Journey into the World of Ramen

Unif Tung-I Ramen Noodles - Artificial Beef Flavor

2009-08-02T08:58:00.005-04:00

Despite the very similar names, this pack of noodles is not to be confused with Unif Tung-I Instant Artificial Spicy Beef Noodles. I suppose that most people remember the colors and decorations of the packaging and are unlikely to be confused. I didn't realize how similar the names are until I typed them up. I would never get these two confused since their packaging is so different.

Even though these noodles are not indicated as being spicy, they do have a mild spiciness. In fact, the broth is nearly identical to the Tung-I Instant Artificial Spicy Beef Flavor Noodles. I think they use the same seasoning oil, but you get a smaller packet in this version. The noodles themselves are very delicious in this pack. They are quite thin and soft, yet packed with nutty deliciousness.

I was very happy to find that these noodles do not contain any imitation beef. The textured vegetable protein that ramen manufacturers use to simulate beef never tastes good. This pack makes a decent bowl of noodles and I give it the edge over its TVP-filled cousin.

Unif Tung-I Ramen Noodles - Artificial Beef Flavor - 7.5/10

Unif Tung-I - Instant Artificial Spicy Beef Flavor Noodles

2009-07-26T11:29:00.003-04:00

The packaging for these noodles has changed subtly since 2006. It appears that Unif is now producing and distributing these noodles for Tung-I. On the back of the package, I was surprised to see that this pack originated from Vietnam rather than Taiwan. The theme and graphics for the wrapper haven't changed much, so these are still very recognizable based on the crazy cow and red and white striped borders.

The flavor of these noodles is very nice. The broth is intense with beef flavor and has a high oil content. It is quite peppery as well. The texture of the noodles is not as deeply fried as before, but the noodles are thin and pretty flavorful.

I was disappointed that these noodles no longer contain bits of carrot like they used to. That was one of my favorite parts previously. This pack also now contains chunks of textured vegetable protein, which I always detest in my noodles. The flavor of these noodles is still very nice, but the overall quality has unfortunately slipped a little bit. I am still happy to eat these once in a while, but probably not as often as I used to.

Unif Tung-I - Instant Artificial Spicy Beef Flavor Noodles - 7.0/10

Asda Smart Price - Prawn Flavour Instant Noodles

2009-01-04T16:02:00.004-05:00

It's not a very good sign when your instant noodle packaging is semi-transparent and you can see the flavor sachet through the outside wrapper. Nevertheless, I took my chances with this one. This is part of Asda's Smart Price range. Similar to Tesco Value or Sainsbury's Basics lines, the Asda Smart Price range is a low cost line of products. The packaging is restricted to one or two colors to reduce cost as much as possible.

These noodles were disappointingly limp and tasteless. The noodles themselves were quite gooey and starchy and didn't have the springiness illustrated on the packaging. There was barely any flavoring at all, especially not prawn flavoring. It tasted like a weak salt broth.

These noodles were terrible, but luckily my expectations were already very low. They didn't taste bad, but there was just no taste or texture to them. I will definitely not be getting these again.

Asda Smart Price - Prawn Flavour Instant Noodles - 0.5/10

Super Noodles - Mild Mexican Chili Flavour

2008-10-23T18:03:00.005-04:00

One thing that I love about Super Noodles is that they sometimes have very festive packaging. This package makes you feel like you are in a Mexican cantina, enjoying an ice cold margarita and some delicious tacos al pastor. From a practical point of view, the brightly colored packaging grabs your eye in the supermarket aisle and makes you just a little bit more likely to try this flavor out.

Upon my first bite, I was expecting strong flavors of cumin, chili, onion, and garlic. While all of these flavors were indeed there, they were quite mild. Looking at the picture of the noodles, you can tell that the flavoring is not as strong as it could be. As usual, the Super Noodles themselves are quite high quality. They have just the right amount of inherent flavor and springy texture needed without being bland or soggy.

I thought that these noodles were pretty good, but I wished that they had kicked up the flavor a few notches. I guess I should have placed more emphasis on the word "Mild" on the package rather than focusing on the wildly festive sombrero. While I did enjoy these noodles, I probably won't be getting them again as there was nothing particularly great about them.

Super Noodles - Mild Mexican Chili Flavour - 5.0/10

Tiger Tiger Cup Noodles - Thai Spice Satay Style

2008-10-23T17:35:00.005-04:00

There was no way I could resist this pack of noodles with its catchy slogan: "Unleash the Taste". Knowing that there was a fork inside, I could barely contain my excitement as I ripped open the box to discover...a cheap plastic cup inside. Why couldn't they just sell the cup like every other brand does? I guess they feel the need to add some additional useless packaging in order to stand out from the crowd.

I love a good satay, but these noodles didn't resemble satay in the slightest. The soup seemed to contain corn starch or some other thickening agent because it quickly became one gluey and starchy mess. The taste was quite bland and didn't have much good flavor at all.

It is very rare that I am tempted to throw away a partially eaten instant noodle, but in this case I was strongly tempted to do so. Nevertheless, I forged on for the sake of this review. There is nothing good to say about these noodles except that they have attractive packaging. I will definitely be avoiding anything of the Tiger Tiger brand in the future.

Tiger Tiger Cup Noodles - Thai Spice Satay Style - 0.0/10

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention this: the fork inside was pathetically small and completely unusable.

Super Noodles To Go - Grilled Steak Flavour

2008-09-22T07:40:00.005-04:00

Batchelors have recently introduced the Super Noodles To Go line to compete with the Pot Noodle franchise in the cup noodles department. I usually try to avoid this type of instant noodle for a couple reasons. First, the noodles tend to be very inferior; I don't know why this has to be the case, but these cup noodles are always filled with puny tasteless noodles. The second reason I usually avoid these noodles is that they are a complete waste of packaging and usually include non-recyclable styrofoam. With that said, I couldn't pass up this cup of Grilled Steak Flavour, as this is a flavor that Super Noodles doesn't make in the brick form.

True to form, the noodles inside are the crappy thin strings that are found in cup noodles across the world. How hard would it be to put some decent noodles in there? I don't know why they don't just put their regular noodles in, since Super Noodles make some pretty good noodles in brick form. Perhaps they need the noodles to be thin so that they cook very easily, even when the water isn't quite boiling.

Block form Super Noodles aren't meant to be eaten with broth, but this cup of noodles was designed to include broth. I was pleasantly surprised that the broth was beefy and savory. The dried sweet peas and corn were a nice touch as well, although hardly surprising for this type of product. To be honest, this was one of the better cup style instant noodles that I've had. However, they just don't hold a candle to a good brick style instant noodle package.

Super Noodles To Go - Grilled Steak Flavour - 4.5/10

Samyang Foods - U-Dong Flavor Noodle

2008-08-23T07:11:00.001-04:00

Samyang make an Udon flavored instant noodle called Pojangmacha. The packaging of these noodles closely resembles the Pojangmacha packaging and these appear to be a rebranded version of those noodles. I suspect that the Pojangmacha brand is sold within Korea where the customers would be familiar with the term meaning a street vendor. Outside of Korea, most people would be unfamiliar with the term and it would simply be sold as U-Dong Flavor Noodle.

I was very relieved to find that the stiff piece of seaweed in Pojangmacha has been eliminated in this package. The noodles are Samyang's typical product: thick, chewy, and flavorful. The broth is quite mild but has tastes of onion, salt, and fish. There are tons of scallions to provide bursts of flavor.

I quite enjoyed these noodles despite the mild broth. It bears little resemblance to the Japanese style udon that most of us are familiar with, but still provides a satisfying experience if one is looking for a simple and hearty broth. Typically I avoid this kind of noodles due to their plainness, but it's nice to have one or two in the cupboard for those days when our tastebuds need a break.

Samyang Foods - U-Dong Flavor Noodle - 6.0/10

Samyang Foods - Kimchi Flavor Noodle

2008-08-16T07:08:00.001-04:00

I've already reviewed this pack of instant noodles over two years ago, but I figured it was worth another try. They've changed the packaging, so it's possible they've changed the recipe as well. The Korean name for these noodles is much more prominent in this package although the graphics and layout remain nearly identical. It's possible that I've just obtained a different regional variant of these noodles, but there's no way for me to know for sure. The phrase "NO MSG" also appears for more prominently, perhaps reflecting an updated health consciousness.

I usually like Samyang's noodles thanks to their thick and chewy quality, and this pack of noodles is no exception to the rule. They have plenty of flavor and provide a nice contrast to the spicy soup. They also give you a lot of noodles, in this case 120g.

The broth in this soup is not very spicy compared to some of Samyang's other products. However, it does have a distinctive pickled cabbage taste which I never noticed before. This is a nice touch but it comes across slightly spoiled tasting instead of tasting like kimchi. They also include small dehydrated cabbage chunks to add to the kimchi theme. These noodles are pretty good, but I wish they had made it a lot spicier.

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Samyang Foods - Kimchi Flavor Noodle - 7.0/10

Tesco Instant Noodles - Chow Mein Flavour

2008-07-05T19:17:00.002-04:00

Tesco's line of instant noodles are color coded so that you can grab the flavour you crave at a glance. The packaging is fairly plain but has the cute quirk that the second "o" in "Noodles" is shaped like a mouth slurping a noodle. It's small touches like this that sway my decision when I am picking out a pack of noodles.

Unlike most noodles reviewed on this site, the Tesco instant noodles are meant to be eaten dry. The typical method of cooking involves adding a relatively small amount of water (~300mL) to a saucepan and cooking the noodles until all the water is gone. I believe the dry noodle style reflects the British and Irish palate where noodle soups would be very rare at Chinese restaurants. It's a shame since noodle soups would be the perfect thing to warm up in the cold weather of the British Isles.

The Tesco instant noodles are undoubtedly high quality. They maintain their springiness yet are soft in the mouth. The chow mein flavouring and nicely subtle and contains hints of soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and onion. It is fairly unassuming but also unmistakably Asian in flavour. Overall, this is a pack of noodles that I am happy to slurp whenever I am looking for a basic pack of noodles that is not too flavourful.

Tesco Instant Noodles - Chow Mein Flavour - 7.0/10

Yeul Ramyon - Hot Taste

2008-02-24T15:27:00.005-05:00

Yeul Ramyon is a Korean instant noodle made by Ottogi Ramyon, the manufacturer of Jin Ramyon. Yeul Ramyon has many of the typical characteristics of Korean ramen. It comes in a large package (120g), the noodles are thick and chewy and the broth is spicy. I really don't know how this pack is supposed to differ from the Jin Ramyon Spicy Taste, but I guess that this one does not have any beef flavoring in the broth.

These noodles were nothing unusual but were still pretty good. The noodles were thick and chewy like most Korean noodles. There were plenty of mushrooms, scallions and carrots which added some nice bursts of flavor. The soup broth tasted a bit peppery and was not very spicy compared to most Korean ramen.

I enjoyed this ramen but felt that it tasted exactly like Jin Ramyon Hot Taste and most other Korean instant noodles. To be honest, next time I would just buy whatever spicy Korean ramen was on sale the most at the local Asian grocery store. They are all about the same and all pretty good.

Yeul Ramyon - Hot Taste - 5.0/10

Maruchan Ramen - Oriental Flavor

2008-02-02T13:15:00.002-05:00

What happens if you take away all flavorings from a broth except for Monosodium Glutamate? You slap the "Oriental Flavor" label on it and watch as the profits roll in! Although I'm not sure how high Maruchan's profit margins can be since these packs are on sale for 12 cents at Ralph's.

The broth in these noodles tastes surprisingly good. There really is no flavor here aside from umami, but umami is delicious. Still, I decided to add some Sriracha sauce since the flavor was still quite simple and needed a little more complexity.

This pack of noodles is about as basic as you can get. The noodles are pretty low quality and the broth consists of just MSG flavored soup. It doesn't taste bad at all, but it just doesn't have the complexity and flavor that I usually prefer out of my instant noodles. Still, you can't ask for much more than this for only 12 cents.

Maruchan Ramen - Oriental Flavor - 3.5/10

Maruchan Ramen - Chicken Flavor

2008-02-02T13:12:00.000-05:00

Maruchan is not afraid of saturating their soups with Monosodium Glutamate, better known as MSG. This chemical has been subject to much controversy which I won't get into now. All Maruchan noodles do have the unmistakable taste of Umami, which I like to call the 5th taste.

It's extremely difficult to describe what umami tastes like. I guess it's sort of like the difficulty in explaining the taste of sweet or salty. This broth tastes strongly of umami, although there is a bit of chicken flavor that tastes like it came from a bouillon cube. I won't complain about the Maruchan noodles here because I have done plenty of that already in previous posts.

The flavor of this broth is quite pleasant from the MSG, but I still felt that it lacked interestingness. So, I added a big dose of Sriracha sauce to liven up the flavor. Sriracha sauce goes very well with umami flavored broths; that's why you often see it at Vietnamese restaurants where the broth is naturally laden with MSG. I wouldn't particularly recommend this pack of ramen, but it is cheap and inoffensive if that is what you are looking for.

Maruchan Ramen - Chicken Flavor - 3.5/10

Maruchan Ramen - Beef Flavor

2008-01-27T18:02:00.001-05:00

You can't beat the price of cheap American ramen. This particular pack cost me 12 cents at Ralph's. At first, I thought that Maruchan had put a picture of a raw egg yolk on the front of their package. Upon closer inspection, however, it actually looks like some kind of pickled radish.

Most Americans are familiar with the Maruchan brand. It tends to show up in vending machines due to the convenience of their Instant Lunch line and low cost. When I ate these noodles, I was disappointed by the poor quality in the noodles themselves. They tasted mealy and lacked the springiness and crunchiness that is usually present in instant noodles. They were limp and heavy and had very little flavor.

The broth in these noodles was decent. It tasted like a beef and onion broth. However, I couldn't get around the fact that the noodles themselves were so low quality. I recommend to pay a little bit more and get better quality instant noodles. These noodles are completely different than the ones found in the Instant Lunch cups and I actually prefer the Instant Lunch noodles to these.

Maruchan Ramen - Beef Flavor - 2.5/10

Nong Shim - Seafood Ramyun

2008-01-20T11:27:00.000-05:00

Seafood-flavored instant noodles are notorious for being disgusting due to overwhelming seafood flavor. However, since seafood broths are such an important part of Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Taiwanese cuisine, the seafood-flavored instant noodles are an essential part of a ramen manufacturer's lineup.

The noodle brick came in the convenient circular shape. Inconveniently, however, the noodles had been broken into a few pieces during transit. My first thought upon sipping the broth was that these noodles did not really taste like seafood at all. Instead, the spiciness was quite powerful and overwhelmed the seafood taste at first. This is a pretty common seafood strategy among Korean noodle-makers since most of the seafood noodle soups in Korean cuisine are quite spicy anyway.

After a few more sips, I started to taste the seafood identity of this broth. It was just a basic fish flavor but went quite well with the noodles. I probably wouldn't get these noodles again because I prefer the basic "hot and spicy" flavor without the seafood taste. There is nothing wrong with the seafood flavor here, it just seems a little unnecessary to me.

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Nong Shim - Seafood Ramyun - 6.0/10

Nong Shim - Mu-Pama Tang Myun

2008-01-20T11:06:00.000-05:00

To be honest, I'm not sure what Mupama means. I think it is some sort of beef and radish broth, but I have never had it at a Korean restaurant or noodle stand. I am generally quite satisfied with Nong Shim's products, so I figured I would give this a shot despite not really knowing what to expect.

The flavor of the broth in the Mu-Pama Tang Myun was quite good. There flavor was primarily beef and scallion which always makes for a nice soup base. There was also a few pieces of dehydrated cabbage, which is unusual but enjoyable. The noodles were thick and chewy with plenty of weight and substance.

Overall, I enjoyed these noodles despite not knowing what dish they were meant to evoke. The broth is a bit spicy, which was a nice surprise. But it's nowhere near the spiciness level of some of the instant noodles that I have been profiling recently. I would recommend trying this one out if you happen to see it, but I know that it is quite rare to find in the US.

Nong Shim - Mu-Pama Tang Myun - 8.0/10

Nong Shim - Japanese Style Udon Noodle Soup

2008-01-06T13:50:00.000-05:00

Udon noodle soup is one of my favorite fresh dishes, but instant versions of udon have usually sorely disappointed me. I understand the difficulty in manufacturing a noodle that can have 12 months of shelf life, yet reconstitute into the billowy soft noodle that udon requires. I was very interested to see how well Nong Shim could do, since their other offerings are mostly top-notch.

The noodles came in a vacuum-sealed package and seemed to be partially dehydrated. They were certainly not dry and rock hard like the typical ramen package, but they were still much stiffer and drier than udon noodles should be. The thickness of each noodle seemed right, unlike Samyang's halfhearted attempt at udon where they just used their regular instant noodle.

Upon tasting the broth and noodles, I almost had to throw this one in the garbage. The noodles are not soft at all and remain stiff with a strong wheat flavor. The texture on each one is grainy like a ramen noodle, not silky smooth like udon should be. In addition, the broth tasted like soy sauce rather than the delicious umami-loaded seaweed broth that udon should have.

I really don't think it is possible with today's technology to make an instant udon noodle soup with a long shelf life. The udon noodles are just too delicate to stand up to the partial or full dehydrating that long shelf life requires. I would recommend going with a fresh udon package instead. Another option is to buy fresh udon noodles from your local Asian grocer and then making your own broth from scratch or buying a udon broth base. I have tried both of those options and they have both come out vastly superior to the Nong Shim Udon noodles.

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Nong Shim - Japanese Style Udon Noodle Soup - 0.0/10

Nissin Demae - Beef Flavor

2007-12-09T13:49:00.001-05:00

I already reviewed this pack of ramen almost 2 years ago, but I figured it was time to revisit this popular ramen made by Nissin Demae. It doesn't look like the packaging has changed at all in the past two years, which doesn't surprise me since this is exactly how I remember these packets from my childhood. Nissin Demae has achieved a lot of success in the United States, mostly due to excellent distribution, conservative flavors, and marketing.

When I tasted the broth, it was a little more complex than I had remembered. The flavor is predominantly beef, but there are also some spices to liven up the broth. It actually reminded me a bit of Pho due to its complicated identity. I don't know if Nissin Demae has altered its recipe, but I thought the broth was quite good.

The noodles are exactly as I expected from eating packets of Nissin Demae noodles in the past. I consider them to be typical instant noodles, fairly flavorless with a slight nuttiness and springy crunch. But the main overall flavor comes from the broth and the broth is quite good here. Interestingly, the color of the broth looks much lighter in this picture than in my picture from two years ago, so perhaps the folks at Nissin Demae have altered their recipe and improved the flavor of the broth.

Nissin Demae - Beef Flavor - 7.0/10

Teumsae Ramyon

2007-12-09T13:47:00.000-05:00

When I was purchasing these noodles at the local Korean grocery store, the cashier warned me that these were particularly spicy. I shrugged him off, since I have eaten countless packets of spicy Korean instant noodles and lived to tell the tale. Teumsae is a noodle bar chain in South Korea specializing in fresh ramyon bowls, and they have decided to produce an instant noodle that customers can make and enjoy at home. The "Teumsae Dishes" page on their website has priceless poorly translated quotes, including the following ones:

While two people eat it, nobody knows even if the other dies.
Chewy squid and the smoothe (sic) mussel conveys the freshness of ocean and the spicy taste makes your stuffy heart cooly
It is well known among the young people especially, the young ladies, for it gives double pleasure of fantastic taste and exciting feeling of sauce dipping.
Have a cool summer with the Ice-ramyun to fill the sultry summer body with cool energy.

Upon tasting the broth, I quickly concluded that these were undoubtedly the spiciest instant noodles I have ever eaten. There is little you can taste except the intense heat radiating from the broth and noodles. The flavor of the broth really did remind me of some noodle bowls that I've had at Korean restaurants. Of course the noodles don't taste as good as fresh noodles, but they did have the typical thick chewy Korean instant noodle taste that goes well with spicy broth.

People could save a lot of money on their heating bills if they started eating these noodles! They will definitely warm you up and probably require you to find something to wipe the sweat away from your brow, even if it is freezing outside. I couldn't say it better than Teumsae's own website:

It only has never forgetting taste from various spices to turn you into 20 years of Teumsae love, right from the moment it touches your tongue.

Teumsae Ramyon - 8.5/10

Nong Shim - Kal Gook Soo

2007-11-24T18:32:00.001-05:00

These noodles are meant to imitate the same dish as Samyang Food's KalGugSu Noodle Soup. The original dish is served with thin, flat noodles and has a shellfish based broth. I have had a lot of poor experiences with seafood flavored instant noodles, but in general, the Korean noodle manufacturers seem to have done a pretty good job. The key, in my opinion, is to stay away from shrimp and crab and stick to shellfish flavorings like clam and mussels. It also helps if they make the broth spicy, like Nong Shim's Neoguri Seafood & Spicy noodles.

I must say that the smell from these noodles is quite strong. Even before I added boiling water, the smell of clams began emanating from the powder I poured on the noodles. After adding water, I felt like I was at a fishing pier. The broth smelled and tasted like salty clam broth. The flavor was pretty good and the disgusting factor was acceptably low. There were some floating yellow tofu strips that I thought were unnecessary.

The noodles included are different from Nong Shim's typical noodles. They are wide and flat and I found that they tended to stick together more than the usual round noodles. Despite being flat, they needed longer to cook in order to fully separate and soften. Overall, they were acceptable but there was nothing remarkable about their taste. These noodles are OK if you are craving some clam-flavored broth, but my advice is just to steer clear of seafood flavored instant noodles.

Nong Shim - Kal Gook Soo - 5.5/10

Paldo - Hwa Ramen

2007-11-24T18:26:00.000-05:00

The Chinese character for fire is displayed prominently on the front of this package, leaving no doubt the intended flavoring of these noodles. I like this package; it conjures up a mental image of a hot coal or something else too hot to even hold. It is a little odd that the packaging proudly boasts that these noodles are now "with soy peptide". But perhaps that is not weird for the Korean consumers that these noodles are targeted towards.

Without a doubt, these noodles truly pack a hot and spicy punch. The broth is cough-inducingly and sweat-provokingly spicy. As with all Paldo noodles, they are thick and chewy with not a lot of flavor. But your tastebuds will be numb anyways upon sipping the broth. The advertised "soy peptide" refers to these small vegetable protein cakes that are included. As usual, I think these things are just weird and don't taste particularly good. I really don't know why they seem to be popping up everywhere in these instant noodle packages.

This is a good pack of instant noodles to pick on a cold day when you need something to warm you up. Trust me, this one will definitely warm you up although it won't provide much besides heat. I rather enjoyed it and also thought the packaging was quite fun and unique.

Paldo - Hwa Ramen - 7.5/10

Jin Ramyon - Mild Taste

2007-11-17T11:26:00.000-05:00

These noodles have nearly the identical packaging as Jin Ramyon - Hot Taste except that the color scheme has been changed to blue instead of red. Here, they have also used a slightly different picture that includes a couple slices of beef. The raw egg yolk is still prominently in the picture. The package also proudly advertises that this pack of instant noodles is MSG Free, which is quite an accomplishment because these things are usually full of MSG.

The noodles were thick, chewy, and flavorless as I expected from trying the Hot Taste of these noodles. The biggest surprise was that the broth was a little bit spicy. I had been expecting a flavor completely devoid of heat but actually there was a pleasant peppery spice to the soup. In fact, the broth tasted quite good, combining flavors of pepper, soy sauce, mushroom, and beef. Much better than the Hot Taste flavor made by these guys.

I wasn't thrilled with this pack of instant noodles since the noodles themselves are quite disappointing. However, the broth was a pleasant surprise and was definitely flavorful and savory despite having no MSG. I recommend the Mild Taste much more than the Hot Taste for Jin Ramyon.

Jin Ramyon - Mild Taste - 5.5/10

Jin Ramyon - Hot Taste

2007-11-17T11:22:00.000-05:00

I don't think I'll ever fully understand why ramen manufacturers choose to put pictures of raw eggs on the front of their packages. But Ottogi Ramyon, makers of Jin Ramyon have chosen to do just that. In Korean cuisine, it is customary to crack a raw egg into your boiling hot soup at the dinner table. In that case, though, the egg cooks immediately and doesn't sit on top of the soup looking raw.

Ottogi Ramyon has very little distribution in the US and I've only seen them in one supermarket in my life. This is typical of many imported ramen, however, since it is difficult to compete with such tight profit margins on instant noodles. The noodles here were thick and chewy but lacked flavor. The broth was spicy, but not nearly as spicy as some of the other Korean instant noodles that I've had recently. In fact, it was a little disappointing that the broth wasn't spicier, since I had been expecting a real sweat-inducing lava soup.

There isn't much that's exciting about these noodles. The broth is mildly spicy, but not especially flavorful and the noodles themselves are quite forgettable. There are much better Korean spicy instant noodles so pick up another pack.

Jin Ramyon - Hot Taste - 3.0/10

San Francisco Curly Pasta Noodle Soup - Extra Hot

2007-11-10T10:37:00.000-05:00

I was really surprised to discover these noodles were made in the USA. I have never seen them before despite having been to countless American grocery stores and Asian markets. Finally, I found them in a Korean supermarket and decided to give them a try. Here's the website for SF Curly Pasta if you'd like to check them out, they've got some cool pictures of their ramen factory.

Although these are American made noodles, they still have the description printed in 4 languages (English, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese). Maybe they plan on exporting this package to other countries. Since I picked these up in the Korean supermarket and there is a picture of two chilies on the front, I expected these to be quite spicy. Sure enough, they were cough-inducingly spicy! The flavor of the broth really reminded me of Korean instant noodles.

True to their name, the noodles themselves are very curly. Instant noodles are purposely curly so that they can be packed tightly together, but these took curliness to a new level! I suspect that the curliness appeals to Americans who would have an easier time eating these noodles with a fork. For an Asian person eating noodles with chopsticks, the curliness doesn't make a difference in ease of eating. I enjoyed the curliness in my mouth as well, since I tended to get more flavor in each bite.

This noodle soup was powerfully spicy with nice hints of onion and mushroom. I rather enjoyed it, but to be honest, it is one in a sea of very similar spicy Korean instant noodles. Oh wait, this one wasn't even Korean, it's American!

San Francisco Curly Pasta Noodle Soup - Extra Hot - 6.5/10

Sapporo Ichiban - Shrimp Flavor

2007-11-10T10:34:00.000-05:00

I think Sapporo Ichiban's neon pink packaging is meant to evoke the image of succulent cooked shrimp. But wait a minute, aren't shrimp more of an orangey-red color than pink? But no matter, this color helps to clearly distinguish this flavor versus the brown, green, red, or orange packets.

Sapporo Ichiban has gained a strong foothold in the US and it's easy to see why. The flavors are good but still extremely conservative. The American version of the packaging has been designed not to scare away the consumer; it resembles the Top Ramen packaging quite closely. There are no "weird" things like seaweed, textured vegetable protein, tofu, or kimchi involved.

I felt that the shrimp flavor here was almost nonexistent. I guess it is better than the aquarium water flavored seafood noodles that I have had before, but this one really tasted like beef instead of shrimp. Sapporo Ichiban broths always taste good because they include a healthy dose of salt and MSG (should that be unhealthy?). The noodles themselves are crunchy and have a slight onion taste to them. This was a very plain pack of noodles that was very similar to original flavor and beef flavor. For the unadventurous, these are your noodles!

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Sapporo Ichiban - Shrimp Flavor - 5.0/10

Paldo - Stir Fried Kimchi Noodles

2007-10-23T22:59:00.000-04:00

I usually think of Paldo as one of the cheaper and lesser Korean brands. I got this pack from the Korean supermarket and it looks quite different from every other Paldo pack I've ever had. Notice that this one is different from the Paldo Kimchi Flavor that I already reviewed. The package proudly indicates that stirfried kimchi is inside, which really intrigued me as I've never seen anything like that before.

The kimchi came in a very large packet that was well sealed to prevent any possible leakage. Inside was a lot of liquid and the kimchi itself. This was quite unusual because vegetables are almost always dehydrated in instant noodles. This saves on weight and also prolongs the shelf life.

There were quite a few pieces of kimchi in the package; the kimchi pouch contained its own weight measurement and claimed to contain 40g of it. You can't really see all the kimchi in the picture because it tended to sink to the bottom. I think next time I try this one, the kimchi should be added right at the end so that it doesn't get buried during the stirring process.

The Paldo noodles are typical Korean noodles. They are thick and chewy and provide a tasty contrast to the spicy soup. I thought that the flavor of the broth and especially the kimchi was a little bit too sour and bitter. The appeal of kimchi is that it is able to combine many different flavors, including spiciness, saltiness, savoriness, and a hint of sweetness. However, I felt that the flavor in these noodles was too sour and didn't really taste like kimchi. That was a shame, because the included kimchi was an interesting idea and I really wanted to like it.

Paldo - Stir Fried Kimchi Noodles - 3.5/10

Sapporo Ichiban - Original Flavor

2007-10-14T20:10:00.000-04:00

Sapporo Ichiban seems to be one of the most popular brands of instant noodles in the US. I see them everywhere, even in the local convenience stores and grocery stores. I got these from the Korean supermarket, even though they are not Korean. Sapporo Ichiban is a Japanese company, but they are so popular in the US that they have their own manufacturing facilities here. As you can see, this package has no Japanese writing on it since it is the American edition designed to compete with the likes of Nissin, Top Ramen, and Maruchan.

I think Sapporo Ichiban is the best of the bottom-tier of ramen. By bottom-tier, I mean the ones that you can find in the American grocery store. Sapporo Ichiban's noodles are thick, chewy and nutty with good flavor. In the case of Original Flavor, the broth has a good savory identity. It tastes mostly of soy sauce with hints of onion and beef. There is just one foil seasoning powder packet that makes these noodles quick and easy with a minimum of unnecessary oil.

You can't go wrong with Sapporo Ichiban because their noodles are tasty and filling. The broths are plain yet have enough variation to keep them from being boring. If you're not feeling too adventurous, then I recommend Sapporo Ichiban to give you a decent fix of ramen.

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Sapporo Ichiban - Original Flavor - 7.0/10

Indomie Instant Noodles - Onion Chicken Flavor

2007-09-23T15:18:00.001-04:00

Here comes yet another flavor from Indomie. I think their strategy is to package all possible combinations of their huge array of flavor packets and call them each a new flavor. In some cases, such as Indomie's Mi Goreng, this is highly successful. In other cases, such as this one, the broth really lacks any distinctive quality.

In a word, I would call these noodles bland. I was disappointed that Indomie didn't include fried red onion, since they are known to do this in their instant noodle packages. The broth tastes a little bit like onion and a little bit like chicken but it is not very strong. After my first sip, I realized that these noodles were practically begging for a healthy dose of Sriracha sauce. I was happy to oblige them and turned the broth a fiery red color.

If you are not familiar with Sriracha sauce, I highly recommend you pick up a bottle at your neighborhood Asian grocery store. These noodles provide a perfect backdrop for Sriracha sauce because they are very plain on their own and need an additional kick to liven them up. On their own, I would definitely not recommend these noodles but they taste pretty good with a big dollop of Sriracha.

Buy Indomie Instant Noodles - Onion Chicken Flavor from Amazon.com

Buy Sriracha Sauce from Amazon.com

Indomie Instant Noodles - Onion Chicken Flavor - 3.5/10

Indomie Instant Noodles - Chicken Curry Flavor

2007-09-15T14:49:00.000-04:00

Thanks to 99 Ranch Market, I have recently discovered the very wide range of flavors that Indomie offers. One of those is Chicken Curry Flavor. The packaging proudly indicates that this pack now comes with fried onion. The instructions indicate that the fried onion is to be added right at the end as a garnish.

This pack of noodles comes with 4 seasoning sachets. I've passed the point where I am impressed by Indomie's high number of seasoning pouches and see it just as an annoyance. The flavor of the broth is remarkably similar to the Mie Sedaap Jelas Terasa Sedapnya. It is a mix of lemon and curry with very little chicken taste.

The lemon flavor for the curry is a little bit unusual for someone that is more used to the spicy Indian-style curry. I am guessing that this is the Indonesian style of curry rather than the Indian or Western styles. The fried red onion is a nice finishing touch to these noodles. As I have noted before, Indomie's noodles are nothing special and they usually rely on complex flavoring to provide the majority of enjoyment. For me, the curry was a little bit strange but I'm sure that people that prefer this style of curry will enjoy these noodles.

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Indomie Instant Noodles - Chicken Curry Flavor - 5.0/10

Unif Tung-I Ramen Noodles - Chinese Onion Flavor

2007-09-09T21:10:00.000-04:00

When I cooked these noodles and started eating them, they seemed a little familiar to me. It turns out I already blogged about them about a year and half ago! I decided to write a review anyways, though, in case my opinions had changed. I would like to mention that these are quite similar to the Unif Tung-I Instant Rice Noodles - Chinese Onion Flavor that I tried recently. As you might expect, the only difference is in the noodles themselves.

I am very familiar with Unif Tung-I's ramen noodles and I consider them to be a typical example of Taiwanese instant noodles. They have a nice nutty flavor and are deeply fried, which gives them a crispy brittleness out of the package that you wouldn't see out of Korean, Japanese, or other common instant noodles. However, upon cooking, the noodles become extremely soft yet keep some of their nutty flavor. I happen to enjoy Taiwanese instant noodles, but definitely don't expect the chewy noodles that you would find in Korean, Japanese or American instant noodles.

The broth for these noodles tastes salty and mild with a firm onion flavor. It is subtle and there is not a lot of flavor, but the taste is still satisfying and inoffensive. If you like fried red onions, you will like the flavor of these noodles. These instant noodles are a decent snack if you are looking for something that will not overwhelm your tastebuds. One and a half years later, though, I think I've discovered some better options that you could treat yourself to!

Unif Tung-I Ramen Noodles - Chinese Onion Flavor - 5.5/10

Myojo Chukazanmai - Oriental Flavor

2007-09-03T19:15:00.000-04:00

Myojo Chukazanmai is one of those brands that fans of fresh Japanese ramen really enjoy. I was really surprised to see that this brand had an "Oriental Flavor". Usually, you'd only see that flavor applied to a generic Asian-style broth for a really cheap instant noodle like Cup Noodles or Maruchan Instant Lunch. I would have figured that Myojo Chukazanmai could have picked all their flavors out of the pantheon of Japanese ramen flavors, including Shoyo, Shio, Miso, Tonkotsu, and countless others.

I really had no idea what this broth was going to taste like, since it was marketed only as the generic "Oriental Flavor". It ended up tasting like garlic and sesame, which was quite nice. There was also a slight flavor of creamy nuttiness, not unlike what you would get in a Tonkotsu broth. The noodles in Myojo Chukazanmai's offerings are thin and chewy and seem undercooked despite how long you cook them. They are not fried very deeply and are similar to the fresh noodles you would get in a ramen restaurant. They also taste a little bit starchy, which helps add to the "fresh ramen" taste.

Altogether, this was a decent bowl of ramen. To be honest, I prefer the more "instant" tasting ramen noodles. In other words, the ones that taste like they have been fried in palm oil. I'd leave the fresh ramen to the places that actually make it fresh! But if you are in a place where you just can't get access to a ramen restaurant, then I would recommend this to you when the craving strikes.

Myojo Chukazanmai - Oriental Flavor - 5.5/10

Indomie Instant Noodles - Shrimp Flavor

2007-08-29T08:01:00.000-04:00

I am usually not a fan of seafood flavored ramen. They often come out tasting like aquarium water. However, seafood soups are a staple of Chinese and Korean cuisine and so the neverending array of artificial seafood flavored instant noodles continues. This pack is from IndoMie and is called the Rasa Kaldu Udang flavor. Conveniently, they also translated the name into English (something that they don't always do on their packaging).

Indomie's most popular offering by far is their Mi Goreng. This is for good reason, since the flavors are extremely well executed, with 4 or 5 unique spice packets, depending on your variant. The shrimp flavor, on the other hand, only has two spice packets, one for chili powder and one for the shrimp flavoring. Unlike the Mi Goreng, the shrimp flavor instant noodles are served in a broth.

The Indomie noodles are plain and typical instant noodles. They aren't particularly flavorful since they are usually served with an intense sauce in the Mi Goreng. Here, the shrimp flavor is nice and subtle. It definitely tastes artificial, almost like the manufactured shrimp flavor in Maruchan's shrimp noodles. I was appreciative that there was no aquarium water taste, but overall unimpressed because I have so often seen Indomie do incredible things with their flavor combinations. I don't think their noodle soups are very good, so I would recommend to stick to their dry noodle products like Mi Goreng and Mi Goreng Rasa Baso Sapi.

Indomie Instant Noodles - Shrimp Flavor - 3.5/10

Unif Tung-I Ramen Noodles - Artificial Chicken Flavor

2007-08-18T16:07:00.001-04:00

Artificial chicken flavor seems like an odd thing to proudly display on the front of a ramen package. Since its flavoring comes in the form of a dried powder, it seems safe to say that the chicken flavor is artificial. Why not just say "chicken flavor" like every other pack of ramen? If a pack of ramen is artificial chicken flavor, why would it have a picture of shrimp and fish cakes on the cover? These intriguing questions drove me to pick up this pack at the local 99 Ranch Market to try out.

The noodles themselves were very thin and did have a light nutty flavor. They were pretty typical Taiwanese noodles in that they seemed to be thin and fried a little bit longer than other styles of instant noodles. The broth really didn't taste like chicken at all. Instead, it had a light taste of sesame and salt. It wasn't unpleasant, but certainly lacked distinctive flavor. These noodles do soak up an impressive amount of water, so be sure to add enough to leave you with some broth. I had to add a little extra at the end to accommodate the "soak factor".

This is about as unassuming as they come. The noodles are thin and flavorless and the broth is about as simple as can be. There is nothing bad about these noodles, they are really just nothing special. I would recommend skipping them unless you are also intrigued like I am by the concept of "artificial chicken flavor".

Unif Tung-I Ramen Noodles - Artificial Chicken Flavor - 3.0/10

Paldo Korean Noodle - Chicken Flavor

2007-08-09T23:33:00.001-04:00

Paldo competes in the very crowded Korean instant noodle market. Here in the US, the Paldo packs tend to be a little cheaper than the analogous Samyang or Nong Shim offerings. I had a friend in college who relied on cases of Paldo for subsistence; it was still cheap and the flavor was better than the ultra-cheap American ramen.

The Paldo noodles are thick and chewy like most Korean instant noodles. The pack also contains a lot of noodles: 120g to be exact. There were some strange flat orange squares of textured vegetable protein which I found quite repulsive. I really don't know why Paldo decided to include these, since they were completely out of place and tasted funny as well.

The broth tasted just like chicken broth. Nothing exciting, just the flavor of salt and chicken. There were some scallions and dehydrated carrots in the broth, but I couldn't stop being disgusted by the protein squares. There really wasn't anything remarkable or memorable about these noodles so I wouldn't recommend these. I would recommend going with Nissin Demae instead.

Paldo Korean Noodle - Chicken Flavor - 4.0/10

Indomie - Soto Mie Flavor

2007-08-05T16:21:00.000-04:00

This pack of noodles is made by Indomie and is imported from Indonesia. The flavor is "soto mie", which is a type of noodle soup common in Indonesia. I don't know too much about it, but Wikipedia's page has a little bit more information on Sotos.

Indomie's instant noodles usually have very strong and complex flavors. I am not familiar with Indonesian cuisine at all, and the closest thing I can think of to Indomie's flavors in general is Thai cuisine. They are usually a mix of spicy, sweet, sour, and salty all in one. With that said, I was surprised to discover that this packet had a relatively simple flavor. The broth tasted mostly of lime with a little spiciness and a curry taste, probably from turmeric. However, it was mild to the point of being bland and wasn't a particularly savory or interesting flavor.

The noodles themselves were also boring. Much less flavorful than the typical Japanese and Korean noodles, these were bland and did nothing to improve this dish. I never noticed how bland these noodles were in the past, because they were always coated with Indomie's superb blend of sauces and spices in Mi Goreng Rasa Baso Sapi and Mi Goreng. While those were delicious offerings, I would suggest staying away from this one. You might enjoy it if you enjoy the original dish on which this is based. It remains to be seen whether or not any of Indomie's noodle soups are good, or whether they only excel at dry noodles.

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Indomie - Soto Mie Flavor - 2.0/10

Unif Tung-I Instant Rice Noodle - Chinese Onion Flavor

2007-07-29T03:51:00.000-04:00

This pack of noodles comes from Taiwan and contains rice noodles (mifun) instead of the usual ramen. Note that these noodles are different from rice vermicelli, in case that is what you are looking for. It is quite small (62g) but rice noodles tend to absorb a lot more water than ramen noodles, so it feels like you are eating more than 62g. The flavor of these is based on fried red onion, which is a very common ingredient in Chinese dishes such as fried rice and fried mifun.

The rice noodles are very soft and don't really have much flavor, especially compared to ramen noodles. In this case, they are pretty much tasteless filler to provide contrast with the strongly flavored broth. That's not to say that they seem out of place, however; mifun is commonly used in this manner in Chinese cuisine.

The broth is nice and savory, tasting of pepper and fried red onion. As you can see from the picture, there is a good amount of scallions and fried red onions, which adds a little color and variety of texture. I like the broth, but it is almost boring because this is such a basic and common flavor. But that is just my own personal preference, so if you like the flavor of fried red onion, then you should definitely try this pack!

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Unif Tung-I Instant Rice Noodle - Chinese Onion Flavor - 6.0/10

Sapporo Ichiban - Beef Flavor

2007-07-29T03:49:00.000-04:00

I was extremely surprised to discover that this is the first review of Sapporo Ichiban on this website. I grew up eating these all the time, but for some reason I've been focusing on more exotic varietals recently. This is one of the most common imported brands of ramen in the US; I think I have even seen it at the local grocery store (Ralph's), although it is still much cheaper to buy at the local Asian supermarket (99 Ranch Market). Sapporo Ichiban is imported from Japan and is a major competitor to the Nissin line of instant noodles.

There is only one flavor packet in the Sapporo Ichiban package, so it is quick and convenient to make (as if instant noodles weren't already quick and convenient enough!). The noodles themselves turn out whiter than the packaging indicates, although that's no big deal. Fresh ramen is generally yellowish, so I guess that's why they made the picture more yellow. These noodles are thick and chewy and have a delicious nutty flavor. Sapporo Ichiban instant noodles are on the larger side (100g), so you do get a lot of noodles.

The broth is nice and intensely beefy. There are also a few scallions which give the broth a little more flavor, although it is still tastes quite simple. Despite the straightforward flavor of the broth, it is still has a nice hearty taste, which is quite typical of the Sapporo Ichiban brands. The noodles themselves are able to absorb quite a bit of the broth's flavor, which is nice. I enjoy this pack of noodles because it is relatively plain, yet contains flavorful noodles and no offending qualities.

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Sapporo Ichiban - Beef Flavor - 8.0/10

Ve Wong - Peppered Beef Flavor

2007-07-07T19:08:00.000-04:00

This flavor was my favorite pack of noodles growing up so I was very excited to revisit it and see if my opinion had changed. These noodles come from Taiwan. This is notable because Taiwan is famous for their massively popular style of Beef Noodle Soup.

Taiwanese instant noodles are almost always recognizable from the fact that they are slightly thinner than their Korean and Japanese counterparts. To avoid creating a thin tasteless product (like the American Cup Noodle and Maruchan noodles), the Taiwanese instant noodle manufacturers tend to fry their noodles longer to give more of a nutty flavor. The result is a delicious flavorful noodle that still tastes light and is able to absorb much of the broth flavor.

The broth in these noodles is absolutely fantastic. The beef and pepper flavors are definitely there, but there are still a lot more indescribable hints of flavor that really make the broth seem like something ordered from a restaurant. One of the flavor packets tends to clump into little black bursts of peppery flavor. Sounds a little strange, but these burst clumps are amazingly good. There is also a lot of dehydrated cabbage in this pack that plumps up nicely and adds a nice sweet contrast to the broth. I can't say enough nice things about these noodles and highly recommend them.

Ve Wong - Peppered Beef Flavor - 10.0/10

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Nissin - Sukiyaki Japanese Style Udon

2007-06-21T10:53:00.000-04:00

These Nissin noodles are Sukiyaki flavored. Sukiyaki is a Japanese meal similar to the Chinese style hot pot. Raw meats and vegetables are cooked in broth on a pot on the table and then each diner can grab from the pot and serve himself or herself. According to Wikipedia, the Sukiyaki broth is made primarily of soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine. This pack is also notable for its use of Udon style noodles which is very uncommon for Nissin. Nissin typically relies on their mainstay ramen style noodles which I consider to be one of the best in the business.

I was very surprised to see the shape of the noodles upon making this ramen. Udon noodles are supposed to be very thick, round, chewy, and slippery. These noodles were flat and were most definitely not udon noodles. With that said, they were at least chewy and rather tasty, but I was disappointed not to get true udon style noodles. In the future, I should keep it in mind that true udon style noodles cannot be dried or they will completely lose their shape and consistency. Instant udon noodles are possible, but only in a vacuum sealed fresh configuration like in Ai Men Tsu's Udon noodles.

The broth for these noodles was too sweet for me. It tasted like a typical Japanese udon broth except much sweeter. Perhaps this is what Sukiyaki usually tastes like, but it was still far too sugary for my taste. I prefer my instant noodles to be savory. The noodles themselves were interesting and quite tasty despite the fact that they are definitely not udon style noodles. Maybe if you love Sukiyaki, you could give these noodles a try, but I certainly wouldn't recommend them.

Nissin - Sukiyaki Japanese Style Udon - 3.5/10

Nissin - Chili Flavor

2007-06-21T10:51:00.000-04:00

At first glance, these seem to be the same pack of noodles as the Nissin Demae Ramen Spicy Flavor that I found very disappointing. However, you might notice that the packaging is completely different, which led me to suspect these were completely different noodles. To be honest, I don't know what the difference is between the Nissin and Nissin Demae lines, but I suspect Nissin is manufactured in Japan while Nissin Demae is manufactured in Hong Kong. The American branches of Nissin products are called Top Ramen and Cup Noodle and I suggest you avoid those at any cost.

I was surprised to see the vertical orientation on this bag of ramen, which is quite unusual for Nissin and ramen in general. I can't think of another flavor of Nissin that comes in this orientation. The picture looked quite appetizing despite the presence of an obviously undercooked egg. The packaging contains a beef theme as opposed to the seafood theme found on the Nissin Demae Spicy Flavor wrapper.

When I ate the Nissin Demae Spicy Flavor, my big complaint was that the broth was barely spicy. Thankfully, the Nissin Chili Flavor is very spicy even though the broth appears brown. The noodles themselves are Nissin's standard noodles, which seem to be the same whether they are from Nissin or Nissin Demae. I like these noodles; I would characterize them as being slightly crunchy, medium thickness, and possessing a mild flavor. I recommend this flavor highly for someone that likes Nissin's noodles and is looking for a spicy meal to warm them up.

Nissin - Chili Flavor - 8.5/10

Nissin Demae - Curry Flavor

2007-05-30T01:28:00.001-04:00

Here comes another flavor in the veritable pantheon of Nissin Demae's lineup. It's curry flavor! I expected this one to be fairly straightforward since the powder packet should just contain mostly curry powder. Also, there should be no subtlety to this flavor: just make it taste like curry!

As you might expect, the curry flavor ramen tastes fairly strongly of curry. In addition to this, however, there was also a hint of lemon and creaminess as well. It seems that Nissin Demae likes to give their broths a creamy texture. It's an interesting idea, but I think it is mostly unnecessary for a simple curry flavor.

The noodles are Nissin Demae's standard noodles, which I tend to enjoy due to their slight crispiness. They definitely have a palm oil taste to them too, which makes them very distinctly Nissin Demae flavored. The curry flavor is OK, but is not really a bold flavor like I usually prefer from ramen. However, I would definitely recommend this one if you like curry or just want something mild. I realize that curry is not usually considered a mild flavor; in the world of ramen, however, it is relatively tame compared to some of the extreme fiery or seafoody choices.

Nissin Demae - Curry Flavor - 5.0/10

Ramen Ki-Mama - A Good Place for Your Mama!

2007-05-29T16:49:00.000-04:00

Ramen Ki-Mama
Vasastan, north of Ostermalm
Birger Jarlsgatan 93
Stockholm, Sweden
tel +46 8 15 55 39

On a recent trip to Sweden, this ramen lover was thrilled to have the opportunity to try some ramen on a different continent. Ramen Ki-Mama's sister restaurant, Sushi Ki-Mama, is regarded as the best sushi restaurant in the city, so I had high hopes for its ramen. Fortunately, Ramen Ki-Mama did not disappoint!

Our party of two arrived around 6 PM on a Thursday evening and was immediately seated in the clean but playful restaurant. It is a casual place, as evidenced by the self-serve napkins and chopsticks on every table, but maintains some sophistication with polished tables, a full bar area, and colorful wall murals.

Ramen Ki-Mama offers the three basic ramens (shoyu, shio, and miso) along with a variety of more exotic combinations. While some of these combinations may be pushing the boundaries of authentic ramen, they do use Asian ingredients and flavors. The presence of the three basic ramens is enough to keep a traditionalist happy, while the creative ramens will satisfy more adventurous eaters.

We ordered the shoyu ramen, which comes with roast pork, egg, bamboo, nori, and scallions, and the wakame ramen, which is spicy and comes with primarily chicken and seaweed in a shio broth. Both ramens arrived hot and with beautiful presentation of toppings over generous quantities of noodles.

I was pleasantly surprised that my shoyu ramen was delicious and rivaled even the better West Coast ramen restaurants (or maybe my expectations were set low after my recent trip to Wagamama). The pork was not too fatty, the broth was not too salty, and the noodles were cooked perfectly! The egg was also nicely warm, when all too often it arrives cold in a bowl of hot soup. The wakame ramen was spicy but not overwhelmingly so, and equally as delicious.

In short, you don't need to be in Asia or the US to enjoy an authentic ramen experience. Next time you find yourself in Stockholm, head straight for Ramen Ki-Mama for a bowl of delicious noodles.

Note: At the time of my visit, the exchange rate was approximately 1 USD = 6.8 Swedish KR.

Wagamama - Don't Bring Your Mama

2007-05-28T07:33:00.000-04:00

Wagamama
Faneuil Hall
Quincy Market Building, near Victoria's Secret and Crate & Barrel
(617) 742-9242
Open Mon-Sat 11:30 AM - 11 PM; Sun noon - 10 PM

For many months, I had been eagerly awaiting the opening of internationally heralded noodle bar Wagamama in the US - first in Quincy Market and later this year in Harvard Square. I recently journeyed on a Thursday night to the newly opened Quincy Market location. Needless to say, I was disappointed by just about every aspect of my experience.

First, the wait. Everyone knows that Quincy Market is a huge tourist destination, but on a sweltering Thursday night, it still took my group of four an hour to be seated. We were not given any buzzer that would allow us to leave the immediate area.

Second, the seating. Instead of individual tables, the restaurant is set up with long cafeteria-style seating. So be prepared to rub elbows with giggly high school girls and sweaty fraternity boys, and to be churned out as soon as you're done with your meal. This is not a place to linger.

Third, the menu. While I commend Wagamama for its sensitivity to various types of allergies, the statement that the restaurant "is modelled on the ramen bars which have been popular in japan for hundreds of years" is totally a piece of crock. Not a single ramen item comes with sliced roasted pork, the staple of traditional ramen, or a shoyu broth. Instead, Wagamama offers toppings like grilled chicken breast, grilled salmon, steak, and shrimp in soups of pork and chicken broth accompanied by non-traditional garnishes like lime and carrots.

Fourth, the service. If Wagamama is high-tech enough to give its waiters wireless handheld devices, do they really need to draw all over my paper placemat? In addition, since Wagamama prides itself on making everything "fresh," the dishes are brought out to individuals one at a time. This means that one person in your party can sit and watch his/her food getting cold while the others wait for their meals to arrive at various times. My server was very nice and did everything she was supposed to - the problem was in the conception, not the execution. Well, at least you get free green tea.

Last but not least, the food. I ordered the chili beef ramen, which is described as "noodles in a spicy pork and chicken soup topped with a marinated and grilled sirloin steak, fresh chillis, sliced red onions, beansprouts, coriander, spring onions and a wedge of lime." The dish was so overseasoned that the broth was completely inedible and the rest of the dish almost so. Every bite was dripping with sauce and oil. The steak itself was pretty good, but did not belong in a bowl of ramen. Generally, the flavors were so strong that it was hard to find any texture or subtleties. The portion size was disappointing and left me hungry to order Wagamama's overpriced and underwhelming desserts (which include such hundred year Japanese staples like chocolate fudge cake).

I would like to note that this review was written about Wagamama's ramen specifically, and not the other noodle options available. In fact, some people in my group did enjoy their rice noodles. You might enjoy places like Wagamama if you're the type of person who thinks that PF Chang's is the epitome of Chinese food. But as far as ramen goes, for a more authentic experience, head straight to Ken's Ramen in Allston or Sapporo Ramen in Porter Square instead.

Nissin Demae - Tonkotsu Flavor

2007-05-24T00:04:00.000-04:00

Lately, I've found myself eating a string of Nissin Demae ramens. I'm not really sure why, 99 Ranch Market must have been having a sale or something when I picked these up. Anyhow, these are the Tonkotsu Flavor, which Sandi reviewed nearly 2 years ago!

Tonkotsu flavor is a pretty popular style of fresh ramen, although not as popular as Shio (salt flavored), Shoyu (soy sauce flavored), or Miso (miso flavored). Tonkotsu broth is made out of crushed pork bones and is usually a milky white color. The first sip of this broth reveals its strong pork identity.

One thing that I really like about Nissin Demae noodles is that they retain a tiny bit of crispiness even after being cooked in the broth. I don't like when the noodles get completely soggy like they do with those excuses for noodles that come in styrofoam cups.

I thought that this broth was just too salty. Interestingly, this is a complaint that I also sometimes have with restaurant ramen. The plentiful sesame seeds are a pleasant departure from the ordinary and a nice touch. However, they can't rescue this broth which is just too salty.

Nissin Demae - Tonkotsu Flavor - 4.0/10

Nissin Demae - Spicy Seafood Flavor

2007-05-24T00:03:00.000-04:00

I usually consider the spicy seafood ramen flavors as the specialty of the Korean manufacturers. However, I was excited to see an offering from the Japanese ramen giant Nissin and more than willing to sample it.

One problem that often plagues seafood ramen is the overwhelming pungent fishy flavor. To counteract this, ramen makers often make the seafood based soup very spicy so that the broth is multidimensional. In this case, the broth was extremely garlicky and had a slight creamy nature that seemed to thicken it slightly. The spiciness was definitely strong but was almost deceptive. This is the kind of broth which you will be happily slurping away and then suddenly break out into a coughing fit from the spiciness.

Not surprisingly, the noodles themselves are Nissin's typical noodles. Nothing special, but far better than the stuff that comes in the styrofoam cups. I liked that they decided to complicate the seafood flavor with garlic and spiciness. Altogether, I think that Nissin pulled off this flavor quite well. Still, it's not anything special in the wide range of spicy seafood noodles in the pantheon of ramen.

Nissin Demae - Spicy Seafood Flavor - 6.5/10

Paldo Korean Noodle - Kimchi Flavor

2007-05-17T00:22:00.000-04:00

Although I've never tasted this particular pack of instant noodles, I had a pretty good idea what they would taste like. Most Korean brands specialize in hot and spicy flavors, but Paldo actually has quite an extensive line of non-spicy noodles.

No surprises here as the broth turned bright red upon addition of the flavoring packet. As expected, the broth packed quite a spicy punch. Like their Korean brethren, the noodles themselves tended to be a little thicker and chewier.

Honestly, the flavor of these noodles is practically indistinguishable from other Korean spicy noodles. With that said, they are still all very good and one of my favorite styles of instant noodle. My advice is to buy whichever one happens to be on sale that day!

Paldo Korean Noodle - Kimchi Flavor - 7.0/10

Unif-100 - Tart Beef Flavor Noodles

2007-02-11T17:31:00.000-05:00

"Tart Beef Flavor" sounds a little bit disgusting but I was willing to try it nonetheless. I'm guessing this is supposed to approximate a Chinese dish made with some sort of tart vegetable. I have had decent success with Unif-100 noodles in the past, so I was more than willing to give this one a shot despite the strange flavor.

The first thing that surprised me was the spiciness of these noodles. In fact, the first sip that I took of the broth nearly sent me into a coughing fit! These noodles pack an intense spicy punch! The next thing that surprised me was the large amount of cabbage, scallions and red peppers. It's amazing how large the dehydrated cabbage can plump up in the broth and I really wonder why more ramen manufacturers don't add some in.

The flavor of the broth was complex and unique yet satisfying. The tartness reminded me a little bit of hot and sour soup. It is done in such a way where it doesn't become overly cloying or obnoxious on the tongue. Rather, it balances with the spiciness so that the overall flavor is very unique and addictive.

I rather liked these noodles but can't really see myself buying them again. It's just difficult to develop a craving for such a nuanced flavor when there are simpler things to lust after like beef flavor and hot and spicy. Anyhow, I certainly don't regret getting these and would recommend them to someone looking for a change of pace.

Unif-100 - Tart Beef Flavor Noodles - 6.5/10

Nissin Demae - Chicken Flavor

2007-02-08T11:32:00.000-05:00

I am very familar with Nissin Demae ramen noodles, having often eaten them while growing up. The most popular flavors are probably the beef, chicken, and the spicy flavors. All the Nissin Demae noodles come with the same ramen brick but with different flavoring packets to differentiate them. Some even have a flavored oil packet.

The Nissin Demae noodles are a little crispy and have a nice nutty flavor to them. The broth, as you might expect, tastes like chicken broth. The flavor of these noodles is a little bit weak, so the dish lends itself nicely to a healthy addition of Sriracha sauce.

The Nissin Demae chicken flavor is a nice basic ramen. The noodles themselves are quite delicious and the chicken broth is conservative yet hearty. With some Sriracha sauce, these noodles can be a good, satisfying meal.

Nissin Demae - Chicken Flavor - 6.0/10

Samyang Foods - KalGugSu Noodle Soup

2007-01-27T11:29:00.000-05:00

I am not too familiar with what KalGugSu is supposed to be, but I believe it is a Korean dish made with a shellfish broth and chewy noodles. The picture on the front of this pack seems to corroborate my hypothesis. These noodles are made by Samyang Foods, one of the giants of Korean instant noodles along with Nong Shim and Paldo.

Unlike all other Korean noodles that I've had, KalGugSu's noodles are wide and flat. They are also chewier and maintain their chewiness even when cooked for a long time. The other surprise here is that this pack is not hot and spicy, like almost all other Korean noodles.

For once, I was not completely disgusted by the seafood tasting broth. The taste is quite clammy, but it is done in a savory way that actually tastes like clam. The bits of seaweed and carrot in the broth were helpful as well. I still prefer the hot and spicy types of Korean noodles but this is a nice change of pace. Both the texture of the noodles and the flavor of the broth are very different than the usual fare.

Samyang Foods - KalGugSu Noodle Soup - 6.0/10

Kamfen Noodle King - Beef Soup Flavored

2007-01-07T13:51:00.000-05:00

This pack of ramen comes from China and is a little differently packaged than the standard pack of instant noodles. This is actually a pack for 2 people and contains 130g total. Within the pack, there are two separate bricks of noodles and two separate sets of flavoring spice/oil packets. I'm not sure why Kamfen decided to package two sets of noodles together, I suppose it is to try and shave some cost off the packaging. Still, it seems rather silly because instant noodles are commonly accepted as a single serving in a package.

Despite the fact that each noodle brick was only 65g, it still felt like a lot of noodles and one of the two bricks was definitely enough for me. The soup flavoring was unexpectedly mild and complex and reminded me quite a bit of the ramen that I have had in Japanese restaurants. The beef flavor was quite faint and the taste was quite complex and made up of star anise, ginger, garlic, and other spices.

The noodles themselves are notable because they are quite different than the usual instant ramen. They are quite thin and didn't become soggy even after being cooked. I generally prefer my noodles a little soft and thicker but these remained chewy, which was an interesting change. Since they are so thin, they don't have much flavor, but the soup base was pretty good if you like mild tasting soups.

I was honestly surprised to see that these noodles came from China. The packaging, noodle texture, and soup flavoring all reminded me of the higher quality Japanese noodles like Myojo Chukazanimai. That is quite a compliment, because those high end Japanese ramen are the favorite of many ramen lovers.

My personal preference are for noodles that are more bold in their flavoring, like the fiery red Korean noodles or the savory sweet and spicy Indonesian noodles. But I know a lot of people will like these noodles, especially if they enjoy fresh ramen from restaurants.

Kamfen Noodle King - Beef Soup Flavored - 7.5/10

Ramen King Dies, Aged 96

2007-01-07T13:22:00.000-05:00

It's a sad day for Ramen Lovers all over the world today as news has broken that Momofuko Ando has passed away at the age of 96. This ramen pioneer was the founder of Japan's Nissin Food Products Co. and is credited as being the inventor of instant ramen.

I consider Ando's invention one of food science's greatest innovations in the 20th century. Instant ramen has brought quick and delicious meals to billions of people across the globe. I will honor Ando's passing by enjoying a steaming bowl of instant noodles.

Uni-President - Tung-I Instant Ramen Noodles

2006-12-09T15:21:00.000-05:00

These are definitely the most unique instant noodles I have ever had. There is no specific flavor assigned to these, they are just "Instant Ramen Noodles" with a picture of a Merlin-esque wizard looking through a telescope. Weighing in at a miniscule 40g, these are a really tiny pack of noodles but could work well as part of a larger meal.

The back of the package contains Uni-President's slogan, which is "A Kiss to the Spirit of the Future". These particular noodles are released with several different space themed cartoon images on the packaging like astronauts and planets. I happened to pick the wizard looking through the telescope, but I assume all the different space-themed noodles have the same contents. The amount of noodles is absolutely tiny, but that was OK because I was eating some leftovers with the meal.

As you might expect, there is no distinctive flavor to these, as no particular flavor is even suggested by the packaging. It tasted a little bit like garlic and salt, but nothing was overwhelming. The noodles themselves were quite good. Like most Taiwanese noodles, they were extremely soft and flavorful. The noodles had almost a nutty flavor to them which I think comes from being fried in palm oil. All in all, these noodles were pretty good, but could only serve as a small piece of a bigger meal. I did really enjoy the packaging, though!

Uni-President - Tung-I Instant Ramen Noodles - 5.5/10

Nissin Demae Rice Vermicelli - Spicy Flavor

2006-12-02T13:27:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, I was sorely disappointed by the Nissin Demae Ramen - Spicy Flavor. These are quite similar to those so I was a little wary going in. The Nissin Demae Ramen had just not been spicy at all and lacked much flavor at all. But I have had good success in the past with Nissin Spicy Flavor noodles so I was willing to give this type another try. The packaging is very similar to the packaging for Nissin Demae Ramen, even down to the little cartoon boy carrying a box of noodles.

This pack of noodles is different because it is vermicelli instead of ramen. Vermicelli is a very thin strand of rice noodle that is amazingly absorbent. Because of their huge absorbent properties, these 65g of noodles seem to fill you up more a little bit more than they should.

Unlike the Ramen variant of these noodles, this pack became nice, red and spicy. There is not much flavor to these except for the heat, but that is expected since they are labelled as "Spicy Flavor". The vermicelli tend to stick to each other which is a little annoying, but hardly the fault of Nissin. If you try to pick up a few bite-sized strands to eat, chances are the whole ball will stick to it and get pulled out of the soup. After experiencing these, I can only surmise that my previous negative experience with the Nissin Demae Ramen - Spicy Flavor must have been the victim of a packaging mistake and lacking the hot oil packet.

Nissin Demae Rice Vermicelli - Spicy Flavor - 8.0/10

Samyang Foods Cup Noodle - Hot Beef Flavor

2006-11-18T15:05:00.000-05:00

I don't usually buy the instant noodles that come in disposable packaging; I think it is just a waste from an environmental standpoint. But once in awhile I'll buy one if it looks interesting enough. In this case, my curiosity was piqued by the fact that these are made by Samyang foods, one of my favorite Korean noodle brands.

Unlike most American noodle cups, these contain a flavor sachet under the lid that you need to open up and put on the noodles. I'm guessing that this is so they can package it with a different flavor sachet and instantly change flavors.

The noodles inside bear little resemblance to those found in the "brick" style instant noodles made by Samyang Foods. These are much thinner and less flavorful, much like the noodles found in Nissin Cup Noodle or Maruchan Instant Lunch. Quite a disappointment because I was hoping that they could replicate their tasty noodles in this cup form.

The flavor definitely reminded me of Samyang's other offerings. Unlike those, this had a bunch of chunks of Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP). I don't really like TVP because it just tastes unnatural. But I guess they decided to include it just to be more "beefy". While the flavor of the broth was pretty good, the noodles themselves and the inclusion of TVP ruined this experience for me. From now on, I'm going to stick to Samyang in "brick" form.

Samyang Foods Cup Noodle - Hot Beef Flavor - 4.0/10

Nissin Demae Ramen - Spicy Flavor

2006-11-12T20:55:00.000-05:00

The Nissin Demae Spicy Flavor is one that I remember fondly from my childhood when my family would purchase entire cases of these. I also remember the fiery bliss of having numb lips and tongue after downing one of these.

The packaging has changed a little bit over the years, but the message remains the same: these things are SPICY. I especially like that they don't try to mask the intent of these noodles as "Spicy Beef Flavor" or "Kimchi Flavor" or anything like that. I am very familiar with Nissin Demae's noodles and they represent the default noodles that I think of when I think of instant ramen.

I was very confused when I made these noodles. They looked nothing like I remembered, which was a sea of red, almost as intense as seen on the packaging. The taste was even more disappointing! It really wasn't spicy at all, and tasted mostly of just sesame oil. I have no idea what went wrong, but I'm hoping that I just received a fluke package or something. I will have to pick up another pack of these sometime and find out for sure.

Nissin Demae Ramen - Spicy Flavor - 4.0/10

Wai Wai - Minced Pork Soeng Kreung Flavour Instant Noodle

2006-11-12T20:53:00.000-05:00

As usual, I don't really know what the name of these instant noodles mean, but that didn't stop me from trying them. These are imported from Thailand, so I'm guessing that Minced Pork Soeng Kreung is a Thai dish.

These are on the smallish side for instant noodles, as tend to be the case with imports from Thailand. Thai noodles also tend to be more exotic flavors, which is a sharp contrast with imports other countries, especially Korea.

The noodles themselves were much thinner than the typical instant noodles. They tasted quite good and reminded me of mifun noodles, although these were made with wheat instead of rice. The broth flavoring consists mostly of onion and spicy oil. It was quite good, although I thought it was a little bit too oily. I was a little surprised that these turned out to be spicy, but not disappointed because I rather like spicy instant noodles.

Wai Wai - Minced Pork Soeng Kreung Flavour Instant Noodle - 6.5/10

Samyang Foods - Leebaikyang

2006-11-05T17:23:00.000-05:00

It's hard not to notice these noodles on the shelf with their flaming red packaging. Made by Samyang Foods, the Leebaikyang noodles are imported from Korea and are graced by a trio of jolly musicians on the package. I have no idea what Leebaikyang means, but I have had good success with Samyang Foods in the past, so I decided to try these noodles. Judging by the packaging and where these noodles come from, I would guess that they are probably spicy hot with not much other flavor.

Like all their other products, Samyang noodles are very chewy and need to be cooked a little longer than the average ramen. However, I feel that they also tend to be tastier with a little more flavor as well. They definitely have more substance and will fill you up better.

As I expected, these noodles turned out to be just like every other one of Samyang Food's spicy instant noodles. The spiciness is very strong and has a tangy chili powder flavor. There's a nice amount of scallions and dried shitake mushrooms to add some variety. Nong Shim and Samyang are certainly battling it out to win the Korean hot and spicy noodle battle. Their products are so similar and redundant that I cannot really tell them apart. But they happen to be one of my favorite styles so I am not going to complain!

Samyang Foods - Leebaikyang - 8.0/10

Mr. Kon - Hot Beef Flavor

2006-10-25T10:57:00.000-04:00

I am familiar with the Mr. Kon brand that produces microwavable Chinese pastries such as turnip cakes and scallion pancakes. I assume that this brand of instant noodles is associated with the same Mr. Kon, although you can never be sure with the flaky trademarks of Chinese and Taiwanese imports. I do know that Mr. Kon noodles are one of the most popular brands in China. Also, those microwavable pastries were always pretty good so I figured this pack of noodles would be worth a shot.

The first thing that stands out on the packaging is the fiery red broth. That stuff looks like it might have come out of a volcano or something, but it is certainly inviting to someone who likes spicy things. The flavor of the noodles is helpfully written in Spanish, in case you can't read English nor Chinese. Interestingly, these noodles contain 196% of your recommended daily value of sodium.

I was a little disappointed that my bowl of noodles didn't have the same molten look as shown in the packaging. But they definitely pack a spicy punch. There are even little slices of red chili peppers to kick it up a notch. One thing I liked about these noodles was that you could still taste the beef flavor rather then having the whole thing be overwhelmed by spiciness. There was nothing particularly special about these noodles but you can't really go wrong when the spiciness is overpowering all other flavors. It was a little bit too salty for my taste, so maybe they could scale back a little bit on the 196% RDV of sodium!

Mr. Kon - Hot Beef Flavor - 7.0/10

Ken's Ramen - the Deliciousness is in the Details

2006-10-23T11:47:00.000-04:00

Ken's Ramen (Ken's Noodle House)
1 Brighton Ave
inside the super88 building
Allston, MA 02134
Closed Wednesdays

Nothing beats a chilly Boston evening than eating a hot bowl of noodles. On a recent Saturday night, we had no trouble getting a table at Ken's Ramen. The menu is pretty much unchanged from when I visited earlier this year. There are four or five standard ramens with a clear (salty), soy sauce, or miso broth for around $7. Extra toppings and noodles are available for a few dollars more.

On this trip, we ordered the two specialty ramens. The noodles in the specialty ramens are supposedly imported from Japan, hence the higher cost. The Sapporo specialty ramen is a miso-based broth with egg, roast pork, scallions, corn, bean sprouts, and seaweed.

The other specialty ramen is a clear (salty) broth with similar toppings.

Although the specialty ramens are more expensive than the standard ramens, there are many more toppings to partially justify the additional cost. The ramens are beautifully presented, which heightens the overall experience. The variety of toppings, the intense and fragrant broth, and the texture of the noodles were all very satisfying. We did not taste anything particularly special about the imported noodles, but perhaps we needed a standard ramen for comparison. I would have liked for the meal, particularly the toppings, to be served at a slightly higher temperature.

How does Ken's Ramen compare to Sapporo Ramen in Porter Square? The standard portion size at Ken's, while still a satisfying meal for one person, is significantly less than the gut-busting bowls one gets at Sapporo. However, the quality of the broth and toppings at Ken's far outmatches the run-of-the-mill fare at Sapporo. The artful presentation of the meal at Ken's helps complete a balanced and harmonious ramen experience.

Tung-I Instant Spicy Beef Flavor Noodle

2006-10-08T17:07:00.000-04:00

This particular brand of ramen was a staple in our household growing up. I think the packaging has changed a few times over the years, but the important stuff inside has stayed the same. They are a good example of Taiwanese noodles, which tend to have thinner, more deeply fried noodles.

The picture of the cow on the cover of the packaging is quite disturbing. He looks like he's got mad cow disease or something! But there is not actually any meat inside, so I wasn't actually that disturbed.

I really like the flavor of these noodles. They are savory and spicy and go well with the noodles. There are plenty of carrots and scallions to add a change of pace. The broth is not nearly as spicy as the Korean alternatives, but is still fiery enough to give your lips a tingle. Overall, this pack is definitely recommended.

Tung-I Instant Spicy Beef Flavor Noodle - 8.5/10

Cup Noodles - Salsa Picante Shrimp Flavor

2006-10-08T17:03:00.000-04:00

After sampling Maruchan's Lime Chili Flavor With Shrimp, I decided to experiment with Cup Noodles analogous flavor. The packaging is remarkably similar to the Maruchan brand and I would have a tough time telling them apart if I wasn't impeccably trained to recognize the packaging of instant noodles.

Although Nissin is a Japanese company, the Cup Noodles line found in the US are designed and manufactured within the US. The true imports from Japan are found under the brand name Nissin Demae. The Nissin Cup Noodles are similar in a lot of ways to the Maruchan Instant Lunch line. They come in a styrofoam cup and are filled with cheap inferior quality noodles. But they are really easy to make as all you need to do is add boiling water and wait a few minutes. So, for the uber-lazy, they are really quite convenient.

In a lot of ways, these noodles were similar to Maruchan's. The noodles themselves have little taste and are annoyingly thin. Overall, the flavor was not nearly as good as Maruchan's. The lime flavor was there, but tasted more like vinegar than citrus. So although they look like twins, the Maruchan version is far superior. With all that said, if you have an opportunity to avoid American made ramen, by all means take it!

Cup Noodles - Salsa Picante Shrimp Flavor - 4.5/10
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Maruchan Instant Lunch - Lime Chili Flavor With Shrimp

2006-09-17T19:59:00.000-04:00

Amazingly, the Ramen Lovers blog has not reviewed a single American instant noodle up to this point. So at Ralph's last week, I decided to pick up the most disgusting sounding flavor of Maruchan just to prove once and for all the utter crappiness of American ramen. This particular one is Lime Chili Flavor With Shrimp.

Maruchan's headquarters is just a stone's throw away from my office in Irvine, CA. Surprisingly, Maruchan has become immensely popular in Mexico, which may partially explain their headquarters' location in Southern California. This particular flavor may be designed to appeal to Mexican tastes, as it contains Lime and Habanero chili, both of which are commonly found in Mexican cuisine (and not in Asian cuisine).

The Instant Lunch line of noodles comes with their own styrofoam cup, so all you need to do is fold back the lid and pour some boiling water in. The biggest strike against the Maruchan brand is the cheap inferior noodles they use, and this one is no exception. They are extremely thin and completely flavorless. I guess Maruchan doesn't realize that good noodles can actually enhance the experience.

I was shocked by how good the broth turned out. They certainly lived up to their billing, being extremely hot and spicy, yet with a strong flavor of lime as well. The dehydrated shrimp were a nice touch, instead of being disgusting as I had expected. As with most Maruchan instant noodles, there is a pleasantly high amount of vegetables. Overall, these had a very good flavor, but I wish the noodles themselves matched up to the surprisingly flavorful and potent broth.

Maruchan Instant Lunch - Lime Chili Flavor With Shrimp - 6.5/10

Maggi - Tom Yam Flavour

2006-09-10T12:16:00.000-04:00

From the makers of the ubiquitous Maggi sauce comes these noodles. Even though Maggi is owned by Nestlé, these noodles are imported from Malaysia. I had very high hopes for these, considering they came from a reputable brand and Tom Yam flavour seemed like a good idea at the time.

As a disclaimer, I have never had Tom Yam soup before, but I have heard great things about it from friends. Wikipedia describes it as a "hot and sour soup flavored with fish sauce". Hmm, maybe that should have been my first warning sign. Sour and fish flavored things usually don't come off well in instant noodles. The additives to these noodles consisted of a powder pack and a sauce pack filled with a dark brown thick sauce.

Looks innocent enough from the picture, right? But what you don't see is the pungent and noxious sour taste of this broth. These noodles are hot and spicy but are also disgustingly sour. To make matters worse, there is a strong fishy taste on top of everything. Maybe I just don't like Tom Yam soup, but I think these noodles are just plain bad. Maggi should stick to making sauces!

Maggi - Tom Yam Flavour - 0.0/10

Nissin Demae XO Sauce Seafood Flavor

2006-09-10T09:40:00.000-04:00

As this ramen blog has established, the Nissin Demae ramen line is typically mediocre with cardboard-like noodles and very little flavor. Nevertheless, I decided to the XO Sauce Seafood Flavor out of curiosity. What is XO sauce?

The ramen comes with three packets - a soup base, "oil", and a brown paste. The soup base has some dehydrated green onions that plump up nicely in the soup.

The noodles were definitely the typical Nissin Demae noodles - I could identify these in a blind taste test I think. The broth tasted quite strongly of the artificial seafood flavor common to instant ramen and the oil provded a nice creaminess to the meal. However, I'm still not sure what XO sauce is - it tasted somewhat garlicky. Nevertheless, this is probably my favorite of the Nissin Demae ramens that I've tried so far.

Ve Wong Noodle - Vegetarian Flavor

2006-09-02T14:01:00.000-04:00

"Vegetarian Flavor" and "Instant Noodles" are not words that should go together, but I bravely picked this one up from the local 99 Ranch Market anyway. It's made by Ve Wong, which is a noodle company based in Taiwan.

As you might expect, the powder packet contained a fair amount of dried seaweed and carrots which magically plumped up when water was added. The weird thing that there were some TVP chunks as well. TVP stands for "textured vegetable protein" and is used as a cheap meat substitute. But why would they be including it in something that was meant to be vegetarian flavored anyways??

The only way I can think of to describe these noodles is that it is a spinach soup. In other words, not very good. I wasn't expecting much from these noodles, and they certainly didn't deliver much. But at least it didn't repulse me like some shrimp or crab flavored noodles. From now on I will be sticking to noodles that taste like meat, hot & spicy, miso, udon, etc...

Ve Wong Noodle - Vegetarian Flavor - 3.0/10

Nissin Demae Miso Flavor

2006-08-30T17:54:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you're just not in the mood to set your mouth on fire or consume an entire 120g ramen. In those times, Nissin Demae is a good reliable brand that will provide a tasty meal in a manageable portion.

The miso flavor comes with two spice packets. I'm not sure what the difference is between the two, since they are both brown powders. Nevertheless, the result is fragrant and flavorful. It doesn't taste anything like miso - but since when were ramen flavors supposed to taste like how they are advertised?

The picture on the front of this ramen shows veggies and meats. The miso flavor would definitely be a great base upon which to add toppings. The packets lack dried veggies, such as green onions or carrot flakes, that provide needed color and texture to many other ramens. But on the whole, this is a thoroughly solid ramen that should be a staple in every Ramen Lover's pantry.

Nong Shim - Chapagetti

2006-08-06T18:24:00.000-04:00

Here's a flavor that's pretty different than the standard instant noodles that you find. It is based on a common Chinese and Korean dish called Chajang Myun. This dish is traditionally served with ground beef or pork and a slightly sweet sauce made with black bean paste. I am not really a fan of this dish, but I was curious as to what the instant noodle version would taste like.

"Chapagetti" is certainly an interesting name for these noodles. I guess they are trying to say that it is a blend of Chajang and Spaghetti...? These noodles have a little different cooking instructions than what you usually see since they are not supposed to be served with soup. You must boil the noodles in water and then drain them and add tablespoons of water and add the sauce packets to create the sauce.

These noodles came in the convenient circular brick form, although this convenience was largely lost since the cooking method required independent boiling. The circular brick is really only helpful when you can cook the noodles in the bowl and not have to drain them.

Strangely, the sauce came in pellet form but dissolved easily enough in the water to form a very dark sauce. The flavor was surprisingly mild. It definitely tasted like the right kind of flavor, it's just not as strong as I am used to getting when this dish is homemade or served in a restaurant. I won't be buying this again because it just wasn't that good. Nong Shim is a quality brand, but don't go for this one!

Nong Shim - Chapagetti - 5.0/10

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Mi Hai Cua - Crab Flavour

2006-07-29T14:58:00.000-04:00

Here's one that I picked mostly for the weirdness factor. The Mi Hai Cua brand is imported from Singapore and this particular packet is crab flavoured. The picture on the cover is not particularly appetizing, showing two uncooked blue crabs (they turn red after they've been cooked). Despite previous bad experiences with Unif-100 and Kung-Fu shrimp flavored ramen, I was willing to give this one a shot, mostly just to see what it was like.

Well, the good news is that the seafood flavour wasn't very pervasive. However, the bad news was that the seafood flavour was pretty much nonexistent. I won't say that these noodles were bland, but they certainly lacked distinction. Actually, it reminded me a lot of the other two Shrimp Flavored ramen that I have had before, although this one didn't have as much fishiness as those.

Overall, it was not something that I would throw away, but it was definitely not something I would buy again either. The flavor was certainly not bad, there was just really no flavor besides MSG and salt in here. My advice is to stay away from all seafood related flavors unless they are hot and spicy as well!

Mi Hai Cua - Crab Flavour - 2.5/10

Samyang Ramen

2006-06-10T15:24:00.000-04:00

I have been trying a lot of Samyang's offerings recently, specifically Sogoki Myun, Sutah Ramen, Kimchi Ramen, and Pojangmacha U-Dong. But this one has the special privilege of being named after the company: Samyang Foods.

The packaging reminded me of a box of Tide detergent but I didn't let that stop me from trying it. No surprises on the inside...like almost every other Korean ramen in the world, there is a big block of noodles with a spice packet and a dried vegetable packet.

The steam from the broth fogged up my camera lens! But let me tell you, this was quite a tasty ramen with plenty of heat yet plenty of flavor as well. I especially liked the shitake mushrooms included in the veggie packet. You don't see that very often for some reason yet they add a lot of potent bursts of flavor to the whole package. This is quite similar to Samyang's Sogoki Myun, Sutah Ramen and Kimchi Ramen but comes together a little bit better. Very satisfying and deserving of the Samyang name!

Samyang Ramen - 9.0/10

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Myojo Chukazanimai - Soy Sauce Flavor

2006-06-03T12:45:00.000-04:00

Well, this one was quite different from anything I've ever tried before. I suspect this is what Japanese instant ramen is really intended to be, but I can't say for sure since I've never been to Japan. But I suspect Nissin is a bastardized and mass produced version of what the Japanese consider instant ramen.

The packaging here is noticably different than the usual instant noodles. The Myojo Chukazanimai comes in a thin and flat package. As I opened it, I was definitely expecting something different than the usual experience. The biggest difference between this one and other instant ramen is in the noodle quality. Myojo Chukazanimai's noodles were much chewier and flavorful then the usual fare. In fact, they reminded me quite a lot of the fresh ramen I have had at various restaurants...which is a good thing, of course.

The soup had strong flavors of soy sauce and onion. There was a slight hint of sesame oil as well. I felt like the soup's flavor was too strong, but I know a lot of ramen restaurants serve soup that is just as strong as this stuff. This was the closest approximation I have ever had to the fresh ramen that is served in a restaurant. So if you like that kind, you will probably like this kind too!

Myojo Chukazanimai - Soy Sauce Flavor - 6.0/10

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Unif-100 - Shallot Beef Flavor Noodles

2006-05-28T14:06:00.000-04:00

Even though I've been previously burned by President Unif-100 noodles, I managed to forgive them for that travesty. After all, it's very difficult to pull off a Shrimp flavor that doesn't taste like aquarium water. Shallot beef flavor, on the other hand, should be a much easier flavor to design. Just add some salt and beef flavoring and you're set.

No real surprises with this ramen. It's a little bit spicy to cover the fact that there isn't much flavor there besides salt. The flavor packets consist of a powder packet, a packet of scallions and cabbage, and a flavored oil packet.

Overall, this was a decent soup but I prefer the competitors such as Ve Wong's Peppered Beef Flavor which is rather similar to this one but tastes a little better. My biggest beef (pun intended) is that the Unif-100 noodles just aren't very tasty. This will be a flaw that will affect them across all their product lines.

Unif-100 - Shallot Beef Flavor Noodles - 6.5/10

Sogoki Myun - Beef Flavor

2006-05-21T11:50:00.000-04:00

The packaging of this reminded me very much of the Kimchi Ramen I had a few weeks ago, which was also made by Samyang Foods. I guess you could say they are part of the same family of large Korean instant noodles with relatively basic flavors.

These noodles turned out to be much spicier than I had anticipated. It's not quite up to the heat level of Shin Ramyun, but it definitely has more kick than you might expect from the packaging, which gives no hint that it might be spicy inside. I guess these Korean packages don't need to indicate spiciness, since pretty much all Korean instant noodles are spicy. The exception is the Chajung Myun varieties.

Couldn't really taste any beef flavor because the heat from the broth overwhelmed the taste. Overall, these were decent simple noodles that didn't do very much to distinguish themselves in my mind positively or negatively.

Sogoki Myun - Beef Flavor - 7.0/10

Ve Wong Noodle - Pork & Chicken Flavor

2006-05-13T18:06:00.000-04:00

I am much more familiar with Ve Wong's Peppered Beef Flavor, but I couldn't resist picking this up when 99 Ranch Market had a Buy One, Get One Free sale.

As you might expect, the noodles in this pack are identical to those in the Peppered Beef Flavor. The Ve Wong noodles come with a good quantity of seaweed, cabbage, and carrot which add some nice variety and texture to the noodles.

I wonder what genius at Ve Wong decided to combine pork and chicken into the same flavor. Well, it kind of works, in that the soup is very savory and definitely meat-flavored, although the meat's identity is a little bit obscure. The noodles are pretty tasty and are pretty thin and soft, as is typical of Taiwanese instant noodles. Overall, these noodles are worth a try if you are into a savory meat flavor without any spiciness.

Ve Wong Noodle - Pork & Chicken Flavor - 6.5/10

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Mama Pad Thai - Stir Fried Flavor

2006-05-06T14:21:00.000-04:00

These 70g miniscule noodles are so small they would only be suitable for feeding a small child or large pet. Despite this drawback, I went ahead and tried them, intrigued by the prospect of Pad Thai in a bag. As you might or might not expect, these are imported from Thailand.

Mama Pad Thai had a different cooking method than anything I've ever seen before. They want you to pour boiling water into the bowl with the noodles and then drain the noodles after 3 minutes and add the spices. In concept it is somewhat similar to Indomie Mi Goreng's cooking method.

As you can tell from the picture, these are rice noodles rather than the usual wheat noodles found in instant noodles. I added a fried egg since I am not a small child or large pet and require a little more substance to a meal.

The taste was quite good! A little bit similar to Mi Goreng, the Mama Pad Thai is very sweet and quite spicy. It was surprisingly sweet, but it also had a good savoriness to the noodles. There is a good taste of shallots if you enjoy that taste. If anything, the flavor was a little bit too strong for the amount of noodles they provided. My suggestion would be to increase the amount of noodles and tone down on the sweetness a little bit.

Mama Pad Thai - Stir Fried Flavor - 8.0/10

IndoMie - Mi Goreng Rasa Baso Sapi

2006-04-29T13:07:00.000-04:00

I had previously lamented the fact that IndoMie's offerings are only 85g and are rather inadequate, especially with the increased effort of having to open up to 5 flavor packets. So I was happy to find the "Jumbo" version of one of IndoMie's Mi Goreng Rasa Baso Sapi, which comes in at 120g. The translation of the name is "Beef Fried Noodles".

IndoMie's noodles generally have cooking instructions slightly different than typical instant noodles. You are supposed to cook the noodles and dump all the seasoning packets onto a plate. Then, you drain the noodles and transfer them to the plate and mix everything together. It seems like a cool idea to have 5 flavoring packets (seasoning powder, seasoning oil, sweet soy sauce, chili powder, and fried onion), but it turns into a giant pain when it is actually time to open them all, especially since they are attached to each other.

Overall, the taste was quite similar to the IndoMie Mi Goreng that I tried before. The noodles are rather oily and the taste is dominated by the sweet soy sauce and the fried red onion. The flavor is quite good and unique and I'm glad that IndoMie has a reasonable size instead of their tiny 85g package.

IndoMie - Mi Goreng Rasa Baso Sapi - 8.5/10

Pojangmacha - U-Dong

2006-04-22T20:00:00.000-04:00

Ever wonder what happens when you take the spiciness out of instant Korean noodles? That's what I set out to discover when I tried these noodles.

Upon opening the package, I was mildly displeased that the noodles didn't resemble Udon noodles at all and were instead the normal noodles that you find in Korean instant noodle packages. Udon noodles are supposed to be much thicker and chewier, but these were the same noodles you might find in Shin Ramyun. I was also shocked to discover what looked like a piece of burnt and melted plastic. I soon realized that it was just a dried piece of seaweed, though. I've never seen that before in instant noodles and was mildly intrigued by it.

Well, this turned out to be a rather bland and uninteresting ramen. There's little flavor to the broth besides salt and MSG. The seaweed turned out to be overly chewy and bad-tasting. Overall, it was an unremarkable experience which was saved only by the fact that I added chicken to liven things up a bit. I think the Korean instant noodle soup manufacturers should stick to what they know best: spicy spicy spicy!

Pojangmacha - U-Dong - 5.0/10

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President Unif-100 - Furong Shrimp Flavor Noodles

2006-04-16T14:48:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure why I bought this pack of noodles except maybe just pure curiosity. Although I love shrimps, I'm not usually a fan of shrimp in ramen form...because quite frankly, shrimps (unlike chili peppers) do not translate well to a powdered soup flavoring.

The name of these noodles was "Furong Shrimp Flavor Noodles". I have no idea what Furong means and a Google search only turned up a Chinese cult-celebrity named Furong Jiejie who is apparently their equivalent William Hung. Maybe those two should get together! Supposedly, Furong refers to a flower that has been used to describe young beauty, but still I don't know how this relates to shrimp or noodles!

As you can see, I added some grilled chicken to the mix to add some non-harmful nutritional value to this meal. After tasting these noodles, I suspect that "Shrimp Flavor" is something that ramen manufacturers use to describe something that has no real flavor besides salt and a hint of fish paste. In other words, it didn't taste like shrimp at all. Then again, I'm not sure if I would have wanted to eat something that was pervasively shrimpy. I was pleasantly surprised by the high amount of seaweed and scallions, but that couldn't make up for the fact that this stuff didn't have a particularly nice flavor that certainly didn't match what it was advertised as.

In conclusion, don't vote for President Unif-100! Well, maybe the other flavors are good, I don't know...

President Unif-100 - Furong Shrimp Flavor Noodles - 3.0/10

Samyang Foods - Kimchi Ramen

2006-04-08T13:26:00.000-04:00

I had a pretty good idea what this ramen was going to taste like before I opened it. That's because it falls into the category of Korean ramens which tend to share several two characteristics: they are spicy and contain a lot of noodles.

Interestingly, this ramen advertised itself as being Kimchi flavored, instead of just Hot & Spicy as usual. Luckily, I consider myself an expert on Kimchi, so I am fully qualified to determine whether or not the flavor is truly Kimchi, or if it is just sneaky false advertising. For those unfamiliar with Kimchi, it is a Korean side dish consisting of spicy fermented cabbage. Sounds kind of gross but it is actually quite good. Interesting to see how it would taste in ramen form.

Well, it turned out to fall a little short of my lofty expectations. It didn't really have the distinctive tang and bite of real Kimchi. Instead, it seemed just like every other Korean ramen that I have ever had: it was spicy and contained lots of noodles. That's just fine with me, since I happen to enjoy Korean noodles. Still a little disappointing that it didn't quite live up to the big Kimchi printed across the front!

Samyang Foods - Kimchi Ramen - 7.0/10

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Tung-I Ramen Noodle - Chinese Onion Flavor

2006-04-02T13:15:00.000-04:00

I bought these noodles because I had a faint memory of enjoying them as a child. Chinese onion refers to fried red onions, which are a common ingredient in Chinese cooking and can be used in a similar way to garlic.

These noodles were very fragrant after I started cooking them. The flavoring basically consists of salt and fried red onion, so you better like the taste of these onions if you are going to be eating this ramen.

Overall, I quite liked these ramen, although my opinion of them has changed since my childhood. I wish they had a little more spice to them, either a pepper flavor or some spiciness. Now, I realize that I really should have added my Sriracha sauce to this to make it perfect, but the thought didn't occur to me at the time. I'll have to buy them again in order to do this!

Tung-I Ramen Noodle - Chinese Onion Flavor - 7.5/10

Paldo Korean Broad Noodle

2006-03-27T20:59:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you open a package of ramen and you know it's going to be a winner. Other times you open a package of ramen and you know it's going to be a dud. And then, there are those rare surprises when you think it's a dud but it ends up being a winner.

Paldo Korean Broad Noodle is one of those rare surprises. It weighs in as the biggest ramen yet, 123 grams, but it's worth every bite.

The noodles come with a single flavoring packet, which looks like a slimy brown liquid roughly resembling soy sauce. The package did not identify a specific flavor like beef or seafood. So with low expectations, I squeezed out the liquid into the noodles and set it aside while I prepared the egg and vegetables, assuming it would be some generic weak soy sauce flavor.

Lo and behold, a few minutes later I turned back and the brown gunk had become a flavorful red broth with little hot oil bubbles around the edges!

Better yet, the taste of the ramen blew me away. While calling the noodles "broad" is a bit of an overstatement, they are slightly bigger than typical ramen noodles and have a nice heft and chewy texture. They also absorbed the aroma of the broth, which itself was slightly spicy, garlicky, and unique. The ingredient list identifies the unique taste as a "red pepper sauce," something not often found in instant ramen. The taste was intense but not overwhelming, spicy but not inedible (like certain other Korean ramens).

I usually don't drink most of the broth in ramen because of the sodium and preservatives. But this time, it was "good till the last drop!"

Six Fortune Instant Beef Noodle - Stay Away!

2006-03-23T09:31:00.000-05:00

Six Fortune Instant Beef Noodle is a 120g Korean ramen that comes with two packets - a veggie packet and a seasoning packet. If you couldn't tell from the title of this post, this was one of the worst ramens I have ever eaten and one of the few I have actually regretted eating later.

The broth tasted extremely bland and nothing at all like beef. The veggie packet had scallion flakes and these weird spongy brown things, which I had no idea what they were but added nothing to the overall ramen experience. The noodle texture was too stiff, not chewy, and did not absorb what little flavor was in the soup. In summary, avoid eating this ramen!

Blue Ocean Japanese Restaurant

2006-03-16T21:22:00.002-05:00

Blue Ocean Japanese Restaurant
9440 Main St
Fairfax, VA 22031
(703) 425-7555

This Ramen Lover has been in Virginia all week. Although the DC area has very few ramen restaurants, we found out that Blue Ocean has it! Their menu is mostly a traditional Japanese restaurant menu - sushi, sashimi, and rice dishes. They also had a wide variety of udon and soba noodles. There is only one type of ramen, and it was not described in the menu at all, so I was a bit hesitant about ordering it, but I wasn't about to pass up a chance at ramen!

The ramen arrived and I was immediately impressed with the presentation. It was essentially a shoyu (soy sauce) ramen with the thin yellow noodles, topped with a slice of roast pork, a fish cake, fresh scallions, half a boiled egg, nori, and fresh bamboo. The toppings were arranged artfully on top of the soup. The taste did not disappoint - the yellow noodles were the perfect texture to accompany the broth and were of a wonderful consistency, chewy and sleek. The broth was fragrant yet light. Overall, the combination of ingredients somehow melded together beautifully and the ramen was truly a delight to eat!

Paldo Korean Noodle - Chicken Flavor

2006-03-16T09:22:00.000-05:00

Paldo Korean Noodle - Chicken Flavor is a 120g Korean ramen, shaped in a rectangle, that comes with two packets. One contains vegetables (green onion and dried thin tofu squares) and the other is a spice packet.

I did not really like this ramen. The broth flavor tasted pretty much like chicken broth - no special fragrances or tastiness. The noodles also did not soften as much as I would like and I'm not sure whether it absorbed much soup flavor, since the soup was so bland anyway. I would not recommend this ramen for eating again.

Su Tah Ramen Noodle Soup

2006-03-12T21:30:00.000-05:00

I think I was initially drawn to this packet of ramen by the similiarity of its name to the popular Sudoku puzzles. But the similarities stop soon after. For one thing, Sudokus are popular number puzzles and Su Tah Ramen is a noodle soup.

These are a hefty 120g, much like other Korean noodles such as the popular Nong Shim line. No such luck in getting a circular block, though. The ramen was as square as a wheel in The Flintstones.

Upon eating the noodles, I was in for a shock. These were quite hot and spicy! Turns out the packaging had written in tiny print, "Rich Hot Flavor". I've highlighted it in the picture below so you can see just how hidden this was!

This ramen reminded me very much of Nong Shim, especially their Shin Ramyun. In a blind taste test, I would be hard pressed to tell the difference. I think the Shin Ramyun Hot & Spicy is still spicier though. Still, a comparison to Shin Ramyun is high praise and I was quite satisfied with these noodles.

Su Tah Ramen Noodle Soup - 8.0/10

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Sapporo Ramen - Clear Moyashi Flavor

2006-03-06T11:26:00.000-05:00

Sapporo Ramen
Porter Exchange Building

Sapporo Ramen, located in the food court at the Porter Exchange Building, has three types of broths - soy sauce, miso, and clear. Since I have never had the clear (salty) flavor there before, I decided to try the clear moyashi over the weekend. The moyashi comes with ground park and heaps of Chinese vegetables, including bean sprouts and Chinese broccoli, for around $8.

Overall, I found the flavor to be fairly bland and in most respects inferior to the soy sauce and miso broths. One positive point to the clear flavor is that since it is so light, one is able to taste the flavors of pork and vegetable in the soup when you are drinking it, as opposed to an overwhelming soy sauce or miso taste. The noodles, meat, and vegetables were standard - I especially like the generous portions of vegetables that come with the moyashi selection. The serving size is large enough to comfortably feed two people for lunch. In summary, a nice ramen, but only if you are looking for a light subtle flavor.

Wei-Chuan Stewed Beef Noodle Soup with Vegetable

2006-03-05T16:53:00.000-05:00

These noodles are in a different class than most of the noodles reviewed on this website, but I thought I'd include it anyway. Unlike most other instant noodles, no water needs to be added to this. Instead, it comes in a plastic bowl with beef and vegetables already included. The bowl needs to be kept frozen.

I am quite familiar with some of Wei-Chuan's products, especially their pickled cucumbers and dried noodles, and have been pleased with their quality in the past. This noodle bowl is very convenient because all you have to do is pop it in the microwave and it's soon ready to eat.

As you can tell by this picture, the noodle soup came out looking delicious. The meat was soft and surprisingly fatty. I would have expected leaner cuts, but the fatty cuts were definitely delicious. The noodles were quite good, definitely tastier and more substantial than the kind found in dried instand noodles.

All in all, I would be perfectly satisfied if I received this in a restaurant. Of course, I have had better, but this is by no means inferior to the typical beef noodle soup served in a decent Chinese restaurant. The portion size is quite small compared to what you would normally get in a restaurant. Also, the addition of some scallions would have been nice. However, I was pleasantly surprised by these noodles and would definitely get them again...if there weren't already a decent Chinese restaurant across the street!

Wei-Chuan Stewed Beef Noodle Soup with Vegetable - 9.0/10

Ai Men Tsu Noodle - Udon Chilli Beef Flavor

2006-03-02T12:56:00.000-05:00

These noodles are the first instant noodles that I have ever had that aren't dried. They can be found in the refrigerated section of Asian grocery stores. This specific brand is imported from Taiwan.

Don't panic! That cloudy stuff on the top of the soup is from the egg that I added. Following the instructions, I added 500cc of water, which turned out to be way too much. So much so that it diluted the taste of the soup. Perhaps they were expecting more water to boil off, especially since the microwave instructions only call for 350cc of water.

Well, it was hard to figure out what this was supposed to taste like since everything was too dilute. The noodles were nicely thick and chewy, but didn't have much flavor since there wasn't much to absorb from the soup. Interestingly, the scallions were extremely potent, unlike the tasteless filler that they usually put in instant noodles.

Next time, I'll be sure to add only about 350cc of water when making this on the stove!

Ai Men Tsu Noodle - Udon Chilli Beef Flavor - 6.0/10

Nong Shim Beef Noodle Soup

2006-02-27T19:54:00.000-05:00

Nong Shim Beef Noodle Soup is a 120 gram circular ramen with two packets - one with vegetable flakes and one with seasoning powder.

Most of the 120 gram ramens that I have eaten have been incredibly spicy and flavorful. So, it was hard not to be a little disappointed by the relative blandness and gentle flavors of this non-spicy ramen. The seasoning powder smelled delicious as the noodles were cooking, but I found the broth to be only so-so and the noodles just standard. The vegetable flakes, while promising in their abundance, did not really rehydrate in the thin soup and did not have much flavor either. The "beef" taste was pretty much nonexistent. All in all, a completely average ramen. I'm sticking to hot and spicy in the future!

Cafe Mao

2006-02-06T23:48:00.000-05:00

A founding member of the Ramen Lover cult invited me to join after we had a ramen lunch in Cafe Mao on his recent visit to Dublin. This is my acceptance!

Cafe Mao

The Mill Pond Civic Square
Dundrum Town Centre
Dundrum
Dublin 14
Ireland

Cafe Mao is at the heart of Dublin's newest and trendiest shopping district- Dundrum Town centre. Its chic decor and airy atmosphere were certainly welcoming for a ramen novice like myself. The menu was straightforward. It included a chilli scale, from 1-4, to illustrate the spiciness of each dish and also indicated which dishes had a low fat content. I ordered the Chilli Chicken Ramen which had 3chillies and was advertised as low fat. The description read "chilli marinated breast of chicken on egg noodles with pokchoy and chilli herb broth." We enjoyed some Mao home brewed bottled beers, whilst waiting on our food, which even had a picture of Mao on the front! I tasted the broth first and loved it instantly. It was hearty, tasting of the veggies, chicken and chillies. The vegetables included red onions, red peppers, sliced chillies, bean sprouts and pokchoy. The chicken was laid on top of the dish, which Alvin informed me is not traditional but rather for presentation purposes only.

I encountered a minor problem with the chicken before I had to the chance to taste it. The entire fillet was sliced into only five pieces, which proved difficult to eat with chopsticks since each piece was easily three bites! When I finally managed to pick-up the first brick, it tasted great. It was juicy and moist on the inside and perfectly chilli sealed on the outside. On reaching the noodles we discovered that we had been deceived! I was not eating ramen noodles. After a consultative assessment with Alvin we concluded that there were in fact two types of noodles- Chow mein, disguising as ramen, on a bed of lo mein. In all honestly, had such an experienced Ramen Lover not been present, I never would have known! The noodles, despite their inaccuracy, were more than satisfying. In fact, Cafe Mao are free to fool me any time so long as it tastes this good! Nearing the end, the smack of the broth managed to get the better of me and I had to give up for fear of combustion. In all, a fine restaurant and a dish I would happily order a second time.

Mr. Kon Spicy Hot Pork Rib Flavor

2006-02-01T08:12:00.000-05:00

As soon as I opened the flavoring packets, I knew that Mr. Kon was going to be a winner! My digital camera died, so no pictures, sorry. Mr. Kon is a 120 g ramen that comes with three packets - vegetable flakes, seasoning powder, and hot oil. The vegetable flakes are fairly low quality compared to other 120 g ramens of this type, but I was impressed by the flavorful aroma of the seasoning powder.

After cooking, I was pleased to find out that the ramen lived up to my high expectations. The noodles and broth were extremely flavorful and were actually both spicy and hot (as opposed to just hot). The spiciness reminded me mostly of peppercorns. And, there was actually a distinctive flavor separate from the spiciness and hotness that did taste similar to pork ribs! The noodles themselves were fairly good - not excessively chewy and they absorbed flavor well.

All in all, a terrific ramen that I will certainly buy again. My only suggestion for improvement is to increase the quantity and quality of the vegetable flakes.

IndoMie Instant Noodles - Mi Goreng

2006-01-20T13:21:00.000-05:00

Sandi has already reviewed these Indonesian noodles, but I thought I would add my own two cents. First off, they come in a miniscule 85g package. Interestingly, my packaging is different than the one Sandi had. I suspect that she had the English version, since mine had no English whatsoever on it. In fact, I had to try to deduce the cooking instructions based on the pictures. Good thing it's pretty simple to make instant noodles.

Unlike most instant noodles, these need to be drained of water before you add the flavoring. It seemed kind of cool that there were 5 seasoning sachets until I realized what a pain this was. First of all, they are attached to each other so you need to cut them apart in order to open them. Secondly, the sauces (especially the soy sauce) is strangely thick and it's impossible to squeeze them out with getting the sauce all over your fingers. Not an auspicious way to begin your meal...

Reading over Sandi's old post, I realize that my flavor sachets were actually different from hers. I had 5 total, which were seasoning oil, chili oil, strangely thick soy sauce, seasoning powder, and fried red onion. The fried red onion was a great touch. As expected, this conglomeration of diverse flavors produces a complex and interesting flavor to the noodles. Very tasty, but it is disappointing that the size is so small and it is almost a hassle to add all the ingredients. Plus, I think I am traumatized by that soy sauce. Honestly, it has the appearance and consistency of Hershey's chocolate syrup! But I feel the flavor more than makes up for these deficiencies. I probably won't get these noodles again just because they are too small...it's a shame since the flavor is quite good.

IndoMie Instant Noodles - Mi Goreng - 7.5/10

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Super Noodles - Southern Fried Chicken Flavour

2006-01-16T12:49:00.000-05:00

This offering from Super Noodles is a new addition to the line, just like the Spag Bol flavour. This is shown by the "NEW on the range" slogan in the corner. I'm not really sure what Southern Fried Chicken is supposed to taste like, but it seems to fit in with the Southwestern theme also found in Buffalo Flavour Hunky Dorys.

The noodles in the various Super Noodles flavours are all identical. They tend to be a little slipperier and thinner than most Asian noodles, but they have a good inherent flavour.

Unlike the other Super Noodles that I've reviewed, this flavour actually has a pretty subtle taste. The flavour is a little bit spicy and there are pepper flakes, but it didn't immediately bring to mind Southern Fried Chicken. Then again, I'm not really sure what Southern Fried Chicken is supposed to taste like! The flavour is decent due to the naturally good tasting noodles, but I can't help but think that they could have added a more intense flavour here.

Super Noodles - Southern Fried Chicken Flavour - 6.5/10

Nissin Demae Ramen - Beef Flavor

2006-01-14T12:09:00.000-05:00

The Nissin Demae Ramen are deceptively large, weighing in at 100g. In general, this brand tends to be milder in flavor than other instant noodles. This is not necessarily a bad thing, because Nissin Demae usually pulls of their flavors pretty well.

Inside this ramen are a seasoning powder and a flavored oil. As expected, the flavor was quite mild, but nice and beefy. There were a lot of noodles, but they were thinner and less flavorful than I would have liked. The taste of the noodles themselves is a little bit mealy, although this effect is very subtle.

I have eaten this ramen so often over the years that it is what I instantly think of when I think about instant noodles. It is fine and basic but nothing particularly special. Nissin Demae is a quality brand of ramen, but I would recommend a more exciting flavor such as Hot & Spicy.

Nissin Demae Ramen - Beef Flavor - 6.5/10

Ansungtangmyun Hot & Spicy

2006-01-11T10:55:00.000-05:00

These noodles from Nong Shim are the largest I've ever seen, weighing in at a goliath 125g. The cooking instructions call for preparation by a raccoon chef, but I took a shortcut and prepared them myself.

The noodle block was massive, as expected. It was unfortunately square instead of round like most of Nong Shim's offerings. There was only one flavor packet and it consisted mostly of a very spicy powder.

I'm not sure what Ansungtangmyun means but the soup was pretty good. There was a decent amount of seaweed, although it tends to sink to the bottom so you don't see it in the picture. It's not nearly as spicy as Shin Ramyun and is more of a flavorful spiciness rather than a painful spiciness.

Ansungtangmyun Hot & Spicy - 7.0/10

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Nong Shim Kimchee Ramen

2006-01-10T10:19:00.000-05:00

The Nong Shim Kimchee Ramen is a 120 gram circular Korean ramen. It comes with two spice packets - one with vegetable flakes and the other with a red spicy powder.

I found that the noodles take longer to soften up than most ramen noodles. They are fairly thick and dense and don't absorb too much flavor.

If kimchee flavor simply means spicy flavor, then this ramen truly lives up to its billing! It tastes a lot like the Shin Ramyun Hot & Spicy, but with a softer edge. The veggie flakes include a decent amount of onion, nori, and scallion. The broth was spicy and fragrant, but not much different from Shin Ramyun or most of the Korean ramens on the market.

Mie Sedaap Jelas Terasa Sedapnya

2006-01-03T13:34:00.000-05:00

Hmm, I'm not really sure if I got the name of these instant noodles right, since there is very little English on the packaging. These noodles come from Indonesia and weigh in at a measly 72g. Judging by the picture, I think the flavor is supposed to be some kind of Chicken Curry, although it is hard to know for sure. Anyone know what "Jelas Terasa Sedapnya" means?

At first, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were four flavor packets inside. Usually there are only one or two, so this seemed extra special. Soon, however, my delight turned to annoyance as I discovered they could not easily be ripped open by hand. Instead, they had to be cut with scissors. And even more annoying: the oil packet dripped on my scissors, requiring me to wash them afterwards. The four packets seemed to be: seasoning powder, chili powder, curry powder, and flavored oil.

It bothered me at first why all the powders came in separate packets. But after carefully reading the instructions again, it turns out you are supposed to add the curry powder last and sprinkle it over the top of everything. Whoops! But I'm sure it hardly makes any difference anyways. I guess the reason they put the chili powder separately is for people who don't want their soup to be spicy.

The noodles are disappointingly small, as I had expected based on the weight of the package. The soup flavor makes up for this deficiency, though. It tastes like a lemon curry with a little kick from the chili powder. I instantly thought of Thai food, but that might just be because Thai is the closest I've ever had to Indonesian food. The blend of flavors was really quite good; almost enough to offset the small amount of noodles and the annoyances of the flavor packets.

Mie Sedaap Jelas Terasa Sedapnya - 7.0/10

Ken's Ramen (Ken's Noodle House)

2006-01-03T09:58:00.000-05:00

Ken's Ramen
Inside the Super 88 building between the supermarket and food court
One Brighton Ave
Allston, MA 02134

The Ramen Lovers were pleasantly surprised on a trip to Super 88 to find a new ramen restaurant! We did not have our digital camera with us, so no pictures unfortunately. Ken's Ramen is located between Super 88's food court and supermarket, near the exit to the parking lot. The decor is rather spartan and reminded us of a pizza joint with its green vinyl chairs and pressboard tables.

The menu is simple. There are about five standard and two specialty ramens. The standard ramens consist of clear (salty), miso, or soy sauce broth with various combinations of meat and veggies. We liked that the standard ramens come with a decent array of meat and veggies already included in the price ($6-$7). Add extra toppings or extra noodles for a couple bucks more. The two specialty ramens are subject to availability because they supposedly use better noodles ($9-10). The specialty clear ramen was not available on the night that we went. We did order the other specialty Sapporo Ramen, which was a miso broth with roast pork and veggies. There are also a few other items available on the menu like rice bowls.

The soy sauce broth was a little disappointing because it tasted like soy sauce added to a clear broth. Not much richness or flavor to this thin liquid. The miso broth, however, was quite excellent and hearty. We didn't think the specialty Sapporo ramen was worth the additional cost, since it is essentially the same as the miso ramen. The large and extra-large sizes arrive looking the same as the normal size, but there are many more noodles hiding underneath the surface. That being said, the normal size is ample for a single person.

The sliced pork was pretty good - it was roasted, not simply boiled, and quite tender. However, it was cold, and it would have been nice if it was warmed up at least a little. The veggie helpings are generous and of high quality - freshly chopped scallions, nori, and corn. The noodles are of the yellow variety and are soft and chewy, but not especially outstanding. But, Ken's Ramen differentiates itself from Sapporo Ramen in Porter Square simply on the basis of its toppings. The best ramen so far in the Boston area.

Neoguri Udon Seafood & Spicy

2006-01-02T13:09:00.000-05:00

Like most Korean instant noodles, this offering from Nong Shim (the makers of the popular Shin Ramyun) is hefty, weighing in at a hefty 120g. The noodles come conveniently in a circular shaped brick, rather than the usual square brick. This is convenient if you follow the 'quick-n-easy' cooking technique, like I usually do:

Microwave bowl of water for 3 or 4 minutes.
Toss in the noodles and spices, cover, and wait for a few minutes.
Enjoy!

These noodles are Udon, which means they are thicker and chewier than other noodles. Nong Shim's strategy with their instant noodles seems to be to combine relatively bland noodles with extremely flavorful broth. This works pretty well, especially since they excel with their broth flavorings.

Wow! Look at the sheer volume of noodles in that thing. To quote the Pepto-Bismol guy, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing." Actually, the Nutrition Facts on the back of the Neoguri package shows that this is supposed to be two servings. But the vast majority of people will not be sharing, I'm sure!

There were a lot of seaweed flakes in the soup, which was nice. There were miscellaneous other things, like carrot, onion, mushroom, and strange fish-cake things, but the vast majority of the dried vegetable packet was seaweed, which is fine. The soup tasted like a spicy seaweed broth, which was quite flavorful and delicious. I think it's not quite as spicy as the Nong Shim Hot & Spicy, but it's close. The nice thing is that it's not an oily spiciness; this means the heat will not annoyingly linger on your tongue.

Strangely, I noticed that the veggies and the spices tended to sink underneath the noodles rather than float on top like they usually do. In fact, upon reaching the end, I found a large pile of seaweed and some strange fish-cake things. Just be aware to carefully mix the concoction so that everything is well distributed.

The flavor and volume of these instant noodles was quite good. Although I prefer the plain Hot & Spicy to the Seafood & Spicy flavor, they are similar and the seafood flavor is subtle and not bad. Another offering from Nong Shim that packs a punch and really delivers.

Neoguri Udon Seafood & Spicy - 8.0/10

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Super Noodles - Spag Bol Flavour

2005-12-31T12:17:00.000-05:00

This flavour of Super Noodles is a new addition to the line, evidenced by the "New in the family" label on the wrapper. The packaging of these noodles is especially festive, celebrating the culture and food of Italy. Spag Bol stands for Spaghetti Bolognese, which Americans usually crudely refer to as Spaghetti w/ Meat Sauce.

This time, the Top Tip had nothing to do with pitta breads. It was "Top with meatballs or sliced pepperoni". I suppose this makes a lot of sense since it is Spag Bol flavour! A little bit unfortunate, since I actually had pitas which I could have used. Although I'm not fully sold on the thought of putting instant noodles inside a pita.

I was impressed that upon adding the flavour sachet, the concoction actually smelled distinctly like Spag Bol. I accidentally drained a little bit too much water from the noodles, so they ended up being sticky and a little hard to mix. So make sure to leave some water in there!

The flavour of these noodles was quite good, although I must admit that they smelled a little more like Spag Bol than they tasted. Bonus points for crushed red pepper, onion flakes, and garlic flakes in the flavour packet. I think these are the first noodles I've ever had that had garlic flakes in them, and they were certainly a great addition.

Super Noodles Spag Bol Flavour - 7.5/10

IndoMie Instant Noodles - Mi Goreng

2005-12-29T20:09:00.000-05:00

Is it ramen if it doesn't come in soup? And if it's labeled on the front as kosher?

This 80 gram "ramen" hails from Indonesia and comes with an amazing four seasoning sachets. According to the back of the package, these sachets contain soy sauce, seasoning oil, seasoning powder, and chili powder.

Eating this ramen was an interesting experience because I have no idea what flavor it was supposed to be. It turns out to be sweet, salty, and spicy. The oil plus the fried noodles make the overall texture quite slippery, and I can't help but feel that it is quite fattening, but maybe that's why it's only 80 grams. Overall it's an interesting flavor and soft tasty noodle, but I prefer the regular ramen soups.

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Super Noodles - Mild Curry Flavour

2005-12-10T12:09:00.000-05:00

More Super Noodles! I previously blogged about the Barbecue Beef Flavour, while this is the Mild Curry Flavour. The suggested cooking method is the same: cook the noodles in boiling water until soft, and then drain the water and add the flavor sachet.

This time, the mini-recipe on the flavor sachet was: "Smother hot pitta breads with spicy noodles and top with chicken and peppers". I'm not really sure what "spicy noodles" refers to, since these noodles are certainly not spicy. But it seems like the makers of Super Noodles have a strange obsession with "pitta breads". We'll see if the other Super Noodles Top Tips suggest using "pitta breads" as well.

When I put in the flavor sachet, I was a little shocked to see some neon yellow powder coming out. I guess it was a little surprising because the flavor packets in Asian ramen are almost always filled with brown, black, or dark red powder. But I suppose it makes sense, since this is curry flavor after all.

The flavor of the mild curry was surprisingly tangy and delicious. There were small flakes of scallions and red pepper that added no flavor but did contribute some color to the dish. Like the Barbecue Beef Flavour, these noodles are relatively basic, but the Mild Curry Flavour is very well designed and extremely flavorful and pleasant.

Super Noodles Mild Curry Flavour - 7.5/10