Detailed instant noodle reviews and ratings – watch, read, and discover your next favorite.
This review continues the Snapdragon saga, this time with their Snapdragon Miso Ramen, a "Sapporo-style" miso broth. Following up on last episode’s dismal tonkotsu review, I'm bracing myself for disappointment again, but trying to remain impartial. I paid $3.19 for this cup at my local supermarket at the time of this review. It’s microwavable and contains the same cup format as before, claiming
"rich, vibrant, mouth-watering umami flavor."
This review features my first-ever encounter with a Snapdragon product, a brand I wasn’t familiar with before spotting it at my local Acme. I paid $3.19 for this Snapdragon Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen cup, which is more than any other cup product I’ve reviewed so far. Snapdragon markets itself as delivering premium street food flavor, but this price tag is tough to justify unless it really delivers. This brand also offers other flavors like miso, curry, and pho in mainstream US grocery chains, and I've heard very good things about their pho in particular. Let's see how this goes!
For this 25th review milestone, I wanted to do something a little special. I had originally planned to review the Korean import of Nongshim Neoguri, a spicy seafood ramyun with thick udon-style noodles. But while prepping for the shoot, I noticed a twist: my local Wegmans carried a version manufactured in the US, while the one I had bought online was manufactured in Korea for export to the US. That might sound like a small difference, but the ingredients told a very different story.
This review features one of the most beloved instant noodles on the planet: Indomie Mi Goreng. This particular variety is basically synonymous with Indonesian instant noodles; other brands make mi goreng, sure, but when people mention it, they almost always mean this one. It’s something I've had many times prior to this review, but I wanted to showcase it here because it's got a lot of great things going for it: it's dirt cheap, packed with flavor, and extremely easy to find worldwide.
In this review, I finally dive into the Mama brand, which has a massive online following thanks to its affordability and wide flavor variety. I’ve never tried any of their products until now, so I’m starting with the Mama Pa-Lo Duck Noodles flavor, which was the most interesting pack (to me) that I noticed at my local Asian market. From what I was able to deduce in my research, this is inspired by a Thai stew called Kai Pa-Lo, traditionally made with braised pork and egg and seasoned with Chinese five spice. I couldn’t find much information about a duck variant, so I assume this is a vegan interpretation that blends artificial duck flavor with traditional five spice elements.
This review marks my first experience with jjajangmen, or black bean sauce noodles, starting with Nongshim Chapagetti. You might recognize this from the movie Parasite, where it was combined with Neoguri and steak to make the now-famous “Chapaguri” (or “ram-don”). I actually tried that hack myself before starting the channel, but I never tasted Chapagetti or Neoguri on their own until now. Nongshim has since released a bowl version of Chapaguri, which I’ll check out if I find it.
In this review, I'm taking a look at Paldo Namja Ramyun, a Korean red chili and garlic soup with a very bold marketing campaign. “Namja” translates to “man,” and Paldo has leaned into that with a hilariously over-the-top commercial you can find if you search on YouTube. Thankfully, anyone can enjoy this soup regardless of how masculine they feel. I’ve had good luck with Paldo’s Premium Gomtang before, so I'm hoping this one would also deliver.
This Sapporo Ichiban Soy Sauce Flavor Ramen Bowl is my first time reviewing a Sapporo Ichiban product, despite the brand being one of the most recommended and widely available ramen options in the US. These are made by a company called Sanyo. and this flagship soy sauce flavor dates back to 1966 and is often compared to the old “Oriental” (their word, not mine) flavor from Top Ramen or Maruchan, though I never really loved either of those, so hopefully this has more going on than those do. I’ve been aware of Sapporo Ichiban for a long time but never actually tried any of their products until now.
In this review, I’m finally checking one of the most hyped (and most expensive) instant ramen products out there: Ichiran Tonkotsu Ramen. Ichiran is a famous chain of Japanese ramen shops with many locations around the globe. Some call it the McDonalds of the ramen world because of its ubiquity, but by all accounts (I've never been to one in person), it sounds like it's still a damn fine meal. This noodle kit comes as a five-pack of straight noodles with a concentrated liquid tonkotsu broth and an optional spice packet, designed to replicate the flavor of their famous shops. I’ve already gone through two servings before this review, which should tell you something right away. But the big question is whether this lives up to its reputation and its price.
It’s time to round out the Momofuku noodle lineup, at least for now at the time of this review, with Momofuku Soy & Scallion flavor. This is the third variety I’ve reviewed after the Spicy Soy and Tingly Chili, and if you’ve seen those reviews, you know I’ve got a lot of love for the quality of the noodles. Credit goes to A-Sha for creating something with serious quality and texture. The Spicy Soy sauce packet was fine but a little underwhelming flavor-wise. The Tingly Chili kicked things up nicely and had a much broader array of flavors besides just soy. This one? It’s basically the Spicy Soy sauce minus the chili oil, with a pack of dried scallions added in. So today’s overall score is going to hinge almost entirely on whether those scallions pull their weight.