the ramen revue

nissin brand tonkotsu flavour

2006-01-22T17:52:00.000-08:00

nissin brand

tonkatsu flavour

in buddhist philosophy, it is desire which prevents man from reaching true enlightenment. many japanese are buddhists, although i doubt that few, if any, have reached a state of nirvana. i can only attribute this to the delicious flavour of tonkatsu ramen, which is the most desirable japanese ramen i have had to date. come swim with me on a sea of sesame-flavoured bliss! (actually, tonkatsu is a pork dish, as evidenced by what appears to be diseased ham or severely diseased sliced fish on the package. it was kind of hard to tell.) the dominant taste was still of sesame, owing largely to the generous packet of oil and copious quantities of sesame seeds for garnish. not spicy, but light; i devoured the entire bowl despite having a terrible stomachache. this is most definitely the best ramen i've tasted since i started this venture. enlightenment, surely, must come from within... the stomach, that is, and you will feel far more enlightened once you've got a bowl of nissin tonkatsu ramen inside.

vifon brand clove beef flavour

2006-01-21T16:10:00.000-08:00

vifon brand

clove beef flavour

i was sure this would be absolutely delicious, and was only somewhat disappointed. this vietnamese ramen certainly tasted like pho, the traditional soup of vietnam, which i'll admit i'm not a great fan of. it was good, but had strong cinnamon undertones; precisely the reason why i am ambivalent towards pho. however, i realise that most people like cinnamon, and most people would like this. i'd say it was pretty good, although it started making me queasy towards the end. perhaps i am not cut out for glass noodle ramen...?

indo mie soto mie flavour

2006-01-21T15:57:00.000-08:00

indo mie brand

soto mie flavour

imagine a black hole. now imagine a black hole, in the shape of a bowl of ramen. now, imagine what that black hole ramen would taste like, and there you have it. "soto mie" tastes like absolutely nothing at all, and i can neither recommend it nor advise you to avoid it. all i can say is that you may be better off just boiling some water and drinking that.

wai wai minced pork tom yum

2006-01-06T11:16:00.000-08:00

wai wai brand

minced pork tom yum flavour

absolutely awesome. this definitely tastes like real tom yum, or at least more so than other tom yum ramen. it had a rich, lime-peanut flavour, and was spicy without being overwhelming. don't be fooled by the package photo, which shows what appears to be a steaming bowl of vomit; it's delicious! since trying it, i've eaten this ramen at least once a week. there's just nothing bad i can say about it.

sichuan famous snack: fei-chang flavour

2006-01-03T17:29:00.000-08:00

sichuan famous snack:

fei-chang flavour

evidently, "fei chang" is chinese for disgusting, because that's what this ramen is. the package insists that the "sweet potato thread" soup is "NOT FRIED FOOD!!!"; alas, it doesn't warn the purchaser that the contents are absolutely nauseating. it reeked of licorice, which i assumed was because it contained black anise (WARNING SIGN #1!!! black anise makes some people horribly ill.) when cooked, it mimicked the appearance of the contents of a dead person's stomach, and smelled almost as bad. the only saving grace was that it came with a package of wonderful crunchy soybeans, which i picked out before handing it to my husband, who took a taste and said, "euughhh." within five minutes, the soup acquired the appearance of diseased semen and solidified into a gelatinous mass. seriously; don't eat this.

skip jack tuna

2005-12-30T16:50:00.000-08:00

indo mie brand

skip jack tuna flavour

probably the most unusual and scary flavour of ramen i've tried to date, it isn't nearly as bad as it sounds. the noodles themselves had a kind of a gross, fishy odor, which dissipated when i added water and the five (count 'em, five) flavour packets. the broth was delicious and spicy, sort of shrimpy tasting, and i found myself enjoying it immensely. this is quite possibly my new favourite, the only downside being that there were some foul tasting flakes of dried tuna left at the bottom, which i did not appreciate at all. definitely worth trying.