Prima Taste Laksa La Mian

Prima Taste Laksa La Mian is the best instant representation of Southeast Asian ramen styles and the product that won the Ramen Rater annual best-in-world competition in 2015 and 2016. The laksa broth — coconut milk, shrimp paste, lemongrass, galangal, and chili — is a flavor profile completely absent from Japanese and Korean instant ramen and genuinely distinctive. Prima Taste uses a coconut paste format (rather than powder) that delivers fat-soluble aromatic compounds that powder cannot. The La Mian noodles are thick, chewy, and designed for the coconut-based broth in a way that standard ramen noodles are not. Blind tasting score: 7.8 out of 10. The one limitation: Prima Taste products are sold exclusively in Asian grocery stores outside Singapore and are more expensive than most instant ramen at $4.50-5.00 per package. The investment is justified.