Category: South Korea

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2025 Edition

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The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2025 Edition

The fiery instant noodle beast is awakened and it’s time for another scorching hot spicy top ten. The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2025 Edition includes the spiciest stuff you can get. I outline a couple at the bottom that are no longer on the list but were violently spicy as well. Know something I should try? Make sure to contact me about it! Even if it’s not spicy, I definitely want to try it. Want to help support what I do? It’s appreciated This list is current as of review 4881. With that, here’s The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2025 Edition. ...see full post

#5001: GS25 Washbasin Naengmyeon Cold Noodle – South Korea

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#5001: GS25 Washbasin Naengmyeon Cold Noodle - South Korea

This is massive. I usually do an enormous variety for my ‘thousands’ reviews – at least that’s what I did for 3000 & 4000. Well, here’s a huge 5001/ 4000+ calories of naengmyeon. It’s a cold noodle and comes in it’s own huge metal bowl. Dang. Found it at HMart and it was around $25. It was pricey, but I just couldn’t pass it up. It was the only one they had and I figured it was a set of bowls and then realized this was a real thing. Well, let’s cook it up. ...see full post

#4990: Samyang Foods Buldak Jalapeno Cheese – South Korea

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#4990: Samyang Foods Buldak Jalapeno Cheese - South Korea

Well, well – another spicy challenge! This one was sent to me by Pher Engi from Australia – thank you very much! Is it me or does it seem like Samyang has a thing for Mexican flavors? Habanero Lime, Quattro – now this. I mean, it lends itself well insofar as spicy variants go. Samyang has done a lot of spicy flavors, so I think they’re having trouble finding new ideas? Maybe… I will say jalapeno cheese is definitely a flavor I enjoy a lot. Let’s give it a try – mukbang below. ...see full post

#4930: Ottogi Yeul Ramen – South Korea

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#4930: Ottogi Yeul Ramen - South Korea

I think I’ve mentioned recently being almost out of instant noodle varieties to review. Well, I went to HMart today. It’s a Monday. That doesn’t usually happen as it’s probably a two hour or more walk each way. Anyways, I went with my wife, the lovely Kit. See, she got a tooth pulled that was giving her trouble on Friday. Then she had to go back because they missed a couple bits on Saturday. It’s been pure hell for her. Today, we went back to the dentist to look – was worried about dry socket (nope) and infection (nope) – but they gave her more meds and other stuff so hoping that helps. Anyways, got to spend the day with her as she works in a call center and talking on the phone all day when you have trouble opening your mouth as it hurts… This is one that should hurt pretty good – I’ve been wanting to do this spicy one for quite a long time. Well, let’s give it a go! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Cups Of All Time 2025 Edition

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The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Instant Noodle Cups Of All Time 2025 Edition

Instant noodle cups are pretty easy to find, take up a small amount of room, and – especially for camping folks – is easily dealt with when done. I’ve had people come to me with tears in their eyes exclaiming ‘Sir! It says 2025 – but it’s 2024!’ Well, it’s the second half of 2024, so this list will be active more of 2025 than 2024. Honestly, I adopted this way of doing things when a couple of people made very good points about it. Unfortunately, once I let the genie out of the bottle on this way of doing things, rolling it back was quite impossible. So, there you go. ...see full post

#4909: Pulmuone Doenjang Stew Ramen – South Korea

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#4909: Pulmuone Doenjang Stew Ramen - South Korea

Had a great day yesterday – went and walked all the way to my wife’s work for the first time which was fun, going through forest, construction areas galore and under/over passes. Then we hit Costco and then HMart! Found this at HMart which was very cool. Haven’t heard of doenjang jjigae – a regular popular stew from South Korea before. Let’s give it a try! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2024 Edition

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This is a list I come out with every year – what’s different this year is now there’s a new rule: only one product per company. Seems fair to me – and also a way for more things to be seen. I don’t think it’s a bad idea and honestly, I think insofar as this list goes, it won’t be very hard to pull off. Anyways, here we go with The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2024 Edition! ...see full post

The Denmark Three – Full Reviews & Mukbang

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Top Ten Spiciest 2024 * Definitive Guide To Buldak

I thought instead of making people search the site I’d put the three in question in a single, easy to swallow post. This has been an interesting past few days in the instant noodle world; confounded folks who love the stuff don’t get it. Hochi is sequestered in the West Wing. Anyways, here’s all three in their glory. I’ve also included my odd recipes I’ve made at the bottom – enjoy! ...see full post

#4867: Seventeen EatsOn Sweet & Spicy Topokki – South Korea

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#4867: Seventeen EatsOn Sweet & Spicy Topokki - South Korea

Looks like we have a Korean boy band with a ton of dudes. Yep. There’s a lot of these tie-ins in Korean varieties. There used to be one that was called DJ Doc which was a tteokbokki and ramyeon variant that was really great – that was the first one I’d seen. Anyways, can’t complain about tteokbokki, that’s for sure. Let’s give it a try! ...see full post

#4818: Dongwon Cheese Topokki – South Korea

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#4818: Dongwon Cheese Topokki - South Korea

Ah, tteokbokki. I really wish I knew about this stuff when I was a kid. Wondrous tubes of rice flour – like big Beefaroni, slathered in a nice sauce. Better yet, with cheese. If you’ve not tried it, you’re really in for a treat once you do, trust me on this. No, not ramen, but definitely something you’ll find on the instant noodle aisle at a Korean market. ...see full post

#4782: Aram Wonderpokki Spicy Rapokki – South Korea

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#4782: Aram Wonderpokki Spicy Rapokki - South Korea

Found this neat one at Boo Han Market on Highway 99 in Edmonds, WA. Rapokki is a combination of noodle and rice cake – a great combo of textures and usually really quite good. Hopefully it works out well – seen a few microwavable varieties not go so well – hopefully this is one that gets a good score as rapokki is a favorite. ...see full post

#4762: Samyang Buldak Hot Chicken Rendang Curry – South Korea

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#4762: Samyang Buldak Hot Chicken Rendang Curry - South Korea

Well, look at this! Thanks to The Fat Hipster for sending this over! It’s kind of funny – this is the first of three varieties sent and I’ve been kind of slow to get to them as they’re not instant noodles, they’re curry sauces. However, lately I’ve been making curries constantly lately. I’ve learned the way of black cardamom too. But here we have one by a company also known for their spicy instant noodle. I actually made butter chicken last night too. Let’s see how this one goes. ...see full post

#4758: Samyang Buldak Chicken Vindaloo Curry – South Korea

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#4758: Samyang Buldak Chicken Vindaloo Curry - South Korea

Well, look at this! Thanks to The Fat Hipster for sending this over! It’s kind of funny – this is the first of three varieties sent and I’ve been kind of slow to get to them as they’re not instant noodles, they’re curry sauces. However, lately I’ve been making curries constantly lately. I’ve learned the way of black cardamom too. But here we have one by a company also known for their spicy instant noodle. I actually made butter chicken last night too. Let’s see how this one goes. ...see full post

#4753: Samyang Buldak Butter Chicken Curry – South Korea

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#4753: Samyang Buldak Butter Chicken Curry - South Korea

Well, look at this! Thanks to The Fat Hipster for sending this over! It’s kind of funny – this is the first of three varieties sent and I’ve been kind of slow to get to them as they’re not instant noodles, they’re curry sauces. However, lately I’ve been making curries constantly lately. I’ve learned the way of black cardamom too. But here we have one by a company also known for their spicy instant noodle. I actually made butter chicken last night too. Let’s see how this one goes. ...see full post

#4728: Bulramen Artificial Spicy Chicken Flavor – South Korea

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#4728: Bulramen Artificial Spicy Chicken Flavor - South Korea

This is the third one of these. They’ve all been kind of Buldak copycats but definitely not the same heat level by any means – the extra spicy was spicy indeed, but not as spicy as 2x, yada yada yada. I really dislike comparing any individual variety to another, however this is such an obvious copy of a well known product that I’m going slightly rogue. I’m curious though – since this looke to be about the same style as the original Buldak, will it be as hot? Will it taste good? Well, let’s find out. ...see full post

Meet ‘The Ramen Conqueror!’

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A friend of mine shared a link with a great article today about a guy who I haven’t heard from in a while. Ramen Conqueror Piki! He saw what I was doing and decided he needed to do the same over in South Korea! Below is an interview I did with him in 2017 – he was kind enough to include pictures of me and my family in the book . This is from six years ago. Hope he’s doing well! ...see full post

#4725: Acecook Light Tonkotsu Ramen – South Korea

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#4725: Acecook Light Tonkotsu Ramen - South Korea

This one is definitely a trip – so it’s made in Vietnam for the South Korean market. Found it of course at the famed S*Mart – that’s right kids – shop SMart – shop S*Mart! I really don’t think any people in that Korean store have seen Army Of Darkness, but honestly I think they’d get a kick out of it. Anyways, let’s commence. ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten South Korean Instant Noodles Of All Time 2024 Edition

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The Ramen Rater's Top Ten South Korean Instant Noodles Of All Time 2024 Edition

This one usually comes out in January, but a little late this year on edits. However, this one’s ready to go! This is my list of favorite South Korean varieties from my reviews up to number 4,650. Definitely want to try more South Korean varieties – especially those only found in South Korea – not export versions if at all possible. Anyways, let’s boil some water and check out The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten South Korean Instant Noodles Of All Time 2024 Edition! ...see full post

#4718: Bulramen Extra Hot Stir-fried Ramen – South Korea

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#4718: Bulramen Extra Hot Stir-fried Ramen - South Korea

Well, hmm. I think it’s time for something spicy. It’s early August 2023 and you know – spicy food. It’s funny – the chicken here kind of looks like Terminator with a chili pepper machine gun or something. I should note that this is the first review using my new tool – the RPFD – the ramen packaging flattening device. What’s that? Well, it’s a suction cup shower handle attached to a clear piece od thick Plexiglas which does a great job of flattening packs of instant noodles on the scanner. After over 4,000 reviews and trying different things to aid in scanning problem wrinkly packs, this came to me after using a tablet screen to hold down a metallic pack a few reviews back. You can see the post I did about it here. By the way, while it’s definitely got export info for the US, it’s got it for many countries, so this isn’t specific for the US and so it gets a South Korea label. Let’s try some fire? ...see full post

#4699: Acecook Tomyum Soup Instant Noodle – South Korea

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#4699: Acecook Tomyum Soup Instant Noodle - South Korea

Thisd is a very interesting one found at GMart in Lynnwood, Washington state. This is made by Acecook Vietnam for the South Korean market. Honestly, I’ve never heard of tomyum eaten in South Korea. Do they do that? Thai food is popular in Taiwan, that much I know. Malaysia too – but they’re neighbors so that makes sense. I suppose they wouldn’t make this is nobody liked tomyum soup in South Korea. Anyways, it’s interesting – let’s checkk it out. ...see full post

#4685: Bulramen Artificial Spicy Chicken Flavor Carbonara – South Korea

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#4685: Bulramen Artificial Spicy Chicken Flavor Carbonara - United States

Usually I try to track down the manufacturer and this one if rather difficult. It seems that Seoul Trading is distributing it, but not the manufacturer. It’s made in South Korea, however. There are three varieties of these – this carbonara, a spicy, and a fire spicy. This one gets a South Korea label since it’s an export version for many countries.  Let’s see how spicy this stuff is. ...see full post

#4647: Ottogi Jin Jjajang Smoked Black Bean Flavor – United States

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#4507: Ottogi Jin Jjajang Smoked Black Bean Flavor - United States

Found this one while looking for something completely different recently at HMart. I could tell they had the new noodle type (flat/broad) and thought that could be interesting, so here we are with today’s review. I should mention I have a special guest on today’s Instant Noodle Recipe Time at the bottom, so check it out. Anyways, let’s cook it up and give it a try! ...see full post

#4634: The Han Kitchen Budae Ramyun – South Korea

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#4634: The Han Kitchen Budae Ramyun - South Korea

This one was found at HMart in Lynnwood, Washington. Never have seen this brand before. I’m guessing this is going to be budae jjigae, aka ‘troop stew,’ a combo of a classic Korean spicy ramyun along with bits you would find in Army rations like hot dog, salami, macaroni – stuff that will last a long time in the field. Let’s give it a try! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Global Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls 2023 Edition

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The Ramen Rater's Global Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls 2023 Edition

Been lagging on doing top ten list editing – my apologies. The weather’s been really good for walking, and in May I did over 500 miles. I included a special post at the bottom about it. I also included something of a change from how I’ve been doing things as well involving AI. Anyways, this is the annual The Ramen Rater’s Global Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls – these are my favorite varieties out of review up to #4440 which are in the bowl style. Hope you enjoy! Top Ten Cups and Bottom Ten lists should be coming soon! ...see full post

#4475: Samyang Rosé Buldak Stir-fried Noodles – South Korea

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#4475: Samyang Rosé Buldak Stir-fried Noodles - South Korea

First – this doesn’t taste like roses. This was sent by The Fat Hipster – thanks man! So, rose is like a chili-cream kind of thing.  I tried a rabokki that was rose before and loved it, so we’ll give this a try with high hopes. I want to also thank Samyang Foods for something very exciting to hear – from the Korea Times: ‘For customers who are blind or visually impaired, the company for the first time printed Braille dots on the packaging of Rosé Buldak Stir-fried Noodles.’ This is referring to the cup versions. I think this is truly excellent. I’m legally blind and while I don’t read braille, I think some day I may need to. Really top notch of them – high marks from me. Let’s see if the flavor matches this kind innovation. ...see full post

#4467: Samyang Buldak Cream Carbonara Artificial Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen – South Korea

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Here’s one of the last two from The Fat Hipster – check him out on YouTube as he has eaten pumpkin spice cup noodles, topped with pumpkin spice spam, with whipped cream atop. This is really great. So these noodles are like an extra creamy carbonara as far as I can tell without knowing anything about them. But, I will cook them up and then do a mukbang where I eat them and I will let you know how they taste. Let’s get started. ...see full post

#4438: Samyang Foods Buldak Lovely Hot – South Korea

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#4438: Samyang Foods Buldak Lovely Hot - South Korea

A big thank you to The Fat Hipster from YouTube for sending this over – so I figured this sounds like a good place to start. Why? Well, I realized in my post schedule for YouTube that this would come on Valentine’s Day, so hearts, Valentine’s day – not an extreme stretch. This appears to be a less spicy version – but it’s also got something else going on. The packaging scheme looks a lot like Buldak Light. ...see full post

#4430: Nongshim Shin Kimchi Big Bowl – South Korea

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#4430: Nongshim Shin Kimchi Big Bowl - South Korea

I’ve a couple fascinating varieties from the Shin range by Nongshim which came by way of  The Fat Hipster – thanks man! He’s got a YouTube channel where does reviews you should check out. This is one I though was only in the UK but from the labeling it’s distributed throughout Europe – there fore its getting the South Korea stamp as it’s not just for one country but many.  Let’s give it a try! ...see full post

#4424: Dongwon Spicy Topokki With Rose Sauce – South Korea

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#4424: Dongwon Dpicy Topokki With Rose Sauce - South Korea

I thought this one was a combo tteokbokki and noodle like the other one I reviewed a little while ago but that isn’t the case. Rose is when you have a carbonara and a spicy tteokbokki sauce mixed together – spicy and creamy. I couldn’t just let it be so I made it and it’s freaking good – here you go. ...see full post