the ramen blog & other goodies!

Wow! The first thing you’ll notice when you open the lid is how many packets of goodies there are. It was almost like a magic trick of never-ending flavor packets. There are FIVE packets of ingredients: there’s the obligatory soup powder (aka MSG), the liquid soup base, a packet of fresh ginger, one for onions, and finally, a packet of toppings. Toppings include very ordinary sesame seeds, somewhat special judas ear (fungus!), and a slice of pork.

The skinny tonkotsu noodles were just about perfect for instant ramen: chewy and flavorful. It soaked up the soup nicely and retained a rich pork flavor. The skimpy (sesame seeds, fungus, and ginger?! that’s it?!) toppings worked well together…well…except that I absolutely detest ginger, so I gave that to my wife (hi hon!). The pork was an unfortunate ultra-thin slice of…well, it was bacon-like, but then again, who eats boiled bacon? Luckily that the only thing that detracted from this ramen. Onwards to the soup! (more…)

I think this is just a repacked version of this. The noodles seem to be a little bit better this time around…maybe…but overall, this instant ramen is still pretty average. The soup is decent but not particularly flavorful, and whatever flavor it has is overwhelmed by garlic and msg. Be prepared to down a large glass of water to chase the msg and garlic flavor from your mouth. It gets the same score as last time: 6 out of 10.

I reviewed the shoyu version a while ago. Time for the tonkotsu version! Well, the noodles are the same thin kind with a decent chewy texture. The soup isn’t exactly filled with with pork flavor and is a bit “msg-y” but decent…only decent. The soup is actually a tiny bit spicy for a tiny kick and there are small slivers of garlic to liven up the flavor. Bits of cabbage, green onions, some corn, and maybe 1 tiny piece of bamboo garnish the noodles.

Overall, it’s not bad, but nothing special. The lovely feeling of a msg and garlic coated tongue afterwards is a nice touch. It gets a middle-of-the-road 6.

Me: Guess what I’m reviewing next? Cup Noodles!
Wife: Cup…Noodles…is there *anyone* in the world who hasn’t had Cup Noodles before? Why would you want to review something *everyone* has had before?
Me: (silence…)
Wife: sigh…

First of all, I haven’t actually had Cup Noodles in quite a while. From what I remember though, only the smaller 2-packs of the Cup Noodles beef flavor had the tiny bits of beef in it. The large single-serving Cup Noodles only had beef powder. It was a pleasant surprise to find that the large version now also has beef bits! And look, zero grams of trans fat! Now I’ve never considered Cup Noodles to be instant “ramen” per se. That is, it’s nothing remotely like a bowl of Japanese ramen you’d get at a ramen place. But then again, Cup Noodles has never aspired to be anything but a …err…cup of noodles.

That said, it’s a good cup of noodles! It’s not fantastic, it’s not amazing, but it’s satisfying and fills you up. The noodles are a bit on the limp side, even if you time the boiling water exactly right. The soup tastes like beef-flavored water, but in a good way. And sipping the soup, with the little beef and carrot bits, and the corn and peas…there’s something about this concoction that just brings a satisfied smile to my face.

Billions and billions of people worldwide can’t be wrong, and I give Cup Noodles (beef flavor) a solid 7.

Ah yes…good old Nissin Cup Noodles. If you like Cup Noodles, you’ll enjoy the Souper Meal. It’s basically just an oversized Cup Noodles, with a special packet of “finishing touch flavor enhancer,” which sounds both scary and interesting at the same time. It smells like a packet of beef bouillon mixed with plenty of MSG. Mm-mmm goodness. The noodles are very typical Cup Noodles, a bit limp and not particularly interesting, but not bad. The soup is very “beefy,” probably due to the “finishing touch,” but the smell is a bit too *unnaturally* beefy. If you prefer quantity over quality, you’ll enjoy this. Overall, it gets a 6.

This is yet another “stamina-type” (garlic) tonkotsu ramen. See the pink packet on the left? That’s a full packet of minced raw garlic. Yum! The garlic and soup is actually mild, and not too garlicky, but flavorful. It’s quite good. The noodles are a bit on the doughy and hard side, but also flavorful. There’s also a bit of green onion flakes and a few scattered pieces of shinachiku. It’s well balanced overall and gets an 8.