The Definitive Source For Instant Noodle Reviews Since 2002
Another year gone by – hard to believe. As usual, many, many Taiwanese varieties have crossed my desk. This list comes as I’m about to hit 3,000 reviews as well. Pretty crazy. These are my favorite Taiwanese varieties out of all my reviews up to #2,943. As always, if you want me to try something I’ve not – drop me a line. With that, let’s check out The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2018 Edition!
Alright – to start off, wow. This is huge. This box screams fancy, that’s for sure. I’ve had a few of Kiki’s dry noodle varieties, but recently this and a Mapo Tofu variety came out as well (which of course I’ll be reviewing soon). Beef Noodle Soup is exceedingly popular in Taiwan – here’s a little about it from Wikipedia –
Alright here’s one of the ones sent by the University student working on her Master’s thesis paper. It’s getting closer to her deadline at the time of writing this, so I am busting out the last three. So – three cup chicken – here’s some info from Wikipedia –
A-Sha’s US distributor messaged me a little while ago about these new varieties about to hit the US market that are very popular in Taiwan right now. Guanmiao noodles hail from southern Taiwan in the agricultural heartland. Hotter weather and lot of noodles! Let’s crack it open and have a look!
Here’s another one that was sent by a University student working on her master’s thesis. She asked me to review a set of six instant noodle varieties by Vedan. Sure! I’ve tried this before in an export version and really didn’t like it. Let’s give this local variety a try.
This is one I found at RT-Mart in Taipei, Taiwan. That place was so amazing – I mean, that was the biggest instant noodle aisle I’ve seen in my life – it was epic and beautiful. If I could, I’d go there right now a do a strange dance. Anyways, let’s crack this one open and have a look inside!
Here’s another one I received from a University student in Taiwan – thanks again! She’s working on her Master’s thesis and wanted info from me on a few products and what I thought of them – an honor! Let’s check out this variety with a Korean influence.
Here’s one of the six varieties sent by a Taiwanese university student. She asked if I could review a specific set of varieties as special research for her master’s thesis and I said absolutely. I’m not sure about this variety – insofar what Dynasty Beef is. I did some looking, but it seems that the word dynasty kind of takes precedent in search results and so that’s not very helpful. Anyways, let’s have a look at this fancy one from Taiwan.
Here’s a new one from Taiwan by A-Sha Foods. This is Dan Zai flavor – one of their new range of more high end products. Some differences are instead of a 75g block it’s 90g. Lots of sauce/paste too.
The last time I reviewed Kiki noodles was quite a while agoi. I remember that I really enjoyed them quite a bit – high quality noodles and good tasty flavor. Well, now they’ve come out with two new dry varieties – this one is aged vinegar and the other has a young vinegar. Sounds interesting to me – let’s give it a try!
Brought this one back with me from Taiwan last year! Time to crack it open and give it a try, that’s for sure. Something about a beef noodle sounds like a good idea today. Let’s do this!
Lugged this back from Taiwan in November of 2017. After talking to my friend about what this was called, this is what we came up with. Let’s crack it open and take a look!
Here’s the last of the Vedan Double Bang varieties I brought home from my trip to Taipei last November. This one’s spicy beef. Let’s do this.
eet The
Today we’ve got the last of the four varieties sent by Three Meters Noodles. It’s been a tasty ride! Let’s give this final variety, a sesame paste noodle a try.
Sesame oil flavor is one I’ve had before when it come to dry noodles. This ios a really fancy package – thick paper and a yarn handle – wow! Hopefully what’s inside is high end like the packaging – let’s find out!
Here’s a new one from Taiwan! Taihodien Restaurant is known as a hot pot place that has some of t he spiciest stuff out there. Here’s a bit about the restaurant from their website:
I received this as a gift from a representative of the Little Cook brand in Taipei, Taiwan at the Taiwan International Food Expo! Thank you very much! She also accepted the third place award from The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Taiwanese Instant Noodles Of All Time 2017 Edition – Little Cook Green Curry – at the awards show. I’ve been waiting for the right time to have this one! Let’s take a look!
I received some varieties from a woman who was working on her master’s thesis in Taiwan a few weeks ago. Well, I prepared one of them incorrectly. I asked for another and she sent me a bunch of new ones! Thank you! Let’s take a look at this box and what’s inside!
After a long time, it’s finally happened. I’ve thought for ages that a product with these broad noodles and a soup would be really interesting! Here’s what they have to say about it –
Another Man Dashi variety today – this time it’s BBQ! Here’s what they have to say about this one –
Time to turn up the heat again – this one claims to pack some spiciness. Here’s what they have to say about it –
Today we have the last of the straight noodle varieties from Wu-Mu’s Man Dashi range. Here’s what the company has to say about it –
I remember when I was at the Taiwan International Food Expo 2017 and seeing the Wu-Mu booth. Two gentlemen were sitting and talking and I came over and introduced myself. They gave me a sample of this product and I haven’t had the chance to review it yet – which works perfect as it’s now being reviewed in a Meet The Manufacturer series./ Here’s what they have to say about this variety:
Here’s another one of the straight noodle varieties from Wu-Mu’s Man Dashi Noodle Master range. Here’s what they have to say about it –
Next up is a BBQ flavor noodle – here’s what Wu-Mu has to say about these –
The middle of wavy noodles are thick, while the both sides are thin, that is why the sauce is more easily stuck in the noodle itself, creating different layers of the tastes!
The sauce is made of 100% pure sesame oil, soy sauce and Mirin, simmer until the Cantonese BBQ sauce is cooked. Sweetness and light spiciness blending harmoniously in the mouth, the BBQ sauce is finger-licking.
In addition to the line of straight noodle varieties in the Man Dashi range, there’s also single serve packs of wide gauge broad noodles. Here’s what Wu-Mu has to say about this variety –
Today I try a straight dry noodle in the Man Dashi (mian da shi) range . The name translates to ‘noodle master.’ Here’s a little info from Wu-Mu about this one –
We start this series with a classic flavor – jah jan. Here’s a little about it from Wikipedia –
Got a big and heavy box of samples today in the mail! Miles immediately decided it was his and thought he should play ‘king of the hill’ and be on top of it. Luckily, the box was very sturdy and so no harm done. Let’s crack this box open and have as look inside to see what we’ll be sampling for Meet The Manufacturer: Wu-Mu!
Interview with Wu-Mu * Product Samples From Wu-Mu * Wu-Mu Jing Xiang Ban Mian Ramen With Jah Jan Sauce * Wu-Mu Man Dashi Noodle Master Home-Cooked Noodles With Fried Bean & Meat Sauce * Wu-Mu Jing Xiang Ban Mian Ramen With BBQ Sauce * Wu-Mu Man Dashi Noodle Master Sichuan Pepper Dry Ramen * Wu-Mu Ma Jiou Mian Xian : Hua-Tiau Chiew Chicken Flavor * Wu-Mu Man Dashi Noodle Master Noodles Mixed With Scallion Oil & Soy sauce * Wu-Mu Man Dashi Noodle Master Spicy Hot Dry Ramen * Wu-Mu Man Dashi Noodle Master BBQ Sauce Dry Ramen * Wu-Mu Man Dashi Noodle Master Sichuan Pepper Beef Flavored Soup Ramen
Here’s one sent by a fellow named Jay from Taiwan – thanks! I did see these and another variety at Uwajimaya in Beaverton, OR on our way back from California a couple of months ago. So these are dry noodles. Dry noodles are prepared by cooking, draining, then adding sauce and stirring. Pretty easy to do. These sound interesting – basil! Let’s have a look and give these a try.
Found this one up at Hen Long Market up in Canada recently. It was kind of spendy, actually and I remember seeing they had a miso variety too. These are made in Taiwan by Chering Chang- I had a little trouble figuring out what the brand was/what they’re called, but on a bar code search I found them on a Vegan website, so I’m guessing they may be Vegan friendly. Anyways, let’s take a look and give these a try!
With the advent in the popularity of the Taiwanese dry noodles sector, larger companies have entered the fray. For those of your that don’t know, dry noodles basically are noodles with a sauce – dry meaning that they do not include a broth. They’re also not fried but either air or sun dried. They’re gaining popularity – let’s have a look at this mainstream Taiwanese brand’s take on a standard dry noodle variety.
I think I got this one at the Hi Life store at the Nangang Exhibition Center in Taipei. This looks to be a pork variety. The Term ‘Double Bang’ refers to the two noodle blocks within. Let’s check it out!
Here’s another one I dragged back from Taiwan. I’ve tried a lot of these noodle snacks, but ones with Mexican flavor kind of have a special place in my heart. You see, the day my daughter Miri was born, I was up early in the morning and I thought I’d do a review. It was a Mexican snack noodle. My plan is to attempt to review something somewhat like it every year on her birthday. I can already see the confused look on her face as a teenager… Well, let’s crack this one open – by the way it’s a long ways until she has her birthday.
Here’s another one I hauled back from the wonderful land called Taiwan. God, I love it there. It’s generally hot and sticky humid, but I don’t care – I would happily acclimate to live there. Anyways enough emoting over that wonderful place. This is a variety I found in RT-Mart, which is a gigantic grocery store I visited in Taipei. In fact, it’s an everything store. Let’s crack this open and see what we have in here.
found this one at RT-Mart in Taipei during my recent trip. At first, it looked like a regular beef noodle but after looking around for information about it, it sounds a little more spicy! Lety’s check it out!
You’re probably thinking ‘dang dude, you sure get a lot of samples coming from Taiwan.’ Well, you’re right! The competition in Taiwan is extremely fierce, and people know who I am there, so it makes sense. This box has some tape from TATLTOB, aka ‘the agency that likes to open boxes that aren’t theirs.’ Hopefully all is intact! Let’s find out!
Well, here’s another one from Taiwan. I recently completed a Meet The Manufacturer series with Wu-Mu (you start seeing posts pretty soon) and now they’ve come out with two more products! Let’s crack open this package and have a look inside to see what’s what.
