Ramen Review Part 2: Nissin Raoh Premium Ramen

While my first ramen review was for Nissin's cheap and basic "Top Ramen" instant ramen, this review is for their premium-brand "RAOH" (meaning "ramen king") brand ramen.  The difference between these 2 product lines is apparent in the price; while Top Ramen averages less than a dollar per packet (and in some places can be bought at 20 cents per packet if you buy in bulk), these were 3 dollars each in the sampler set I bought (which admittedly wasn't the best possible deal).  Even when bought in combinations that were a better individual price, they still ended up costing about $1.20 each.  It's worth noting, however, that this ramen isn't competing so much with the less than 1 dollar each ramen packets as it's competing with restaurant-made ramen in the 8-to-15 dollar price range (although, admittedly, that ramen would also come with things like meat, vegetables, and boiled eggs in addition to the noodles and broth).  Unlike their Top Ramen, Raoh Ramen comes in only 3 flavors: Tonkotsu, Shoyu, and Miso.

Although the Raoh packaging suggests adding ingredients like meat, vegetables, and boiled eggs to their ramen, in my review I am only going to review the ramen itself without anything added to it.

Tonkotsu Ramen:

Not to be confused with tonkatsu, tonkotsu ramen uses pork bones to make a thick, cloudy sauce.  It is originally from Fukuoka on the island of Kyushu.  Right off the bat you can tell Raoh ramen is different because instead of the usual brick of noodles with a powder packet, Raoh noodles come in a round form with 2 packets, 1 of flavoring and 1 of soup base.  Because they're not flash-fried the way regular instant ramen is, the noodles are prepared by simmering rather than boiling.

The flavor of the broth is excellent, if not quite as rich or creamy as tonkotsu broth usually is (when I've had tonkotsu ramen at restaurants, the broth had a level of thickness somewhere between gravy and crab or lobster bisque, but I guess you can only go so far with powder mixtures).  The noodles have a very different texture/consistency to them compared to the instant variety; if I didn't know otherwise, I could have sworn that these were new handmade noodles!  All in all, a delicious start to this review!

Shoyu Ramen: 

A fairly basic recipe consisting of a light brown soy-based broth, this is the oldest and most common flavor for ramen.  Unlike the Tonkotsu ramen, the flavoring for this came in a single packet.

The broth had a nice, light flavor without being too weak or watery.  Of all the flavors, this is probably the one that would benefit the most from adding other ingredients; as it is, it it's quite good but a bit plain, the ramen equivalent of a hamburger that only consists of a bun and a meat patty.

Miso Ramen:

A relative newcomer among flavors, miso ramen didn't achieve national prominence in Japan until 1965.  It is originally from Sapporo in Hokkaido.  I don't think I ever actually had miso ramen in a restaurant, so I can't vouch for how similar or different Raoh miso ramen is to the restaurant variety.  To me, the Raoh miso ramen tasted and smelled almost like a diluted, less sweet, version of hoisin sauce, with a nice tangy flavor to the broth.

All in all, I'd say Raoh ramen is an excellent product line; as it is it gives restaurant ramen a run for its money, and when ingredients are added chances are it will be even better!  I'll probably do a supplement to this review with various ingredients added, but for this review I wanted to just review the soups themselves.

Of the 3 flavors, I'd say tonkotsu was my favorite, followed by miso, followed by shoyu.