The Definitive Source For Instant Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Found this one over at 99 Ranch Market recently. It was pretty cheap, so got a multipack. I’m pretty stingy when it comes to multipacks as generally I only need a single package, but most places have more varieties in multipacks and that’s vexing; I just want one but their single pack offerings and very limited. Sigh. Anyways, let’s give this one a go.
Here’s a variety that I found in one of MiauMall’s Nakama Noodles subscription boxes! Inside, they have 8-10 different varieties from Japan! If you’d like to get one, don’t forget to use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount! Let’s see what they had to say about this one – “Back to the shinkansen to head to Nagoya! This Nagoya soup-less soba dish combines the kick of its slightly creamy and deliciously spicy sauce with the taste of yummy green onion and garlic. There’s also a hint of added umami with a light fish powder.”
About 13 years ago, I did a review of this one. Over 4000 packs, cups, and bowls – and trays ago! Wow. I used to use a lot of different garnish than I do now that’s for sure. Well, let’s cook it up.
Found this one at S*Mart in Bellevue, Washington. Who doesn’t like noodles? Well, these have been interesting to research and so far no great luck. I think we expected this to be onion oil flavor, but I’m getting flax and sesame (sesame seems more likely) upon searching and translation. Let’s give it a go!
This one’s kind of surprising to me as it looks like I’ve never reviewed it but that really surprises me. I really had thought I had. Got this one at S*Mart – but you can find it at pretty much any Asian grocery. Let’s give it a try.
Was able to get out to a local Asian market hoping to find some cool Lunar New Year stuff. Didn’t find that, but found a couple varieties I was into using to try out the Ramen Bae products. So, here’s one of them. I tried this way back – it was a kimchi version – back in review #564. That’s around ten years. Let’s give this one a try.
This is a list I come out with every year – what’s different this year is now there’s a new rule: only one product per company. Seems fair to me – and also a way for more things to be seen. I don’t think it’s a bad idea and honestly, I think insofar as this list goes, it won’t be very hard to pull off. Anyways, here we go with The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2024 Edition!
Mom’s Dry Noodle has been putting out some amazing products over the years; excellent stuff that has been on the Taiwanese as well as Global Top Ten Lists. They’ve got something new – Surfmama. Check out the video to see what’s they got cookin’!
Here’s one that came by was of James from Lakeside, California – thank you! I haven’t reviewed anything by Kiki in quite a while – really great stuff from these folks as I remember and looking forward to this! Let’s give it a try!
Well, I thought it was quite a while since I reviewed this but it was only a couple years. What I’d really like is to be able to get more varieties from this and other instant noodle companies in Taiwan – I get a lot of dry noodle varieties, yet not many instants… Well, let’s kick this into high gear.
Sure looks like a basic packaging design, doesn’t it? My friends, what lies within this package is history. This is the pack version of a beloved classic in Taiwan. This isn’t a noodle soup, a soup, or a dry noodle. This is a noodle AND a soup! Read the direction below and you’ll understand.
Oh no – the last one… I really liked these – I sincerely hope the make even more varieties. Some of the best stuff I’ve had from China. Well, let’s give braised beef a try!
Here’s something not seen before – a bowl from the folks at Mom’s Dry Noodle! Not only that, it’s got a pop-top – you’ll see that below. Let’s give this soup with scallop a try!
Here’s the last of the varieties sent by NoodleMix – and it’s been a really interesting range I’ve enjoyed. This one was a little difficult to figure out how to cook (well, since Idon’t read Chinese text) but they were quick to assist. Let’s give it a go!
This is great – I saw this at S*Mart and couldn’t resist. I generally resist purchasing multipacks as I usually just need one, maybe two package to do a review. I was thinking though perhaps my daughter might like this one so there will be extras. Definitely made in Taiwan, packaged for US sale. One thing too – you might think this is pronounced Vey-dan – it is not. The ve is pronounced ‘way’. So now you know – let’s cook!
Fancy new packaging going on here. Mapo century egg with meat paste sounds really quite exquisite – this sounds great – I’m on it!
If there’s one thing that’s a certainty, companies from Taiwan tend to send me product samples more often than from any other country. They’re constantly innovating and refining, coming out with neat new things. Taiwan is a great place I’ve had the luck to visit twice. On one visit, I went to a large store and they had two aisles of just instant noodles that I really wish I would have taken pictures of. Now, what you’ll see on this list is mainly Taiwanese dry noodle. An ‘instant’ noodle is one that you can simply cover in boiling water for a short time and they spring to life. These require cooking. I hope to hear from Taiwanese instant noodle companies in the coming year; this is an invitation to you! It would be really nice to release a list of instant noodles alongside a list of dry noodles. This list is comprised of reviews of Taiwanese noodles up to #4650. Please check at the bottom for some special messages as well. With that, I hope you enjoy The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2024 Edition!
Everyone I know seems to enjoy stepping foot into Trader Joe’s. Personally, I’m loathe to enter it. The silly bells, the caffeinated out overly engaging checkout people, the haphazard design of the aisles, the customers hanging out in groups here and there, oblivious to others and impeding travel through the place… Yeah, I don’t like going in there usually. However, I went in there recently with my wife and it was somewhat enjoyable as I found some noodles there. Now, Trader Joe’s makes nothing – nothing at all. They get companies to do private label products for them. This is one of those – made in Taiwan. These are Taiwanese dry noodle, a time-honored cuisine. Well, let’s just call ’em squiggly fun time noodles! Egad. Well, whoever manufactured them, I hope they’re getting paid good. Hopefully these are good, too. Let’s find out.
Here’s something interesting from a company that usually brings things that are interesting! A tom yum variety from Taiwan. I’m game – let’s check it out!
I’ve gotten some really unique flavors from Little Couples over the years and this one is no exception! Let’s have a look and a sneak peek at what I created with them!
The last one of these I tried was really nice – and this should be no different with Mom’s Dry Noodle’s track record to date. But you never know, so let’s check it out.
Well this sounds interesting. A-Sha pairing it’s Meteor Noodle, which is like a regular noodle with an extra ‘fin’ on top, and a hot and sour flavor. Let’s give it a try on this rainy day.
This one seems a little different. So, it says 3 flavors in 1 noodle.
Detail of the packaging (click to enlarge). Looks to be meat free but check for yourself. To prepare, boil noodle for 5~6 minutes, then 30 seconds with lid on. Drain. Add in sachet contents. Finally, stir and enjoy!
The last one by this brand I tried was spectacular – a wide and chewy dry noodle with a savory sauce. This one brings a thinner noodle. I’m really curious – let’s give it a try!
This time, we have the third of this series – a hot and sour plain konjac noodle. The other two were really quite good – very curious about this one. Let’s find out!
The last one of these I did contained lion’s mane mushroom – and it’s just amazing stuff I’d never heard of. Today though, it’s kelp and seasonal vegetables. I’m really curious and can’t wait to give this a try – let’s do it!
This sounds great and I’m really quite curious. Braised beef noodle is a really wonderful thing in Taiwan. I’ve had the fortune of trying it over there and it’s just spectaular – rich flavor and beef that’s melt in your mouth wonderful. A-Sha also makes a boxed premium noodle with beef that’s been on the global top ten for a couple of years now. Let’s see what this new braised beef noodle tastes like – it can be prepared two different ways, too!
Back in 2013, I gained the ire of many Taiwanese netizens when varieties from over there didn’t make the top ten, and some made the bottom ten. In a ‘noodle diplomacy’ initiative, I asked companies who thought they had some special stuff to send it. A-Sha was the first to answer the call, introducing me to the Taiwanese dry noodle. Ten years later, here we are with their Meteor Noodle – a threesome of flavors with a unique noodle.
While I tried this in May of 2022, I heard through the grapevine that there may be some changes to this one so I thought hey – I like beef noodle – can’t hurt to give it another try. Nothing better than Taiwanese beef noodle, that’s for sure. Let’s check out this premium boxed variety.
Here’s another one of Kung Fu Noodles’ tasty varieties – and it’s got the goose oil! It’s rich and tasty – let’s give it another go – now with a new sticker!
Well, they have this sticker with a guy on it, so I figure I’ll do this one again. I tried it last, deep in the heart of the pandemic. Mashed ginger – that sounds interesting – don’t remember how I felt about this one, so once I’m done with the review I’ll go have a look. Let’s try it!
This is one that was sent to me by Daniel over at Exotic Noods – thanks! I really like this one and I haven’t tried it yet. Why? I’ve never had anything by this brand. It’s made in Taichung – a place I visited in 2016 – and I visited a slew of noodle factories there. Let’s check it out!
What we have here is a super premium box. It’s pretty special and we don’t really see this much in the United States, if at all. The product comes with the soup ready to go – it’s a huge retort pouch. Then, the noodle is a dry noodle in a bag. That’s it – and the varieties like this I’ve reviewed in the past have been really quite amazing. This one sounds really quite good so let’s go ahead and give it a try!
The guys over at Mom’s Dry Noodle contacted me the other day mentioning something new was on the way – let’s check it out!
A couple of years ago, I got some neat samples from Kung Food of Taiwan – they made the Taiwan top ten and were the #1 newcomer to the list that year. Today, I’m revisiting them, and they’ve got a particularly interesting sticker on their packs! I’m not sure who the other guy is on there, but that’s me on there as well – looks pretty cool! Anyways, this is really great stuff – let’s see if it’s changed.
One of these days after a few more packaging designs for this one come out, I may have to do a special Definitive Guide to this stuff. What we have here is a snack noodle. It’s seasoned and simply a snack. I’ve had it a few times – once with a wizard on the pack, one with Santa Claus. The designs are usually whimsical and interesting. They’re mainly for kids, I’m guessing. Well, let’s go ahead and give it a go!
I just finished reviewing NoodleMix’s konjac noodle bowls – now time for their dry noodles. This is their ‘signature’ flavor – let’s give it a try!
So, what is a konjac noodle? It’s chief ingredient is a root which it is made from – one that has little tro no calories – so it’s great for people looking for a low calorie variety. This one sounds interesting. I do like sesame, however lion’s mane mushrooms are something I’ve no experience with. I suppose its time to give it a try!
First off, thanks to the folks at A-Sha USA for sending these over! There are two different boxes, four varieties in total. I thought I’d go with this box first. So, I live under a rock; I’m not exceedingly hip to things that aren’t noodle related or politics related. God, I’m old. I do know there is a Korean group called BTS that’s quite popular, and a messaging service called LINE. Well, LINE did a collab with BTS and made BT21 characters, and A-Sha collaborated with LINE and made these noodles featuring these characters.
This is really quite interesting – I’ve never tried a noodle with boba! Boba is what you’d find in bubble tea. It’s big tapioca. Also, I’ve never heard of that particular ingredient paired with wasabi. This is going to be a trip – let’s try it!
