Maruchan Ramen - Chicken Flavor

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

Indomie Instant Noodles - Onion Chicken Flavor

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.

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Indomie Instant Noodles - Onion Chicken Flavor - 3.5/10

Indomie Instant Noodles - Chicken Curry Flavor

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 - Artificial Chicken Flavor

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

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

Nissin Demae - Chicken Flavor

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

Ve Wong Noodle - Pork & Chicken Flavor

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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Paldo Korean Noodle - Chicken Flavor

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.

Super Noodles - Southern Fried Chicken Flavour

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

Mie Sedaap Jelas Terasa Sedapnya

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

Ve Dan Chicken Flavor

I was a little confused when I saw the packaging to whether this was "Vedan" or "Veoan". But upon reading the label on the back, turns out it is actually "Ve Dan", based in Taiwan.

Like most Taiwanese ramen, the Ve Dan noodles are slightly thinner than other types and are crispier. Inside were two packets: one with dehydrated green onions/cabbage/spices and one with oil.

I was very pleased with the amount of green onion and cabbage in the ramen. You can't really tell from this picture, but there were quite a few of these veggies that plumped up once they soaked in some water. I like them in my ramen because they add variety in terms of color, texture, and taste.

The Ve Dan was overall a bit bland, and a bit disappointing. Of course, it puts the American brands like Maruchan and Nissin to shame, but it still is not a top tier imported ramen. Still, a good basic ramen that would be good for recipes, if you like making more elaborate food out of your ramen!

Ve Dan Chicken Flavor - 5.5/10