
Here’s another one from James of Lakeside, California. This an interesting one – he sent a bunch by this brand. These are made in Vietnam for the US market and say ‘made with Korea technology.’ Curious how they are. Let’s find out.
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Here’s another one from James of Lakeside, California. This an interesting one – he sent a bunch by this brand. These are made in Vietnam for the US market and say ‘made with Korea technology.’ Curious how they are. Let’s find out.

Okay I’m really fascinated by this. Ramen-Aid is a ramen supplement, containing vitamins and minerals. There’s this version and an energy version – with caffeine! I’m thinking the best way to review this will be to add it to a standard instant and see if it modifies the flavor. I don’t think it will.

Just over 2 years ago, I reviewed the local Korean version of this one. Found this at HMart which was a bit of a shock; their single pack selection has been abyssmal recently… I wish we had the RT Mart that was in Taiwan I got to visit – holy crap that place had the mother of all noodle aisles – singles and multipacks of everything – both sides, long as a Costco aisle – no joke. Anyways, enough thinking about that – let’s give it a try.

We end the year on an interesting note today! My son Miles is very interested in trying out Buldak. Now, he’s very food sensitive – he generally only like non warm, crunchy things (Cheez-Its, chips, apples) , pudding, chocolate milk, soda… It’s kind of an uphill battle introducing new things for him to try that he’ll go for, Noodles are definitely not going to be an easy go except for the fact he really wants to do Buldak. We saw this at 7-Eleven and he was all over it, so we got it. I’m going to cook it up, add nothing, and let it cool. I can’t think of any time he’s eaten anything hot temperature wise in years. He used to eat oatmeal and peanut butter with me, and he did used to eat noodles – but at a certain point he stopped. Is this the turning point? There will be a mukbang below – so watch and see.

Note – I prepared this incorrectly, however in an upcoming review it is prepared correctly.

I’m slowly finding more of the cup, bowl, and pack versions of Jin Ramen lately – tried both of the bowls, trying this pack, and got two of the cups, so just need to find the spicy pack. Honestly. I think these are among the best of Korean ramyun. The noodles have been great, flavors as well. Let’s give it a go!

Another find at GMart in Lynnwood, WA. Out of Rancho Cucamonga comes an old standard in the Korean ramyun world. I believe the classic bowl noodle hot they made was a yukgaejang but this one seems more premium at the outset. Sounds good – let’s cook it up!

Update 12/26/2025 – Now that Christmas is over, back to the standard daily posts. This was done July 7th, 2025, so that should tell you how far ahead I’ve been. I’m going to attempt to let things catch up a wee bit and work on top ten lists for you in the interim, so you should be seeing one sometime soon – I’ll come out with a post regarding them as usual before the day they post. Some regular annual lists haven’t come out as firstly, I’ve not been able to source enough varieties for a logical update and secondly, the top tens are a lot of work and honestly not always that much fun to work on – a lot of video editing and keeping from reviewing. So, since I’m nearly six months ahead, I’ll be working on them in a more mellow way instead of trying to last minute slam them out. Hope all that enjoy holidays enjoyed the previous and upcoming ones and those that don’t avoided the ridiculousness they can entail. For now, that is all. I should note my ten year old son Miles is really amped about trying Buldak. He is a very picky eater though; he won’t eat anything hot temperature wise and he doesn’t like certain textures. I can let it cool down, but I’m curious to see if he is up to the texture of it. So we shall see. I might release that for NYE. Anyways, we continue and thank you so much for your continued support of what I do!

Found this at HMart during my big early summer noodle drought of 2025… I don’t see a lot of boxed varieties, let along ones for the US. This used to be in a bowl – although maybe it still is. Anyways, sounds like a good one to try out – let’s give it a whirl!

Big thanks to The Fat Hipster for sending this along. This is an instant noodle for hikers and campers. So if you’re neither, think of carrying tons of stuff for a multi day outdoor trip. You will need food. Do you want to carry something heavy or light? When you’re done, do you want big trash to lug around? Well, this is a solution. These packs aren’t huge, they’re light, and unlike a foam bowl, this is also the cooking vessel and folds up for disposal away from the trail. The expiration date said 2029 as well, so if the universe hasn’t blown up yet, you’ll have noodles, and if it has blown up, it’ll be right there for you in your secret noodle bunker! Plus, it’s curry. Sold! Let’s give it a shot.

Well, here you go! We found this while looking for Slurpees for the kids at 7 Eleven a month or two ago. There’s a Mexican rice flavor one as well I’ve reviewed in the past. I know – not ramen. However, it’s with the ramen so there, and made by a ramen forward company. Let us microwave!

I’m currently broke and my options are limited, so I thought I would walk over to the discount grocery stores nearby. I found one option – this. 99 cents! It says its made in South Korea, but my whom is anyone’s guess. I’m curious – let’s cook.

The last of the versions found at HMart recently. The first one was super salty but the rest haven’t been too bad. I think this one sounds good – let’s find out.

Well, here’s the last of these they sent – thanks again! I seem to be getting to the last of a lot of things… Running low of noodles I’m afraid. Hmmm… Well, let’s cook.

Here’s one I found in a Project Ramen box! They’ve got quite an array of international varieties – good stuff! Use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount.

Well, an interesting day. Last night my daughter got a hit and scored a run in her very last softball game of the season. Also, it turns out my son likes Froot Loops. It’s really a turning point for my family. Let’s give this one – made in Poland for the US market – a try!

This is interesting to me as it’s gone through multiple changes. This one is Shin but green in color to distinguish it from Shin Green which is another product altogether. This used to be in red with a Vegan logo on it, but I think they decided more green would be less confusing. That being said, and as logical as that might be, I’ve encountered people wondering if this is Shin Green and not Shin Ramyun Vegan. Anyways, let’s try it out.

I tried the curry version recently and wasn’t incredibly happy about it, but maybe a KBBQ version might be better. Found these at HMart so that was nice. What’s more, this is made in Poland for US export – fascinating! Let’s give it a try!

They had a sale at HMart of this variety and it was $4. I’ve had it many times and love this stuff – but this is a little different. It’s got a little yellow triangle, mentioning ‘non-soggy noodles.’ Generally, ramyeon that is cooked isn’t soggy or spongy. Is the noodle different from previous versions? The sale kind of seems to me that it might be. This is an export version for the US market. Let’s cook it up.

Well, it’s about to be Thanksgiving here in the United States and here we have turkey dinner in a cup. This is yet another one of the Limited Edition range Nissin Foods has been coming up with and honestly, I’m pretty happy that they keep coming out with these. I’ve seen images of mountains of this variety at Walmart on clearance for 25 cents each, but I don’t know if that’s true or not. On the bright side, you could just skip all the insanity and just have this and a Pumpkin Pie Cup Noodles and call it a turkey day. How’s that for a cheaper Thanksgiving – and it does generally come from Walmart. A recipe at the bottom shows you how to economically make a pumpkin pie using the pumpkin cup as well. Be festive in the face of financial ruin! Let’s give it a try.

Found this one at HMart. Nothing pleases me more than when a brand changes its name. I think they did this for US export varieties so people would pronounce the name closer to the correct way. This one sounds good to me – let’s cook.

Another find at S*Mart in Bellevue, Washington. I think what’s happening here is Sapporo Ichiban is distributing Marutai made tonkotsu. Whatever’s going on, I like it – the last one I had was delectable. Let’s give it a try!

Otafuku is a long time brand – mainly known for sauces. I have found their yakisoba sauce to be top notch over the years – I’ve made a lot of yakisoba. This one’s udon so thicker noodle. Let’s try it out.

This looks interesting to me. I’m curious how hot and how sour it’ll be. It’s got that tofu block too – let’s cook.

If you’re wondering, this is budae jjigae – also known as troop stew. It’s what happens when army foods like beanie weenie and macaroni meet Korean flavors. I decided on this one today as I’ve got something neat to try with it – fish skin! I’ve never tried the snack before, but I did last night and it’s really quite good! This particular variety of fish skin is made from pollock. Let’s check it out!

Lemonilo is originally an Indonesian company specializing in more healthy things – like these. They’ve been pretty good – let’s give this one a try!

Here’s one I found in a Project Ramen box! They’ve got quite an array of international varieties – good stuff! Use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount. Soyed beef? I’m guessing perhaps like corned beef? I really couldn’t find anything about it but that’s my guess. Let’s cook it up!

Okay, so I don’t live under a rock so I know about these things. In fact, I saw an advert for this awhile back and thought ‘oh – the kids might like this.’ So, I let them check it out and I watched a bit of the movie. I hated it. More than I hate slicing a bagel incorrectly. Well, maybe not that much, but I’m really annoyed by this film. I know that a lot of people really like it and that’s fine. However, I do not. It’s K-Pop’s version of Frozen. I went through that Frozen crap when the kids were really little, so another take on it really isn’t something I can embrace. Plus, the animation is awful. The music is catchy, but not the catchy K-Pop I really like; this is so… Commercial. But I do enjoy a tie-in product and this one’s pretty cool. I should mention that the Korean local version of this (yes, this is made in the United States in a great factory in Rancho Cucamonga, California) came with stickers, and I did hear chatter that people over there were buying tons of Shin, taking out the stickers, then selling sets of those stickers on eBay or their equivalent.

Found a set of these at HMart recently. I was sent some I think from Portugal or Italy a long time ago. I have always wanted to review varieties from Ajinomoto but always have trouble finding them – plus they’re not responsive. Anyways, let’s try this one!

Today is a special day! The video at the bottom will be my 2,600th episode of Instant Noodle Recipe Time. Yep – I’m done a ton of em and just keep doing em. I figured I would review this ramen. You might say ‘that’s not ramen.’ Well, in the United States it qualifies. I cite the Totino’s Pizza Ramen. It calls itself ramen however on the ingredients it says it is paste. This says it’s macaroni but it’s clearly rotini. It recommends topping with broccoli, shredded cheese, and Cheetos. Let’s cook up this ramen with buffalo sauce flavor and go straight to hell.

Here’s a Koreno variety that was in a Project Ramen megabox! Highly recommend checking them out – go to www.projectramen.com and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER to get a discount! So this is interesting as it’s a range by Paldo and a departure from the Volcano curry – Buldak clone? Let’s find out.

So as I type this, it’s Cinco De Mayo. My eyes are watery and I’m sneezing. Really allergied out. This variety was chatted about with friends in the Section 42 mod group – the admins for Ramen Junkies. I decided I’d re-review it; new package, over ten years… Last time, it made my bottom ten. Oh wow – more than ten years – it was review 161! So that’s 15 years ago. Sheesh! This one’s made in South Korea and packaged for US sale. Let’s give it another try – maybe I’ll like it now?

Well, here it is – the spiciest one as well as the one I’m most curious about – tonkotsu. I’m hoping for a rich, creamy and savory base with a ruthless beatdown of heat. Let’s give it a whirl.

Hey look at this one! Big thank you to my wife Kit for getting me this! Only at Walmart. So, haven’t we gone through this before? Yes and no. Yes, it’s identical in every way to the pumpkin spicy flavor Cup Noodles – except one little thing. The name. They changed the name from spice to pie – why? I don’t know. New barcode now as well. To see both and a myriad of weird things to do with it, check out my definitive guide here. I’m gonna do it up real pretty. Let’s do it up!

A few reviews ago, I had a different collab from A-Sha – a Taiwanese Beef Noodle and it was insanely good. This one sounds spicy – let’s give it a go!

Here’s the last one of these, sent by James of Lakeside, California – thanks again! This is a prison ramen – lots of clear pack everywhere. Time to cook it up!

Well, this is the last one of the Totino’s / Old El Paso things. Honestly, I’m hopeful we might have one that gets more than a zero here. Fingers crossed.

The second of the Jin Ramen bowls from Otoki. Excited to try this with my new add-in! Let’s hit it!

Here’s the second of the two pizza ‘ramen.’ I’m not expecting much but I’m hopeful – so far this and the Old El Paso stuff have netted a zero star. Pray for the pizza noodles. Let’s begin.

This one is particularly interesting. They changed the package design – and the brand. This has been Ottogi for years but now it’s Otoki. Perhaps a way to get westerners to pronounce the brand name correctly? Well, let’s give it a try!