The Definitive Source For Instant Noodle Reviews Since 2002
This big box was sent by the folks at Tat Hui, makers of KOKAS brand instant noodles in Singapore. A few years ago, I saw an article in a news feed about KOKA products at a trade show in the United States and it hit me: maybe I should contact the guy they mentioned. I also thought maybe I could interview him and ask some questions about instant noodles. This is how the whole Meet The Manufacturer concept was born.
Interview With Tat Hui * Product Samples From Tat Hui 1 * Product Samples From Tat Hui 2 * KOKA Signature Chicken Flavor Instant Noodles * KOKA Silk Spicy Marinara Instant Rice Fettuccine * KOKA Delight Laksa Singapura Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles * KOKA Creamy Soup With Crushed Noodles Curry Flavor * KOKA Signature Stir-Fry Original Flavor Instant Noodles * KOKA Seafood Flavor Instant Noodles * KOKA Delight Tomato Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles * KOKA Purple Wheat Noodles Chili & Lime Flavor * KOKA Delight Spicy Black Pepper Flavor Instant Non-Fried Noodles * KOKA Signature Laksa Singapura Flavor Instant Noodles * KOKA Delight Spicy Sesame Instant Non-Fried Noodles * KOKA Silk Beef Pho Flavor Instant Rice Fettuccine * KOKA Creamy Soup With Crushed Noodles Sweet Corn Flavor * KOKA Signature Spicy Singapore Fried Noodles Instant Noodles * KOKA Instant Noodles Chicken Satay Flavour
Well folks it’s that time again. This one’s a big deal – the list that people from around the world have been waiting for every year. Since the last list came out, I’ve reviewed over 400 varieties of instant noodles – a new record in one year for me. So many good ones this year! These are my absolute favorites of the over 2,400 reviews of instant noodles I’ve posted to date. There are some big announcements at the end of the video, so make sure to check them out! As always, I invite instant noodle makers to contact me so I can try your noodles! Now without further ado, The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2017 Edition!
Her’s one you may not have seen from MyKuali before. Actually, you have on here , but with different clothing. So this is what is now known and seen more commonly as MyKuali Spicy Prawn Noodle Soup. However, it is dressed differently for the Singaporean market. Curious about what Hokkien Prawn is all about? Here’s something from wikipedia:
This was sent to me by Ippin, a purveyor of wonderful Japanese items! Thank you again! This is one from Singapore. Tom yum is a very popular flavor in Southeast Asia – here’s a little about tom yum from wikipedia:
A knock at the door and a package in my hand. Wasn’t sure what this is but let’s open it and find out!
Here’s the second of four short little looks at Prima Taste’s new Ready Meals line. This one’s beef rendang. Rendang is an Indonesian dish of beef that’s cooked in coconut milk with lots of seasonings. There is wet and dry Rendang – the wet is what I’m guessing we have here. Here’s a little more info from Prima Taste –
I know, I know – you don’t have to tell me that this isn’t an instant noodle, but the folks at Prima Taste sent me some of these neat meal pouches and I wanted to let people know about them. You cut a little slit in the side towards the top and microwave for 90 seconds. Boom – curry chicken rice! Here’s a quote from the company:
When I get a package here, it’s turned into a kind of celebration. So the head of festivities is Miles – a box comes and he’s ready to beat on it like a drum! I think he’s going to be a percussionist when he grows up – which I’d definitely be okay with. However, maybe he’ll be a noodle reviewer and follow in my footsteps – who knows; he’s not even two years old yet haha! Let’s open the box!
Got this neat dual box package in the mail the other day! What’s inside? Let’s see…
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.
The last Dream Kitchen variety I had wasn’t all that great; it was tonkotsu but didn’t seem to really scream tonkotsu to me. This one is soy sauce (shoyu) and hopefully will be a good one. Let’s find out!
Here’s one that was sent to me from Australian by Jen – thank you very much! It’s pretty rare that I get anything from Australia and her package a while back was a trove of neat stuff! This one’s sold in Australia and elsewhere and made in Singapore by the folks at Tat Hui. Let’s check it out!
Today it’s the third and final of the trifecta of Mee Goreng varieties from Myojo of Singapore – spicy flavor. Let’s see if this thing has some real zing!
I got an email last week from a company that sells all sorts of neat Japanese stuff – Ippin! A marketer named Lee contacted me! There’s Ippin for the United States and Ippin for Singapore. Let’s see what Lee put in this neat package from Japan!
A big thanks to Colin for finding and sending me this one! Okay, so I have been trying to get this one for a while; anything by Roland honestly. I called them, emailed them, and always got the same reply – ‘we don’t send sample.’ I really love it when companies have such a rigid policy against basically what amounts to free advertising. This one is made in Singapore for Roland company here in the USA, and I have a feeling it’s a private label by Tat Hui/KOKA – all boils down to one aspect which is a giveaway. Let’s check this one out and I’ll show you what that is.
I usually wake up at 5 in the morning, take a ton of pictures, edit them, get a post ready and then around lunchtime do the actual pictures and cooking and review. I’ve done it this way for a while and it’s a pretty good schedule for me, especially with a one year old in the house with his own schedule. Today I thought I’d take a day off and maybe have something different for lunch.
This is one that the folks from Prima Taste sent me when I did a call for instant noodles to review when I was running low a while back – thanks again! I always love to find new varieties to review – and what surprises many is that I like trying different store brands. Many will say ‘oh – these aren’t special, they’re common!’ Well, they’re often not common where I live – and if I’ve not tried them, they’re definitely diamonds in the rough! Let’s have a look at this one!
Found this one at the Uwajimaya in Renton, Washington. Never had seen it before and by 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. Unsure which company makes it though. Let’s check it out!
Here’s a new variety from Myojo – Thai Tom Yam! Mee Goreng is a dry noodle – no broth here. It also promises an extra spicy punch. Let’s check it out!
A while back I asked people to send me some noodles as I was really running low on varieties to review. Well, many people did – including some companies. Prima Taste sent these from Singapore – thank you! These look like a store brand perhaps – let’s take a look!
A big thanks to Colin for finding and sending me this one! Okay, so I have been trying to get this one for a while; anything by Roland honestly. I called them, emailed them, and always got the same reply – ‘we don’t send sample.’ I really love it when companies have such a rigid policy against basically what amounts to free advertising. This one is made in Singapore for Roland company here in the USA, and I have a feeling it’s a private label by Tat Hui/KOKA – all boils down to one aspect which is a giveaway. Let’s check this one out and I’ll show you what that is.
Here’s one left over from the Nissin Japan Meet The Manufacturer! Seems like I just did it but that was about 100 reviews ago. time flies! Anyways, this is one of their international flavors varieties – Laksa! Laksa is a popular flavor of Cup Noodles in Singapore, but this one if made in Japan. Let’s check it out!
Myojo has three new Mee Goreng varieties. I’m unsure if there’s a difference between this one and their regular one I reviewed in the past other than the packaging, but I guess we’ll see! It’s a good day for some mee goreng I think – let’s crack it open and have a look!
Got this one sent to me by the folks at Nissin Singapore – thanks! I got it right as I started the last Meet The Manufacturer and so I’ve been waiting patiently to give it a try. Laksa is one of my favorite things – very curious to see what we have here. With that, let’s open the bag and take a look and a taste!
Looks like I’ll be doing some interview here in the USA soon! Those are always a lot of fun. I asked Prima Taste over in Singapore if they could send some samples along of the products they have that are in the Top Ten this year – and they did!
The DHL guy is my new pal – I hook him up with extra instant noodles I’ve got. He’ll probably end up with a couple from this box too! Kind of neat – he bring me noodles and I share some of the ones he brought! Well, let’s have a look inside!
This one was sent to me by Jen from Australia – thanks again! So this is interesting; it’s made in Singapore for the Australian market. It boasts the use of 100% Australian wheat. Wheat is a big export for so many countries throughout the world; and of course instant noodles are a big part of why that is. Let’s open this one up and see what’s inside.
It’s been quite a year for The Ramen Rater. I’ve reviewed 357 new instant noodle varieties. I got to visit an instant noodle company in Thailand. I just hit my 2000th review. Since the beginning of this ‘noodle journey,’ I’ve wanted to try flavors from around the world and have been able to do just that. This new list is a compilation of the best of the best; the most memorable and most wonderful of the 2,004 varieties I’ve sampled thus far. If you are an instant noodle company and I haven’t reviewed your products, please contact me – I would love to review them. I decided to include what I added to them this year – however note the products are scored before anything is added. With that, let’s have a look at The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of all Time 2016 Edition.
Today, I am really stoked to be reviewing something brand new – Prawn Soup. It’s been a couple years since Prima Taste has rolled out a new Singapore La Mian and this is it! Prawn Soup! . I do like prawns alot! Let’s check this one out!
Hmmm – what have we here?
Hey (click to enlarge) – something new! Will have to give this one a try soon! Thank you!
One of the last from James B. of the Netherlands – thanks again!Most of these Loh Thai varieties have been rather bland – although I think I did very much like the last one I tried. Let’s see what we have within!
I’ve been wanting to try this one for a really long time and the folks at Prima Taste were kin enough to send it to me recently! Thank you very much! Pretty sure this has been around just as long as the curry and laksa la mian varieties – been a long wait! As I don’t have any fish really, I’m going to go with a little assortment of seafood – sounds good to me! Let’s dig in!
Prima Taste saw my call for donations/samples and asked if they could help – and I said absolutely!
So Prima Taste has recently come out with wholegrain varieties. It was explained to me that wholegrain noodles can tend to be brittle or crumbly – so to prevent this, Prima has created a superfine powder. Indeed, the curry whole grain la mian was absolutely wonderful stuff! The noodles were perfect and had a kind of rustic, artisan kind of character to them. The point of wholegrain noodles is to promote a healthier alternative to white flour. Not only that, these are not fried noodles. Instant noodles are now starting to attempt to please the consumer with more healthy options. Pretty cool! I’m very curious how this laksa does! Let’s dig in and find out!
Another one from James B. over in The Netherlands – thanks! I thought this one looked really interesting; it’s made in Singapore specifically for Koh Thai brand in The Netherlands. Let’s crack this one open!
This is the third and final variety of the Juzz’s Mee I got from Prima a while back. So far, the other two were extremely good and I’ve been looking forward to this one. I’ve always been fond of creamy chicken instant noodles – a couple companies here in the Us have made creamy chicken variants that have been some of the best chicken varieties I’ve tried. I’m very curious about a Singaporean take on creamy chicken – so let’s have a look!
This is the second of three Juzz’s Mee varieties I have here to review. I’d never heard of them until Prima sent them my way! They’re the same company as Prima Tastem which makes a wonder Curry La Mian and Laksa Lamian that have both been on my top ten list for a few years now. I just found out last night that Juzz’s Mee is wordplay on ‘just me’ or ‘just for me.’ I got to find out as I had dinner last night with a couple nice folks who invited my wife and I to dine with them in Seattle! Check out this post I did about it on foofoomayo. Let’s have a look inside!
Here’s something new from Prima Taste that’s geared a little more towards healthy living – this one has noodles made with special wholegrain flour. Their original version has been on my top ten list for a few years now, and I’m very curious to see how this one is. Seems like a good day for some curry! Let’s crack it open!
Here’s one of the new ones sent to me by Prima Taste. I hadn’t heard about these before, so it was a really nice surprise! I immediate found the name interesting – I think it’s a play on ‘just me,’ but I could be wrong. Let’s look inside and see what this new variety is all about.
