made. include your name and location and I’ll post it on the weekly roundup! Fancy or functional, it doesn’t matter. I mean, you could do literally anything you want with some instant noodles – use your imagination! Want to be part of next week’s Show Your Noodles? Just email me at hans@theramenrater.com. Let me know you first name, last initial, and city/state or country!
Here’s the last of the Spoon it’s that I received from the folks at Nissin Foods, USA. Sounded like something good for lunch. Anyways, let’s get to it!
Welcome to the 12th installment of The Ramen Rater Noodle News!
Here’s a slew of stories I found online in the past week or two – enjoy!
Here’s another one of the big JML bowls sent by Michelle L. of Tarrytown, New York. Mushroom chicken eh? Alright, let’s give this a try.
I’ve got to just say it – wow! They sent us a huge box of neat noodle knick knacks and other Ningshim niceties! This is pretty epic – check it out! By the way – I think this has to be the coolest packing tape in existence!
Here’s something really new and very different from a lot of the instant noodles I’ve reviewed before. Jinjja Jinjja translates to “Really Really” (Spicy Spicy) – and I suppose in this review we’re going to find out how really really spicy Jinjja is! I should say that I sampled this one at Nongshim America while I was down there, so I have tried it before – but not a while bowl of it. I found out that the flavor comes from boiling pork bones for a long time, black beans and peanuts! It also turns out that the wheat flour used to make these has some red pepper powder added to them – heat in the noodle as well as from the dry seasonings! Let’s give this a try!
I got two shipments today – one from Nongshim America, which I visited last week (there’ll be a lot of stuff all about the visit, the plant tour and the people very soon!). Here’s the first one from Nongshim America!
I was digging in the bottom of the noodle hamper and pulled this one out – pretty old and needs ingested ASAP! It’s one my sister picked up for me in Canada last year. Very small pack too! Let’s give it a try.
Here’s one my sis got me in the Vancouver, BC area. Tom Yum’s usually something I like – let’s see!
Here’s another one sent to me by Carter B. of Lancaster PA! This is another one he got in Mali (a country in west Africa), and this brand hails from Dubai! Let’s check it out!
Well, we’re back from outr trip to Nongshim USA! It was absolutely amazing! The people were so nice, seeing how noodles were made amazing, and the new flavors I tasted were great! I’ll be posting a bit about the trip very soon! For now, I’d like to thank Ray Adams for introducing my wife and I to the world of Nongshim USA! His boss Ray Kim made us feel very welcome and it was so much fun talking with them and everyone else there about noodles and the Nongshim culture. We are so lucky to have been afforded this opportunity and really appreciated it! Can’t wait to do Meet The Manufacturer: Nongshim week! Until then, I’ll be posting a bit of info about the tour and what happened while I was there. Keep your eyes peeled!
Here’s another one from Michelle L. of Tarrytown, New York. I think this is the third and final flavor of the Good Good Eats – at least insofar as I’ve not seen any more anywhere. Let’s give it a try!
Tomorrow, my wife and I are headed to the airport to fly down to the Nongshim USA plant in Rancho Cucamonga, California! There, we’re going to do a plant tour, a noodle tasting, and a videotaped interview for the next Meet The Manufacturer, which (you guessed it) will feature Nongshim. We’ll return on Saturday with stories and pictures – I might do a post while we’re down there from my phone possibly. I want to say thank you to the wonderful folks at Nongshim USA for this opportunity to learn more about their company and instant noodles! We’re really looking forward to this! Next stop, southern California.
Here’s a good one – this is the Indnesian local version of the first Indomie I ever tried – Satay. Curious if it’s any different.
Here’s a rather uniquely titled one that the nice folks at Ramen Place sent along! I think I would rearrange the title right now to Is Nature Delicious? I guess that what we’re trying to find out with this review. Pulmuone seems to put out products that try to appeal to the health conscious. Let give it a try!
This is one that came from the nice folks at Ramen Place! Thanks again! Hot and spicy? Soy peptide? Korean? Yeah this should be awesome stuff!
Starting yesterday evening, I noticed a huge amount of people from Korea coming to the site. Apparently, they were all coming in droves because of a news story about my Top Ten list including Nong Shim’s Shin Ramyun Black noodles! Well, here’s some links and some pictures of the articles. I’m really hoping someone can translate them soon as Google Translate has done a really crummy job where it usually does so well.
So this guy named Dave P. posted a YouTube video on the Ramen Rater Facebook page showing some people in Korea making a bowl of Shin Ramyun a little different that I’ve made it in the past. I thought I’d try to get the ingredients and give it a try. Here’s the video:
Otay! It’s time for some cold noodles – not usually my favorite but we’ll just have to give them a try.
You like it hot? This stuff is good and it delivers some decent heat too. I’ve had the cup, the pack and now, the big bowl. Wonder if there’s a regular sized bowl? Hmm…
So I saw an i-Report article on CNN about ramen noodles and it mentioned they wanted people to write about their experiences with noodles from restaurant style to instant. I decided I’d write a short article and if it gets enough attention, it will be included in a big article CNN will be running at the beginning of next year! What I ask is that you click this link and check out the story yourself – share it on your facebook and twitter if you’re up for it! I feel The Ramen Rater blog isn’t just about my reviews; its about everyone who comments and participates. The more coverage it gets, the bigger the community and the more useful the site becomes. Thanks to everyone who comes to the site every day!
UPDATED REVIEW – uses a recipe from EatYourKimchi.com! See it HERE!
First off, I want to thank Greg B. of Florida for sending this one in. Shin Ramyun Black – wow. So I should mention about the ‘ controversy in South Korea about this product. Nong Shim advertised that it had more nutritional value than it really did and was fined for misleading advertising ( Korean Herald article here ). It was extremely popular and I believe it still is. It costs much more than regular Shin Ramyun too. I’ll have to say that I’ve been waiting for just the right day to review this one! Let’s see what’s inside this interesting package of South Korean instant noodles!
So here’s the last (as far as I know) of the Shin Ramyun line from Nongshim. Shin Ramyun (pack), Shin Cup, Shin Bowl and Shin Big Bowl. Let’s give it a go.
I thought this looked interesting. I don’t usually see any kind of ‘mild’ flavors coming out of Korea, but here you see one. Here we go!
So today is the day of the supposed rapture, predicted by a fellow in Oakland, CA. He’s disappeared but The Ramen Rater hasn’t! So let’s check out these noodles from Korea!
So here we go – an even larger container of Nong Shim Shin Ramyun!
Styrofoam! Ready for battle!!!
I like how the lid has the instructions in the little pull up tab!
So here’s some Korean cup noodles from Ottogi. Haven’t had any Ottogi stuff in a while so this should be nice.
So here’s a video with pretty much all the photos I’ve taken of noodles and where they come from. Strange, I know, but enjoy!
Shin Bowl. So this should be exactly like Shin Ramyun but in a bowl, right? I’m going to figure it isn’t because the noodles usually seem different with bowl noodles.
My lovely lady Kit over at www.supertastysnacks.com reviewed this one last night and I thought I should review it too as all it is really is a snack but it is uncooked ramen. So let’s give it a try!
So this looks like a regular boring pack of noodles. Soy flavor – nothing special here right?
So I thought after yesterday’s meeting with the super spicy noodles, I thought I’d see if two days in a row of pain would work out pretty well. So Here’s some hot & spicy with soy peptide! Yum!
So thought it would be nice to spice it up a bit and modify some Korean noodles for breakfast. So I picked the basis to be the Ottogi Jin Ramen.
Look at those big deadly looking red peppers! This should be interesting. Usually stuff you’d find around here domestically would be on the weak side if it had a pepper being shown. We’ll have to see if this stuff lives up to the flavor of hot taste! I’m also very curious if I like this better than Shin Ramyun. I’ve really been enjoying the Ottogi products…
Another package of Korean ramen. This looks interesting – Miso flavor…
This is a trip – both are powder packets. I usually see a powder and an oil but rarely two powders.
So these instant noodles are very prevalent in this area and I imagine easily procured anywhere in the USA. This is Nongshim Shin Ramyun Gourmet Spicy flavor and it was purchased at a regular grocery store.
Maggi: Chinese Noodles Lemon Chicken Flavor
Stars: *** 1/2
Country of origin: India
Seasoning: 2 Packets, 1 dry 1 oil
Noodles: Wheat flour
