Category: South Korea

#4782: Aram Wonderpokki Spicy Rapokki – South Korea

#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

#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

#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

#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

#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!’

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

#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

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

#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

#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

#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

#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

#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

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