Ramen Roulette

I LOVE ramen! I can't get enough of it. So, for Xmas 2017, my wife got me a one year subscription to Exotic Noods, a ramen subscription box. Each month a box of 4 different kinds of ramen from across the world arrives at our door. Ramen Roulette is a review blog detailing my experiences eating the ramen delivered by Exotic Noods. I may also review ramen from other sources like Walmart.

The format of each review will look like this:

  1. Name of ramen variety, country of origin, and date of review
  2. What's inside the package
  3. Picture(s) of packaging
  4. Ease of preparation
  5. First impressions
  6. Picture(s) of prepared ramen
  7. Final thoughts
  8. Rating (out of five)

Feb Box - Paldo Soy Flavor Noodles - Product of South Korea - March 15, 2018

  1. What's inside?
    2. Noodles (smell like soy!), soup base, dehydrated veggies
  2. Ease of Preparation
    3. Easy. Standard ramen prep
  3. First Impressions
    4. Soup base tastes good. Noodles look like the thicker, higher quality ramen noodles. Broth has nice, tasty flavor.
  4. Picture of Prepared Ramen
  5. Final Thoughts
    6. Very good! Tasty soup with good spices. Could be a touch hotter at least. Love the thicker noodles.

Jan Box - Indomie Special Chicken Flavor - Product of Indonesia - March 13, 2018

  1. What's inside?
    2. Noodles, seasoning powder, seasoning oil, chili powder
  2. Ease of Preparation
    3. Cook noodles on stove top. Seasonings in final bowl. Pour cooked noodles (and water) into bowl.
  3. First Impressions
    4. Smells very onion-y. Tastes onion-y and a bit spicy. Noodles are normal ramen noodles, nothing special.
  4. Picture of Prepared Ramen
  5. Final Thoughts
    6. A great spicy, onion ramen. The smell reminded me of Burger King's onion rings. I would have preferred a spicy paste instead of plain chili powder.

Jan Box - Mama Chicken Flavor - Product of Thailand - March 6, 2018

  1. What's inside?
    2. Noodles, chili powder, seasoning, oil
  2. Ease of Preparation
    3. Easy. boil water then pour boiling water over noodles in a bowl, then cover the bowl for 3 minutes.
  3. First Impressions
    4. Tastes nice and oriental.
  4. Picture of Prepared Ramen
  5. Final Thoughts
    6. The broth was very tasty. Nice, spicy kick. Couldn't taste the chicken.

Jan Box - Gomtang Beef Noodles - Product of South Korea - February 27, 2018

  1. What's inside?
    2. Noodles and soup base
  2. Ease of Preparation
    3. Standard ramen cooking method
  3. First Impressions
    4. Thinner noodles than Maruchan. Seasoning is garlicky and a bit spicy. Borth has a nice garlic flavor, but not much else.
  4. Picture of Prepared Ramen
  5. Final Thoughts
    6. A tasty soup, but I could have seasoned the normal Maruchan beef/chicken to taste like this. I also didn't taste any beef flavor.

Jan Box - Ve Wong Mushroom Pork Flavor - February 17, 2018

  1. What's inside?
    2. Noodles, seasoning, two flavored oils
  2. Ease of Preparation
    3. Easy. Standard method of cooking ramen
  3. First Impressions
    4. Tasty broth. Not at all spicy. Can't really taste any pork or mushroom flavor.
  4. Picture of Prepared Ramen
  5. Final Thoughts
    6. A nice, mellow tasty soup.

Dec Box - Indomie - Mi Goreng Barbeque Chicken Flavor - Product of Indonesia February 11, 2018

  1. What's inside?
    2. Noodle block, seasoning oil, chili sauce, soya sauce, fried onions, and Bumbu seasoning
  2. Ease of Preparation
    3. Interesting. Boil noodles for 3 minutes. Mix all seasonings on a plate. Drain noodles then mix noodles with seasonings on plate. Fun to make!
  3. First Impressions
    4. Chili sauce is hot! Soya sauce is pretty tasty (BBQ-y). Can't really taste the seasoning oil. Final product is very tasty -> spicy and BBQ-y.
  4. Picture of Prepared Ramen
  5. Final Thoughts
    6. Mmmm, mmmmm, mmmmm, that was a tasty stir-fry ramen!!! Delightfully spicy BBQ chicken flavor. I wish I had more of these. Delicious!!!

Samyang 2x Spicy Hot Chicken Flavor February 3, 2018

I've been wanting to try this ramen for a long time so Leila got it for me for Christmas. I'd been waiting to try this until I was sure I wouldn't be busy the next day or two afterward.

  1. What's inside?
    2. Noodle block, pepper flakes, liquid soup.
  2. First Impressions
    3. Thick noodles, liquid soup is very spicy. Prepared soup is not as hot as I was expecting. Tasty and spicy.
  3. Picture of Prepared Ramen
  4. Ease of Preparation
    5. Cook for 5 minutes in boiling water, drain most of the water then put in liquid soup. Stir-fry for 30 seconds, then put in pepperflakes/seeds.
  5. Final Thoughts
    6. Wow! That was hot!! With every bit, I felt more sweat droplets and more teardrops. It was tasty with nice, thick noodles, but the heat was nearly overwhelming. I can still feel the heat on my lips as I write this. I still feel warm.

Dec Box - Random Vietnamese Noodles - January 28, 2018

This one was very interesting. Exotic Noods sent out a random ramen product as the fourth ramen of the December box.

  1. What's inside?
  2. First Impressions
    3. Soup booster tastes different. Kind of tastes a bit like mustard. Soup tastes pretty good! A spicy kick at the end (less heat spicy, more spices spicy). The noodles remind me of the knife-shaved noodles I had back in China.
  3. Picture of Prepared Ramen
  4. Ease of Preparation
    5. No English instructions so I had to wing it. Did the standard ramen method.
  5. Final Thoughts
    6. It was very different from the ramens I'm used to eating. Overall, I'm not sure I would purchase this soup if I saw it in Walmart. The flavor profile is just so different. Still tasty, though. I'm glad I had it. It would be interesting to try these noodles with other flavors.

Walmart - Maruchan Oriental Flavor - January 27, 2018

  1. What's inside?
    2. Noodle block and seasoning packet
  2. First Impressions
    3. Seasoning packet definitely tastes oriental. Tastes pretty good. Not spicy, but still good. Broth doesn't taste oriental, however.
  3. Picture of Prepared Ramen
  4. Ease of Preparation
    5. Standard ramen method
  5. Final Thoughts
    6. A good-tasting broth. Couldn't really taste the oriental flavor. Still good though.

Walmart - Nongshim Shin Ramyun Gourmet Spicy - January 25, 2018

  1. What's inside?
    2. Noodles, seasoning packet, and dehydrate veggies
  2. First Impressions
    3. Seasoning packet is deliciously spicy! Great, spicy broth with thick noodles.
  3. Picture of Prepared Ramen
  4. Ease of Preparation
    5. Very easy. Boil 2.5 cups water in a pot. Then add veggies, seasoning, and noodles. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
  5. Final Thoughts
    6. This is one of my favorite ramens. I love the spicy broth with the thick chewy noodles. It's just so good!!

Walmart - Maruchan Picante Chicken Flavor - January 21, 2018

  1. What's inside?
    2. Noodles and seasoning
  2. First Impressions
    3. Seasoning packet reminds me of taco seasoning. Tastes like a fusion of Mexican and Chinese. "Hot and Spicy"? Not so much. It's about as spicy as taco seasoning.
  3. Picture of Prepared Ramen
  4. Ease of Preparation
    5. Fairly easy. Standard method of cooking ramen.
  5. Final Thoughts
    6. Taco seasoning ramen is not that great. Since I have another packet, I'll have to spruce it up. I would not buy another one of these again. The normal chicken flavor is better than this.

Dec Box - Ve Wong Oriental Noodle Soup Peppered Beef Flavor - Chinese - January 20, 2018

  1. What's inside?
    2. Noodle block, seasoning herb packet, and flavored oil packet containing dried peppers
  2. First Impressions
    3. Seasoning packet tastes good, with a peppered flavor. There wasn't much of a beef flavor, though.
  3. Picture of Prepared Ramen
  4. Ease of Preparation
    5. Fairly easy. Boil 2 cups of water in a pot. Once boiling, put in seasoning and noodles. Cook for 3 minutes, romove from heat, and then put in flavored oil. Stir then serve.
  5. Final Thoughts
    6. Tasty peppered beef broth. Good spice, but not as spicy as actual "hot and spicy" ramen soups. Overall, a great ramen that would benefit from actual beef chunks.

Walmart - Nongshim Bowl Noodle Soup Hot and Spicy - January 18, 2018

  1. What's inside?
    2. Noodles and seasoning packet
  2. First Impressions
    3. Seasoning packet tastes good. Decent bit of kick. Tastes like a spicy ramen. Not that spicy, though.
  3. Picture of Prepared Ramen
  4. Ease of Preparation
    5. Very easy. Three minutes in microwave.
  5. Final Thoughts
    6. Tasty, spicy broth. Spicy enough to make my nose run and have the need to blow my nose. Ramen noodles were no different from other cheap noodles. Overall, decent soup, but a bit off-putting due to the seafood pieces.

Dec Box - Mama Pork Flavour - Product of Thailand - December 16, 2017

  1. First Look
    2. Nice, appealing packaging, in English. Contains noodles, divided seasoning packet, booster packet
  2. Picture of Packaging
    3. Mama Pork Flavour picture
  3. First Impressions
    4. I've never had a ramen where the seasoning packet was divided into two sections. This one had a small chili powder section with a larger pork seasoning section. Definitely has an oriental taste to the broth. Has some spice to it. Very flavorful, very tasty. Good amount of spice.
  4. Picture of Prepared Ramen
    5. In my excitement to eat my first Exotic Noods ramen, I forgot to take pictures of the bowl.
  5. Ease of Preparation
    6. Very easy. Put contents of package into bowl then pour 400 mL of boiling water into bowl and then cover for three minutes.
  6. Final Thoughts
    7. That was some damn good tasting ramen! Pork is not my favorite meat, but this was very good. Much better than the Maruchan brand that you can buy at Walmart.