EDMONDS — The Ramen Rater has kept his voracious appetite.
Hans Lienesch created an online niche for himself sampling instant Asian noodles.
He’s now surpassed 600 reviews on his website at www.ramenrater.com.
That’s put Lienesch on a clip of reviewing an average of at least one noodle package daily since spring, when he received a burst of media attention from articles in local newspapers and websites, then later in magazines based as far away as the Netherlands and Brazil.
Now, the Edmonds blogger has fans mailing him noodles to try — so much so that he reports buying only two ramen packages in as many months. A woman in England sent him 23 different UK varieties with flavors such as curry, bacon and southern-fried chicken.
“It’s been going really well,” Lienesch said. “My readers, they have been sending huge amounts.”
Another fan is working on a mobile phone app to give supermarket shoppers instant access to Lienesch’s reviews. Another avid contributor in Florida, Lienesch reports, can no longer eat noodles because of Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel condition. He still plans to contribute, though.
The site has attracted as many as 48,000 unique visits in October, though it’s usually lower than that.
Of course, not all the feedback has been so savory.
Some readers criticize the noodles for a lack of nutritional or culinary value.
“The noodles are a base, a canvas, and you can add things to it,” Lienesch said.
Being the Ramen Rater has yet to transform into a full-time gig. It’s more of a self-supporting habit, with online advertising bringing in $50 or so a month.
“That’s 600 bucks a year,” Lienesch said. “I can’t complain about that.”
Lienesch, like many other Americans, was introduced to ramen noodles through the Top Ramen brand from Japan’s Nissin Foods. He later grew more adventurous seeking out new kinds. More than a year ago, he began writing his website critiques in earnest.
The second half of 2011 brought Lienesch, 36, personal as well as professional success. He got married over the summer. He’s no longer unemployed, either. He said he now works part-time refurbishing old computers for a nonprofit group.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
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