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So this is the last of the three fresh varieties sent to me by Yamachan – thank you again! First off, Yamachan is pretty easily found in the United States – I’ve not only seen their products in Japanese/Asian supermarkets but at higher-end domestic grocery stores. Here’s a little from Wikipedia on Tonkotsu and Shoyu Ramen –
I contacted Yamachan a couple of weeks ago and they had new varieties for me to review! I did a Meet The Manufacturer with them a long time ago and their stuff is really great. Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say about miso –
Here’s one I recently received by way of a reader named Colin from Arlington, Massachusetts – thanks again! So you might find these in either a refrigerated or non-refrigerated area at a grocery store. Indeed, I’ve always found this to be a bit of an oddity; why would it be in both places? Well first off, it doesn’t require refrigeration. However, sometimes this style of noodle is called ‘fresh noodles’ and so when you couple that with a refrigerated section, it gives it a little more premium feel. Anyways, here’s a little about udon from Wikipedia:
We recently took a trip to Asian Food Grocery in 130th & Aurora and found this one. My wife likes yakisoba a lot and so I like to make it for her. This one has a little interesting thing though. On the sticker, it mentioned ‘This product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.’ Wait, what? So I took a look at the ingredients list and found something I’d not seen before – an ingredient called Rebaudioside A. I looked that up and wikipedia had this to say:
Here’s one of a line I’ve been kind of on the fence about lately. I tried their tonkotsu and was a little disappointed and hopeful that this miso will be a different story. Shall we have a look?
Some days I really need to wake up before I get started. Case in point, today I deleted the above image after I had taken pictures of what was inside of the bowl! If you didn’t, know, you cal ‘undelete’ files – lots of utilities out there that do it. So there it is. Let’s crack it open figuratively and check it out!
Here’s another one sent by a reader named Colin from the east coast – thanks again! I’m giving this one not a re-review but a full new review. I tried it in the past – it was review #125. Why a new review and not a re-review? Well, I don’t see anything on the old one mentioning non-fried noodles and think that maybe this has changed. The packaging has changed, but unsure if that’s denoting a difference. The brand Shirakiku is one of Nishimoto. Basically, kind of think of Trader Joe’s – they source foreign/domestic brands and re-brand them for sale in the USA under their name. That’s the case usually with Shirakiku. Let’s have a look!
Here’s one we found when in Renton, Washington’s Uwajimaya a while back. From what it looks like on the label, this is a private label for a big distributor here in the USA by a company in Singapore.I love curry but have been a little confused by this series. Let’s give it a looksie.
I haven’t reviewed anything by this brand in a long time – they were ubiquitous for a while then kind of disappeared, then came back with more traditional Japanese ramen flavors. Let’s check out this tonkotsu bowl!
I’m sure you’re gonna say it – this looks familiar. Well, it’s part of a really neat coincidence that happened recently. I reviewed this one by Takamori Kosan of Japan the other day. Well, it was actually made by Sakura Noodle in Los angeles, California for the US market under their name! This one here is also made by Sakura Noodle but under the Shirakiku name. Are they different? Yep! If you look at the ingredients and nutrition facts on eacvh, there are some subtle differences. What’s interesting is that I contacted Takamori Kosan about doing a Meet The Manufacturer with them and they seem quite receptive, so keep an eye out for it coming soon! A day or so later, I was contacted by Sakura Noodle. I looked at their website and noticed this chow mein and asked if perhaps Takamori Kosan had contacted them, but they hadn’t – neat coincidence!
Walked to the apartment office today to pick up a package.
Wow – no wonder it was so heavy! That little box was chock full of udon and yakisoba! Can’t wait to dig in!
A co-worker named Joan at my wife’s work recently went to Hawaii and went out of her way to find something I hadn’t tried yet! She looked through the Big List and lo and behold, I hadn’t tried this chow mein! Thank you very much! These are fresh noodles, usually found in the cold section. They’re also a broth free variety. You might be more familiar with them as yakisoba, a noodle dish that can be found at little teriyaki joints all over. Let’s give this a try!
Here’s one my sister brought me back from Hawaii! Thanks! This one is sort of confusing. There’s a sticker on the front that says Shirakiku. Underneath the sticker says it’s Chikara, and on the back it says it is Sakura. Well, I’m going to figure it’s Shirakiku and that’s that. Udon is an extra wide noodle. Let hit it!
Here’s one my sister brought me back from Hawaii! Thanks! I used to see plenty of these around but never went and got any. Now, I can’t find them around here.
Was digging in the noodle hamper and found this little gem so thought I’d have it for breakfast today with a couple eggs boiled in with the noodles.
Well here’s something I haven’t had in a while – Goku-Uma. Sounds like a tasty breakfast so I shall begin.
Haven’t had a fresh noodle bowl in a while. This one comes from Shirakiku and claims to be a hot one. It definitely looks nice on the packaging. I’m still under the weather so the spicy stuff helps with the sinuses!
After spending a few days on it, here’s the list. If you have anything you think should be added, please let me know – II’d love to make this the most complete list on the Internet of instant noodle information! You can find it in a tab on top of the site as well.
Always nice to see a bag of noodles that I’ve only seen previously in five packs. I don’t like buying five packs period. Doesn’t matter if they are super cheap – I only want to eat one, review it and then move on. So let’s see how this goes.
So I’ve seen these bowls around for a while but haven’t tried them. So here’s the first – hot flavor.
Some fresh noodles. Some this time – I know Udon, but what it somen? Wikipedia says:
Sōmen (素麺?) are very thin, white Japanesenoodles made of wheat flour. The noodles are usually served cold and are less than 1.3 mm in diameter. The distinction between sōmen and the next thicker wheat noodles hiyamugi and even thicker Japanese wheat noodles udon is mostly the size of the noodle. Somen noodles are stretched when made, as are some types of udon noodles.
MMMMMM – fresh udon! Plus, its being enjoyed while we watch the Maury show and watch people yell and freak out at eachother.
So here’s another Shirakiku. I’ve enjoyed a lot of their products – most memorably their kizami shoga. This will be the second of their instant noodle line I will review. Here we go!
So here’s a new one… Never tried Shirakiku ramen before! So here goes..
One solitary packet of powder.
