Nissin Demae - Tonkotsu Flavor

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

Wai Wai - Minced Pork Soeng Kreung Flavour Instant Noodle

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

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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Mr. Kon Spicy Hot Pork Rib Flavor

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.

Nissin Demae Ramen - Tonkotsu Flavor

What is Tonkotsu flavor? Curiosity drove me to try this particular brand of ramen, despite the general mediocrity of the Nissin Demae product line.



As it turns out, Tonkotsu flavor is tasty! The package comes with a seasoning oil packet and a spices packet. The overall flavor is similar to sesame, and the spices packet includes sesame seeds. So if you like sesame, this flavor is for you!



Of course, the sesame broth did little to mask the tasteless filler that Nissin likes to call "noodles," nor did it include dried veggies or other spices to give the flavor some kick. Still, it was more flavorful than the pork flavor and different from any other ramen I've ever tried. Interesting, I did a quick Internet search for Tonkotsu, and it's supposed to be a pork, onion, and garlic flavor. Not much like Nissin's Tonkotsu flavor!

Nissin Demae Ramen - Pork Flavor

Nissin Demae is a fairly popular brand of Asian ramen, although I usually get the beef flavor. This time, I tried the pork.



As you can see, the noodles are fairly standard. They did not absorb much flavor, but the texture was nice and overall did not really improve or detract from the overall ramen experience. The broth was really tasty! Subtle yet robust flavoring, and a change of pace from the usual in-your-face barrage of spices.



My only complaint, however, is that there was no hot oil packet or little bits of veggies. I really like the little bits of veggies for the color and taste. As you can see, the cooked ramen looks rather bland, although the broth is actually quite flavorful.

This is a good choice if you are looking for a basic ramen to warm you up on a cold rainy afternoon. Look elsewhere if you want something spicy or with a strong taste.