the ramen blog & other goodies!

Now you can enjoy Ajisen Ramen at home! The globe-spanning Ajisen Ramen chain now has their very own kumamoto nama ramen! I don’t usually mention price in my reviews, but it bears noting that Ajisen’s nama ramen is the most expensive nama ramen I’ve seen, at just under $7 for a pack of 2. Another interesting thing about this nama ramen is that the 2 noodle servings are not individually packaged as every other brand’s nama ramen is: you’re going to need to eat both servings relatively soon after you open the package. (more…)

I realized after the fact that my last review was post #200. Though the majority of my earlier posts were not much more than the blogging equivalent of caveman grunts, allow me a moment to pat myself on the back for reaching a milestone, even if it took me long enough to do it.

It’s a happy coincidence that this “just-missed-being-a-milestone-post” reviews the nama version of Kurume Taiho’s tonkotsu ramen. If you’ve never heard of Kurume Taiho, know that the rameniac likens the several hours journey from Tokyo to Kurume Taiho to the ramen fan’s equivalent of a pilgrimage and Go Ramen! raved about their nama ramen’s “harmonious balance of flavor.”

I’m a sucker for good packaging, and sometimes, it’s the understated simple designs that are the most elegant. I really like the packaging of the Taiho Kurume ramen, and now, thanks to Keizo, I have the opportunity to see firsthand whether or not the quality of the ramen inside matches the gorgeous packaging outside. (more…)

With packaging reminiscent of something out of a science fiction setting, this is one of the neatest forms of ramen packaging I’ve come across. Goramen’s Keizo was nice enough to share his spoils from the Yokohama Ramen Museum, and I expected quite a treat.

I spent some time opening the ramen cube and taking pictures. Hidden within two almost-secret compartments were two bags of noodles, myriad packs of toppings, and the biggest packet of soup base I’ve ever seen. (more…)

According to Businessweek’s Asia’s Hot Growth Companies: 2007, the #1 growth company in Asia isn’t an electronics company. It’s not a cell phone company, a bank, or any other type of company you would normally associate with a “hot growth” company. Give up? It’s Hong Kong based Ajisen Ramen!

Follow ‘big in japan’s’ quest as they search for the “perfect bowl of ramen” in Japan

Milk, seafood, and…ramen?! The folks at Nissin are as creative as ever. Introducing the Milk Seafood Cup Noodle!

Read all about instant ramen from a student perspective, featuring two, yes two quotes from yours truly, at the Florida International University’s student paper, the Beacon.

I’ve been to Japan over 15 times and not once have I ever set foot in a Denny’s. But then I never knew they served ramen! (…and…Chivas Regal?!?)

It seems like everyone’s making a pilgrimage to the Yokohama Ramen Museum in Japan lately. Check out the writeups, photos, and videos at Shanghai Toys and Go Ramen! And check back here soon for our own writeup and review.

The discontinued and hard-to-find maruchan tomato ramen has been found! Is anyone at Maruchan reading this? Please bring back the your tomato ramen!

Interested in making your nama ramen more than just “instant” ramen? See what the Tasty Island does with a pack of shio nama ramen.

Interested in knowing how global warming will affect the question of “What role should instant noodles play in 50 years time?” If you have an invitation to the 6th World Instant Noodles Summit in Osaka, you can find out! (No, we weren’t invited…sniff sniff…)

you’re really supposed to add your own ingredients to this type of box ramen, like veggies and onions and maybe some meat…without additional goodies, it’s very very average…both the noodles and the soup is just boooring…it gets a 5

This somewhat ordinary looking package hides a somewhat not-so-ordinary nama ramen. The first surprise of this ramen is the lack of individual plastic bags around the noodles. This is certainly the freshest-looking package of ramen I’ve ever seen.

I could almost picture the noodles being made from scratch, packaged, and delivered straight to the store.

After pouring the soup mix into a bowl, I noticed a strong and familiar scent. I inhaled the aroma to get a feel for the flavor and smelled nothing but…sesame oil? I smelled again…yes, slightly burnt sesame oil. Interesting. The soup was a mild and clear with just a hint of msg. It wasn’t very oily, and it also didn’t have a very strong pork flavor. If I didn’t read the package, I’d think the soup was sesame oil based, though the soup base ingredients on the back of the package read simply: soy sauce, vegetable oil, salt, sugar, amino acid & spices. Hmm…no sesame oil, no pork/pork fat/pork bone/pork flavoring/pork anything. I still enjoyed the soup, it just wasn’t really tonkotsu-y.

Onwards to the noodles! The noodles were indeed fresh tasting, and had a slight floury taste. They held the soup flavoring well, and were also pretty fragrant. Unfortunately, they were also very hard, and slightly raw-tasting. The cooking instructions were a bit unusual: instead of the typical “cook for x mins,” it gave a range of 1-1/2 minutes to 2 minutes “depending on your desired firmness.” Don’t believe it. I like my ramen al dente and 1-1/2 minutes made the noodles just barely edible. They were still a bit too hard even at 2 minutes. Your mileage may vary of course, but I recommend starting at 2 mins and working your way up.

Overall, this was just a decent ramen. The noodles looked better than they tasted, and the soup, though good, was slightly unusual with the heavy sesame oil fragrance. This gets a 7 out of 10.

Oh! One last thing. The Miyako nama ramen comes with a packet of desiccant…I think…(they call it an “oxygen absorber”…sounds dangerous). Kids, make sure you don’t accidently mix that into your ramen!