Re-Review: Sapporo Ichiban Japanese Style Noodles & Original Flavored Soup

We went to Walmart on Black Friday! Well, let me explain – it was at 6pm or so, so the amount of crazy people was lower. It seems though that the Walmart we always go to has a surplus of crazy people usually. I imagine the early morning Black Friday folks would’ve been a scary lot. One thing I noticed was that they hadn’t bought all of the noodles, so I thought I’d get a couple to re-review. Here’s one of them last time I tried it, it was revirew #207. Hoping some new things to review come soon – only have one in the hamper that’s needing review… Re-reviews are fun though since they’re not been visited in so long.

Here’s the back of the package (click image to enlarge).

The noodle block. Decently sized with a little more weight than I usually find in domestic packs. The noodles when sampled uncooked are a little different too – pretty good.

The lone seasoning packet.

The seasoning powder. Kind of has a soy flavor to it; I would think this one’s a soy sauce noodle perhaps?

Finished (click image to enlarge). Added stir fry veggies, hard boiled egg with Cavender’s Greek Seasoning, Thanksgiving turkey (the very last bits of it) and some Urashima Sesame & Salt furikake. The noodles are good – large amoung and decent gauge. The broth is good too – strong soy and salt flavor. Good stuff! 3.5 out of 5.0 stars! UPC bar code 076186000011 – get it here!

Some older Sapporo Ichiban commercials

Looks like Sapporo Ichiban Shio Ramen has been around for a while – glad they finally brought it to the US!

#908: Sapporo Ichiban Oriental Noodle Soup Original Flavor Cup

Yet another one I am very surprised I haven’t reviewed in the past. Curious to see how this one fares.

Details from the back of the cardboard outer (click to enlarge). Look at that – it recommends using the microwave – I’ve not seen this before on the instructions for a cup noodle!

Here’s the cup itself.

Again notice the mention of microwaving the foam cup – what a trip!

Here’s the noodle block.

The soup base packet.

Here’s the powder itself.

Wow – a lot of veggies in this one – plenty of corn and little green bits!

Finished (click to enlarge). Added a hard boiled egg, baked chicken and some Krazy Mixed Up Salt. The noodles are decent – nice texture and good amount. The broth has a soy sauce taste and some hints of miso. The veggies are quite good – I’m impressed with not only the quantity but the quality. Corn is usually one that doesn’t want to re-hydrate very well and these do quite nicely. 3.5 out of 5.0 stars. UPC bar code 076186700010 – get it here.

A Sapporo Ichiban TV advertisement

Some Japanese TV commercials

Meet The Manufacturer: An Interview With Yamachan Ramen

Welcome one and all to another Meet The Manufacturer! This time it’s San Jose, CA based Yamachan Ramen!They make fresh ramen products – here’s the interview I did with them.

THE RAMEN RATER> Thank you very much for agreeing to do this interview! Could we start off with　Some information about Yamachan; when was Yamachan founded, where and by who?

YAMACHAN RAMEN>Yamachan Ramen is a brand name for our retail products. Our company’s official name is Nippon Trends Food Services, Inc. (NTF for short), which was found by Mr. Hideyuki Yamashita (the president of the company-A.K.A Yamachan) in San Jose, CA in 2000.
The factory was originally built as a central kitchen for Japanese franchise restaurant Ringer Hut.co (http://www.ringerhut.co.jp).
Ringer Hut had a plan to open 100 restaurants in US late 90’s, but Ramen wasn’t popular (or unknown to the most of the people in US), so Ringer Hut, Co. only opened 2 restaurants and left the USA. (Although the company left here, their 1st restaurant is still in San Jose, CA http://www.ringerhutusa.com ). It was president of the Ringer Hut’s dream to introduce Japanese ramen noodles to US, so Mr. Yamashita stayed in US with his family to continue on manufacturing noodle products.

TRR> For those of my readers who are not familiar with your line of products, could
You tell us a little about them?
 
YR> We have several items in the market for customer’s needs.  Our products are not dried instant noodles that you see at the supermarket.
It takes few steps to make it but you can enjoy Ramen almost as well as you eat at restaurant.

For the basic ramen fans.
Yamachan Mild (regular) series-all soup base for these products are imported from Japan and contains no meat products in the soup base. (Some fish products in the base).
Shoyu (Soy sauce flavor)
Miso (Soy bean paste flavor)
Shio (Sea food flavor)
We also have Tonkotsu (pork and chicken) flavor. However, this product has been out of the market for almost a year but it will be back in the market soon. Tonkotsu Ramen series contains Chicken and pork in the soup base and it is made in US.
Yamachan Noukou (Richer flavor) series-all soup base for these products are imported from Japan and no meat products in the soup base. (Some fish products in it). Noodles for Noukou series are made from premium Japanese flour.
Noukou Shoyu (Soy sauce flavor)
Noukou Miso (Soy bean paste flavor)
Noukou Tonkotsu Shoyu (Soy sauce, pork and chicken flavor)
Yamachan NO MSG series
No MSG Shoyu (Soy sauce with chicken flavor soup base)
No MSG Miso (Soy bean paste with fish flavor sauce)
No MSG HIYASHI CHUKA (cold salad noodle- Lemmon soy flavor)
No MSG Sarandon (Crispy noodle- with chicken flavor gravy)

We also sell Menma (bamboo shoots) and restaurant size (1kg) soup base,

TRR> What does the name ‘Yamachan’ mean?

YR> Yamachan is a nickname for Mr. Yamashita’s last name. The character of the man with on the package is Yamachan.

TRR> Is Yamachan involved in the local community around you?

YR> Yes. We do donate our products to local Japanese community events or school charity.
Also Mr. Yamashita goes to cook at Japanese community events every summer.

TRR> Are there any new products that will be coming out soon that you could tell us about?

YR> Shio (Sea food flavor) just came out about 6 months ago.
Our Tonkotsu Ramen will be back to the market in November.
We are also developing allergy free, egg free, no gluten ramen.

TRR> A lot of people wonder about the health factors (sodium, etc.) when it comes to instant noodles. How do you recommend people made instant noodles a healthy part of their diet?

YR> Ramen soup is well known to have MSG in it. We offer No MSG retail products for the customers who are concerned about MGS products.
Also ramen soup contains a lot of sodium but if you only have 1/2 of the soup, your sodium you will only have 1/2 of the sodium.
Try to eat fresh/ locally instant noodles like Yamachan ramen.

TRR> Do you make/sell products other than instant noodles?

YR> Our main business is to manufacture noodles to restaurant. (80% of our products go to Japanese restaurants)
We offer variety of noodles, which includes organic, no preservatives, vegan, egg free. Etc.…
We also manufacture crispy noodles, Pot sticker skins, Udon, Buckwheat noodles…. etc.

TRR> What was your first product?

YR> Yamachan Shoyu ramen and miso ramen.

TRR> How does the process in which you make your noodles differ from other brands?

YR> We made the noodles just like the factory in Japan.
Our machines are from Japan and flour is milled by Japanese technique, and we go Japan to find the best soup that matches to our noodles.
We design noodles for customer’s need (Thickness, weights, recipe)

TRR> When you make instant noodles for yourself, do you add anything or have any recommendations?

YR> You can add anything. Regular ramen put green onions, Chashu (Braised Pork), a halt cooked egg, bamboo s
I think for topping wise, you can put anything you want to. I like to put small chopped raw onions on Noukou Tonkotsu Shoyu Ramen.
The best way to cook them is to FOLLOW the cooking instruction on the package. Use cooking timer and measuring cup to make exactly how to cook. That is the best way.
You can check how to make Chashu and a half cooked eggs at  This page.

TRR> Where can people find your products?

YR> Most of the Asian supermarket nears you. If you cannot find them, please contact us via website.

TRR> Thank you very much for this opportunity to learn more about Yamachan Ramen!

Meet The Manufacturer Yamachan Ramen Reviews: Interview * Yamachan Ramen Samples * Yamachan Shio Ramen Seafood Clear Soup Base Mild * Yamachan Miso Ramen – Mild * Yamachan Miso Ramen Rich Sapporo Miso * Yamachan Tonkotsu-Shoyu Rich Pork Ramen * Yamachan Ramen Cold Noodles With Lemon Soy Dressing * Yamachan Ramen Nagasaki Sara Udon Chicken Flavor * Yamachan Ramen Rich Shoyu Ramen

Meet The Manufacturer #885: Yamachan Miso Ramen Rich Sapporo Miso

So yesterday I tried the mild miso and today I’m hitting up the rich. This one says it’s ‘Sapporo miso’ – curious to see what its like.

Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge).

The noodle portions come individually wrapped on a tray.

The miso packets.

Finished. Added some onions, a hard boiled egg with some Krazy Mixed Up Salt and some baked chicken with Soul Seasoning and Ajishima Kimchi Furikake. The noodles are reaslly good – chewy and fresh. The broth was a surprise. I expected a really really strong miso flavor that would bowl me over. It’s exactly as mentioned on the package – rich. Broth is of a brown and almost milky color. The broth has an extremely nice depth to it and is really good. I was expecting a really salty and almost funky bitter taste which I did not get at all and I am happy about that. Serious depth of flavor – I like it. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars – this is excellence.  UPC bar code 767921011200 .

How to do product demos of Yamachan products. Basically, this guy’s a pro at makingh this stuff and so have a look to make sure you’re doing it right!

This is a Japanese cooking show called Dotch. They’re having a challeng: Onion Miso Ramen vs Salt Butter Ramen! I had no idea onion miso ramen was somewhat normal – I just like onions a lot and it sounded good.

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten List: Exclusively On Foodiggity!

So I did a guest post on Foodiggity! Decided I’d give em’ the exclusive and so The new Top Ten Instant Noodles In The World (according to me) is on their site right now! Don’t worry – it’ll be up here on Saturday, but for now, check it out on Foodiggity – here‘s the link!

If it’s been a long time and you’re looking at this via the  Media Coverage link, here’s the article below.