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Check this one out – HABANERO! This is another one that comes with a sachet of hot sauce! Awesome! Mariscos means seafood – something I’ve always dreamed of doing is visiting the coastal areas of Mexico and trying the seafood dishes there! Let’s give this one a try!
This is one I brought back with me from Taiwan! Happy Cook is a brand that one of the factories in Taichung makes.
Yep, you guessed it! This is yet another one left from the Nissin Hong Kong Meet The Manufacturer. Thanks again to Nissin HK for sending so many varieties! Sounds simple enough – it’s spicy, it’s beef. Let’s check it out!
Here’s one I really like. It has what I like to call a ‘back and forth effect flavor.’ It’s like you get one flavor lingering then your palate gets the hint of another flavor, then back to the first. It’s really unique in this way – reminds me of one of my favorite hot sauces – not in the taste, mind you, but this kind of back and forth. Let’s check it out!
Here’s one sent by Marvin R. from Texas – thanks again! I have trouble getting new varieties from India. It’s prertty far away and usually my only source are Indian grocery stores here. Here’s a little about Maggi instant noodles from Wikipedia:
Yet another leftover from the Nissin Hong Kong Meet The Manufacturer! What’s XO Saucve? Here’s a little info from wikipedia –
Finally, after decades of sticking with the same recipe, Nissin has decided to go with something new. On Cup Noodles’ 45th anniversary here in the USA, they’ve changed it to make it healthier. Some changes are no added MSG and no artificial flavors. Furthermore they’ve lowered the amount of sodium in these cups from the previous versions using potassium chloride. So, let’s give this Spicy Chile Chicken a try!
Here’s another one left over from the Nissin HK Meet The Manufacturer – they sent so many varieties! Thank you again! So, everyone knows what tonkotsu is, right? No? Here’s a snippet from Wikipedia:
I like to collect posters and advertising stuff dealing with instant noodles and really wanted one of the new CarJEN posters featuring their new Hot Curry – so they were kind enough to send some! Thanks! Let’s check them out among the other neat stuff they sent!
Here’s another one sent to me by a reader named Colin from the east coast – thanks again! This is one he got on a recent trip to Mexico. Let’s check it out!
Here’s yet another leftover from the Nissin HK Meet The Manufacturer! This is a really large bowl and sounds pretty good! If you’re unsure about what Xo sauce is, here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia:
Here’s yet another one sent by a reader named Colin from back east – thanks again! It’s funny how we don’t have any of these Kang shi Fu variants out west – at least not at any of the stores I’m near to. Spicy beef sounds awesome – it’s a really cloudy and rainy day here in the Seattle area. Let’s check it out!
Another left over from the Hong Kong Nissin Meet The Manufacturer. Thanks again! Still lots of varieties from them that they sent! Spicy beef eh? Let’s give it a taste!
Here’s one I was sent by Daisuke-san from Nissin Japan! Arigato! I really like Nissin Chikin Ramen – always have. By always, I mean always too; Nissin USA made something like it and that was the first variety I had when I was a kid. This looks like an interesting spicy one – let’s take a look!
One of the many varieties sent by Nissin HK for Meet The Manufacturer. This sounds good to try today; it’s been really warm around the area lately (northwest USA) and it’s cooled off a little and so something spicy should bring the temp back up a little. I should mentioned that I have now gotten new bowls that I’ll start using today for the seasonings/oil/vegetables. They’re sake and soju cups! Let’s take a look!
Here’s the third of the A-Sha microwavable tray varieties – let’s give it a looksie!
Here’s a new Jjamppong from Paldo of South Korea sent by Yongmin Park of Paldo. Thank you very much! I really like jjamppong so let’s check it out!
Here’s another Demae Ramen from Hong Kong! Spicy tonkotsu sounds really good. I’ve got chashu pork in the freezer so that should go nicely. Let’s check it out!
Today, we bid a fond farewell to Jingqi at the end of this Meet The Manufacturer. Lots of great flavors and the noodles! Well, let’s delve into this final variety!
There’s been a lot of hub bub coming out of South Korea lately – all the big companies have brand new Jjajang and Jjamppong varieties it seems. They’re all going a little more premium than their old offerings. This is awesome for me, well – as long as I can get my hands on them. I finally was able to score this one at the local South Korean grocery. Let’s crack it open and see what we’ve got here.
Awesome. Spicy instant noodles my sister got me for my birthday – from Walmart in Canada! Thank you again! So far these have been pretty good – the beef one tasted like beef and the chicken tasted like chicken. The operative word here is tasted; so many Canadian varieties don’t have a lot of flavor to them. However I should note these are manufactured in the United States. Not a slam on Canada though – I really like Canada! Let’s check this one out!
Here’s another one sent by Colin, a reader from back east – thank you! He went to Mexico recently and sent me a ton of varieties that he found there. You’d think with Mexico being next door I’d be able to find more varieties, but actually it’s been really hard. This one’s made in South Korea for the Mexican market. Instant noodle are hugely popular in Mexico, and with spicy flavors coming out of South Korea, it’s a pretty good fit. Let’s have a look!
Another one from Colin – thanks again! So Pulmuone is considered a ‘healthful’ brand in South Korea. As you can see, these are non-fried noodles. Let’s look within and see what else we find.
Okay so it’s been a while since I’ve gotten anything that’s supposed to be really spicy. Well, This one claims to have ghost pepper in it – that’s the Bhut Jolokia, a pepper that’ll rip your head off and then kick it down the road. This one hails from Oni Hot Pot, a chain of restaurants in Taiwan. Never heard of them before – although I have had Taiwanese hot pot here in the US before. Let’s crack this one open and see what’s inside.
I’m pretty sure this is the first Baijia bowl I’ve reviewed. For the longest time, I was extremely leery of these; I have a couple Baijia products I really disliked. However, after some time, I found that my tastes have really changed (especially after tring different things overseas and reviewing hundreds of instant noodles) and now I’m keen on giving them a new look. Well, let’s check this one out!
Here’s one the folks at A-Sha sent recently. Hakka noodles from Taiwan are on the broad side and use very few ingredients. This one should pack some heat! Let’s check it out!
Another one send to me by Casey K. from Hong Kong – thanks again! I wonder – does that character towards the bottom of the pack looks familiar? Well, it’s the same as what you see on Nongshim’s Shin Ramyun products – spicy! Let’s check out this Japanese variety and see just how spicy it is!
Here’s one from Colin of Arlington, MA! He sent a great big box of varieties after I called out to readers for new stuff to review! Thanks! This one surprised me; I haven’t reviewed anything by Doll brand in a very long time and I know it’s a popular brand in Hong Kong. It’s interesting that Colin has access to such a different range of products on the east coast… Anyways, from what I can surmise, mifun might also be known as maifun. These are rice vermicelli. Let’s check it out!
MyKuali has been tinkering with upgrading their recipes during the last year or two. One thing they told be when I visited in 2014 was that the hawkers are always fine-tuning their recipes, and that they planned on doing the same thing. When I asked what the difference is with this new iteration, I was told that an aspect of the shrimp powder has been altered to give it an even more authentic taste. I found tha the Hokkien Mee I had in Penang a couple years back was very close to what I got from the MyKuali Hokkien Mee. Let’s see how this one tastes.
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!
The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Thai Instant Noodles Of All Time 2016 Edition really has been a long time coming. After trying over 150 different Thai instant noodles throughout the years, I thought it was about time for a Top Ten Thailand list. If there is one thing that is ubiquitous when Thailand is mentioned, it’s tom yum – whose flavors figure strongly in this list. So print out a copy and run to your local Asian grocery and get some tasty Thai noodles! Hopefully there will be a 2017 edition of Top Ten Thai Instant Noodles as well – if you are an instant noodle manufacturer in Thailand, please contact me about doing a spotlight of your products! Also, I’ve decided that I will be sharing the add-ons I use in each variety here – note that all tasting/reviewing is done PRIOR to anything being added out of fairness. Hope you enjoy the first ever The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Thai Instant Noodles Of All Time 2016 Edition.
The last of the Ibumie Always Mi Goreng varietals I found at 99 Ranch recently – or I should say my lovely wife say them. Udang means prawn and sambal is wondroud spicy stuff of dreamsLet’s check it out!
Ah now here we go – spicy! Spicy sounds good today – it’s been cold, rainy and windy lately – not a very nice combo. Every morning Miles wakes up and I wheel his bassinet over to the window to spend a few minutes looking outside – usually it’s a cloudy day. But that’s weather in Washington state for you – winter’s like that. Spicy sounds good – let’s check it out!
You know, I just saw this one at the local HMart a week or so ago and thought it would be nice to have it again. Kind of weird to be doing a re-review when I’m getting close to the 2,000th review, but hey, like I said it sounds good. This has been a popular one for a while now since it slammed onto the scene. I think it was a comedian named Lee Kyung who made this spicy chicken variety a big hit. Anyways, let’s crack it open and dig on in.
Instant noodle… snacks? Yeah! Snacks of all kinds have come from instant noodles – candy, crunchy bits, you name it. They’re popular all over Asia and also the United States; have you ever taken a pack of instant noodles, crushed them and added in the seasoning and shaken the bag up and eaten them like potato chips or popcorn? Well, this is popular elsewhere as well! Let’s check out my favorite instant noodle snacks from over 1,900 reviews. Enjoy!
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.
I’ve had what I believe to be the pack variety of this before. Was pretty good! Let’s see how this bowl version fares.
I tried the spicy mushroom pack version a few days ago and really liked it – I usually am not a fan of mushrooms, but the flavor in that one was really quite enjoyable. Today it’s the bowl version – how will it fare? Let’s have a look!
It’s only logical that since Singapore is only a stone’s throw from Thailand that Thai flavors would be popular there. Tom yam soup is a tasty melange of lemongrass, spiciness and shrimp all coalescing into a harmonious symphony of wonder and amazement. I’m curious how this tom yam from Singapore differs from varieties from Malaysia just to the north and Thailand north of there. Let’s take a look!
I’m a huge fan of curry – always have been. Today, we have a spicy curry bowl from Myojo. I’m also a fan of spicy things, so I’m hoping this is a good combo. Let’s have a look inside!
