Umai Crate by Japan Crate focuses on bringing you Japanese-exclusive instant noodles. Each month, you'll receive 7-8 instant noodles to try, along with a bonus collectible!
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
About Umai Crate
The Subscription Box: Umai Crate
The Cost: $25 a month + free shipping
ACTIVE DEAL: Save $3 off your first box
CODE: MSADD3
The Products: 7-8 Japanese-exclusive instant noodle dish + a bonus collectible
Ships to: Worldwide
Umai Crate May 2018 Review
This month’s Umai Crate booklet lists each of the ramen bowls with a small description and cooking instructions. This is always super helpful to review before and during taste testing! As usual, there is always a super fun recipe for Banbanji Bacon.
Time to get cooking!
Asian Rice Noodles Green Curry
This long thin noodle is called, Vermicelli, and it has a fibrous texture to it. It is a traditional pasta style, so a bit different from many of the other noodles that we get in this box. The sauce has a strong curry smell and flavor to it. There is a light hint of spice, which I loved, and the flavors overall were very fresh. This is the type of noodle dish that I love because it allows you to dress the bowl up in any way you like! I had some extra grilled shrimp leftover so we added that to this for a hearty and spicy dish.
Dashi Ga Kiiteiru Soba
This soba (buckwheat) noodle cup can be served hot or cold. I always find that I like bowls like this to be warm so that is how I enjoyed it this month. This broth gave off a strong seaweed flavor, which I don't always love. The broth is mainly soy sauce so it was salty, mixed with the noodles, it all tasted like a hearty meal.
Genmai Ramen
I have noticed a trend over the last few months that Umai Crate will offer a few healthy ramen options. This bowl is made with brown rice noodles and a sesame broth, so it is really light on the salt. Even though this broth is made mostly of sesame, I didn't get a strong sesame flavor. I honestly found this bowl to be a bit bland, which would it make it a great dish to dress up with chicken or shrimp. The noodles had a light crunch to them which was very unique from the others this month!
Hiyashi Tanuki Udon
This is another dish that they recommend serving cold, but I enjoyed mind warm (just a personal preference). According to the booklet, tanuki means 'raccoon dogs' which are meant to bring good luck in Japanese mythology. The tempura gives the bowl an overall crunch that I really loved! The broth was light and salty and the noodles were super fluffy and creamy. All I did was add a little hot sauce and one hard-boiled egg to this and it made for a perfect dinner.
Ume Shiso Small Udon
This is a mini udon bowl so much more of a snack or light lunch that can be paired with something else. The main ingredients here are plum and okra. The plum made this little bowl very floral tasting almost in an overpowering way. The okra didn't really shine through for me, but I thought that the broth had a strong salty flavor. The noodles were very unique! They were extra thick and creamy, but overall this dish was just not for me.
Sesame Salad Sauce Udon
For the first time ever, I received a sauce and only a sauce in this packet! This is a strong sesame flavor that is meant to be used on udon. Luckily for me, a plain udon packet came as well. Which you can see more about below! I paired this sesame sauce with the udon.
Zaru Udon
This is a popular dish to serve cold, so many cold dishes this month. According to the monthly booklet, the name of this noodle dish comes from the way it is plated by draining in a bamboo basket. I decided to eat this cold as the booklet suggested, and I can safely say that this was just not for me. The noodles were hard yet mushy and they just stuck together. I think eating them cold actually made the texture worse somehow. The sesame sauce from above was good, with a strong peanut flavor and creaminess, but it sort of just sat there with the noodles. This, unfortunately, was just not for me.
Bonus Item - Chopsticks
The bonus item for the month is this adorable chopstick set!
Verdict: This month's Umai Crate was filled with many unique flavors, different noodles, textures, and one sauce packet. I always enjoy trying so many unique bowls and discovering new ways to dress them up with different ingredients or enjoying them as is. Now that the weather is warmer, this month's selections had many that the booklet recommended eating cold. I have found that I just do not enjoy eating the cold udon dishes, but it is such a unique thing to try! While I didn't love this month's curation, there were so many different varieties which I really appreciate.
To Wrap Up:
Can I still get this box if I sign up today? No, you will receive the June box.
Coupon - Use code MSA3 to save $3 off your first Japan Crate Premium, Doki Doki Crate, Umai Crate, or Kira Kira Crate
Value Breakdown: This box is $25 a month with free shipping. I received seven ramen bowls which come to an average of $3.57 per item.
Check out all of the Umai Crate Reviews to get more information on this subscription. Check out all of our Food Subscription Boxes in the Subscription Box List. Rate, review, and follow this subscription on the Umai Crate profile page.
What was your favorite bowl from the May Umai Crate?
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