I'm diving into what might be the strangest product I’ve ever reviewed: Nissin Cup Noodles Pumpkin Spice flavor. Yes, it’s real. This seasonal item first launched in fall 2021 and returned in 2022, showing up in stores across the US between September and November. I didn’t expect to find one this late in the season, but there it was on clearance at a local supermarket, because of course it was.
Origin: USA
Snapdragon Miso Ramen Review | Noodle Journey Episode 27
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."
Snapdragon Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen Review | Noodle Journey Episode 26
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!
Nongshim Neoguri Review | Noodle Journey Episode 25
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.
Momofuku Noodles: The Basic Hack | Noodle Journey
Full disclosure - this Momofuku Noodles: The Basic Hack article works better as a video, which you can view by clicking above. However, for the sake of completion, I'm giving this one a write-up in the same way as my video reviews. Read on if you'd like to learn more about this simple little noodle hack!
After reviewing all three varieties in the Momofuku noodle lineup, I came to the same conclusion about two of them: great noodles, boring sauce. While that's not a great thing, it does actually make them a nice blank canvas. So let me explain to you how to take those underwhelming packets and turn them into something way more satisfying with just a few simple additions. In the video, I used a Soy & Scallion pack, but you can pull this off with any of the Momofuku flavors (or even many A-Sha flavors!).
Momofuku Soy & Scallion Noodles Review | Noodle Journey Episode 18
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.
Lotus Foods Purple Potato Rice Ramen with Turmeric Curry Soup Review | Noodle Journey Episode 13
Welcome back to another purple noodle review as I continue my quest to find something gluten-free that doesn’t taste like punishment. This is another Lotus Foods variety, their Purple Potato Rice Ramen with Turmeric Curry Soup. If you caught my review of their Forbidden Rice Ramen with White Miso Soup, you’ll recall I wasn’t exactly kind to the broth in that one. The noodles were fine, but the flavor was a total debacle. This one, at least on paper, looks more promising thanks to the addition of actual spices and the novelty of potato-based noodles.
Lotus Foods Forbidden Rice Ramen White Miso Soup Review | Noodle Journey Episode 10
By viewer request, this episode dives into the gluten-free aisle with Lotus Foods’ Forbidden Rice Ramen White Miso Soup. I don’t have any gluten sensitivity myself, but I picked up one of every rice-based variety Lotus Foods makes so I can include everyone in this noodle journey, starting with this one. It was available at Wegman’s for $1.89 at the time of this review, which is fairly reasonable for a 2.8 oz. package, especially considering it’s vegan and gluten-free.
Bravado Aka Miso Hot Sauce Review | Noodle Journey Supplemental Episode
In this bonus episode, I highlight a personal favorite: Bravado Spice Co.’s Aka Miso Ghost Reaper hot sauce. This one’s become my go-to when I want to inject serious heat into a bowl of noodles without losing the underlying flavor of the dish.
Momofuku Tingly Chili Wavy Noodles Review | Noodle Journey Episode 7
As promised back in Episode 4, I finally get my hands on Momofuku Tingly Chili Wavy Noodles. At the time of review, all three Momofuku noodle flavors had recently come back in stock after a long absence. This Tingly Chili variety is a different noodle recipe than the other Momofuku varieties, with a visibly wavier, flatter cut. And as I learned this time around, it comes with a serious pedigree: the noodles are co-developed with A-Sha (yes, the same A-Sha behind their own popular Taiwanese-style noodles), though it's unclear exactly who contributes what.