Week Two: Second Opinion

Like Daniel, I too lack any extensive knowledge about satay flavor. However Nissin Demae's Satay Flavored Ramen provided a favorable satay experience.

As previously stated, this ramen is prepared with a minimal amount of broth, yet it offers a lot of flavor despite the absence of broth. The blend of noodles and light broth is composed of a mild curry taste that is not overpowering or excessively savory, as experienced in many Asian dishes.

The broth itself is more pungent and consequently may be better enjoyed in lesser quantities. Perhaps this was the motive behind Nissin Demae Satay Flavored Ramen in crafting the ramen to have minimal broth.

While I do not agree that the ramen noodles are of any particular higher quality compared to most ramen noodles, I think the thinner noodles harmonize with the satay broth.

I give it 4 out of 5 chopsticks.

Ramen Experience: Week Two

Jenna and I are alternating our choices down the Ramen wall. While on the rare occasion we will be reviewing separate ramens in the same week, we'll more often be taking turns on the lead review, following up with a second opinion, like we did last week.

This week, we're tasting Nissin Demae Ramen's Satay Flavor. This Satay Flavor is created by a combination of soup base and sauce packets that serve as a nice break from the freeze dried vegetables. This pairing of flavorings creates a nuanced taste. It's not spicy or salty, it's nice. I don't have any real foundation for judging Satay Flavor, aside from some other easy to make asian foods, but it was pretty tasty!

In terms of ramen, Nissin's Satay Flavor doesn't end with a lot of broth. After bringing everything together in the pot, there wasn't much broth yet, but I actually think the lack of broth sets off the taste and texture of the noodles. The noodles absorb a lot of flavor and they seem thinner too. If you like ramen with a lot of noodles, like I do, Nissin's Satay Flavor is the way to go. Instead of filling up on broth, you can enjoy a lot of noodles, which are pretty flavorful on their own.

Without so much broth, Nissin's Satay Flavor seems to have a lot more quality in its noodles. The texture and quality of the noodles seems higher than most other ramens, as does the flavor. Still, I wish I could put my finger on what Satay flavor was supposed to be like anyways....

I give it 4 out of 5 chopsticks!

Week One: Second Opinion

I might not have had the same Kimchi experience as Jenna, but ramen is ramen no matter how you spin it. Even if Samyang's Kimchi Ramen fell flat on its face, I knew I could still enjoy the ramen noodles.

I'm also slightly newer to the ramen that includes little freeze-dried vegetables. I don't think my palette has grown too accustomed to them yet. Honestly, I'm more worried about not letting them stick to the bottom of the pot than I am about their overall quality and flavor.

Opening up Kimchi Ramen was about as close as I came to tasting anything resembling a Kimchi flavor, but again, that might be my underdeveloped Kimchi palette. While the noodles were good, the broth seemed somewhere stuck between the usual salty fair ramen noodles seem to have made tradition and a hinted-at Kimchi taste. Still, I can't complain when I know that Ramen is about cooking-ease, a quick meal, and something that'll fill you up easily.

I'd say Kimchi Ramen was fairly easy to cook, though it's hard to find the 550c measuring mark on our liquid measuring cup, and it was good enough to eat again. I'm usually wary of spicy flavored food, but Kimchi Ramen wasn't too aggressive.

I give it 2.5 out of 5 chopsticks.

Ramen Experience: Week One

To kick off the start of our journey down the Route de Ramen, I chose to try SAMYANG kimchi flavored ramen. The first thing I noticed was the more gentle blend of spices in comparison to other spicy ramen I have previously tried. Korean kimchi is typically somewhat spicy so I automatically assumed that this ramen would reflect a similar taste. However, after a second look, I realized that the ramen package did not indicate "spicy" anywhere, which explained the milder taste.

The second thing I noticed was how the actual kimchi essence was most present in the aroma and in within the first few seconds of sipping, before becoming somewhat lost in the overall salt dominated equation.

I also noticed how unlike other vegetable packs included with ramen (which usually become either oddly semi-hydrated or completely soggy) the supplementary vegetables included with the kimchi ramen added a fresh (as fresh as dehydrated vegetables can be), delightful crunch reminiscent of the crunch experienced in eating your grandma's homemade kimchi.

As I enjoyed my ramen, I scribbled down a few notes describing the "best way to enjoy the kimchi flavor":

- Slowly take in the aroma between each bite

- Letting the noodles marinate in the broth for a bit allows the noodles to retain more of the kimchi flavor

- Sip in small quantities to experience more of the kimchi flavor, which gets lost in big sips due to the general overpowering saltiness

Kimchi lovers will be disappointed if they expect this meal to taste exactly like kimchi. It is after all ramen, so it's going to taste predominantly like ramen. However, it doesn't fail completely in its homage to the traditional Korean dish. It devotes itself to the flavor of kimchi as much as it can amongst the inherent salty flavor that is processed ramen.

I give it 3.5 out of 5 chopsticks!

The Ranch 99 Ramen Experience

And so begins our quest to discover every ramen offered at the local Ranch 99 Market... Daniel and I have decided to try one selection of ramen per week and write about our experiences. Once a month we choose 4 different kinds of ramen. Daniel selects two for us to try and I select two for us to try. Whomever selects a given ramen becomes the primary reviewer for that ramen. The secondary reviewer provides a second opinion and any other additional information. We will both rate the current ramen of discussion on a scale from 0 to 5 chopsticks.

Wish us luck and the hope that each ramen will be Delicioso!