Over 5,000 Instant Ramen Noodle Reviews Since 2002
About seven years ago, I had the fortune to be invited to visit MAMA’s instant wheat and rice noodle factories in Thailand. It was so amazing; these places are so amazingly clean and full of the most fascinating people I’ve ever met. By the time this is released, my guess is that my Definitive Guide To MAMA Tom Yum will be out. They’re celebrating their 50th year and that’s pretty darn cool. I’m really excited about it! Let’s check out this Pad Thai though – I’m guessing it will be quite good.
Pretty sure this is one either sent by Nissin Foods or by James from Lakeside, California – thank you! So… these rice with noodles are really interesting – and rather good from what I’ve tried thus far. Let’s cook it up and give it a try!
The last Kings Noodle variety I tried was absolutely phenomenal, so I’ve got high hopes for this one. This is a single serving variety with a whole lot going on in the box – let’s check it out!
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
This is a tricky one to translate. Big thank you to Kyle over at Mom’s Dry Noodle for your help! I found this one 2 days before Lunar New Year – fancy stuff. XO sauce is really nice stuff too. Let’s give this a go.
Here’s another one from James of Lakeside, California – thanks again! This one sounds really good. Once again into the bowl!
This one came by way of James of Lakeside, California – thanks again! So these Snapdragon varieties haven’t fared well in my reviews in the past. Hopefully, this one will be a little different. We shall see – let’s give it a go.
Okay so for those of you who don’t know what tteokbokki is, you needsta figure that out because it’s really quite nice! This is both tteokbokki and ramyun; hence, rabokki. Let’s give this a try.
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
Here’s yet another Menraku variety and it came from James of Lakeside, California – thanks again! I thought this would be a dry variant, but it’s definitely not. I should mention that yes, while this is made in Japan, it’s definitely an export version and that’s why it gets the United States tag at the end. Let’s give it a try!
It’s time to unbox a Zenpop.jp box – you get seven varieties of instant noodles to try! I would say that almost every time I’ve gotten one of these, I’ve never tried any of them before which is really awesome. Great as a gift or to hoard for yourself! Use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount! Let’s check it out!
I’ve had the fortune to get samples from Myojo USA from time to time – the ramen is always on point and the yakisoba is just luxuriant! This time, it’s one of each – check ’em out! They’re in the frozen or refrigerated section at Asian grocery stores!
This one was in an Umai Crate – a monthly subscription box from the folks at Japan Crate! If you order one, be sure to use coupon code THERAMENRATER to get a nice little discount!
This is the third of three varieties from this company and I’m very curious. This one has a lot of sachets with it – a lot. Check them out below! Let’s give it a go!
Here’s a big box with two servings. This looks really fancy – curious about it – let’s give it a try!
This one came from an Umai Crate – check ’em out at www.japancrate.com and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER! So this sounds good – a Chinese take on miso – or a miso with Chinese elements? Fascinated! Let’s give it a try!
Found this one right before Lunar New Year. Looked interesting and there were three of them we could get, so we got all three. The last one I tried said it was spicy, but didn’t seem to be so much. Luckily, this time I got some really great advice on what this was and how to cook it from Annie over at Red Chef – thanks you! Let’s give it a try!
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
My mother died two years ago on June 30th. I thought I’d share the recipe she came up with that honestly is why I started reviewing instant noodles. It’s very basic, but it’s really good and as a young child it was a special treat.
Here’s one that came from an Umai Crate – they’re subscription boxes full of all sorts of Japanese ramen and DIY stuff! Check ’em out at Japan Crate and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount!
I know you’re wondering ‘why does he do these things?’ I pose the opposite question – ‘why don’t you do these things?’ I’ll be honest – I’m playing with food. It’s something different to try. Sometimes it doesn’t work, but I’m finding many times it does work and it works pretty well! Let’s make some stuffed bread with a popular variety!
Here’s one that came from Daniel over at www.exoticnoods.com – check ’em out – you can use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount, too! So I saw these at a local Asian market and was curious, but didn’t want to buy a multipack, so receiving this was really great. Taiwanese dry noodles. Let’s check ’em out!
Thank you to James of Lakeside, California for sending this. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I heard about this stuff and have really wanted to review it for a couple months after Stumpy of N Little Rock, AR told me about it. He wasn’t a fan and by the looks of things, I probably won’t find this to be the second coming either. But the thing is for me, my favorite instant noodle is the one I haven’t tried yet – and this is not only one I’ve not tried, but a brand I’m completely unfamiliar with. This is made in China. Let’s check it out!
The guy in the corner says ‘hey check this out’ and hey I will buddy just hold on a second! I’ve had duck and pork blood many times in the past. While many Westerners might think this is far too exotic and wouldn’t ever think of trying a dish with blood as it’s main feature, let me tell you a little something about it. Pork blood cake in Taiwan is exquisite. It’s a little wonderful square with a very rich and tasty flavor. Duck blood is a bit different, but very, very rich. Coagulated duck blood is popular in white curry in Malaysia as well, and pork blood is popular in dishes from Thailand and Vietnam too. The last Taiwanese duck blood noodle I tried was exquisite; let’s see how this one is!
Well folks, it’s been a hot summer’s day here in Gallagher’s Corners… Oh wait scratch that. I’m in Kenmore, Washington… Regardless, it hit 94 degrees today and we live in an apartment with an air conditioner, but at 11pm it’s still 80 degrees. Nasty.
Got a new one the other day that the folks over at A-Sha Dry Noodle sent. I really don’t know anything about it other than that they were interested in me trying it. Looks really good with that chunky paste on top – let’s give it a try!
Another one found just before Lunar New Year at a local market. These have all been fun to review as they’re all very mysterious; the way to translate and research these is always different and usually requires a lot of digging. Let’s check it out!
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
It’s time to unbox a Zenpop.jp box – you get seven varieties of instant noodles to try! I would say that almost every time I’ve gotten one of these, I’ve never tried any of them before which is really awesome. Great as a gift or to hoard for yourself! Use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount! Let’s check it out!
Here’s the second variety from Poco Kitchen I’m trying that comes with noodles. I think I’ll probably do their broth as well. Thai peanut saute sounds interesting – let’s give it a go.
Check this out! These subscription boxes come straight to your door and have some neat stuff inside! Check out www.japancrate.com and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER to score a sweet discount and get some neat noodles! Here’s the latest unboxing of the July 2022 Umai Crate!
Here’s another one I found at Asian Family Market in 99 in Shoreline. We got so many that day. Wow. Still a ton to do! Let’s check it out!
Well, it’s been a long time coming, but here we are. It’s pizza time. I could go into detail to start with, but let me just say – this pizza is wonderful and I’ll tell you how to make it. Probably the best bready thing I’ve ever made. Before we start, let me say this also – if you’re looking for a pizza crust from instant noodles, you will not find that here. What I’ve found is that instant noodles are best as is and not screwed around with too much. A filling for bread, but not part of the dough. Let’s begin.
Here’s one that came in a Zenpop.jp box – use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount!
Yeah it’s June – mid june. Mid towards later June. But I don’t care about your temporal insecurities. ANY TIME IS TIME TO USE PUMPKIN SPICE CUP NOODLES. Period. Chronometrics be damned! I figured cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, pumpkin spice cup noodles. I know a lot of people don’t get the bread thing, but it seems to me that bread will be the gateway drug that leads to pizza, and maybe other stuffed bread? Let’s do this.
This looks like a fancy one – it came in a 5am Ramen subscription box! Check em out at www.instantramen.jp and use the coupon code THERAMENRATER for a discount!
Recently, I thought it would be interesting to revisit my fascination with bread – and ramen. I’ve found that baking bread with a bread machine isn’t all it’s cracked up to be – but using one to make dough is very cool! In the past, I’ve infused instant noodles directly into the dough; something that produced something a little funky. In my last endeavor, I used a mold shaped like a fish and we took the dough out, put it in, filled it, then added more bread on top. Since then, I’ve tried making a pizza – which had excellent results! I even used gluten free pizza dough to make my wife a pizza and that honestly was even better.
I think I was able to try the non-export version of this when I was in Thailand at the MAMA rice noodle factory. I was part of an Iron Chef judging competition where a contestant from Iron Chef Thailand was there and she made all the varieties from this range.
It’s time to unbox a Zenpop.jp box – you get seven varieties of instant noodles to try! I would say that almost every time I’ve gotten one of these, I’ve never tried any of them before which is really awesome. Great as a gift or to hoard for yourself! Use coupon code THERAMENRATER for a groovy discount! Let’s check it out!
Another one kindly sent from James of Lakeside, CA – thanks again! This one had a distributor’s label on it, but it didn’t quite make sense so a little digging found a more correct translation. Chili mayo? That sounds awesome! Let’s give it a go!
