Tokyo, Oct 14 (IANS): A Japanese noodle enthusiast has tasted and reviewed over 5,000 types of "ramen", or soupy noodles popular in Japan, from more than 40 countries in his unending quest for the perfect one.

Toshio Yamamoto, 55, runs i-ramen.net, a website offering detailed information on "ramen across the world since 1996", Efe news agency reported on Wednesday.

So far, Yamamoto has reviewed 5,653 types of instant noodles through texts and videos offering details such as time needed to boil the noodles, calories present, sodium content, characteristics and texture of the product as well as its taste.

Of all the varieties he has sampled over nearly two decades, the best score he has given till now (on a scale of one to five) is a four, and he intends to "keep eating noodles to look for the perfect one".

His fans across the world often send him packets of noodles to help in his search.

His website has so far received more than 1.4 million hits and his videos have been viewed more than 22 million times on YouTube.

Yamamoto set up the website to "keep records of the content" of noodles because "when you finish eating the noodles, the content will be gone".

Yamamoto, who lives near Tokyo, also published a book "Sokuseki Mencyclopedia" (encyclopedia of instant noodles), and is writing another book on the topic after taking an early retirement last year from his job as an engineer.

Though he has put a cap on his "ramen" consumption to not more than five times a week on health grounds, Yamamoto says he will not stop his search till he finds one worth awarding a five.