The Ramenrater

Nissin Demae Ramen - Prawn Flavor

2010-07-20T17:48:00.000-07:00

Today's walk to the asian supermarket was a lot of fun. Was nice to be able to chat with my lady on the phone whilst perusing the noodle aisle of 99 Ranch Market. I gave her the choice of which I should get - Miso, Seafood or Prawn flavor Nissin Demae ramen. I had a feeling she'd go for the prawn flavor...
A lonely single packet of soup base came with this one. I must admit though, the shiny purple packet went quite interestingly with the pink packaging...
Here's the soup base awaiting the noodles and liquid. I cooked the noodles extra long this time. I thought maybe if the noodles were a bit more engorged and soft, it might taste and consist more like udon.

It worked. These noodles were a little fatter and very good. They plumped up nicely. The broth came out nicely too. It does remind me very much of prawn - and I really like prawn! Not overbearing, not too salty; a light 'of the sea' hint as well. A let down on the packet lack, but really when it comes down to it, its great because of its simplicity. I give this one 3.25 out of 5 stars.

Indomie Rasa Baso Sapi - Meatball Flavor

2010-07-20T14:47:00.000-07:00

So today I made Kitten some noodles for breakfast! This is some tasty stuff!
Seasoning powder, seasoned oil. That's it. This is pretty surprising for an Indomie pack of noodles as there's usually a ton of different packets. She didn't want it too spicy so I kept the chili powder out of the mix.
So the finished product: the noodles are hidden by three fried eggs with a little salt and pepper and fried shallot on top.
So the end result? She liked it a lot! Here's her review:

"I would say 2.5 (out of 5 stars). They were flavorful and the only way I can describe it is it was like it was spicy but without any heat. It was also very salty and that was a bit of a turn off. The egg on top helped set off the taste of the salt but once it was gone it was almost too much. The "meatballs" tasted only slightly meaty and the crunchyness gave the ramen nice texture."

Indomie - Mi Goreng Rendang (Beef Flavor)

2010-07-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

Ah the glorious 99 Ranch Market. It takes about 40 minutes to walk there (at a very fast walk), pick out some noodles and then walk home.
Today I picked the 49 cent Indomie Mi Goreng Rendang. Never ever have I tried this before. I read someone reviewed it as being "the hottest curry flavor ever" and that piqued my curiosity.
So there was a flavored oil, a sweet soy sauce and a little sachet of fried onions hooked together on the left there, and on the right is chili powder and seasoning powder. I'm gathering that rendang means beef as the english on the packaging mentioned beef. Funny, no mention of curry...
The seasonings at the bottom of the bowl as they await some drained noodles.
The final product. I added some fried shallot three fried eggs and some kizami shoga (hot pink ginger). I think the other review was a little off. They mentioned heat. I think our palates must differ in the extreme as the heat was very slight. I really liked the flavor here too - a nice beef kind of taste to it and since it didn't have the usual sweet hot chili paste (manas pedas) it was very mellow even with the chili powder. All in all, this tasted great! 4.5 out of 5 stars! Hooray for Indomie!

Nissin Demae Ramen - Shoyu Flavor

2010-07-18T19:05:00.000-07:00

So this is one of the few flavors left at 99 Ranch Market for me to try to here we go. Felt like a rather we stuffed package which gave me hopes of an interesting and unique meal with surprises and multiple packets...
So got the standard dry powder, a 'seasoning sauce' which was carrying a decent amount of black thick liquid and some little bits o' seaweed for that 'of the sea' glavor we all crave.
Standard nowadays instructions apply... Cook noodles in 2 1/4c water and then dump it into the bowl with the seasonings. As it turns out class, shoyu means soy sauce. So there's the soy sauce and oil with the dry powder just itchin to get a ton of boilinf noodles and water poured upon them.
I couldn't resist Photoshopping this one a little but with a large amount of sepia.
So then I ate it. The broth reminded me somewhat of what ya get in the Sapporo Ichiban stuff that comes with the big dehydrated chunk of tofu that is reminiscent of a human foot - I plan on reviewing all the Sapporo Ichiban's once I'm out of Nissin to devour.
I liked the seaweed and everything else was nice, balanced and simple. I'm slapping a 4 out of five stars on this one.

Nissin Demae Ramen - Five Spices Artificial Beef Flavor

2010-07-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

I've been enjoying trying every flavor of Nissin Demae that 99 Ranch carries lately, so onward we go with the five spices artificial beef flavor.
I liked the halloween colors of the packets! Wish it was halloween though!
I liked it! It has a nice smell and tasted great. It had the slightly sweet and slightly peppery aroma of five spices and a good beefiness to it. I currently am sneezing and have a runny nose today and my throat's been bothering me - this was a perfect choice I think. Overall, I award 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Nissin Demae Ramen - Tonkatsu Artificial Pork Flavor

2010-07-12T19:09:00.000-07:00

Tuck in folks! Let's get down with some artifical pork flavoring!
Two flavor packets on this one - Soup base and seasoning sauce.
The seasoning sauce packet had lots of sesame seeds in it and sesame oil and another flavor I've tasted before but I can't place - rice vinegar perhaps?

Neat stuff. The broth was a murky melange of flavor and floating seeds that nestled within the sea of noodles nicely. I liked it. 3.5 out of 5 stars!

Nissin Demae Ramen - Satay Flavor

2010-07-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

So I liked the Indomie Mi Goreng Satay flavor - this should be good.Two flavor packets! Not too shabby!
Well, long story short, it's nowhere near as good as the Mi Goreng Indomie stuff. Then again, that's kind of an apples to oranges comparison. I'm giving this a 2.5 out of 5 stars. Wasn't really all that tasty. Not going to re-up on this one.

Nissin Demae Ramen - XO Sauce Seafood Flavor

2010-07-12T18:44:00.000-07:00

I figured this'd be a good gamble. Seafood flavor ramen usually isn't my thing, but what the heck, let's be adventurous!
Three packets? Luxuriant! I'm used to Nissin holding back on the sachets but not in this one! Was very curious to see how this stuff would taste...

I'm giving this one a 4 out of 5 stars. That's a pretty impressive rating and here's why: it has some character. Yes, this stuff really surprised me. It kind of reminded me of a nice butter garlic sauce on some whitefish. But a little tiny bits version in the broth and it wasn't overly fishy tasting; I was impressed!

Baijia Instant Sweet Potato Noodle: Spicy Fei-Chang Flavor

2010-04-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

Since these noodles are Chinese, I thought I'd include our pugs in on cooking them. They were extremely helpful with the preparation.

So Here we go - notice the pugs in the background. I thought sweet potato noodles sounded fascinating.

So this looks a little worrisome. Very dark noodles and three packets - one with a very fine powder and the other two - one with seasoned fat and the other was some form of hot pepper paste - but it was based with some form of greasy nastiness.

So here's the finished product. It reminds me of gravy. However, not the kind of gravy I usually enjoy - like the stuff you can get on mashed potatoes at KFC. No, this is a mean gravy.
The noodles were too hot to eat until about 8 minutes after cooking. The broth was sucked up by the noodles and turned into a Jell-O like consistency. Very greasy concoction. It really is the kind of food that if I ate the whole bowl, I'd require an altogether new meal to ingest as to recover from the sheer work of eating this stuff.
Although rather nasty (I don't honestly think people should eat this), it does certainly seem bizarre and I like bizarre. I'm going to say Fei-Chang means 'dirt and urine.'
So let me just rate this ramen and get it over with. The official ramenrater.com rating here is 1.75 out of 5 stars. Gross. Just gross.

Wei Lih: Jah Jan Mien Instant Noodle With Fried Soybeans Paste

2010-04-20T16:10:00.001-07:00

So here's some new stuff we picked up at the 99 Ranch Market - which is within walking distance now that we've moved! It's very nice to live in an area close to asian stores! This looked rather interesting in its mundaneness as well as its industrialness...

Soup base and soybean paste.

Tapioca starch was listed in the ingredients. The froth was tight and viscous.

The finished product - a rather dull looking bowl of noodles.

So the upshot: the paste is extremely salty and has an almost slightly fermented tone to it. The noodles don't really do much for me - they're rather cheap, and I do mean rather... I do find myself ingesting this bowl differently this time: I eat some of the noodles and then sip some soup. It seems only right to ingest it this way. I find that rather interesting to be honest. Also, the soybean paste lent a huge amount of grease, allowing for a sea of shimmerring beads of lustrousness at the top. So as far as a rating goes, I'm going to have to hit this one with a 2.4 stars. Nothing special, nothing bad, somewhat interesting, butu not enough to bump it a tenth of a point up to be exactly average.

Maruchan: Ramen Noodle Soup Lime Chili Shrimp Flavor

2010-03-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

So this looks to be one of the more exotic flavors out there as far as the more 'domesticated' ramens go. What I find curious is whether this is marketed towards the Hispanic or the Filipino populations. The combination of chili and lime are popular in both cultures and products marketed with a pepper and a green lime are very common.
Again, no clue why these keep coming up sideways, but I'm going to let the universe have its way with me. Basic ramen cake and single packet of powder seasoning.
The noodles cooked. I put the amount of water required to make the noodles buoyant and not the recommended 2 cups. I find the two cups tend to be a little more than required for my tastes.So here's the finished product. Not much to look at. The review here is being done live so as to keep it real as the say. The broth is extremely strong. I think it is honestly made with some of the same seasonings as Frito-Lay brand Cheetos Flamin' Hot Crunchy with Lime cheese flavored snacks. The shrimp flavoring is reminiscent of a thai fish sauce. I'm going to say this really isn't my cup of tea. The noodles had a slight bit more backbone; I cooked them long enough for sure but they were chewier than for instance the Maruchan Pork flavor ramen noodle soup's. As far as a ramenrater.com rating, I've got to give these noodles 2 out of 5 stars. Just nothing here that makes me happy. Its rather surprising to me as I know that I'm definitely easily amused but nothing funny. Unfunny. No smiles.

Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup: Pork Flavor

2010-03-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

Okay so I was falling asleep the other night and thought to myself "I wonder if there is pork flavor ramen... Does it exist, and does it taste remotely like pork?" Answer: yes there is and other answer is not really.

Your standard ramen cake and soup base from Maruchan. Remember folks this is a step above Smack.

Mega gluten! This stuff foams at the very hint of heat so watch out! I can be fun though doing a kind of skilled put it on the stove then take it off over and over kind of deal.

Thw finished product is here. The noodles were absolutely boring. They made me sad. However, this bowl was slightly above average due to one special attribute I haven't mentioned here.

So I followed the rules: 2 cups of water. However I also added a bit of pepper. But look closely - see the little pearls of grease floating on top of the liquid? I found them to be incredibly mesmerizing in contrast to many other instant ramen noodle varieties. The broth tasted not like pork but actually a toned down Nissin Oriental soup base. My official ramenrater.com rating is 2.45 out of 5 stars. I was leaning to give the broth's beatiful glistening beauty some added points but with the high hopes that pork had for me and the utter disappointment, it gets this shameful score. Shame on you, pork noodle bowl! You lack character.

Sapporo Ichiban: Chow Mein Japanese Style Noodles

2010-03-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

Some might consider this to be beyond nasty, but I've found faith in humankind when it comes to these cheap, tasty noodles. Perhaps you will too as ramenrater.com reviews Sapporo Inchiban's Chow Mein style Japanese noodles.For some reason, this photo always ends up sideways, so I'll let the universe have its way and it can remain sideways. Regular ramen cake, check. Soup base, check. Green Laver packet, check.
Cooking the noodles and adding a little shredded ham. The instructions call for a cup or water and meat and cook til noodles are freely seperate.
After the noodles were done, they were transferred to this bowl. These was little or no liquid left and so I added the soup base packet and stirred. It provided a thick brown oozing lovefest aroma. After it was thoroughly combined, I added (by sprinkling on top) the Green Laver. Green Laver is seaweed and gave the meal and surrounding area a pungent odor which I found very pleasant.
So in conclusion, the ramenrater.com rating for this bowl of instant noodles is 4.5 out of 5. They were flavorful, brothless, unique with the green tinge of the seaweed, and I could eat thrice the amount packaged in a single meal.

Nissin: Top Ramen Oriental Flavor

2010-03-20T10:10:00.001-07:00

So after years of reviewing instant ramen noodles, here it is. Finally. Hold onto your coiffure taming device: oriental flavor. I have always considered this to be the most boring of all flavors as it really isn't that adventurous. We'll see if it stays in that realm of blandness as I review the latest instant noodles for ramenrater.com.
Hmm - sideways... No matter; this isn't rocket science here. A very standard well-known cake of ramen and its nefarious counterpart, the standard oriental flavor packet. I have seen these packets residing in drawers of many kitchens waiting for a future usage that never comes. I suspect this is generally due to usage of the ramen cake in some different application. One could make bastardized spaghetti or a bizarre form of macaroni and cheese with. Here it will be used for its intended purpose. Packet is brimming with soup base.
Enough water was added to make the cake float and the soup base was put atop. After boiling, noodles and base were stirred and cooked about three or four minutes.
A steaming bowl of instant ramen noodles of the oriental persuasion. As usual, I am eating these noodles right now to provide the most instantaneous of thoughts upon their worth and quality.
At first try, I found them to be salty and uninteresting; then a little more eating and I found a slight appeal. The noodles came out a slight bit firmer and actually seemed slitly more plentiful than other ramen varieties. The broth was a different story. It was a bit greasy and had a bit of consistency to it. I can see the tiny pearls of oil floating around the top like glistening gems of invitation. The broth tasted very salty and had a soy like taste to it with a hint of mushroom.
My final ramenrater.cmom rating is two and a half out of five stars. I am left wanting more - much more. Some dehydrated ginger or lemon grass would be nice, perhaps some dehydrated vegetables of any type. This, however, is a lot to ask of this variety of ramen. What wer call Top Ramen in the states is mirrored in Japan as Nissin Damae Ramen. That stuff is quite good with more exotic flavors such as curry, however they as well only feature a ramen cake and a flavor packet. All in all, a bowl of noodles that ranks exactly average to me. Nothing nasty but nothing to write home about. This is truly the baseline.

Sapporo Ichiban: Japanese Style Noodles & Chicken Soup

2010-03-11T09:10:00.000-08:00

Lime green. A pleasing color to the eye however not one I would triangulate with chicken flavored instant noodles. This is really the only oddity I found here as I sampled Sapporo Ichiban's Japanese style noodles and chicken flavored soup.

The noodles are very basic here; your usual fare of instant noodles in a rectangular cake. The cake was decently firm and not really a lot of crumbs in the bottom of the bag. Of course the cake was broken once to fit the pan. The single packet is the chicken soup base. Easily opened.

Here are the noodles and soup base cooking in the controlled test environment at ramenrater.com. The boiling point was reached and we saw a lot of foaming. However, this was dealt with swiftly and after three minutes, the noodles were perfectly cooked.
The final product in ramenrater.com testing bowl alpha. I decided to try a variety of Sapporo Ichiban today as it had been windy (gusts up to 44mph) and rainy. Kitten chose the chicken for me to sample, and here we are. The noodles were nothing out of the ordinary; what one would expect from instant ramen noodles. I guess if anything, they were a slightly sturdier nature than some. tending to cling together a slight bit more. The broth was superb; strong sense of chicken essences combined with high temperature is very nice indeed. As always, I have been eating the noodles as I type this review.

Conclusions: Sapporo Ichiban Japanese style noodles with chicken flavor soup is very aptly named. I enjoyed it thoroughly, I got what I paid for and I got what I expected. The noodles were of good quality as was the soup base, although perhaps a slight bit less salt in the soup base would have gotten a higher rating. The official ramenrater.com rating for this variety of instant ramen noodles is 3.5 stars.

Nong Shim: Shin Ramyun

2010-03-08T09:28:00.000-08:00

So these instant noodles are very prevalent in this area and I imagine easily procured anywhere in the USA. This is Nong Shim Shin Ramyun Gourmet Spicy flavor and it was purchased at a regular grocery store.
You'll notice the ramen cake is in a nice round shape as if Nong Shim had assumed I was ready to use one of my instant ramen pots to cook it! That was enjoyable. You'll also notice that these are not your typical noodles, but wider. This variety is known as Udon. They're usually a bit chewier too in instant noodle presentation. There are two packets included in this package: dehydrated vegetables and soup base.
All right! Let's get it on! I used enough water to cause the Udon cake to float and then put the seasonings on top. After a few minutes, my pot was gurgling a somewhat traditional tune and in about three minutes after the boiling song began, the noodles were finished. One thing I've noticed with this particular variety is foaming. When the noodles boil, they create foam. This variety creates a lot of it, so keeping a watchful eye and monitoring temperature as well as good stirring technique is recommended.
Here is the finished product ready for review and rating. The morning sun was glaring through the window and offered itself to the instant ramen noodles. I am eating the noodles now as I believe that the review/rating loses something when results come from memory.
The soup itself is very flavorful and spicy. Initially with a hot spiciness that the palate becomes accustomed to. It is very salty - definitely a red flag for those with concerns regarding their sodium intake. Noodles are somewhat spongy yet slightly more robust and chewier than regular style instant noodles. Finally, the vegetables are pretty good and complement the bowl very nicely. This reminds me of a dish I used to prepare in my younger years - I would take a can of Campbell's Vegetable soup, a cake of instant ramen noodles and cook the noodles in the soup. Very similar flavor although my recipe lacked the bold spiciness of Shin Ramyun Gourmet Spicy.
I give these noodles a three out of five stars rating. More packets would be nice and I think it was a little too salty. Otherwise it was an interesting bowl of noodles.

Ramen Art

2010-03-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

Decided to do a new piece of art today and set up a little ramenrater testing station kind of thing! Got some more things to add to it, but here it is for right now...

Nissin: Souper Meal - Chicken Flavor with vegetable medley

2009-12-15T10:23:00.000-08:00

Nissin
Cup
3 Stars

So I currently have a cold/giraffe flu and thought perhaps a liquid suspension of sodium and noodles would help. Being the microwave gourmet I am these days, I went for the big sucker pictured here. 1420mg of sodium and some Flonase and I'm starting to perk up! Tis was a marginal cup noodle. The noodles themselves are rather weak by comparison to Cup Noodle for example. Of course, one plus is the multiple packets. I'm a packet junkie as all Ramenrater readers know. You get a little dehydrated veggie packet, one with soup base and then one that you add at the end with the mysterious beckoning 'Finishing Touch.' The veggies rehydrate quite well and provide a decent amount, but just like all other things, there's never enough. As I said above, the noodles lacked gumption. As for the 'Finishing Touch,' its an oil - probably sesame. All in all, it wasn't anything to call home about, but nothing to call the police about either. The whole deal surrounding this product is just that its enormous.

Maggi: Rice Noodle Mania - Lemon Masala

2009-07-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

Maggi: Rice Noodle Mania - Lemon Masala
Stars: * 1 / 2
Noodles: Rice Flour
Packets: 1 "Tastemaker"
Country of Origin: India

Upon opening the packet, I was greeted by an extremely lemony odor. Not lemon puckery lemon, but more like the scent of iced tea.

Here's the pre cooked noodle chunk. Usually I like to take the pic right before the dunking into the boiling water, but these being rice noodles, I opted not to get them all over the place in the name of my art.

So here's the unadulterated finished product. As always, the score given is based on how the noodles taste at this point, along with the broth/seasoning. The lemon flavor was very pungent, and somewhat helpful in covering the masala flavor, a flavor I don't really like with noodles like these. As for the noodles, they were thinner than your normal instant noodles, but they just didn't make me all that excited, hence the low score.

So now it's time to happy up these noodles! I started with adding a ton of leftover chicken breast I microwaved. I baked it last night with some italian dressing...

Then to add a little something else (and to get rid of more leftovers) I added some of the parmesan couscous from last night as well. At this point in the game, the masala flavor is much diminished, however the lemon is very present. This meal works now.

Maggi: 2 Minute Noodles - Curry

2009-07-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

Maggi: 2 Minute Noodles - Curry Flavor
Stars: * * 1 / 2
Noodles: Wheat flour
Seasoning Packets: 1 'Tastemaker' Packet, medium sized
Country of Origin: India

Bac of the pack. No instruction on how to cook were visible, but they were most likely under the US required Nutrition Facts sticker. I had a pack of Lemon Masala 2 Minute Noodles, which did have visib;e instructions. 1 1/2 teacups boiling water and packet. Add noodles for 2 minutes. Stir. Enjoy.

Here's the 'Tastemaker' packet. It's pretty puffed out and definitely full of flavor.

Here's the contents of the Tastemaker packet blended into the water.

Thought a couple fried eggs might compliment the noodles...

Even Andreas thought the food smelled good, although he wouldn't touch it after it was cooked.

Your basic brick of instant noodles...

Cook... Cook! COOK!!!

Unadulterated finished product. My review is based upon this entirely. The noodles were not anything remarkable. The broth was very salty. A little heat and curry flavor, however not what I expecteed from a curry flavor instant noodle from India. I would recommend Nissin Demae Ramen curry flavor for more curry-like taste.

So on go the throng of egglitude...

Some pink pickled ginger....

A couple flairs of Bango....

Finally, a couple dribs and drabs of ABC Manis Pedas. It ended up being an excellent meal, despite where it started. The cooking of the eggs and adding of condiments took it well over the 2 Minute mention on the package.

Maggi: Vegetable Atta Noodles Masala

2009-07-05T13:41:00.000-07:00

Maggi: Vegetable Atta Noodles Masala
Stars: **
Country of origin: India
Seasoning:1 Packets, 1 dry
Noodles: Atta

One solitary dry packet. Pretty good sized amount of stuff in it...

Here are the contents in the bowl, awaiting the noodles and water.

Boiling...

Finished product.

Review: So these noodles weren't all that amazing. They cooked quickly and that was great. The seasoning, masala flavor, was kind of bland and not much fun. It was like a pizza with no toppings and a hole in the middle that makes the whole bowl of soup pretent to be burnt frustration crust pizza. I don't really care for crust as much as the pizza topped part. Well, long story short, these noodles were short on flavor, however masala was an interesting choice of flavor. A couplre peas and onion in there were interesting.

Maggi: Chinese Noodles Lemon Chicken Flavor

2009-07-05T12:46:00.001-07:00

Maggi: Chinese Noodles Lemon Chicken Flavor
Stars: *** 1/2
Country of origin: India
Seasoning: 2 Packets, 1 dry 1 oil
Noodles: Wheat flour

One packet of seasoning had crunchy bits and a little vegetables. The other is a seasoning oil

The seasoning oil and chrunchy veggie back combined here prior to noodle addition.

Noodles prior to boiling. They seemed like a very small mount compared to the size of the crunchy stuff and oil.

Review: This was an enjoyable bowl of noodles. They came from my favorite indian grocery, Indian Sweets & Spices in Shoreline, WA. The noodles cooked up almost instantaneously, but I did let them cook the whole three minutes. After draining them and mixing them together with the crunchy vegetables pack [referred to on the packaging as 'Tastemaker with garnish'] and seasoning oil, I dug right on in. My first reaction was to the crunchy bits that were here and there in the noodles. They were surprisingly good and original; like a kind of salad topping I suppose - gone weird. The noodles themselves were a little funky, but after reading the ingredients on the back of the package, I was a bit mortified. "This package of chinese noodles contains added monosodium glutamate. Not recommended for infants under 12 months." So that was disturbing and the noodles are made from wheat flour, hydrogenated vegetable oil [trans fat] and edible gum. This ramen is actually made by Maggi [part of Nestle] in New Delhi. So, aside from the unhealthy aspects, this was a new and very interesting bowl of noodles.

Ramenrater News

2009-07-02T12:52:00.000-07:00

So I've gotten all the reviews from the old website on here now - took a bit of time, but it was well worth it as they're searchable via the blog search on the right. I've also implemented a Google Custom Search tool at the right. Everything you put in there will come up with results pertaining to instant ramen noodles - so if you're looking for somewhere to buy em', this tool is great. Also excellent for researching information on different noodle companies too.
I shall put up some recipes and shots of my ramen escapades as they happen. Here's a commercial for some of my favorite noodles! Happy 4th of July!
- The Ramenrater

Ottogi Curry - I've always loved good curry - bowl lickin' good!

Robocop ramen!

Homemade Multi-Cultural Noodles

2009-07-02T12:45:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of instant noodles - such a big fan that I started www.ramenrater.com to review different varieties. Of all things ramen, I've come up with this homemade noodle recipe, taking ingredients from all over the far east and orient.

First, I needed noodles. These were found in Edmonds at 99 Ranch Market. Not only are they my favorite thickness of noodle and cook up fast, but they're fat free.

This is sweet soy sauce. I've seen it used alot in Indomie brand instant noodles from Indonesia. Thick and sweet soy syrup type of stuff. I got this bottle just because of the brand name. They're really all the same as far as I can tell, but BANGO is a cool name. Also from 99 Ranch Market.

This is great stuff. It's a sweet chili sauce that compliments the soy. Also from Indonesia, purchased at 99 Ranch Market.

These eggs are from the exotic climes of Safeway. I recently learned how to boil eggs - yeah I know so STFU... I cook lots of stuff, just not hard boiled eggs alot - until now!

So in a big soup bowl, put some Manis Pedas and sweet soy sauce in the bowl. Awesome - it's starting to get colorful!

I also put a tiny bit of olive oil in there - Usually, Indomie's flavor sachets contasin chili sauce, sweet soy, and a packet called seasoned oil. So a little bit of this and a shake of cajun seasoning wennt in. I think next time perhaps an airplane bottle with a ton of minced garlic in it would be great - let it sit for a while and bam - seasoned oil.

Such beautiful egginess - you would eat these eggs if I asked you to I imagine!

Things are starting to come together, so let's bring the garnish out of the fridge. This is pickled ginger - and not the sushi stuff, but the kind you'd find on yakisoba. This is your standard Shirakiku brand, which should be available at most major grocery stores. I got mine at Uwajimaya.

So here's the noodle cake ready to be dropped in the cauldron. Note the strainer! Cook them for three minutes, drain well, then drop em into the bowl and stir like a maniac.

Now drop those sliced eggs on there. don't mix them in though - that's kind of silly. Use a little pinch of this egg seasoning on them. Got this at India Sweets & Spices in Shoreline. It's also time to put on the pickled ginger.

So here's the final result! Click on the image to see the neato details. The coolness is fun and the taste flavor is excellent! Modify this recipe to your heart's content! Some ideas could be to add chicken boullion in there somewhere, as the sauce as flavoring is rather strong. Some kind of bumbu dry seasoning would make it a bit more authentic too.

A One: Bun Tom Shrimp

2009-07-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

A One: Bun Tom Shrimp

Stars: ***
Notes: This stuff was really good - had had a few beers beforehand and decided to
try it as a preventative hangover cure. Didn't work all that great for it's intended purpose,
however it was good. The package contained a packet of dried green onions, seasoning oil
and soup base. The noodles [rice variety] were strangely enough sealed in their own plastic
bag. I cooked the noodles and green onions and dropped in a couple eggs and then dropped
that mixture [drained of course] into a bowl with the oil and flavor base and stirred. Was a very
burly dealio.

Doll: Instant Fried Noodle w/Chili Sauce [Box]

2009-07-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

Doll: Instant Fried Noodle w/Chili Sauce [Box]
Stars: ***
Notes: A nice sqare box of noodles - hot chili flavor was alright - not too hot though.
One thing I found very unique about this particular bowl was that it came with a a little packet of tea!

Doll: Instant Noodles with Sesame Oil and Soup Base

2009-06-30T15:58:00.001-07:00

Doll: Instant Noodles with Sesame Oil and Soup Base
Stars: *
Notes: These were chicken flavor stiff noodles with
a bit of sesame oil. Nothing real special.

Hua Feng Noodle Expert: Favoury Pork Flavor

2009-06-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

Hua Feng Noodle Expert: Favoury Pork Flavor
Stars: *
Notes: Aside from being 'favoury,' this wasn't really all that good. More like 'pork rancid favoury' if you ask me.

Hua Feng Noodle Expert: Spicy Instant Noodles - Spicy Seafood Flavor

2009-06-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

Hua Feng Noodle Expert: Spicy Instant Noodles - Spicy Seafood Flavor
Stars: ***
Notes: This stuff's actually quite different - it comes in a round cake of noodles, and fits quite snugly
into the cooking pot. Afte cooking it, it really sucks up water and basically turned into a big bowl of seafood spaghetti! Wasn't too shabby with some roman peasant bread left over from mother's day.

Indomie: Chicken Cup

2009-06-30T15:26:00.001-07:00

Indomie: Chicken Cup
Stars: **
Notes: A little too salty for my taste; was missing some important things like really tasty flavor and seasoning oil.
I suppose that's the trade-off when having a small cup-o-noodles style cup. However, one of the
coolest things in the ramen industry is the Indomie Folding Fork, which is included. It just folds and
snaps into place! Sturdy too. So yes, it's worth it for the fork.

Indomie: Chicken Curry Flavor

2009-06-30T15:23:00.000-07:00

Indomie: Chicken Curry Flavor
Stars: ****
Notes: Ah now this stuff is classy. First off yes, it tastes like curried chicken. There's oil, cabe [chili powder], fried onions, and bumbu sauce [the powdered base]. Another fine Indomie product to be sure. Best with a couple small pieces of BBQ pork on the side, a fried egg on top and some pickled ginger garnish.

Indomie: Curly Noodles With Grilled Chicken Flavor

2009-06-30T15:21:00.001-07:00

Indomie: Curly Noodles With Grilled Chicken Flavor
Stars: *****
Notes: This has to be the penultimate achievement in the ramen producing world. Fist off,
these noodles are great; they are flat and curly with an unsurpassed, fine
character. The package comes with a myriad of flavorings, including sweet soy,
bumbu sauce, seasoned oil, chili powder, and finally, an extra special packet.
After boiling the noodles and mixing with the seasonings in a bowl, you add 1/2
a cup of boiling water to this packet and stir - it's a soup base. This stuff is really
good - especially when you put two fried eggs on top of the ramen, then pour it
over slowly. Fried shallots on top of that with a bit of shedded pickled ginger makes
the scene complete. I can't recommend any ramen more than this one. This is top!

Indomie: Fried Noodles

2009-06-30T15:19:00.000-07:00

Indomie: Fried Noodles
Stars:****
Notes: Another one of Indomie's great line of noodles. These are your basic variety of noodles -
just plain fried. Best with some form of meat/vegetable garnish.

Indomie, Hot Fried Noodles

2009-06-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

Indomie: Hot Fried Noodles
Stars:****
Notes: Exactly the same as the above fried noodles, only this one has a bit of hot chili with it. It's quite hot and very good stuff - best with garnish, even better with fried eggs.

Indomie: Shrimp Flavor

2009-06-30T15:15:00.000-07:00

Indomie: Shrimp Flavor
Stars: ***
Notes: Not a bad bowl of noodles, although a little salty. Of course quite good when made with a
bit of fried or scrambled egg on top.

Indomie: Jumbo BBQ Chicken

2009-06-30T15:12:00.001-07:00

Indomie: Jumbo BBQ Chicken
Stars: ****
Notes: It's pretty good - a big bowl of noodles that don't really taste like barbecued chicken.
However, it's flavor is quite good and reminisent of the Satay variety.

Indomie: Jumbo Meat Ball

2009-06-30T15:09:00.000-07:00

Indomie: Jumbo Meat Ball
Stars:***
Notes: Strangely enough, this did have a slight hamburger-like flavor to it. It's best quality is
that it's a jumbo pack - can't gete nough of this stuff! Basically very much like the regular fried noodles.

Indomie: Satay Fried Noodles

2009-06-30T15:08:00.001-07:00

Indomie: Satay Fried Noodles
Stars: *****
Notes: This is the stuff that really got me into ramen. First off, five seasoning packets.
Second, by displaying sunny side up eggs on the packaging, I of course had to
try it for breakfast and quite enjoyed it. This is truly the alpha and omega of
the ramen hunter's holy grail. The first ramen I found that required the noodles
be drained, then added to the dry bowl with the seasonings/oils and stirred. An
extremely spiritual experience.

Indomie: Special Chicken

2009-06-30T15:06:00.001-07:00

Indomie: Special Chicken
Stars:****
Notes: Beats the living hell out of the domesticated 'Top Ramen Chicken' flavor. Although
it does lack a soup base as do all of Indomie's products but the special curlies, it's very
chickeny and great with eggs and even better with a bit of chicken.

Kim Ve Wong Brand Jaopai Series: Vegetarian Instant Noodles Mixed Flavor Bowl

2009-06-30T15:02:00.000-07:00

Kim Ve Wong Brand Jaopai Series: Vegetarian Instant Noodles Mixed Flavor Bowl

Stars: ZERO
Notes: Never thought it possible to give a zero star rating to noodles, but this one gets it for sure.
Sometimes, the noodles I try are almost too hot to eat, but I eat them anyways. However,
these noodles weren't at all palatable; they were horrid. A bowl with a retort pouch and a
sesame oil packet and base. Very nasty, due to the low quality retort pouch innards. I
wouldn't wish this stuff on my worst enemy. Perhaps tasting the food they make prior to allowing it to leave the factory might be a good tip.

Kung Fu: Chicken Flavor

2009-06-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

Kung Fu: Chicken Flavor

Stars: *
Notes: Well, as far as this stuff goes, I can truthfully say NOTHING SPECIAL GPING ON HERE. I really
was hoping I would be able to beat up bad guys and work it like Jackie Chan after eating it, but
this was not even remotely the case. Basically a bowl of chicken flavor noodles. Very much like
your standard Americanized noodles you'd find in a big supermarket.

Little Cook: Pork & Mustard Stem Bowl

2009-06-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

Little Cook: Pork & Mustard Stem Bowl

Stars: 1/2
Notes: This stuff is bad - very bad. Boasting great flavor because of fresh meat and
vegetables [retort pouch], the freshness wasn't there. As with many bowl noodles,
the ramen's quality is overlooked and the retort pouch is added. The pok was
spongy, like wet pork rinds and had a bitter, almopst sour coffee taste.

Lucky Me: Pancit Canton Chili Mansi Flavor

2009-06-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

Lucky Me: Pancit Canton Chili Mansi Flavor
Stars: ***
Notes: This is like the Kalamansi [Lime] flavor, but with a little kick. Perfect noodle to
go with gin and tonics.

Lucky Me: Supreme Bulalo Flavor Bowl [Beef Marrow]

2009-06-30T14:54:00.001-07:00

Lucky Me: Supreme Bulalo Flavor Bowl [Beef Marrow]
Stars: ***
Notes: This stuff was really decent - tasted like good beef broth and the noodles stood
firm and potent. What this bowl needed was perhaps a packet of dried onions
with it - would have pobably earned it another star.

Lucky Me: Pancit Canton Citrus Flavor

2009-06-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

Lucky Me: Pancit Canton Citrus Flavor
Stars: ***
Notes: This was something new for sure - citrus ramen? Well, it didn't taste all that
extremely fruity. I ate it without any adulterants [veggies, chicken, eggs etc]
and found it to be quite good - was like the way lemon juice highlights a good
salmon dish. Was definitely lime juice doing all the marketing here.

Lucky Me: Pancit Canton Hot Chili Flavor

2009-06-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

Lucky Me: Pancit Canton Hot Chili Flavor
Stars: ***
Notes: I was quite ill with horrible seasonal allergies when I tried this flavor, but
it was about perfect. What I found odd was that since ramen packs that
say hot chili usually live up to the name - not this one - not hot at all. I
suppose it could be due to the fact that I was sick and couldn't taste much...

Lucky Me: Itnok

2009-06-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

Lucky Me: Itnok
Stars: ***
Notes: This is some really decent stuff. A very tasty chicken broth and very curious noodles
round out this small bag. It seems this may be a childrens style of ramen also. I wonder what Itnok means - could it be the sound of the chicken emoting sheer joy being told it will be ground into a flavorful spice sack and packaged with a smiling likeness of itself? I'm hoping so, as if it were an unhappy chicken, Bock Bagok would be the name,

Mama: Oriental Style Instant (Chand Clear Soup)

2009-06-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

Mama: Oriental Style Instant (Chand Clear Soup)

Stars: ***
Notes: This stuff ain't too bad. Definitely rice noodles. The broth was extremely good - a little spicy, but clear as it purports. Tasted like a celery soup. Did just fine with it even
though I have a severe unrelated gut-ache.

Product Website: http://www.yifanmall.com/english/product.asp?id=102

Maruchan: Noodle Soup - Shrimp Flavor

2009-06-30T14:40:00.000-07:00

Maruchan: Noodle Soup - Shrimp Flavor
Stars: **

Notes: I don't know why, but the ramen companies that cater to the U.S. customer really dropped the
ball here - there's only one packet and the noodles are of very poor quality. However, this type of ramen's
saving grace is it's ability to be used to make a bastardized version of 'Spaetzel," a Scandinavian dish.

Product Website: http://www.maruchan.co.jp/index2.html

Mi Hai: Crab Flavor and Prawn Flavor

2009-06-30T14:37:00.000-07:00

Mi Hai: Crab Flavor and Prawn Flavor

Stars: *** 1/2
Notes: This is some really decent stuff - not a whole lot to it, but definitely tastes like crab and prawn.
The noodles are better than expected too. One note though, it does tend to give me extremely bad
heartburn. I don't like that.

Product Website: http://www.ramencity.com/asian/asianm21.htm

Myojo: Ippeichan Yakisoba Japanese Style Noodles

2009-06-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

Myojo: Ippeichan Yakisoba Japanese Style Noodles
Stars: ****
Notes: This stuff was way cool - it cxomes in a box with four seasoning packets. So ya take em' out and fill it up to the line with boiling water for 3 minutes. Then, you drain it [the lid has very keen drain spouts] and mix in the flavors. There's vegetables, nori, soba sauce and this very odd packet of mustard mayonnaise. Wish that dijonnaise tasted halfd as good. So yeah - very good box of ramen, and lives up to it's claim of being japanese style.

Myojo: Special Duck Flavor

2009-06-30T14:33:00.001-07:00

Myojo: Special Duck Flavor

Stars: *
Notes: This stuff is nasty. It does live up to being duck flavored, as it's VERY gamey and really stinks. Will NEVER eat this again.

Product Website: http://www.mama.th.com/TMFoods_Profile.htm

Namchow: Tom Yum Shrimp Bowl

2009-06-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

Namchow: Tom Yum Shrimp Bowl

Stars: *** 1/2
Notes: Just polished it off a minute ago. Not extremely complicated but a very satisfying bowl.
Upon opening the packaging, the consumer is greeted by two small but very clear pouches
of which one contains a mix of chili oil/seasoning oil, and the other a base with
dehydrated meat ad vegetables. After leaving it to steep with some boiling water, the
end product is a bowl full of bright red broth and some really greasy noodles. Wasn't a
really hot bowl; on the contrary, it was very citrussy flavored. But very very greasy. I
aan't begin to describe how greasy it is! A worthy bowl of noodles on it's own.

Nissin: ORIGINAL - 1958

2009-06-30T14:28:00.000-07:00

Nissin: ORIGINAL - 1958
Stars: *****
Notes: This is where ramen noodles all began. In fact, this is what
really got me into noodles. A long long time ago, I was able to get
Nissin brand 'Roasted Ramen' noodles at the normal supermarket.
For ages I tried to find it again, but finally found it at the local
oriental grocery. This stuff is awesome - it's got the seasoning in the
noodles. You can also eat this stuff uncooked - like potato chips,
or sprinkle it on salad etc. This is a score - try it!

Nissin: Curry Demae

2009-06-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

Nissin: Curry Demae
Stars: ****
Notes: Oh sweet elixir of life that brings exquisitely painful heartburn, curry be thy name. This stuff was excellent - very good curry flavor! The 'demae' variety is what we call Top Ramen in the United States. The character depicted on this pack is called 'Ching Chai,' and there's a big following for this little guy in Japan. Really good with some sliced hard boiled egg on top of fried egg with runny yolk makes the broth richer.

Nissin: Soba Noodles w/Mustard/Mayo Squirt

2009-06-30T14:19:00.000-07:00

Nissin: Soba Noodles w/Mustard/Mayo Squirt
Stars: ****
Notes: A very decent box noodle - lots of the squirty
mayo/mustard goop and the noodles tasted very much like
Sapporo's chow mein style. The best part is squirting the magical mayonnaise-mustard packet all over the place! It's very difficult to have the control needed to make the beautiful latticework as shown in the serving suggestion, so a picture of myself eating noodles was what I went for. Worth a try for sure.

Nissin: Spicy Flavor

2009-06-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

Nissin: Spicy Flavor
Stars:***
Notes: This is the variety of noodles you see when you enter this site
and in the background. It lives up to its' name as it is quite spicy. My only
issue with it is that the noodles are of the rice-vermicelli variety. Way too thin for me.

Nissin: Spicy Seafood Flavor w/Chili Pepper

2009-06-30T14:15:00.000-07:00

Nissin: Spicy Seafood Flavor w/Chili Pepper
Stars: **
This wasn't too bad at all, just not much really
special about it. As far as spiciness, nothing to sweat.

Nissin: Top Ramen Creamy Chicken Flavor

2009-06-30T14:11:00.001-07:00

Nissin: Top Ramen Creamy Chicken Flavor

Stars: **** 1/2
Notes: As I have said before, dropped the ball here - really pedestrian. If you're looking for something
authentic, this isn't it. One thing though - this is the company that originated
ramen! This flavor caught my eye today as I feel under the weather and was
hungry. I threw a good tablespoon or two of minced onion [dehydrated] in it
and was pleasantly surprised. If I had another package of it, I would be hard
not to eat it right this instant. The high marks are earned for the flavor, but as far as adventure, it gets a single star.

Product Website: http://www.nissinfoods.com

Nong Shim: Ansungtangmyun Noodle Soup

2009-06-30T14:09:00.001-07:00

Nong Shim: Ansungtangmyun Noodle Soup
Stars: ***
This stuff was very odd - I enjoy odd things,
so that's why the 3 stars. It was like an udon
style noodle first off, and came weith a
seasoning packet that was enormous. I ended
up haviong jalapeno bread with it because it comes
out more like a hot flavor spaghetti than anything.

Nong Shim: Champong Oriental Noodles

2009-06-30T14:04:00.000-07:00

Nong Shim: Champong Oriental Noodles
Stars: **
Notes: First off, this was a pretty big package; more like very big. There was
a pack of dehydrated fish as well - octopus, cuttlefish, seaweed etc.
Also, the noodles were Udon style [extra thick]. After I made it, I
realized that the broth was quite dark and deep red. The octopus was
black too - and after the noodles, drinking the last bit of broth was
what I imagine a ton of fish blood and salt would be like.

Nong Shim: Neoguri [Seafood'n'Spicy]

2009-06-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

Nong Shim: Neoguri [Seafood'n'Spicy]
Stars: **
This stuff is salty and weird. The noodles are nasty, but
the broth is very potable and potent. Becomes a
darkish red rust color and is strangely thick with bits
of octopus etc in it.

Nong Shim: Shin Ramyun

2009-06-30T14:00:00.001-07:00

Nong Shim: Shin Ramyun
Stars: ***

Much better than the Neoguri but much the same.
This stuff's pretty spicy and salty, and the noodles
are a bit better than neoguri. Like Neoguri, they
are udon style and the noodles are in a condensed
round shape out of the package, easily dropped into
a small round pot.

Ottogi: Jin Ramen - Hot Taste

2009-06-30T13:58:00.001-07:00

Ottogi: Jin Ramen - Hot Taste
Stars: ***
Notes:This is quite good - the noodles are pretty garden variety, but there's a nice quantity of them.
I made the noodles as per the instructions on the package, but I drained a good portion of the
water off before putting them in my bowl, adding the hot flavor soup base and the veggies. I put a
single fried egg on top and voila! A good, robust and filling bowl of ramen. Tasty stuff!

Quickchow: Pancit Palabok

2009-06-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

Quickchow: Pancit Palabok
Stars: ** 1/2

Notes: This is an odd one. I have tried quite a few Filipino ramens, but I would have
to say Quickchow is probably the best. This is a rather dry rice noodle ramen. The flavor
is interesting. Only way I know how to describe it.

Product Website: http://www.pilipinomart.com/addcart.asp?productid=42&identifier=30

Samyang: Kalgug-Su (Spicy)

2009-06-30T13:52:00.001-07:00

Samyang: Kalgug-Su (Spicy)
Stars: *** 1/2
Notes: A very good package of noodles. This one took quite a bit of looking around to find out
what brand/type it is. So the noodles are very much like Indomie's special - but they
are VERY wide - wide as egg noodles! Was a great bowl of soup with the
only exception being that it had some dehydrated mushrooms in it that were
extremely foul. I thought since the name Kalgug sounded like an overture to regurgitation, that word must refer to the mushrooms.

Samyang: Pojangmacha U-Dong

2009-06-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

Samyang: Pojangmacha U-Dong
Stars: ** 1/2
Notes: These were some interesting noodles. First off, they are called 'u-dong' and not 'udon.' Second,
they had something called 'sea tangle.' I believe that the sea tangle is the true redeeming quality
of this package. As far as the flavor, it wasn't the best in the world. Wasn't really seafoody... I
dunno - didn't really taste different - just 'other' seafoody, and smelled good. I mostly enjoyed the very
exciting sea tangle.

Samyang: Hot

2009-06-30T13:44:00.000-07:00

Samyang: Hot
Stars: *** 1/2

Notes: A pretty big, pretty good bowl of noodles. Make sure to cook it for extra long as it's not
good stuff, just not the best quality noodle. Dropped a couple eggs into it while cooking -
came out awesome. 2 packets of seasoning, one vegetables and dehydrated meat, one
just soup base.

Product Website: http://www.samyang.com/

Sapporo Ichiban: Chow Mein

2009-06-30T11:56:00.001-07:00

Sapporo Ichiban: Chow Mein
Stars: ***1/2
Notes: Now this stuff is quite different - and quite good as well. It definitely
tastes like a greasy, heavily sauce laden noodle. The broth is dark brown
mainly because of all the soy, but it's not all that salty. It is quite good
and I highly recommend it. One of the more compelling packets in this one is a little cellophane pouch of 'green laver.' It's seaweed powder and adds a delicately mossy green shade to the concoction if added like pepper evenly to the top. This is a must for the adventurous and keen on the weird factor.

Sapporo Ichiban: Shrimp Flavor

2009-06-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

Sapporo Ichiban: Shrimp Flavor
Stars: ** 1/2
Notes: Wasn't all that jazzed about this stuff - I do think I like the Maruchan Shimp a
tad bit better. Th difference however, is that this package of noodles is very
dense - lots of noodles! A plus, but not enough to make me stoked.

Six Fortune: Chicken Flavor Instant Soup Noodle

2009-06-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

Six Fortune: Chicken Flavor Instant Soup Noodle
Stars: **
Notes: Your basic chicken flavor noodles. The only reason it got two
stars was that it had pretty good noodles.

Smack: Vegetable Beef

2009-06-22T15:11:00.000-07:00

Smack: Vegetable Beef
Stars: * 1/2

Notes: Receiving the one and a half stars primarily because of its' bold daring name,
'Smack' is still even in this form not my drug of choice. An American Union
Made noodle through and through. Says it only takes three minutes, but the
noodles were dense and very spiteful. The flavor was a standard, unoriginal
vegetable beef which you'd find in a can of soup. Would only recommend this
brand to those who would just use the noodle for frying with eggs, and still I don't
Think eggs require that much punishment.

Product Website: http://www.unionfoods.com

Sutah: Cup Noodle

2009-06-22T15:09:00.000-07:00

Sutah: Cup Noodle
Stars: **
Notes: What a strange little cup noodle... A deep red broth with some strange
little bits of something. Not sure what they are - possibly soto? Not sure. One
of the items I was happily able to purchase across the street at the Markette Deli
on State Street in Marysville.

Tung-I: Chinese Beef

2009-06-22T15:07:00.000-07:00

Tung-I: Chinese Beef
Stars: ***
Notes: This was quite good - the base tasted like nothing I've tried before. Very much
like a mongolian beef sauce - was really good.

Ve Wong: Mushroom Pork

2009-06-22T15:05:00.000-07:00

Ve Wong: Mushroom Pork
Stars: *
Notes: Yuck, This stuff smelled and tasted like mushrooms.
In fact it had bits of dehydrated mushrooms. I don't
really enjoy mushrooms all that much, especially
the ones that are slimy. The soup wasn't even edible.

Vifon: Nam Vang

2009-06-22T15:03:00.000-07:00

Vifon: Nam Vang
Stars: ** 1/2
Notes: This stuff wasn't bad - basically a typical salty rice noodle snack ramen from Vietnam. It would not
do well with an egg though, as the noodles weren't the most strong and a lot of them turned to an
almost gelatinous state - not from overcooking I assure you. Other than the weak fortitude of the
noodles, the broth was fine as were the dried vegetables.

Vifon: Hu Tiu Nam Vang ["Phnom Penh" style] Asian Style Instant Rice Noodles

2009-06-22T14:50:00.001-07:00

Vifon: Hu Tiu Nam Vang ["Phnom Penh" style] Asian Style Instant Rice Noodles
Stars: ***1/2
Notes: Good bowl of noodles - Rice noodles with floating vegetable things [don't think they were
mushrooms, but they definately were onions] and a clear broth. The broth was quite good
and went very nicely with the noodles. Probably the best cambodian style noodles I've had.

Product Website: http://www.therichcom.com/supermarket/details.asp?product=12057

Wai Wai: Oriental Style Instant Noodles

2009-06-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

Wai Wai: Oriental Style Instant Noodles
Stars: *
Notes: One star. It reminds me way too much of their other ramen, called 'Sour Soup.' This is
pure gut-wrenching heartburn ladies and gentlemen! Make sure you have some Tums and a bed
available for the next day or so.

Wai Wai: Tom Yum Shrimp Flavor

2009-06-22T14:45:00.000-07:00

Wai Wai: Tom Yum Shrimp Flavor
Stars: **
Notes: Some pretty damn hot noodles! On the back they have put this style's motto: 'Softer Noodles,
Quicker To Be Served.' It was true, these cooked up quickly, but they were insidiously hot, and
this annoyed me. Also, not even a hint of shrimp flavor.

Wai Wai: Tom Yum Chili Flavor

2009-06-22T14:40:00.000-07:00

Wai Wai: Tom Yum Chili Flavor
Stars: **
Notes: Some pretty damn hot noodles! On the back they have put this style's motto: 'Softer Noodles,
Quicker To Be Served.' It was true, these cooked up quickly, but they were insidiously hot, and
this annoyed me.

Westbrae: Miso Ramen

2009-06-22T14:37:00.001-07:00

Westbrae: Miso Ramen

Stars: 1/2
Notes: This stuff ranks very low on my chart of good ramen. It's marketd obviously to the
'health conscious' ramenphile, however, it's $3.00 a pack price and paltry, weak wheat
noodles lacked character, as did it's bland tasteless broth. I was very, very, very
b DISAPPOINTED.

Product Website: http://www.westbrae.co

More about the old

2009-06-18T14:55:00.001-07:00

So first a bit about one of my favorites and one of my nemeses. First, Indomie Jumbo BBQ Chicken instant noodles. This stuff is a perfect example of well thought out noodles, in that they have a few packets in there for more preparation fun, and there's a lot of noodles. These are of the five star ilk, but I have but one complaint about them: unless you eat them quickly, after you cook 'em, they dry out and get frumpy and obstinate on the fork.

As far as noodles I'm not so fond of, these are Nissin Demae Ramen noodles - red package. They are basically overly salty and require a lot of garnish to fend off the smell. I would say however that Nissin Demae Curry flavor is one of my favorites. In this case, the noodles are standard cheap ramen noodles; its the stinky powder I can't stomach.

Back from the deadness...

2009-06-18T13:59:00.001-07:00

Over 7 years have passed since the inception of ramenrater.com. For much of the past few years though, I haven't really done much with it due to other interests. I'm happy to say I've decided to spend more time with ramenrater.com again and update it. Above, you can see the A-M and N-Z links - they do as the old site did. Reviews will be done in blog format from here on out, and henceforward will be searchable by brand and flavor, etcetera.