The Noodle Freak

Permanent Hiatus

2011-10-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

With family, work, website, podcast, and commuting taking up all of my time, I cannot update this site anymore. I have about 10 posts in draft that I will probably never finish. If you are a subscriber, thanks for sticking with me this long, but I will be going on a permanent hiatus.

What does that mean? It means I'm pretty much done, but wouldn't say that I will never ever come back and continue. It's just highly improbable.

Plus, this guy is doing pretty much the same thing and does a better job of updating (though I wish he would get into more detail).

Thank you.

News: Death Cab for Vietnamese: Nick Harmer's Guide to the best Pho in Seattle

2011-05-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

I know I've been neglecting this blog lately and I promise that I haven't forgotten about it. Truth is, I have a few reviews in draft, but I just don't have time to touch them up and post them. I've been busy watching lots of movies, taking lots of photos, and working on my new podcast.

However, today I read a noodle-related article written by the bassist of my favorite band, Death Cab for Cutie. In "Death Cab for Vietnamese", Nick Harmer writes about his top three favorite phở restaurants in the Seattle:

1) Than Brothers (516 Broadway East)
2) Pho Cyclo (406 Broadway East)
3) Cafe Pho (401 NE Northgate Way)

I've stated my complaints against phở restaurants in Seattle on this blog before, but that doesn't mean that there aren't any decent places to grab a bowl of the rice noodles. I have not been to any of Harmer's favorite restaurants before, but am now curious about trying them. If I ever do try them out, and get back to writing on this blog again, I'll be sure to share my experiences.

Nick Harmer's article can be read here on Drowned in Sound.

Review: Golden Wonder The Nation's Noodle - Sweet & Sour

2010-10-23T22:35:00.000-07:00

Golden Wonder The Nation's Noodle - Sweet & Sour.

Here is the third pot noodle I received from a friend in England. I sort of tried these in order of what I thought would taste the worst to what I thought would taste the best. I expected The Nation's Noodle's Sweet & Sour to be fairly tasty. Was I right or wrong? Read on to find out.

Top of Sweet & Sour pot noodle.

I can't say that sweet and sour sauce is my favorite thing in the world, but I'll eat it. I've always had a prejudice against meat being sweet. It's only within the last few years that I've accepted BBQ sauce for what it is and will occasionally buy orange chicken. I was interested to see if this would please my palate.

The inside before adding boiling water.

The noodles are the same texture and quality as the other Nation's Noodle product I reviewed. It is made the same way, too, and the outcome is a thicker stew-like broth instead of a soupy one.

Sweet & Sour soup.

The taste is not the same kind of sweet and sour that we might be used to over here in America. It actually tasted more like tomato soup. In fact, calling this flavor Tomato Soup instead of Sweet & Sour would make a ton more sense. There were also too many vegetables. Lots of red peppers, green peppers, and carrots. Had bad texture, too. I couldn't even finish it all.

Spoonful of The Nation's Noodle Sweet & Sour.

There's nothing special about this flavor of The Nation's Noodle. I don't really know who would especially like this. Juliana didn't really care much for it either. The flavor is just too sour and doesn't really appeal to us.

Video: Ramen and Udon Vending Machine

2010-10-22T17:17:00.000-07:00

Man, I wish we had something like this here. Quality doesn't look very good, but the machine looks a little dated and the price is only 300 yen ($3.69). I wonder how it tastes.

Review: Wakuwaku Club Wheat Puff Chocolate

2010-10-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

Wakuwaku Club Wheat Puff Chocolate.

I read a favorable review on wheat chocolate a while back and have been wanting to try it ever since. I had never even seen or heard of it before, which is surprising because I'd like to think that I'm in touch with Asian snacks. I finally got the chance to try some a couple months ago and if you want to know what I thought, continue reading my review.

Wakuwaku Club's Wheat Puff Chocolate is basically chocolate covered barley puffs. The best way to describe it is chocolate covered Smacks cereal. If this sounds delicious to you, trust me when I say that it most certainly is. If you're not a fan of Smacks, then you might not like this.

Little morsels of tastiness.

Wheat Puff Chocolate looks like a smaller chocolate covered raisin, or maybe a chocolate covered coffee bean. The chocolate is good quality, but is slightly darker than milk chocolate. I wonder how good this would taste with a lighter chocolate. Possibly better. The wheat puff was not as crunchy or crispy as cereal or as I would have liked it. Every once in a while, I would eat one that seemed stale.

A bite into a Wheat Puff Chocolate.

In a world where we coat everything with chocolate these days, I don't know why the American food industry hasn't tried to make this product. It's very addictive as I remember finishing the whole bag in two days. If you are lucky enough to come across this product or similar ones (Wakuwaku Club is not the only company that makes them) at your local Asian grocery store, definitely give this a try. I know I will, again.

Video: Replicating Restaurant Ramen

2010-10-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

NHK's Cool Japan showed a video on how it is possible to replicate the high quality tastes of ramen from ramen restaurants for instant noodle packages. The development manager is an interesting chap as he can replicate ramen simply by smelling it, tasting it, and jotting down notes of what he thinks is in it.

Review: Golden Wonder Pot Noodle - Mr. Chu's Golden Noodle No. 7 Sticky Rib

2010-09-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

Golden Wonder Pot Noodle - Mr. Chu's Golden Noodle No. 7 Sticky Rib.

I present to you the longest title for an instant noodle product ever! Alright, so I don't really have any proof of that, but you do have to admit that it's pretty ridiculous. Sticky Rib Pot Noodle is my second noodle product sent over to me by a good friend I have over in England. They aren't exactly known for their food, so will Sticky Rib stick with me? Find out after the jump.

Unlike most Pot Noodle packages, No. 7 Sticky Rib is a little more flashy. It has Asian font, bright red colors, and a dragon. I think this fictional Mr. Chu is supposed to be Chinese, but there is also a picture of a Maneki Neko on it. Chances are, you've seen Maneki Neko before. It's also known as Welcoming Cat, Lucky Cat, Money cat, or Fortune Cat. Some people call it Chinese Lucky Cat, but they are WRONG! Wrong! You hear me!? That's wrong!

Gotta love that British humor (humour).

Ahem, sorry about that folks. Getting back to the review, Sticky Rib's flavor is based on Chinese Spare Ribs. My grandmother used to make this often and she still does! I wasn't sure if a pot noodle was going to be able to capture this unique taste, but I had to give it a try.

What Mr. Chu's Golden Noodle No. 7 looks like.

Like the last pot noodle I tried, Chip Shop Curry, this one comes with the dry seasoning already mixed in with the noodles. Now, unlike Chip Shop Curry, this one comes with a separate pouch with a wet seasoning mix inside. You do not add it until the end. I tried the noodles before and after the wet mix, but couldn't really tell much of a difference. The broth is not very thick and I'm beginning to think that all of Pot Noodle's products are like this. Kind of interesting how the Americans eat it more as a soup.

Adding the Peking Sauce. Not sure how this really improved the taste.

My first bite of this noodle was amazing. It immediately took me back to the spare ribs my grandma makes. How did they steal her recipe!? Seriously though, the flavor is almost spot on! I would have loved to have thrown some of the meat that she makes in here and it would be my perfect meal. No joke.

Here is what I think is going on in her mind in each frame: 1. "What is this odd concoction that you have placed before me?" 2. "It tastes kind of weird." 3. "I don't like it! I don't like it!" 4. "My give up."

As you can tell, Juliana did not like this one at all. I don't really blame her because it's such a bold and different taste. It's really a shame because the flavors are fantastic. Good on Golden Wonder for making such an authentic product. Wish this one was available here. I would get it often. It's fairly low calorie and low sodium, too!

More photos:

Review: Golden Wonder The Nation's Noodle - Chip Shop Curry

2010-08-30T00:17:00.000-07:00

Golden Wonder The Nation's Noodle - chip shop curry.

A few months ago, I asked a friend of mine who lives in England to send me a few instant noodle items from there that I wouldn't be able to buy here in the States. He sent me a box of four cup noodles (or as the Brits call them, "pot noodles") and the chip shop flavor of The Nation's Noodle was one of them. Can they make a noodle product as good as Japan, China, or the United States? Check back to read all of my reviews, but if you are interested in this one, click the 'Read more' link.

A thin plastic lid covers The Nation's Noodle instead of paper like Nissin's Cup Noodles.

Golden Wonder is a British company that manufactures snack foods, most notably potato chips (or crisps). Founded in 1947 by the Scottish bakery owner William Alexander, the company was named after the golden wonder potato, which is a late maincrop russet skinned variety of potato and is reputed by some to have the best flavour of all potato varieties. In 1977, the noodle brand Pot Noodle was developed by Golden Wonder in Japan, before being launched in the United Kingdom in 1979. Pot Noodles are manufactured in Crumlin, Caerphilly, Wales. The range of instant snacks in a pot named The Nation's Noodle and The Nation's Pasta were launched by the same company last year. They come in seven different flavors, and I would say they are separate from Pot Noodle in that the flavors come more from traditional British cuisine.

Contents of chip shop curry pot noodle.

The name chip shop curry was a little confusing to me at first, but I took a stab at it and asked my friend to verify my thoughts:

ME: What is a Chip Shop? My guess is it's short for Fish and Chip Shop, but do they normally have curry?

FRIEND: Yep, chip shop is short for fish and chip shop. Most chip shops do curry sauce, which people like to dip their chips into.

ME: Interesting. I was never given the options to dip my chips in curry sauce. That totally sounds good, especially since I love putting potatoes in my curry.

So, I was sort of looking forward to this one. The packaging is actually simple and has nice contrasting colors. The directions are kind of comedic. Only the Brits would make cooking instant noodles funny. This is the first cup noodle where I've been instructed to stir it right after I added the hot water. It also has the longest standing time with the lid closed: five minutes. Being used to the average three minutes, this one took a little while. I'm not sure why it needed to stand longer. You even stir it again half way through its standing time.

Cooking instructions with some British humor.

When I peeled off the lid when it was done cooking, there was a nice curry aroma. I saw a few chunks of something inside and wondered what it could be. Original thoughts were potatoes, olives, or fenugreek seed. What do you think by this picture?

You'll never guess what chunky surprises are waiting for you in this instant noodle.

If you answered fruit, then you get a cookie! That's right, the chunks inside chip shop curry cup noodle are two kinds of fruit: apples and raisins. I am baffled by this... sort of. I've had sweet Indian curries that have had raisins in them, so that's not too surprising, but I've never had apple in my curry before. Do fish and chip shops in the U.K. normally do this?

The noodles are similar to Nissin's Cup Noodle, except they might be a little bit wider. The soup itself... well, I wouldn't even call it a soup. It's pretty thick even though I added the correct amount of water. It's more like a watery sauce. The curry flavor is definitely there, but there's a sweetness to it that's undesirable. Oh, and it's not spicy at all.

At least it looks good.

Juliana ate the full serving I gave her, but I don't think she really liked them. No mmm's or yummy's from her. As for me, well, I just can't get past the sweetness of the sauce and the fruit. It's silly, IMO. I feel like I'm eating oatmeal or something. I can't recommend this one at all. I'm hoping the rest aren't this bad.

Review: Calpis Marshmallow

2010-08-20T08:26:00.000-07:00

Calpis Marshmallow.

Those who keep up with this blog know that I am a big fan of Calpis Calpico Water. So, when I stumbled upon Calpis Marshmallow, I got really excited. After the jump, find out whether or not I liked it.

Calpis Calpico Water is imported into the United States and has appropriately Americanized packaging. This is not the case with Calpis Marshmallow. Aside from the name of the product, the packing is entirely in Japanese. There is a sticker on the back of the bag with the nutritional facts though. The packaging is attractive and in the same color scheme as the original Calpis flavor.

You can see the marshmallows through a window in the bag and they look attractive. They are more round than they are tubular like normal marshmallows, and they have little nipples. ^^; A small picture on the front of the package reveals that there is a liquid filling. Sweet!...?

A bite into a Calpis Marshmallow. It has a liquid center.

Opening the bag, you certainly get a whiff of straight up plain marshmallows. But when you actually take a bite, you realize it's something different. The texture is good and not too sugary. There's definitely the classic Calpis flavor inside. Looking at the ingredients, this must be because of the lactic acid, citric acid, and milk.

Now the filling, that's the interesting part. It's gooey and yellowish. The taste is bitter. I like the concept of putting a liquid filling in a marshmallow, but this wasn't pleasant.

A bunch of Calpis Marshmallows. They looks like eggs.

Juliana took one bite of this and didn't want anymore after. I can't really blame her as I'm not a big fan of it either. For marshmallow fans, this is probably worth a try, but your average person probably would not like it.

Review: Sun Noodle Tonkotsu Ramen

2010-08-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

Sun Noodle Tonkotsu Ramen.

Sun Noodle makes one of my favorite instant noodles, Hawaii's Original Saimin. A big reason for it is because of the fresh noodles. The broth is good, but I'm not crazy about it. One of my favorite flavors of traditional Japanese ramen is tonkotsu ramen, so when I saw that Sun Noodle made their own, I had to try it. Will I love it just as much as their saimin? Continue reading to find out.

For those of you who don't know, tonkotsu ramen has a thick broth made from boiling pork bones, fat, and collagen. It results in a slightly cloudy white colored broth. I usually get this or shoyu ramen whenever I visit ramen restaurants.

Contents of Sun Noodle's Tonkotsu Ramen.

Sun Noodle's tonkotsu comes in a big package with two full servings separated in one bag. I only cooked one serving for this review. The noodles are thin and mostly straight like real tonkotsu ramen should be. They are fresh noodles from the refrigerated section and still have flour on them to make sure they don't stick together. The noodles are cooked separately from the broth.

Tonkotsu ramen noodles waiting to be dropped in the boiling water.

The seasoning packet actually has a really thick paste in it. It's really unattractive looking. You're supposed to plop it into a bowl with 1.5 cups of hot water and mix it. The picture below will show you what that looks like before stirring. Hideous, huh? It doesn't get much better either. Now, I know tonkotsu is supposed to be a murky white broth, but the final outcome for Sun Noodle's tonkotsu is just ridiculous. It looks as white as milk.

Tonkotsu flavoring turd at bottom of hot water in bowl.

The broth tastes fine. Actually, it tastes really good. Best instant noodle tonkotsu I've had. But I have a really hard time getting by the Snow White broth. I've never seen it look this cloudy before. I couldn't tell my brain to keep ignoring the fact that I'm drinking pork extract and not milk. It's weird. Other than that, this is a fine bowl of noodles that would benefit from some actual pork meat, or even chicken meat, an egg, and maybe some scallions.

Crazy milky looking broth in this one. Compare it to the tonkotsu ramen I get at Samurai Noodle. Big difference, huh?

Juliana liked the noodles and she drank the broth. I think as a child, she doesn't really think about how the soup looks, so she can focus on the taste. So, there you have it. This is something I could eat every once in a while, but not too often. There's gotta be better instant tonkotsu ramen out there. Any suggestions?

More photos:

Review: Dr. McDougall's Right Foods Ramen - Chicken Flavor

2010-08-12T09:14:00.000-07:00

Dr. McDougall's Right Foods Ramen - chicken flavor.

McChord Air Force Base has a tiny organic/natural foods section in the commissary. I haven't had a great experience with these type of instant noodles, but I'm here to review as much as I can. Dr. McDougall's Ramen is a unique cup noodle in that the chicken flavor comes from a non-meat source. That's right. It's vegetarian. Will I like it? Read on to find out.

Dr. McDougall's comes in a paper cup that is similar to Nong Shim's Shin Cup. The packaging is actually not too bad, except there's a drawing of the noodles on it instead of an actual picture. Dr. McDougall's Right Foods products are made in San Francisco, CA, and as I mentioned, are all-natural.

The baked noodles and dried vegetables sitting free in the cup.

Pop open the top of the cup and inside you'll find a packet of seasoning in the middle of loose noodles and dried veggies. I've never had a cup noodle where the noodles are all loose like that. It must be because they are baked and not fried. Plus, the noodles are really thin and short. About as thin as spaghetti and as short as Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup noodles. No... shorter.

Unlike Cup Noodles, Dr. McDougall's Ramen has a separate seasoning packet, more typical of a bowl noodle.

You add the seasoning packet before the water, so I wonder what the point of having the packet is in the first place. Couldn't they have just mixed it in? After cooking, some of the noodles on top looked like they might not have gotten cooked at the way, but after mixing it up good, I couldn't tell a difference. The noodles are pretty tasty and seem to soak up the broth well. The broth is also surprisingly good. I'm surprised that this is true, especially with the lack of natural chicken flavor and sodium content. I could drink this broth a lot. Unfortunately, I think there are too many vegetables in it. It's all good if that's you're thing, but it's not really mine. The carrots, spinach, green beans, and corn were pretty flavorless.

A spoonful of Dr. McDougall's chicken flavor Ramen.

Dr. McDougall's Ramen is a case of love the broth, but dislike everything else. Juliana did not get a chance to try it, but she might have liked it. For you vegetarian/natural foods people out there, this might be your cup of tea.

More photos:

Review: Nissin Chow Mein - Spicy Chicken

2010-08-08T00:04:00.000-07:00

Nissin Chow Mein - spicy chicken.

Nissin USA makes a lot of noodle products. Some good, some bad, but none of them great. Here is the spicy chicken flavor of their Chow Mein line. Americans love their chow mein. I'm not sure why since I think it's pretty tasteless and Americans seem to love bold flavors. So, is Nissin's Chow Mein any good? Find out while reading the full review.

Nissin spicy chicken Chow Mein comes in a rectangular styrofoam bowl. The packaging is quite attractive with an appetizing picture of the noodles. There are four individuals items inside the bowl: noodles, dried vegetables (they call it "premium ingredients"), liquid seasoning, and powdered seasoning.

The three packets and noodles in Nissin's Chow Mein.

The cooking directions tell you to put in the dried vegetables with water and noodles in the microwave for five minutes. The seasoning packets are added afterwards. I think there's a bit of a flaw with this. The water is supposed to be fully evaporated and absorbed by the time it is done cooking, but every time I've tried Chow Mein, there's more water at the bottom than there really should be. It causes the meal to be a little more watered down. Now, one could self-drain the noodles if they wanted, but my point is that it doesn't mention that in the instructions.

The noodles are similarly shaped to Top Ramen, except I would say they are a little thinner and wider. They are definitely a lot more firm. The flavor is okay, but I barely taste anything remotely chicken-like. It's not very spicy either.

Ready to try them out.

I can't say that I like this Chow Mein flavor very much. If you're just looking for salty, bland, chow mein, this one is for you. If you like flavor and a little bit more freshness, I'd avoid this one.

More photos:

Review: Nissin Top Ramen - Chili

2010-07-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

Nissin Top Ramen - chili.

My last review for Top Ramen Week is for one that's a little newer and slightly less popular. Chili is one in a series of spicy Top Ramen flavors; all of which are in green packages with flames behind the bowl. They've messed with spicy flavors before (remember Cajun Chicken?), but can they finally get one right? Find out after the jump.

The brick of noodles and seasoning packet for Top Ramen Chili. One difference you might notice between this and other flavors is that the seasoning packet just says "Seasoning" on it. Most of the other flavors have "Chicken Flavor" or "Beef Flavor" on it. Wonder why this is.

Top Ramen Chili is quite a unique flavor. It has the vague chili flavor, but also a surprisingly strong lime/citrus flavor. It's like if a Mexican restaurant made ramen. Really. The soup base is colorful and has lots of big seasonings inside. It's very similar to Nissin's Hot & Spicy Bowl Noodles, except those have meat flavors to them.

Ready to eat some Top Ramen Chili.

I love spicy things and can handle quite a bit of spice, so I could have had this be a little spicier. Most people would probably say that it's spicy enough, but not for us pros. The chili flavor is a little bit of a weird fit for Top Ramen.

Closer view of the noodle soup.

Julie did not try this because of the spice. I wonder when I can start giving her spicy foods again?

Review: Nissin Top Ramen - Beef

2010-07-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

Nissin Top Ramen - beef.

For my third review during Top Ramen Week, I'm going from chicken to beef. Beef Top Ramen is another popular flavor and a favorite of some people I know. Find out how much I like it and if it beats chicken's score after the jump.

Beef Top Ramen noodles and seasoning packet.

When I buy Top Ramen in bulk, the amount of beef packets that I purchase is about the same as the amount of oriental that I get. This foreshadows the score to come.

Beef Top Ramen in a bowl and ready to be served.

While I think the flavor is good, it still doesn't taste very beefy to me. If you look at the ingredients, the only natural beef flavor comes from beef fat. Other than that, it's mostly spices and soy sauce that's flavoring the base. I find the beef flavor to be similar to the oriental one, but with a touch of beef. Because of all this, I usually don't mind adding poultry meats like chicken and turkey to the soup. And as always, cayenne is a must!

Up close look at the soup.

The plus side to the beef flavor is that it has the least amount of sodium compared to the other two main flavors. It's not a huge difference compared to oriental, but huge one compared to chicken. Julie enjoys this flavor probably just as much as her daddy.

Review: Nissin Top Ramen - Chicken

2010-07-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

Nissin Top Ramen - chicken.

For my second review during Top Ramen Week, I'd like to review one of the most popular flavors. Chicken Top Ramen is something that I think the majority of us have eaten. I wish I could find reliable statistics that said what the most popular flavors were, but most people I know eat this a lot. Does that mean it'll earn my coveted perfect score? Read on to find out.

The noodles and seasoning packet.

Chicken is my favorite flavor of Top Ramen. When we buy a bunch of packets by the case, chicken makes up the majority. It is also my wife's favorite flavor. Juliana loves it, too.

The chicken Top Ramen cooking in my pot.

I could eat chicken Top Ramen without adding anything, but I prefer it with some additional substance. Adding chicken or turkey meat to it is the best! Being a fan of spicy stuff, I add cayenne to my chicken Top Ramen almost all the time. And scrambling an egg into the soup is something I like to do often. Would love to hear how you eat your Top Ramen.

My chicken flavored Top Ramen all cooked and ready to eat!

What is so awesome about Top Ramen is the natural flavors they use. Yes, it's not completely all-natural, but it's better than completely artificial flavors; especially when it comes to the chicken. In the ingredients, you will find that chicken powder and chicken fat are listed.

You know you want some! You probably have a bag or two in your pantry right now.

The one negative thing I would say about Top Ramen - chicken is the amount of salt, but you can expect this from a brick noodle. It has 210 mg more sodium than the oriental flavor has. If you want, you can add more water, or use less seasoning when you cook this. I'm quite alright with a little too much saltiness in this one. The strong chicken flavor makes it completely worth it.

Review: Nissin Top Ramen - Oriental

2010-07-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

Nissin Top Ramen - oriental.

Kicking off Top Ramen Week is my review for the oriental flavor of Top Ramen. Since most people have eaten it before, this is a good way to tell where I rate other ramen. For example, if you like Top Ramen's oriental flavor, you know that you'll most likely enjoy other noodles that I give the same score or higher to. Continue reading by clicking the jump below.

Packaging for the oriental flavor of Top Ramen.

The packaging for all of Nissin's noodles have changed over the years and they still look good now. Much nicer than their chief competitors here in America, Maruchan.

Only two items in Top Ramen packages. Noodles and seasoning.

The oriental flavor of Top Ramen is one of the few ramen products that contains no animal products (However, it is manufactured in a facility that also processes milk, egg, peanuts, fish, and shrimp products.). Even Maruchan cannot say the same thing about their oriental flavor as it includes beef in its seasoning packet. So, how does one describe the oriental flavor?

Bowl of Nissin's Top Ramen oriental flavor ready to eat.

I think Top Ramen's oriental tastes like soy sauce, garlic, and onion. It's actually quite pleasant, and not overly salty. Not being a vegetarian, I like to put turkey, ham, or beef in my soup sometimes. I almost always put cayenne pepper in it as well. I do not personally add vegetables, but I'm sure that adding onions, cabbage, or celery could enhance the soup as well.

Close up of the noodles and soup.

Juliana is a fan of the oriental flavor, but I wouldn't say it's her favorite. It's not my favorite Top Ramen flavor either, though when packages are on sale for 10 cents, I will stock up on a few.

News: The Three Mysteries of Cup Noodles

2010-07-07T10:01:00.000-07:00

Consumerist.com linked to renowned consumer product investigator Rob Cockerham's website in which he takes a look at three mysteries about Cup Noodles:

Mystery #1: Why is Cup Noodles Triple-Wrapped?
Mystery #2: How is One Supposed to Close the Lid?
Mystery #3: What Happened to the "OF"?

It's an interesting little write-up, though I can't say that I'm surprised about anything.

My Answer to Mystery #1: The paper seal at the top is to keep the contents in the cup, the plastic wrap is to keep all of the contents fresh, and the paper vest adds some needed vanity to the product. Cup Noodles is not the only brand to do these things. In fact, I would say that most cup noodles and bowl noodles are triple-wrapped.

My Answer to Mystery #2: Very true that the instructions are quite vague, though there might be legal issues of telling people to use something to weigh down the paper. For example, say a bowl of plate is awkwardly placed on top, it could cause the cup to fall over spilling all of the hot food on the table, carpet, or even worse, someone's lap. >.<

My Answer to Mystery #3: Noodles expand when they are cooked. Some space at the top and bottom is necessary. Take a look after you're done cooking the noodles. Top to bottom, yes siree Bob.

Top Ramen Week

2010-07-06T13:45:00.003-07:00

It's coming.

Video: Jamiroquai Loves Cup Noodle

2010-06-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

Nissin is using Jamiroquai's iconic "Virtual Insanity" music video to promote their Cup Noodles. The original is one of the best music videos ever made, in my opinion. However, I always had trouble with picking up the lyrics. Thankfully, Nissin has made it clearer and it turns out Jay Kay was just explain his love for Cup Noodle. Watch below.

Review: Yamachan Shoyu Ramen - Oriental

2010-06-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

Yamachan Shoyu Ramen - oriental.

Never seen or heard of the Yamachan brand before. It's made by Nippon Trends Food Service, Inc. in San Jose, California. Great... a ramen product that's made in the U.S. Does it have any chance at all of being good? Quite possibly. Read on.

As you can tell, I am weary about U.S. noodle products. Having tried two Nissin USA products recently, I believe that I have every right to be hesitant. I found Yamachan in the refrigerated section of one of my favorite Asian supermarkets. The packaging is really cheap looking. I picked it up and knew immediately that it was an American product. The font style they used reminds me more of a middle eastern country than Japanese.

Just noodles and soup base. Simple.

Yamachan's Shoyu Ramen contents are pretty simple: noodles and seasoning. The noodles look fresh and still have flour on them to keep them from sticking together. They are slender and have a yellowish tint to them. They remind me a little of Hawaii's Original Saimin, except a lot thinner. The seasoning is actually a wet mix. You are instructed to cook the noodles and soup base separately. The noodles are boiled for 1 1/2 minutes (or 2 1/2 if frozen) in any amount of water, and then drained. Then you add the soup base packet to 1 1/4 cups of boiling water. Put the two together in the bowl and you are ready to eat.

The ramen noodles in Yamachan's Shoyu Ramen.

The noodles are actually quite good. They have a very satisfying chew to them and are a bit eggy. They do tend to clump up together if you let it sit too long, but if you keep stirring well, it should be alright. The soup looked like it might be too strong, but it's actually perfect. It's practically restaurant quality and has great ingredients. Check it out: water, soy sauce, salt, vegetable oil, sugar, pork and chicken extract, yeast extract, kelp extract, starch, and malt extract. No MSG in this one. I don't taste much of the chicken, but I do taste a bit of the pork. The soy sauce is obviously the most prominent since shoyu = soy sauce. Still, I don't think it's overpowering. People who may not like soy sauce could still enjoy this.

Ready to eat some Yamachan Shoyu Ramen! Added the lunch meat myself. Itadakimasu!

Juliana tried this and seemed to like it. However, I have seen her more excited about other noodles before this one. I, for one, think I've found a new instant noodle that I will be eating regularly. The only two problems are the sticky noodles and the small portion size. But, you know what? I added some lunch meat to it and it filled me up enough. You could probably add even more of the typical stuff you'd find in a shoyu ramen like pork, ham, nori, bamboo shoots, and scallions. I highly recommend this one! It's ramen like this that makes me love what I'm doing.

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Review: Komforte Chockolates - Ramen Noodle

2010-06-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

Komforte Chockolates - Ramen Noodle.

The other day, I came across an article talking about a chocolate bar filled with dry ramen pieces. I immediately perked up and researched where I could purchase this unique item. Thankfully, it was available at one of my local Asian grocery stores, Uwajimaya. Without hesitation, I bought it and sampled it right away. Continue reading to see if the ramen chocolate bar is good or not.

Komforte Chockolates makes three very distinct chocolate bars: Tortilla Lime + Salt, French Toast, and Ramen Noodle. They are made in Orange, California and go into simple and attractive colored wrappers. The Ramen Noodle wrapper says "Crunchy, curly ramen noodle mixed into rich, premium 53% dark chocolate."

Holding up the Ramen Noodle bar.

The chocolate bar is pretty basic and the description on the wrapper sort of says it all. The chocolate is great quality. It's not too bitter like I find most dark chocolates. The dried noodle pieces are where it's at. I think most of us have tried a small piece of dry ramen before cooking it (I know people who used to crush up Top Ramen and sprinkle the seasonings in the bag and eat it dry.). The ramen in the chocolate bar is crunchy and just little salty. Not too far off from a Nestlé Crunch bar. It's actually a very pleasurable combination.

A bite into Komforte Chockolates' Ramen Noodle chocolate bar.

My only complaint is that there is not enough noodle pieces in it. I'm not sure why Komforte Chockolates felt the need to skimp out a little, but it really is the only thing preventing me from giving this noodle item a perfect score. I highly recommend trying it and sharing it with some brave friends. It's a bit hard to find, but can be ordered online through The Meadow.

All three chocolate bars that Komforte Chockolates makes.

Side review: I also tried the Tortilla Lime + Salt and French Toast flavors. The Tortilla Lime + Salt is bold. My gosh! The lime is great, but the salt is way too overpowering. The crunch of the tortilla chip was good though. The French Toast tasted vaguely like the real thing. It reminded me of General Mills' Cinnamon Toast Crunch spin-off, French Toast Crunch. It was better than the tortilla one, but not by much.

Review: Nissin Bowl Noodles Hot & Spicy - Chicken

2010-06-10T09:39:00.001-07:00

Nissin Bowl Noodles Hot & Spicy - Chicken.

Since I've reviewed Nissin's Rich & Savory Bowl Noodles before, I figured I should review their Hot & Spicy line as well. Nissin's Bowl Noodles are made in the United States and aren't really available to the Asian market. I've complained about Nissin Foods USA making too many similar varieties of instant noodles, but maybe Hot & Spicy is different. Continue reading if you really want to find out.

The three packets you get with Bowl Noodles - Hot & Spicy.

Nissin Bowl Noodles Hot & Spicy comes with three packets that we are already familiar with in the Rich & Savory ones: seasoning, dried vegetables and chicken, and "Soup Booster". The seasoning is a deep red color that I can't help but wonder if they artificially made that so. The dried veggies include green onion, corn, red pepper, as well as dried powdered chicken. Yes, you actually get some meat in this one. Always a big plus in my book.

Seasonings sitting on top of the noodles before adding water.

The noodles in Hot & Spicy are different from the noodles in Rich & Savory. These noodles are thinner and a bit more circular. No idea why they chose to use a different noodle. Nissin only provides microwaving instructions for Bowl Noodles, so that's how I cooked it once again. I still don't like how the noodles at the top don't really get cooked through enough. The noodles are tasty, but don't seem to absorb the broth enough. I had to drink the soup a lot to get the full experience.

Ready to eat Nissin's Hot & Spicy Bowl Noodles.

Speaking of the broth, it's interesting. It's good, but not great. Chicken flavor doesn't exactly jump out at me. I was surprised at how strong of a citrus flavor it had. There's a picture of a lime on the packaging, but I didn't think it would play such a prominent flavor. Sure enough, lime juice, citric acid, and lemongrass are three of the ingredients. I actually found the combination of the lime with the spiciness to be good. It's not too spicy though. Compared to Nong Shim's Bowl Noodle Soup, this is quite weak. Could definitely taste some garlic in there, too.

Close look at the noodles and broth.

As a rule, I don't let Juliana try spicy noodles, so we can't get her opinion on this one. I can't say that I would recommend this to just anyone. This one is very unique as I've never had anything else like it. A noodle beginner might want to start with something less flavorful, but an expert could really find this enjoyable.

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Review: Botan Rice Candy

2010-06-08T11:45:00.000-07:00

Botan Rice Candy.

Botan Rice Candy is something I've been eating off and on ever since I was a little boy. It's a unique candy in that it is wrapped with edible rice paper. I fondly remember taking these to school and freaking out classmates into thinking that I was actually consuming a plastic wrapper. But after all these years, is the candy still good?

That's right. You can eat that wrapper! Just make sure you take off that outer wrapper first.

Botan Rice Candy is a product of Japan and is imported by JFC International Inc in Los Angeles, California. Botan means "peony" in Japanese, so I guess it's supposed to taste like the flower. The ingredients are pretty simple and include glucose syrup (corn starch, water), sugar, sweet rice, water, lemon flavor, orange flavor, and red no. 40. I can taste the citrusy flavors a little, but it has more of a honey and sugar taste to me. It's not overly sweet though. The rice paper melts in your mouth almost instantly. The candies are pretty chewy and can stick to your teeth quite a bit.

Not an attractive candy, but a tasty one!

I had Julie try a piece and I don't think she liked the texture of the rice paper. It was hard to convince her that it was edible. I still love these things and pick them up every so often. If you have never tried them before, I recommend picking up a pack. They're not very expensive and you get a sticker inside! ^.^

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Review: Szechuan Noodle Bowl

2010-06-04T13:15:00.000-07:00

Szechuan Noodle Bowl at 420 8th Ave South in Seattle, WA.

I've mentioned Szechuan Noodle Bowl on my personal blog quite a few times, but it's still necessary for me to post a review here. This restaurant is one of those hole-in-the-wall places with only eight tables located in Seattle's International District. But, sometimes those types of places can be the best. Read on to see how I really feel about Szechuan Noodle Bowl.

Compared to other noodle shops in Chinatown, Szechuan Noodle Bowl doesn't exactly stick out in terms of looks. The sign is old, the building looks decrepit, and the exterior is sort of dirty. However, inside you will find some of the most delicious food I have ever had in my entire life.

I've been going to Noodle Bowl ever since I was a kid. I fondly remember riding King County Metro route 194 from Federal Way to the International District with my grandparents when I would visit in the summers. My grandfather would take me to Szechuan Noodle Bowl nearly every week for lunch. Now, I get to take my daughter to the Central Link light rail from Tukwila to the ID and share the same experience my grandfather and I had.

Part of the menu at Szechuan Noodle Bowl. Sorry I cut off the bottom and didn't take a shot of the items on the back.

The inside of Szechuan Noodle Bowl reflects sort of the same view as the outside. Old with ugly pictures on the wall and a poster for the not-so-great Jackie Chan and Jet Li movie, The Forbidden Kingdom. It is a sit down and order restaurant and when they're not incredibly busy, a couple of the waitresses will put stuff on a table and you get to watch them make the food that they later refrigerate or freeze to serve for later in the week. But I challenge you to find an open table at this place around noon lunch time. There's never a line or anything, but it's best to go when they first open at 11:30 or after the lunch rush around 1 or 1:30.

The selection of dishes is quite wide for a small place like Noodle Bowl. Along with their noodle dishes, they also have dumplings, vegetable dishes, and green onion pancake. Speaking of green onion pancake, they have the best. I'm not sure if they make it fresh there, or if they buy it fresh, but they cook it up and it is perfectly crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. I'm drooling right now just thinking about them. I also order the pork and napa dumplings occasionally when I eat there and they are also delicious. You won't find much better dumplings in Seattle. Now those I know for sure they make fresh because you sometimes see the ladies making them in the corner.

Pork and napa dumplings and green onion pancake.

But let's get to the noodles! Their noodles are long, fresh, and thick. They are called cu mian and are similar to Japanese udon noodles, but better. I find that they absorb the broth much better than udon can and don't have that springy chew udon has. You can order Noodle Bowl's noodles in soup or non-soup dishes, but I almost always get the same exact thing every time I visit. It's their specialty and you'll be pressed to find something like this anywhere else in the city. #13... Szechuan Beef Noodle with Soup. If you like spicy things, this is the one for you. If you don't like spicy things, don't you worry; they have #15 which is exactly the same, but without the chili. And all of their soups are so affordable! $6.50 for a large bowl of fresh, yummy noodles.

Szechuan Beef Noodle with Soup. This is what I order almost all the time.

The Szechuan Beef Noodle Soup is so tasty. I could eat it every single day. The broth has a rich beefy taste and the perfect amount of spiciness to make the meal enjoyable for me. The chunks of beef are poached in the broth and have such an amazing tenderness to them. You can peel the meat off as if it were string cheese. They also add fresh baby bok choy, which I could do without, but compliments the soup well. I finish the entire bowl every time I eat it; not even a drop of soup left. By the time I'm through, my nose is usually drippy and I'm a little bit sweaty. I love it. It's also the perfect remedy for a small cold.

When I take Juliana with me here, I will most likely order the non-spicy Brown Beef Noodle with Soup, or #21, Won Ton and Noodle with Soup (the wontons are also made fresh at the restaurant). Both of which she really likes. In fact, just recently, she and I shared the Won Ton Noodle bowl together and she was crazy about the broth. She would sip straight out of the small bowl and ask, "More soup, please!" like every five minutes. I hope we can make eating here a tradition.

Won Ton and Noodle with Soup. Julie loves this, too. Their wontons are so fresh!

If it hasn't been made clear by now, allow me to say that Szechuan Noodle Bowl is my favorite restaurant that I've ever eaten at in the entire world. I cannot recommend this place enough, and while I wish the owners more success, I don't want them to become so busy that it would be harder for me to get a table. =)

Review: Kamfen Noodle King - Wonton Soup

2010-06-03T09:19:00.000-07:00

Kamfen Noodle King - Wonton Soup Flavor.

I love wonton soup; it's one of my favorite foods. So, I was really excited to pick up Kamfen Noodle King wonton soup flavor. Is it any good? Click 'read more' to find out.

Kamfen's wonton flavored Noodle King comes in an attractive blue paper bowl. The picture makes it look like it might be wonton noodles, but they're not. I wasn't really expecting that since I've never really seen freeze dried wonton noodles before. Inside the bowl are a bunch of contents. Kamfen supplies you with a small fork to eat with your noodles. I wonder if they include the fork if you buy the product in China, where the product is made. Or, do they replace it with chopsticks there?

All of the contents of the Kamfen Noodle King bowl. Airlines might make you pay the carry-on fee if you take this on a plane.

You get three packets that are the seasoning, the dried vegetables, and the oil. Alright... here we go. The seasoning... smells... AWFUL! It seriously smells like raw fish and fart. According to the ingredients, there's artificial prawn soup and flounder fish powders in it. Clearly the reason why my wife wanted to puke when I put the seasoning in the bowl. You're supposed to add all of the packets before adding the boiling water, so bringing in the sesame seen oil into the mix seemed to make it even worse. I can kind of see why wonton soup flavor would have shrimp in it. Some wontons are made with shrimp. But flounder!? Who is putting flounder meat in their wontons?

The noodles in Kamfen's Noodle King. They look like rice noodles, but they're not.

The smell aside, the soup actually tasted decent. Not too salty with some nice ginger and garlic spices. I could taste a little bit of the seafood taste, but it wasn't overwhelming. The noodles are very thin; almost like rice noodles. However, when you bite into them, they don't have that firm texture that rice noodles have. Noodle King's noodles have a higher wheat chew to it.

Using the supplied plastic fork to eat... no, wait a minute...

Screw this!

Ah, much better. Using my chopsticks to eat King Noodle.

Juliana did not get to try this because she was asleep at the time, but I think she would have eaten some. Overall, I can't say that I'd recommend this unless you don't mind stinking up your house. I especially would not recommend bringing it to work unless you work in a fish factory or fish market.

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Review: Calpis Calpico Water - 5 Assorted Flavors

2010-06-01T12:53:00.000-07:00

I love Calpis Calpico Water now. March was the first time I tried it after years of staring at it on store shelves. Nothing much better than an ice cold bottle of Calpis Water on a warm day now. There's a variety of flavored Calpis Water available in the U.S. and I picked up as many as I could find to try. The one odd thing I found was that the original uses high fructose corn syrup and sugar while the rest use just sugar. Why must this be so? I think this is for one of two reasons; Either the original version is produced more than the others and high fructose corn syrup is cheaper than sugar, or the natural flavors and juice concentrate from the fruits sweetens the drinks enough in the flavored ones while the original needs something a little extra. After the jump are my reviews for five of Calpis Calpico's assorted flavors.

Strawberry - Judging by the stock on the shelves, the strawberry flavor of Calpis Water might be the most popular out of all the flavored ones. It has a strawberry milk flavor. The coloring is a milky pink like a strawberry Starburst. I liked it a lot, but it wasn't my favorite.

Lychee - I'm not a big fan of lychee stuff, but this was actually good. It's not too strong of a lychee flavor, but you definitely do taste it. It does seem to be a bit more sour than the rest of the flavors though.

White Peach - The peach flavor one is not very memorable. It's still good, but I can't say this drink screams peach at me. It's not one I would get very much.

Mango - Mango has to be my favorite flavor of Calpis Water that I've tried, and I'm not even a fan of the fruit. The drink has a yellowish look to it and you might be able to fool some people into thinking that it's sour milk. The mango flavor is very much present, but I think I really liked it because it reminded me of the almond tofu that my mom makes. She mixes the almond jelly with fruit cocktail and that mixture tasted very similar to this.

Aloe - Certainly the oddest flavor for me personally, but aloe drinks are pretty popular in Asia. Thankfully the aloe taste is not very strong, but there most certainly is aloe vera juice concentrate in it. One interesting difference between this one and the rest of the flavors was that it has less calories in it. Not enough to make it a diet drink or anything, but still notable. I was surprised that I liked this one as much as I did, but I guess I'm a Calpis fan now.

In the end, nothing beats the original flavor of Calpis Calpico Water for me. But, if I had to put these drinks in order of what I liked the best to least best, it would go:
1) Mango
2) Strawberry
3) Aloe
4) Lychee
5) White Peach

Review: Nissin Bowl Noodles Rich & Savory - Beef

2010-05-28T14:57:00.000-07:00

Nissin Bowl Noodles Rich & Savory - Beef.

Nissin founder, Momofuku Andō, is the inventor of instant noodles and cup noodles. He died in 2007, but he got to see his invention reach a worldwide demand of 98 billion servings. I'm sure he was satisfied by where his product turned into and the new forms of instant noodles his company created. One of the more recent products is Nissin's Bowl Noodles Rich & Savory. It's made by Nissin Foods USA, so you're likely not to find it in Japan. Have they Americanized the brand too much? Read my thoughts and the full review after the jump.

The bowl and all of its packets.

Nissin Bowl Noodles is new to me, but Cup Noodles is not. I can't even begin to imagine how many Cup Noodles I've had in my life. Back when I was a tyke, there were only three flavors: chicken, beef, and shrimp. Currently, there are ten and I've probably only had four of them. Anyway, Nissin makes a ton of other noodle products now, too. There's also Top Ramen, Chow Mein, Chow Noodles, and Souper Meal. There are even two different versions of Bowl Noodles! They have Hot & Spicy and Rich & Savory. In my opinion, Nissin Foods USA has made too many options that adheres to American tastes. I mean, they make Cheddar Cheese Chow Noodles. How disgusting must that be?

The beef seasoning added to the noodles in the bowl.

Today I am reviewing Nissin Bowl Noodles Rich & Savory beef flavor. A large cardboard bowl comes wrapped in plastic with a packet on the top. The packet is the "Soup Booster". It's separated from the contents inside the bowl because it's something that you don't add until after the noodles have been cooked. The packaging is very colorful and, dare I say it, slightly fancy. The directions could not be any clearer as even the packets are numbered off in order of when they should be added.

The two packets you get inside the bowl is the seasoning packet and the dried vegetables packet. Both are added with room temperature water and heated up for three minutes in a microwave. Bowl Noodles is made by microwave only which is kind of a downer because I like to use boiling/hot water for my cup and bowl noodles. The reason Nissin only provides microwaving instructions is because of the Soup Booster.

How the noodles and broth look after adding the Soup Booster.

After microwaving, that's when you stir in the Soup Booster. The ingredients are unclear as to what is in the Soup Booster. According to Nissin, it adds richer flavor that gives you a citrus twist. Apparently microwaving your noodles evaporates some the flavors out. This packet restores the flavor, and then some. Um... so why not just have boiling water instructions? Anyway, my guess is that there's beef flavor, oil, MSG, and maybe citric acid in the Soup Booster.

The noodles are about the same shape of Nissin's Cup Noodles, but bigger. Maybe even twice the size. As with all microwaveable instant noodles, some of the noodles at the top of the brick inside were undercooked after microwaving. This was rather unfortunate. The broth is pretty good. I can definitely see where the "Rich" and "Savory" comes into play, but it's still not perfect. The soup did have a bit of a sour or bitter taste to it which I assume was the "citrus twist". I can't say that I enjoy citrus flavors in my soup.

Juliana actually really liked this. She doesn't drink the broth straight out of the bowl very often, but she totally did for this. (See the video I am providing above.) So, maybe this one just isn't my style. I liked it, but didn't love it. I would rather have Nissin's beef flavored Cup Noodles over this. For the price of the bowl, I really can't complain. I assume that I'm going to encounter a lot of these kinds of noodles, but I think that's fine.

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Review: Shirakiku Goku-uma Ramen-Noodles - Hot

2010-05-25T08:07:00.000-07:00

Shirakiku's Goku-uma Ramen-Noodles - Hot Flavor.

I have never seen or heard of Goku-uma Ramen-Noodles before. I picked it up because it was on sale. There were three flavors available when I went: a seafood flavor, a hot flavor, and a soy sauce (shōyu) flavor. I went with the hot one since I love spicy things. Did I regret it? Read on to find out.

The noodles of Goku-uma.

I could not find out much about Goku-uma. It is a product of Japan made by the brand name Shirakiku. From what I can tell, Shirakiku makes a variety of other foods in Japan, including Ramune soda, which I mentioned in a review last week. Brand names and products can get pretty confusing. Goku-uma is distributed by Nishimoto Trading Co., Ltd. in Sante Fe Springs, California.

The two packets you get inside the Goku-uma bowl noodle.

The packaging of Goku-uma Ramen-Noodles is bright and attractive. This is especially so with the red in the hot flavor. The bowl itself is made of styrofoam and has easy-to-read instructions and nutritional information on the side.

Seasoning added to the noodles before the boiling water is put in.

The noodles were curly like Top Ramen. I would say they were the same shape as well. Goku-uma comes with a seasoning packet and dried vegetables. The seasoning was very red. The dried vegetables only included green onion and red pepper, so you may want to add extra veggies to this thing. I liked the broth quite a bit. It was spicy and had a slight kimchi and garlic flavor. It was, however, a bit salty. Maybe a little too much.

Itadakimasu!

Julie had to skip this one because it was spicy, but I really liked it. I think I liked it just as much as Nong Shim's Bowl Noodle Soup. I love trying new things and liking them. The only downside is the price ($1.89), which isn't terrible, but certainly not as cheap as Bowl Noodle Soup (70 cents). I would buy this a few times a year.

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News: David Beckham's Golden (Meat)Balls

2010-05-24T09:29:00.001-07:00

Pot Noodle has announced that it is making a new flavor inspired by British soccer star David Beckham. Pot Noodle is a popular brand of cup noodle manufactured and sold in the United Kingdom.

From the article:

Snack bosses claim [David Beckham] is a fan of the food and have created the Golden (Meat)Balls variety to lift his spirits after he missed out on the tournament with an injury.

"The tournament" they are referring to is the FIFA World Cup, which starts next month in South Africa. Beckham suffered a torn left Achilles tendon in March while playing for A.C. Milan and had to have surgery. Thus, he will not be able to play for his home country. However, he will be honored during the finals.

The flavor will be called Golden (Meat)Balls due to Beckham's nickname "Goldenballs", which his wife Victoria Beckham (a.k.a. Posh Spice) gave him and revealed on British television chat show.

I'm going to try and get a friend of mine who lives in England to send me Beckham's Pot Noodle flavor. Hopefully you will see a review here later this year.

Review: Sangaria Melon Soda

2010-05-20T15:50:00.000-07:00

Sangaria Melon Soda.

Melon flavored soda is a popular drink in Japan and has been since at least the 1950s. Ramune is one of the most popular brands that makes melon soda. It's manufactured by a company called Sangaria, who also makes "Melon Soda", which is what I will be reviewing today. Ramune usually comes in a glass bottle with a distinctive design (I'll talk more about it when I buy some to review one day.). My point is that Ramune's melon flavored soda and Sangaria's Melon Soda are most likely one and the same. Continue reading for the full review.

I actually like melons, but I'm allergic to practically all of them. Watermelon is one of my favorite fruits, but I can't eat them. It's truly a sad fact. Melon Soda does not contain any real melon juice, so I can drink it, but it's unfortunate that there's no natural flavors.

You have to admit that that's a pretty awesome tagline. Okay... not really. It's awful and on the verge of Engrish.

Another disappointing aspect of Melon Soda is that it contains high fructose corn syrup. Now, I'm not here to argue high fructose corn syrup versus sugar. I like both and I don't care if one is better than the other as long as it tastes good. This is the same thing I say about MSG versus salt. Anyway, the reason I see high fructose corn syrup as a negative in this review is because it already has the artificial flavoring in it, so the corn syrup makes it seem extra fake.

I would describe the melon flavor in Melon Soda to be more like honeydew melon than any of the other kinds. It's not a powerful melon flavor, which I guess could be a good thing. It's a nice drink, but not something I would get all the time, or call a favorite.

Review: Weilih Food Souper Bowl Ramen - Chicken

2010-05-19T18:35:00.000-07:00

Weilih Food's Souper Bowl Ramen - Chicken.

Souper Bowl Ramen is a brand I've always seen near the cheap end of the noodle aisle, but never actually tried. At 80 cents per bowl and an incredibly unattractive package, I wasn't expecting much from this bowl noodle. But on my quest to find new favorites, I must try everything, so here we go.

As I said, the packaging of Souper Bowl Ramen is ugly, but I actually think the name is clever, albeit extremely cheesy. The chicken, beef, and shrimp flavors all look the same, with the exception of what meat is featured in the picture. Since I'm not a fan of seafood flavored ramen, I had to pick chicken or beef. Seeing as how I haven't reviewed a chicken item since my very first review, I went with that.

Contents of the chicken flavored Souper Bowl Ramen.

Souper Bowl Ramen is a product of Taiwan, the Republic of China. This is my first Taiwanese product that I'm reviewing. It is made by Weilih Food (維力食品) whose products range from instant noodles to soft drinks, condiments, sauces, cooking oil, and snack foods. I could not find Souper Bowl Ramen on their website, but it's possible that they use different packaging for the exact same product in Taiwan. It is distributed by Oriental Trading Co. Other than that, I really don't know anything about this product.

Um... what's that big glob of gloop in my ramen bowl!?!?

When you peel back the top of the Souper Bowl, you find two packages resting on top of the brick of noodles; the seasoning mix and "oil flavoring". Do not ask me what the latter means. The oil flavoring looks like moldy squished up butter. Feels like it, too. Still, I put it in the bowl before pouring in the boiling water. It turns out that the oily goo melts quite well and the ramen soup has a healthy oily mixture to it.

The chicken broth is okay, but the label only lists "chicken flavor" as an ingredient. Looks to me that it's not a natural flavor. Still, I've had worse. It has a strong onion taste to it. The broth is closer to Ichiban's chicken flavor than Top Ramen's. "Pleasant" will be my last word on it.

Ready to eat the chicken Souper Bowl Ramen.

The noodles themselves are thin and flatish. They pick up the flavor of the soup quite well, but I think it's more because of the broth sticking between the thin noodles more than them actually being absorbent.

Juliana tried a bowl full of ramen and she liked it, but I could tell that it was not her favorite. She did not finish the serving I gave her.

If you need a super quick and super cheap meal to go, Souper Bowl Ramen is certainly a great contender. This is something I could see myself getting once or twice a year.

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News: Ramengate

2010-05-15T23:05:00.000-07:00

On May 9th in San Francisco, Hapa Ramen previewed their food at Coffee Bar on Mariposa near Florida. This is before they are opening a hotly anticipated stand at Ferry Building Farmer's Market. Well, things didn't go quite as expected and the night is now forever being known as "Ramengate".

For San Franciscans, the blogosphere, Twitter, and some other parts of the Internets were all a-buzz with earlier reviews of Hapa Ramen's food. Plus, the announcement of their special preview spreaded like wildfire causing hundreds of people to show up. Normally, this would be a good sign for things to come and a chance to really prove yourself worthy in a city where food is a considerable subject. However, Hapa was overwhelmed by the turn out and not fully prepared in the kitchen.

Here is what Hapa Ramen's Kitty Gallisa wrote in response to a customer who waited three hours to be seated and was less than pleased by the night's nourishments:

People were waiting at the patio starting at 4pm. The kitchen and equipment we had to work with went awry quite quickly. The kitchen temperature shot up to 90 degrees with severe humidity and the electric burners we had could barely boil water due to electrical issues. So, we could barely get our noodles to cook properly and the broth could only get so hot. This explains the doughy noodles and the lukewarm broth. In addition, we lost practically 100 portions of freshly cut noodles melt in the heat and humidity of the hoodless kitchen. It was heartbreaking. To sum it up in one word it last night was a challenge.

Sounds like a whole bunch of excuses, but I'm not here to pass judgment on how the restaurant handled the evening. On one hand, ramen is a very difficult dish to cook. You have noodles, broth, egg, veggies, and meat to prepare, which have different cooking times, and must be done at the same time in the end. This had to be done for 500 people that night. That's a lot of cooking. On the other hand, if you know you're not going to be able to perform to the quality and standards you have set for yourself, then you shouldn't be serving subpar ramen.

Look at it this way, it's a new ramen place. I'm completely open to the expansion of ramen shops, so seeing a place like this show up is a blessing. If the food continues to be bad, then obviously the company is not going to last long. Is it important to provide criticism to the restaurant? Yes. Should you continuously berate them and publicly post your discussion? Well, that doesn't help anyone.

What do you think? Should the customer cut Hapa Ramen some slack, or should Hapa just take this one on the butt, take a little more time off to perfect their practice and learn from this mistake?

To read a well-written review of Hapa Ramen's pop-up, go here. To read the full e-mail exchange between the upset customer and Hapa, read the fourth comment on the page here.

Review: Sun Noodle Hawaii's Original Saimin

2010-05-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

Sun Noodle Hawaii's Original Saimin.

There is only one place I know of that carries Hawaii's Original Saimin in the Seattle area. It's hard to find, but totally worth the effort. You will only find this packaged noodle in the frozen or refrigerated area, and that's not if they're already sold out. Sun Noodle's saimin is the only one that I've tried and really, really liked so far. Continue reading to find out why.

The contents of Hawaii's Original Saimin.

Saimin is a noodle soup dish unique to Hawaii. In fact, it's so popular there that you will even find it on the menu at McDonald's. Inspired by Japanese udon, Chinese mein, and Filipino pancit, saimin was developed during Hawaii's plantation era. It also includes elements of Korean, Hawaiian, and Portuguese cultures. Saimin is a compound of two Chinese words 細麵: 細 (pinyin: xì, Cantonese: sai), meaning thin, and 麵 (miàn, mein), meaning noodle. Basically, it is a soup dish of soft wheat egg noodles served in hot dashi and typically garnished with green onions.

Hawaii's Original Saimin is made in Honolulu, Hawaii. It comes two servings per package, so there are two packages of soup mix inside. You can only cook half of it if you want one meal, but I always do the whole thing because I figure I'll want seconds.

Had the saimin in the freezer, so it's just one big pile of hard noodles. I have not noticed a difference between cooking them after they've been refrigerated and cooking them after they've been frozen.

When you take the noodles out of the package, the first thing you'll notice is that they are covered in flour. I don't know if this preserves or enhances the texture of the noodles, but there is no doubt that you are indeed getting fresh noodles. Most other saimin I've seen, or even simply other refrigerated/frozen fresh noodles, are not dusted with flour. The noodles get a bit plumper when you boil them. You actually strain the noodles after they are done cooking. I think the biggest reason for this is all the little noodle debris you get in the water. You'll see. The broth is actually cooked separately. In fact, the instructions do not want you to cook the noodles and soup together. They are simply added together in a bowl at the end.

Oh yeah! Come to papa!

I love Hawaii's Original Saimin. The noodles have the perfect chew and a slight egg taste. The broth could be better as it doesn't have a strong dashi flavor, but adding some salty meats like ham, chicken, or Hawaii's favorite Spam could improve it. After taking pictures and having a couple bites, I added some ham to my saimin and found it quite pleasurable.

Julie enjoying some saimin.

Juliana was absolutely crazy about Hawaii's Original Saimin. I think she has had it before, but only once when she was younger. She liked them so much this time that she asked for more, and that was after she already had an abundant serving. This is not something she does often, so it kind of goes to show how great this saimin really is. Easily a five-star noodle in my book. Find it, eat it, love it.

More photos:

Review: Lotte Kancho

2010-05-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

Box of Lotte's Kancho.

When I first saw Kancho, I thought it was just a Koala's March (a.k.a. Koala Yummies) knockoff. But then I found out that the company that makes it, Lotte, makes both products. Um... seriously?

Kancho cookies.

If you haven't eaten either product before, they are basically bite-sized chocolate-filled cookies. There are plenty of other versions of these like Hello Panda, and then there's also different flavors like strawberry and milk. I have also reviewed Meiji's Pucca which is a strawberry-filled pretzel cookie.

A bite into a Kancho cookie.

I have not compared ingredients, but I can't imagine that any of these cookies are too different company-to-company. Kancho is strictly circular. Still, I think I favor Koala's March over Kancho. A lot of it has to do with the texture of the chocolate. It seems to be more crumbly in Kancho and more solid in Koala's March. Plus, I think there's more chocolate in Koala's March. Has a nice crunch to it, as well.

Other side of Kancho box.

Still, Kancho is a simple, tasty snack that kids would enjoy. The box is cute and so are the designs. Julie liked them and your kids probably will, too.

Review: Pulmuone Fresh Ramen - Mild

2010-05-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

Pulmuone's Fresh Ramen (Mild).

Don't ask me what the official name of this instant ramen is because I cannot read Korean. The only thing I know is that the company that makes it is called Pulmuone and under their large title is "Fresh Ramen (Mild)". So, I'm calling it Pulmuone Fresh Ramen - Mild. *shrugs shoulders* I have a feeling that as I dive deeper into the world of ramen, I'm going to find items that I will not know the name of. Please feel free to correct me if I am ever wrong about a name or background of something I review. Anyway... to the review!

I've had refrigerated and frozen instant noodles before, but nothing like Pulmuone's Fresh Ramen. It's shaped in a brick just like Top Ramen or Maruchan, but it's soft. It had a plastic look to it, and it also had a plastic smell. Not very appetizing. It makes me wonder exactly how "fresh" these noodles are. Still, I cooked this one up using the exact instructions on the back.

All the items you get with Pulmuone's Fresh Ramen (Mild). Noodles on the left, then seasoning packet on the upper-right, and dried veggies on the lower-right.

I saw this one sitting in the refrigerated area of a local Asian supermarket. I picked it up for all the usual reasons I buy new ramen, i.e. to review it and hopefully find some new favorites, but also because it was on sale. I am finding that going to the store once a week warrants a different discounted instant noodle product and a thorough way of discovering new food.

Cooking the brick of fresh noodles.

So, how is it? Let's start with the packaging which I must say is very attractive. The picture on it makes it look like it'll taste similar to Nong Shim's Shin Ramyun. The individual noodles themselves are circular round like Nissin's Damae, though I would say thicker and have a nicer chew. They soak up the broth really well. Unfortunately, the broth is pretty bland and nothing like Shin Ramyun.

For one, it's pretty oily. It also does have some spiciness to it, but an odd flavor. It's very oniony. Also a bit of garlic taste. Even though there is no fish in the ingredients, I got a hint of some sort of seafood taste. Honestly, I have no idea how. Maybe the combination of some of the powders cause this. The dried vegetables packet you get is deceiving. The packet is quite large, but the contents inside are small. You could probably add some greens and mushrooms to this to make it more filling.

Ready to eat this "Fresh Ramen".

One redeeming quality of Pulmuone's Fresh Ramen is that the calories and salt content are slightly lower than your average packaged noodle, though not exactly what I would say as being healthy. It was still a pleasant meal, but not something I would eat often or possible at all again. Juliana did not have any since it was semi-spicy. Can I really recommend this one? No, but it's an alright food.

More photos:

News: Ramen Heaven

2010-05-06T12:57:00.000-07:00

There's a new game available for download on the Sony PSP called "Ramen Heaven".

Game summary from IGN:

Who says you can't play with your food? In this game based on the delectable Japanese staple, players maneuver their oil floating around in the bowl so that it can congeal into as big a blob as possible. If your blob comes in contact with some of the other ingredients floating in the broth, the oil will break up, so work carefully with your chopsticks to make it as big as you can. Mmmmm, that's good soup!

Sounds like a silly game. Do you even see the noodles in it? I've never tried making giant oil blobs in my own bowl of ramen. Have you? And if you've played Ramen Heaven, how is it?

The game was developed by SCE Studios Japan and was released on May 4, 2010. It costs $1.99, and is rated E for Everyone.

Review: Meiji Gummy Choco - Fruits Mix

2010-05-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

Meiji's Gummy Choco - Fruits Mix.

Gummy Choco is always a Japanese candy I've seen, but never took the time to try. Read a review on Candy Blog a few months ago and since it got a perfect score, I had to try it.

Gummy Choco is basically a bunch of small marble-sized candies that are flavored white chocolate with a fruit filling inside. In Fruits Mix, the three flavors you get are strawberry, orange, and muscat. The flavors are quite pronounced. The strawberry is milky and light, almost like eating strawberries dipped in Cool Whip. The orange tasted like... well, an orange creamsicle. And the muscat grape tasted like a green grape covered in white chocolate.

The three flavors of Gummy Choco.

I think what I like most about Gummy Choco is the texture. It has a satisfying chew. It's not tough like Starburst, but it's not as soft as gummy gum drops.

Another reason why I personally like this candy is because I don't feel like I have to eat the whole thing. It comes in a tube with a replaceable top. When I eat Skittles or M&M's, I feel the need to eat them all because they're in a bag. But with Gummy Choco, I can have a handful and be done with them for a little while.

A bite into an orange Gummy Choco.

Juliana had a few of these and liked them. My wife, however, did not like them. Then again, she's not a fan of white chocolate, so if you don't like white chocolate or the delightful mix of chocolate and fruit, avoid this. I quite enjoyed them, so I recommend picking some of these up and giving them a taste.

Review: Nong Shim Bowl Noodle Soup - Hot and Spicy (Picante)

2010-05-03T16:01:00.000-07:00

Nong Shim Bowl Noodle Soup - Hot and Spicy (Picante).

The Nong Shim Noodle Bowl is a bowl noodle I see just about everywhere. And for some reason, the hot and spicy (picante) flavor seems to be the most prevalent. But is it any good? Read on for the full review.

Inside the Nong Shim Bowl Noodle.

The hot and spicy flavor of Nong Shim Bowl Noodle reminds me of Nong Shim's Shin Ramyun. In fact, the ingredients are pretty close to matching. One of the main differences is that Bowl Noodle comes with thin slices of fish cake in the dry mix. But as far as spiciness goes, they're similar.

Adding the seasoning mix to the noodles in the bowl.

The noodles are thinner than Shin Ramyun, but thicken than Dosirac. They come in an uneven circular brick that seems to fit perfectly in the bowl. When cooked, they have a soft texture and really soak up the soup. Speaking of the bowl, it's made from styrofoam and therefore is stained by the soup base. Also, it cannot be prepared via microwave.

The soup base is spicy. It comes in a red powder very similar looking to Shin Ramyun. It's not the spiciest I've ever had, but certainly well-deserving of a 5-star rating. If you can handle Shin Ramyun, you can handle this. The one problem is that the broth is not very flavorful. Just spicy. I know it's "picante", but it should at least have a stronger beef flavor or something.

The dry vegetables comes already in the bowl instead of a packet.

The bowl comes with dry ingredients as well, like green onion, mushrooms, and the aforementioned fish cake which is shaped in a star spiral (see above picture). However, there isn't much in there, so you might want to add more, or some extra stuff like a hard-boiled egg or some greens. It's fairly filling and I enjoy taking this for lunch every once in a while.

The hot and spicy bowl ready to eat. Look at how red the noodles are now from soaking up the soup. Yum!

Didn't let Juliana try this one because she would cough like crazy from the spiciness. I'm looking forward to when she'll be able to handle the spice as it opens up a whole new door to the world of ramen and noodles. I'm a big fan of this bowl. You can't really go wrong with it.

More photos:

Review: Haioreum Asian Style Noodles - Bonito / Hanil Food Deuchi Udon

2010-04-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

Haioreum's Asian Style Noodles - Bonito, or Hanil Food's Deuchi Udon.

Went to a local Asian supermarket to see if they had any instant noodles on sale. Haioreum Asian Style Noodles was one of the only ones available, so I picked up the bonito flavored one. This is a bowl noodle that has very attractive packaging. And the noodles look big! Oh, they are udon. But should you judge a noodle by its cover? And what exactly is "bonito"? Find out after the jump.

Kind of nervous about this one! Never had bonito flavor before.

Before we continue, I've been having trouble finding the exact name of this since the packaging just has Korean Hangul on it, but I think I have figured it out. On my search, I found another Korean brand that makes the exact same thing, but in a differently designed bowl. Hanil Food Co., Ltd. makes "Bowl Udon (Bonito Flavor)", or as they write on the bowl "Deuchi Udon" which I believe is their version of saying "dashi udon" (I'll explain what "dashi" is in a moment). The shape of the bowl, the cooking instructions, and the packets inside are all the same, so I suspect these are identical. The only thing that doesn't match is the net weight, but it's not a major difference. My guess is that Haioreum is the name of Hanil Food in America, though I have no idea why they would make such a confusing change. Especially since both mostly have Hangul on them. I also could not find any other noodle or ramen blogs that have reviewed this.

All the stuff that comes in the bowl. Noodles, soup mix, and dried veggies.

Still, even if they are completely different brands, I'm sure their objective is the same. Quick bonito flavored udon noodles. If you're like me, then you don't know what "bonito" flavoring is. I bought this without researching the exact flavor first, and to be honest, I probably wouldn't have purchased it had I known what it was. Well, bonito is a name given to various species of medium-sized in the mackerel family, including the common Atlantic bonito and Pacific bonito. More generally, bonito can refer to various scombroid fishes related to but smaller than tuna. In Japanese cuisine outside Japan, bonito usually refers to the skipjack tuna. This fish is smoked and dried to make katsuobushi, an important ingredient in making dashi, which is Japanese fish stock. And that's the soup in the item I am reviewing here.

Dropping in the noodles and liquid soup before adding the hot water.

These noodles come in a large paper bowl with a nice lid. However, you won't be using the lid because the udon noodles come in a separate plastic package where they stay fresh in a moist environment. Sort of the same way the noodles in Simply Asia or Myojo are preserved. The wet udon noodles are also the reason that there is only microwaveable directions. The noodles themselves are your typical thick udon. They are very square shaped and chewy. They are also a little more translucent than Myojo's Udon noodles are. They do not soak up the broth very well.

A look at the mixture of dried vegetables and fish cake.

The broth is not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I was expecting this intense fishy smell and taste, but it's truly not that pungent. It still wasn't a desirable flavor. Actually, the flavor also wasn't very strong. The broth is added as a wet mix instead of a dried one like most instant noodles. You also get a dried vegetables packet that contains green onion, dried fish cake, seaweed, and hot pepper. As far as things you can add goes, pretty much any form of seafood would work. Also, mushrooms.

Bonito udon ready to eat.

In the end, I'm glad I brought my expectations down for Haioreum's bonito noodles. It's definitely not inedible, but I wouldn't purchase it on my own again. For those who enjoy a light fishy or seafood taste, this would be a good one for you. Juliana liked it quite a bit. She even had a second helping. This one is just not for me.

More photos:

News: World Instant Noodles Summit Encourages Less Salty Ramen

2010-04-27T16:00:00.001-07:00

The World Instant Noodles Summit took place last week and one of the main themes of the conference was "less salt to lure health-conscious customers".

Koki Ando, the son of the inventor of instant ramen and the current president of Nissin Food Products Co. Ltd., seems to think that it'll be difficult.

From the article:

"We have to do it gradually, step by step," said Ando, who claims to eat 500 servings of instant noodles each year. "Our longtime customers enjoy the salt in our noodles, so we cannot simply reduce it just like that."

I think it's a huge challenge. A lot of the flavor and savoriness is enhanced by the salt in instant noodles. Just look at my reviews for Shin Ramyun and Annie Chun's, which contain a whopping 1200 mg difference in sodium content. In my humble opinion, you're sacrificing a lot of taste when you bring down the salt.

Don't get me wrong, I look forward to the first step towards a more healthy instant ramen, but I'd sort of like it to taste good too, no?

Review: Royal Family Mochi Choco Peanut

2010-04-26T13:08:00.000-07:00

I'm not crazy about mochi. I don't go out of my way to get it. When my cousin from out of town came for a visit, he told me that he really liked mochi. So, when we went to Uwajimaya in Seattle, he chose a few different kinds to sample. One of them was Royal Family's Mochi Choco peanut flavored.

I've never had mochi like this before. Typically, they come in little balls, but this was a flat disc-shaped snack. It's covered in chocolate with crushed almonds in it, and in the middle is peanut butter.

The first thing I thought of when I took a bite was Snickers. Only no caramel and replace the nougat with mochi. I found the snack quite enjoyable and would eat it again. Tom was also impressed, but my wife did not like it. Then again, I don't think she likes mochi, so...

If you are a mochi nut, you might like this, though the quality of the chocolate was rather poor. If you don't like mochi, this might not change your impression.

Video: Maruchan Spring Themed Cup Noodles Commercial

2010-04-23T12:58:00.000-07:00

Maruchan just released cup noodles based off of the four seasons in Japan. Below is a commercial for their Spring themed cup noodles with American Enka (basically Japanese pop music) singer Jero.

My only question is, do these actually have sakura (cherry blossom) flowers in them? Doubt we'll see these Spring cup noodles over here in the States, but thought this was interesting nonetheless, if not, just for a laugh.

Review: Annie Chun's Soup Bowl - Hot and Sour

2010-04-23T08:24:00.000-07:00

Annie Chun's Soup Bowl - Hot and Sour.

Annie Chun's Soup Bowl is the fancy, all natural version of bowl noodles. The cardboard is made of recycled paper and even the bowls are eco-friendly as they are made of cornstarch. There's no MSG and no preservatives. But does that mean it's good? Read on to find out.

I'm not one to go out of my way to get all natural or organic groceries. I see it as an added benefit when I do like something that's organic. I picked this up at Whole Foods, though you can find it in just about any major supermarket.

Annie Chun's eco-friendly bowl made of cornstarch. Makes a great after meal snack. ^^;

Annie Chun founded her company in 1992 with the dream of creating healthy, delicious Asian foods that would introduce America to the diversity of Asian foods and flavors. In 2005, Annie Chun’s forged a strategic partnership with CJ Corp., Korea’s largest food producer, strengthening the company’s commitment to creating all natural, great tasting products that promote good health and further the company’s goal of introducing new and exciting Asian foods to the American consumer. The complete line of innovative, premium goods provides a variety of options such as vegetarian, organic and gluten-free to adapt to dietary restrictions or preferences.

Contents in the Hot and Sour Soup Bowl.

I'm glad that there are companies like Annie Chun's doing this, but unfortunately, I did not care for the taste. The noodles themselves are Hokkien style and the texture and size is quite nice. However, they don't sop up the broth very well, which is surprising and disappointing. And even though the bowl is a little less than twice the size of a Cup Noodles, it did not fill me up.

The hot and sour broth was bland. It wasn't spicy at all and didn't taste like traditional hot and sour soup should. It was like eating noodles in hot ground pepper water. Not very pleasant. One reason might be the sodium content. The whole bowl contains only 900mg of sodium. You might be thinking that that's a lot, but trust me, when it comes to instant noodles, it's really not. For example, Nissin's Demae has 2140mg in one package. This can be seen as a positive and negative thing.

Applying seasoning and vegetable cube to noodles.

You get an unattractive cube of dried vegetables with the seasoning, which was actually made up of wet ingredients instead of a dry mix. The dried vegetable cube included scallions, bok choy, deep-fried tofu, red pepper, and shiitake mushrooms. Yeah, ew.

Ready to eat.

It should be noted that I used the microwave instructions since it looked like the main way Annie Chun's wants you to cook their noodles. I didn't bother letting Juliana try any. Thought I'd spare her the pain of possibly ruining noodles forever for her. Unless you are an all natural freak, stay away from this one. Hopefully some of the other flavors are better.

More photos:

Review: Paldo Dosirac Instant Noodle - Beef

2010-04-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

Paldo Dosirac Instant Noodle - beef cup.

My first bowl noodle review gets to be Paldo's Dosirac Instant Noodle, beef flavor. I've never had it before. In fact, I've never even seen it before. It was on sale at Ranch 99, so I decided to give it a shot.

Dosirac is made in Seocho-gu, Seoul by Korea Yakult Co., Ltd (한국야쿠르트), which is one of the largest food companies in South Korea. Despite this, most of their products are commonly purchased by Japanese under the brand name Paldo. (Overseas, the company distributes their products under this brand name.) Their products are purchased more there because Korea Yakult's overseas market is Yakult Honsha's home market. Confused? So am I. Let's just talk about the noodles.

Everything that comes in the Dosirac cup.

I was pleasantly surprised by Dosirac instant noodles. It is a bowl noodle, but it's small. It comes in a thin plastic rectangular bowl. There is a plastic cover on it that you use when cooking the noodles, so no need to place something over the top to keep the heat trapped in.

The thin brick of noodles.

The noodles come in a thin brick. They are thinner than your typical ramen. If you've had Nissin's Damae ramen, it's very similar to that. That being said, it also does not absorb the broth well.

The broth was good, not great. I got the beef flavor, so obviously there was a beefy taste to it, but not a strong one. I was delighted to see that it was spicy though. I guess it's something to expect from noodles originating in Korea, but I still didn't. The spiciness isn't too strong. Compared to Shin Ramyun, it is weaker.

It looks like beef, but is it?

With the seasoning packet, you also get a packet of dried goodies. I thought the packet had small dried pieces of beef, but when I read the ingredients, I didn't find beef in it at all. They are "textured vegetable protein". Are you kidding me!? I ate vegetables!? I could have sworn they were sausagey pieces of beef, but I was fooled! The texture was a bit funny, but I didn't think too much of it. It's generally why I don't like vegetarian sausage, burgers, or meatloaf.

Dosirac beef, ready to be consumed.

I didn't have Juliana try it since it was kind of spicy, and the last time I gave her spicy noodles, she didn't have the best reaction. Dosirac is a nice bowl noodle, but it's not great. I wouldn't mind having it a few more times and trying the other flavors.

More photos:

Review: Meiji Pucca Strawberry Pretzel

2010-04-12T08:38:00.000-07:00

I know Meiji's Pucca strawberry pretzels have been around for a while, but I've never tried them before. My sister-in-law bought them on a recent trip to a Japanese grocery store and I tried a few.

If you like Yan Yan, then you'll like Pucca. I for one do not like Yan Yan and therefore cannot recommend this snack. The pretzel shell does not really taste like pretzel. But my major problem with Pucca and Yan Yan is the strawberry cream. It tastes really bad. Pocky's strawberry coating has a much tastier flavor.

Kids may enjoy these snacks, but they are not for me. If you want something similar and yummy, get the Koala March chocolate snacks.

Review: Samurai Noodle

2010-04-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

Seattle is infected with phở. It's freakin' everywhere! Don't get me wrong, I like the Vietnamese noodle soup, but phở places have populated so much that it's hard to tell the quality of items served there. Where I work in Redmond has about nine phở shops alone, not including it being offered in our own company cafeterias. I compare phở restaurants to teriyaki restaurants; it used to be hit or miss, but now there's this huge in-between area where the food is just okay. I mean, you have all these places opening and having to compete with each other, which means they have to lower prices and, consequently, the quality of their food. And that's how I feel about phở places now. I've never had a bowl of it and gone "Wow, that's some really good phở!" Thus, I never crave it.

On the other hand, ramen places are few in the Seattle area, so the attributes of the ramen shops are higher. Enter Samurai Noodle, one of the most popular ramen restaurants in Seattle. The first Samurai Noodle opened up in Uwajimaya Village in the International District not too long ago, and a new one just opened last month in the University District. I went to the original International District location a couple weekends ago with my family and sister-in-law. Continue reading the review by clicking on "Read more" below the picture.

Samurai Noodle at the Uwajimaya Village.

I had never been to Samurai Noodle before. Its exact location is on the west side of the Uwajimaya Village next to Herfy's Burgers. It's one of the only stores on that side of the building, so knowing that, you shouldn't have any problem locating it. The first thing you'll notice about Samurai Noodle is how small it is. There are only nine tables that each seat two people. Even at 2 p.m. on a Saturday, the place was full. I've heard that lines can form outside if you go during lunchtime. Best to go well before or after the rush.

Samurai Noodle menu.

The first thing you do when you get inside is go up to the counter and order. The selection of ramen is good. There's the three main broths, tonkotsu, shoyu, and miso, as well as some spicy and vegetarian specialties. Most of the ramen include a slice of pork and at least two veggies. Any of these items can be opted out. There are also some dipping ramens and rice bowls. Also, the ramen can be cooked however you like from soft to al dente.

Samurai Noodle's tonkotsu ramen.

I ordered the tonkotsu ramen which is a pork meat, pork fat, and pork collagen based broth. The broth is cloudy and it came with "thin noodles". The noodles were indeed a bit thinner than your average ramen, but the major difference I noticed was how straight they were. Like spaghetti. It was very tasty though. I requested no green onion and black mushrooms on mine, but it did come with a slice of pork which had too much fat on. Still, a very satisfying soup that I would recommend.

Samurai Noodle's shōyu ramen.

My wife ordered the shōyu ramen which is a chicken, vegetable, and soy sauce based broth. It came with "fat noodles", which I don't understand since they were your average sized curly ramen. I tried some of it with the broth and I think I liked her's more. We both ordered medium firmness noodles, but my wife's were a little more firm.

My sister-in-law ordered the spicy pork rice bowl. I tried some of that, too, and it was really good. She also got some edamame, which I did not try since I am not a fan. But, she did say they were good.

While slightly inconsistent, my first experience with Samurai Noodle was a pleasant one. It's unfortunate that there aren't more ramen shops in the Seattle area, but if that means maintaining good quality, then I'm satisfied with what we have right now. Check back soon as I plan on reviewing another noodle restaurant soon!

More photos:

Video: Nissin Milk Seafood Cup Noodles Commercial

2010-03-30T10:50:00.000-07:00

This video sort of speaks for itself.

From now on, when I see people eating Cup Noodles, I'm going to point at them and go "Dshu, dshu, dshu-dshu!"

Review: Calpis Calpico Water (カルピスウォーター)

2010-03-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

Calpis Calpico Water (カルピスウォーター) is one of the most popular beverages in Japan. Over there, it's mostly referred to simply as "Calpis Water", but reading it aloud to yourself will make you quickly realize why it's called "Calpico Water" over here in the States. I still call it by the former because it's funnier. The full review after the jump.

Before Saturday, I had never had Calpis Water before. Seen it a lot, though. It is a non-carbonated drink that has a light, somewhat milky, and slightly acidic flavor. To be honest, it doesn't look like it would be all that refreshing. It's cloudy and unattractive. Plus, it's expensive (at least it was at Uwajimaya in downtown Seattle).

The best way I can describe it is Gatorade with a splash of sweetened heavy whipping cream. Some would say it tastes like plain or vanilla-flavored yogurt, but I would disagree because I hate yogurt and I liked this.

Calpis Water is quite good, especially when you drink it ice cold. On a hot summer day, this is exactly what I would want. If you haven't tried it before, I highly recommend.

Calpis Water comes in other flavors as well. These variations include, but are not limited to, strawberry, mango, lychee, melon, white peach, and aloe. Yes, aloe. I will be trying these other flavors soon and reviewing them later. For now, this review only covers the "original flavor".

Review: Nong Shim Shin Ramyun (辛拉麵, 신라면)

2010-03-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

Nong Shim Shin Ramyun (辛拉麵, 신라면) package.

Here's a brick noodle that I've had many times before, but don't eat as often due to it being a little more pricey than Top Ramen. The first time I had it was over at a friend's house when I visited them in California. His family is Korean and his mother made this soup for us for a quick lunch. I was taken back by how spicy it was, at first. Just for the record, I love spicy stuff. I feel like I can handle the heat better than the average person. Read the rest of the review after the jump.

The package comes with the brick of noodles, a seasoning packet, and a packet of dried vegetables.

Shin Ramyun is a brick noodle made by Nong Shim which is a food company in South Korea. It's been made since 1986 and is exported to over 80 different countries around the world. It goes without saying that Shin Ramyun is Korea's highest selling brand of noodles. "Ramyun" is basically Korea's word for ramen.

Contents of vegetable packet.

Shin Ramyun is really good. The first thing you need to know is that it's spicy. And I mean, spicy. It's one of the spiciest instant noodles out there. The broth has a slight beef flavor, but you mostly taste red pepper. There's dried red pepper seed oil in it. If you look in the seasoning packet, all you'll see is red. The broth comes out red. It's almost certain that you'll be sweating or having a drippy nose when you're done with your serving.

Cooking Shin Ramyun.

The noodles are the same shape as Top Ramen's noodles, but they're a bit thicker and cook more al dente even though they have a longer boiling time of 4-5 minutes. They come in a circular brick instead of a squared one. They absorb the broth quite well and you're sure to get some spice in every bite.

Shin Ramyun comes with a dried vegetable packet. It has green onions, carrots, mushrooms, and a few other things in it. I know Koreans must like adding kimchi to this soup to add even more spice and some other flavors. You can add that as well, but if you're hoping not to add more spiciness, beating an egg in it would be good. You could also add some mushrooms, thinly sliced beef, or roast beef lunch meat.

Ready to consume!

I made the mistake of letting Juliana try this. She has had some spicy things before, but I should have known better. She had a few bites of Shin Ramyun and went into a coughing fit. After that, she didn't want anymore. I gladly ate her share.

If you are looking for something different, and for something really spicy, go with Shin Ramyun. It's one of my favorites of all-time. Jal meokkesseumnida!

More photos:

News: Ramen Rallies Relief for Haiti

2010-03-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

Two exchange students from South Korea at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia organized a ramen noodle cook-off to raise money for Haiti. Students competed in the "National Collegiate Ramen Noodle Cook-Off" this past Saturday.

From the article:

Students and community members used ramen noodles, $5 in ingredients of their choices and the supplied ingredients such as brown sugar, garlic powder, honey, ketchup, hot sauce and cinnamon, Rowland said.

The participants had 30 minutes to prepare a unique ramen noodle dish that was then judged for flavor, ingredients and plating.

All proceeds went to the Palms for Life Fund, a nonprofit organization helping with earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.

I think it's really cool to see something like ramen being used for good like this.

Review: Nissin Demae (出前一丁) Ramen - Chicken

2010-03-12T15:04:00.000-08:00

Nissin Demae (出前一丁) Ramen - chicken package.

For my first review, I chose to do a brick ramen that I've never had before, but have always seen on the shelves. Here is Demae (出前一丁) Ramen (Itcho) made by Nissin, the same people that make America's favorite staple, Top Ramen. There are a few different flavors with this brand, so today I'd like to review the chicken flavor.

The package comes with the brick of noodles, a seasoning packet, and a small packet of oil. Because of its long-time presence in the Hong Kong market, the nickname "公仔麺" (lit. "Picture" noodles, so called due to the picture of the little boy) has become synonymous there with instant noodles.

Nissin Demae Ramen - chicken is pretty good. The noodles are thinner and rounder than Top Ramen's noodles. Therefore, I don't think it carries the taste of the broth well. It's better to eat with a large spoon. The broth is a bit salty and the chicken flavor is mild. I could taste a lot of onion in it. My biggest problem with it is that the chicken flavor is artificial. I mean, even Top Ramen's chicken flavor has natural flavors and chicken fat in it. However, this one's taste has more of a ramen texture. It would be good for a ramen addict who is just starting out.

Adding the oil to the soup. First time I think I've done this.

I think adding egg, chicken meat, turkey meat, duck meat, and/or Chinese cabbage would be good with this soup. The portion is a little bigger, too. It cooks in 3 minutes just like Top Ramen, so that's another plus. However, this one has an oil packet with it. I could definitely tell that the broth was a little more oily, but it was quite pleasant.

Nissin's chicken Damae Ramen ready to be consumed.

When Juliana was eating this, she said "Num, num, num... mmmmmmmm." I sort of like Top Ramen a little better, but not by much. Worth trying and having a few times, but not something I would buy over and over and over again.

More photos:

FAQ

2010-02-15T23:21:00.000-08:00

Who are you?
My name is Cam and I like all kinds of noodles, especially ramen. You can learn more about me in this blog's About section, or follow me on my personal blog at camknows.blogspot.com.

Why are you doing this?
Once again, check the About section.

How often do you post reviews?
Right now, I'm trying to post a review at least once per week, but I do not have anything set in stone. I may update more some weeks, and others, I may not update at all. Please be patient with me as I do have other obligations outside of reviewing noodles. ^.^

How does your rating system work?
Oh, I'm glad you asked. I rate noodles and other goodies based on stars (*). The highest rating an item can get is five stars. The overall rating is what you're looking for when comparing different noodles. I also rate the saltiness and spiciness with the star system, but this generally does not effect the overall rating. You can also find information about the brand, location purchased, price, and some nutritional info for each packaged noodle.

How do you cook your noodles?
For my reviews, I cook them exactly as the instructions say. Since I'm allergic to some vegetables and just don't care for them anyway, I do not add any dried vegetables that may come with the item. On a more personal level, I enjoy my noodles a little softer. I almost always add cayenne pepper to give it some spice and occasionally crack an egg or add sliced lunch meat.

Where do you buy your packaged noodles?
I'm lucky enough to live near Seattle, Washington which has a significant Asian American community. Therefore, there are many Asian supermarkets in the area. My favorite stores include Uwajimaya, Ranch 99, and H-Mart. There is also Viet Wah, HT Oaktree Market, and other smaller Asian grocery stores which I have yet to visit. Prices are usually a bit higher than at your typical grocery chain, but not out of reach. You're guaranteed to find a large selection of brick and cup noodles at any of these locations. I typically list where I purchased a certain item in the review and how much I paid for it.

What's your favorite ramen?
Clicking on the "*****" label will take you to my most favorite noodles and other goodies.

Do you like Top Ramen or Maruchan?
I actually love Top Ramen and Maruchan (reviews coming soon). After all, it's what I grew up on. Both contain some natural ingredients, so it's not all that bad. Plus, adding stuff like egg and meat always creates a heartier meal.

Do you just review noodles?
No. Occasionally on this site, I will review non-noodle Asian items like beverages, snacks, and candy. Click on the "other goodies" label to read about non-noodle related posts. And check back often for the latest stuff.

Where can I find extended nutritional information on items?
For the sake of time and space, I do not post the full nutrition label on this blog. Full nutritional facts can usually be viewed at the brand's official website.

May I link your blog or quote you on my website or blog?
Absolutely. Linking to my site is always welcome. I'm all about sharing my thoughts on these foods and making the noodle/ramen community grow.

Where do you get your pictures from?
For the most part, I take the pictures you see on this site.

What kind of camera do you use?
I use a Panasonic Lumix LX3. It's a compact high-end digital still camera that takes excellent photos. It comes with comprehensive manual controls like a digital SLR, and has a fast F2.0-F2.8 24-60mm (35mm equivalent) Leica DC Vario-Summicron lens. It also shoots 720p HD videos. I can't recommend this camera enough.

May I use your photos on my website/blog?
Please contact me before you post my photos on your website or blog. I usually don't have a problem with it as long as you're not profiting from them and you give me a small credit.

Who is this "Juliana" that you keep mentioning in reviews?
Juliana is my two-year-old daughter who is just about as much of a noodle freak as I am. Whenever we ask her what she wants to eat for dinner, the answer is almost always "noodles". Some of the time, we oblige. I think that writing her reaction and opinion on an item in the review gives people a fresh perspective from someone who is new to the noodle world.

I want to contact you.
Great, but that's not a question.

How can I contact you?
Posting comments is the most effective way of contacting me. Otherwise, you can send me a message through this form. (For security and anti-spam purposes, I will not post my e-mail address on here.)

But I am a company that wants to send you samples? How should I contact you?
Once again, going through the contact form will send messages directly to my personal e-mail address. Samples I receive from companies will be reviewed faster than normal items. But, be prepared for me to be brutally honest.

Contact

2010-02-15T14:30:00.000-08:00

Have a question, problem, or concern? Have a review request? Are you a company that would like to send me samples? If your answer is "Yes, sir" to any of the questions above, please feel free to contact me by filling out the information below. I am usually quick to respond Monday through Friday during business hours. Thanks!

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About

2010-02-15T12:58:00.000-08:00

I'm an American male of Chinese, English, and Scottish descent who currently lives near Seattle, Washington. Ever since I was a baby, I've enjoyed noodles of all kind. Now, my daughter is also experiencing the deliciousness of noodles and seems to like them as much as me.

I came up with the idea of this blog when I was out shopping at one of our local Asian supermarkets. I saw all of the different instant noodles they had and was upset at myself for only being familiar with just a few. So, I've decided to try as many as I can and review them on the Internet. It may seem silly, but it's a helpful reminder for me on what I like and what I don't like when it comes to noodles. Hopefully it'll also encourage people to stray from their Top Ramen and Cup Noodles to try something new. I also plan on reviewing other Asian snacks and drinks every once in a while. There's so much to try!

I have a more personal blog where you can learn more about me here.

The Noodle Freak

Permanent Hiatus

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