Tag: south korea

Re-Review: Paldo Teumsae Ramyun

Paldo Teumsae Ramyun

This is one that’s been in the Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time lists for quite some time. It’s also now in the Gourmet Ramen Club Spicy Pack – a box that I’ve selected the varieties for! I thought it was time for a Re-Review as I’m going to be rolling out the new spicy list in early August! Let’s check out this hot one! ...see full post

#2874: Samyang Foods Buldak Bokkeummyun Hot Chicken Flavor Almonds

#2874: Samyang Foods Buldak Bokkeummyun Hot Chicken Flavor Almonds

I’ll be first to say that I enjoy almonds, usually the smokehouse ones. You know the ones I’m talking about. I’m pretty partial to chocolate ones too although I don’t usually have them. I’ve had ones with crunchy candy coating too. I also tasted almond milk the other day – tasty but just seemed so weird – but I liked it. ...see full post

#2840: Samyang Foods Potato Ramen

#2840: Samyang Foods Potato Ramen

Spud noodles! I’ve liked pretty much every potato noodle variety I’ve tried. Potatoes are a good way to increase the chewiness of noodles in a pretty inexpensive way. Potatoes are pretty easy to produce I’m guessing – just find some land and throw stuff in the ground and sooner or later – hey – potatoes. Well, let’s check this one out! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2018 Edition

NEW LIST FOR 2019 – CHECK IT OUT HERE

The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2018 Edition

Well, it’s that time again. Since the last The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time list came out , I’ve reviewed 383 different varieties. I want to thank the companies and individuals who have sent me varieties I could not easily get. Incidentally, all of these are reviewed the same way – I follow instructions to the letter and taste each variety before I add any external garnish.. I figure that a naked bowl of noodles every day would be quite boring, plus it has given many ideas on what to add to them. As always, if you are an instant noodle company  or a reader who wants me to try one that I’ve not, please contact me. With that, let’s have a look at the top ten for 2018 – the finest and most memorable instant noodles I’ve tried. ...see full post

#2787: Samyang Foods Mala Buldak Bokkeummyun Bowl

#2787: Samyang Foods Mala Buldak Bokkeummyun Bowl

I’ve been kind of on a weird crusade lately. It has come to my attention that the popular Mala variety of Buldak Bokkeummyun is being touted by many people across the Interwebs as 4x Spicy. This is totally untrue – it’s really more like 0.5x. I did an informative video presentation about it – check it out here! ...see full post

#2723: No Brand Delicious Ramen

#2723: No Brand Delicious Ramen - South Korea

Here’s one I found at a Carrefour on my trip to Taiwan in November of 2017. Okay, so it says No Brand. I think that’s pretty evident – and it also says Delicious Ramen. That too is nondescript. I searched for the bar code and found nothing from the pack code and very little from the 5 pack code – basically that it is what it is. An eBay seller had it marked as ‘Korean Noodle Ramyun Rameon’ although that’s a little less than what it says in English on the pack already. My thought is that this might just be a store brand but who knows. Ah ha – I just looked it up by the phone number on the package – 080-023-8593 – and it comes up with a lot of Paldo stuff. Perhaps this is by Paldo. Anyways, I’m guessing it’s time to crack this open and look within. ...see full post

The 0.5x Spicy Mala Fire Noodle Challenge

Here we are again with the Fire Noodle Challenge. This is the Samyang Foods Mala Buldak Bokkeummyun. So, all over YouTube, people are wincing and screaming as they choke down packs of Mala – why? Well, for some reason, they are under the impression that it’s 4x spicy. Don’t get me wrong – it’s quite spicy – it’ll kick your butt. But it is a far cry from the 2x Spicy Nuclear Fire Noodle, that’s for sure. ...see full post

#2637: Samyang Foods Jjajang Big Bowl

#2637: Samyang Foods Jjajang Big Bowl - South Korea - The Ramen Rater

I’ve tried the pack version of this and it was some of the best I’ve had. I really like that the South Korean companies have now adopted the wider thick noodle in a lot of products. These have a little extra character and are very good. So Jjajang usually begins the word jjajangmyeon – basically a noodle with black bean sauce. Let’s see how the bowl version of this product fares. ...see full post

#2634: Samyang Foods Ramen Bokki

#2534: Samyang Foods Ramen Bokki - South Korea - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles ramen

Oh hey, ramen bokki! So this is a fusion of two foods: South Korean ramyun and one of the words I would say I’ve seen spelled about a zillion different ways, tteokbokki. Tteokbokki are big chewy tubes made from rice flour and they’re really good. Usually, it’s made with a spicy and sweet sauce, egg, fish cake, etc. Good stuff! So this is that but instead of with the rice tubes, you get the noodles. Let’s check it out! ...see full post

#2620: Samyang Foods Buldak Bokkeummyun Stew

Samyang Foods Buldak Bokkeummyun Stew - South Korea - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

This is the only variety of Samyang Foods’ Buldak Bokkeummyun series to have a broth. Spicy chicken stew sounds good, and it is – at least the pack version was really good. There are usually some differences between packs and bowls. Mainly, bowls are almost always steeped, so the noodles may come out a little different than being continuously boiled. Also, bowls sometimes have extra ingredient sachets. Let’s give this one a try and check out this super spicy variety! ...see full post

#2614: Samyang Foods Chacharoni

#2614: Samyang Foods Chacharoni - South Korea - The Ramen Rater

Chacharoni is a play on words. Jjajang kind of sounds like ‘cha cha’ and the roni calls to noodles. There are other plays on words in the South Korean industry when it comes to jjajangmyeon. So basically what you have here is a thick noodle with a black bean sauce – also known as jjajang. Here’s a little about jjajangmyeon from Wikipedia – ...see full post

#2594: Samyang Foods Yulmu Bibimmyun

#2594: Samyang Foods Yulmu Bibimmyun - South Korea - The Ramen Rater

Here’s a spicy one from South Korea. Not just spicy but cold, bibimmyun is a favorite in South Korea during the summer months. Usually accompanied by a bright and spicy sauce, bibimmyun brings a strong taste to the table. This variety mentions yulmu. Yulmu (also known as Job’s Tears) is used in order to make yulmu-cha, a tea enjoyed in South Korea. ...see full post

#2568: Nongshim Mr. Bibim Stir Fried Kimchi Flavour

#2568: Nongshim Mr. Bibim Stir Fried Kimchi Flavour - South Korea - The Ramen Rater - ramyun

So I have a new contact named Danny at Nongshim Korea – one of the guys from Happy Souper helped me get a hold of him via email – thanks! Danny was kind enough to send along these new Mr. Bibim varieties. They’re dry noodles with a liquid base and kimchi included. Here’s a little about kimchi from wikipedia – ...see full post

#2561: Paldo Premium Gomtang

#2561: Paldo Premium Gomtang - South Korea - 곰탕 - The Ramen Rater - instant noodles

Colin from Massachusetts was kind enough to shoot this one my way! Thanks again! So Gomtang is a flavor I really like -it’s kind of like a creamy beef soup broth. What’s kind of funny is that I’ve only sampled Gomtang made by Paldo. I know there are other brands making it in South Korea, yet I’ve never found any here. Let’s look up[ Gomtang on Wikipedia: ...see full post