Ramyeon taste test

U Inspired by this blog post, I decided to collate my own list based on the ones available in my local Taiwanese supermarket. Not all the brands listed in that blog review can be found in this supermarket, so maybe after this review, it's time to take a walk to the Korean supermarket a bit further away. Here are my tasting notes on 5 types. I found Korean ramyeon is more costly than the usual instant noodles, so decided to buy individual packets which although cost more individually, but I can taste more varieties and not end up stuck with a $6 packet of 5 in some horrible flavour that eventually gets thrown away! All reviews are compared against my usual Nongshim Shim (or Shin?) ramyeon, that #1 best seller of ramyeon with it's super spicy and nicely salty taste.

1. Paldo cheese

Interesting taste. It has it's own cheese powder, on top of the usual seasoning and frozen veg (geondeogi) packets. It certainly is cheesy with a mild spicy taste but I'm not sure I'm really sold. Since I love cheese, it is a pleasant flavour but I have to overcome my mental block on having cheese in Asian food. The cheese tastes like powdered cheese, ie. think Kraft powdered cheese that you get to sprinkle (on in my case, pour) on top of pasta. But because it's in soup, so it's weird slurping a cheesy soup. It probably shouldn't be such a big deal because I have put a cheese slice on my budae jigae, which was delish so it shouldn't be strange but it is.

Rating: 3 bowls (out of 5)

2. Samyang kimchi 

This is less spicy than my usual Shim ramyeon but a but sourish, which is pleasant but not overly sour. It does not come with the the veg packet. But if were to compare with Shim, it does pale in comparison. There seems to be less taste, other than a mild sourness and spiciness.

Rating: 2 bowls

3. Nongshim kimchi

I lost the original post so I'm really just relying on memory. I think this was less sourish than Samyang and the rehydrated kimchi gave a nice umame feel and tasted like the real thing. Can't recall much else. More spicy than Samyang too I think.

Rating: 3 bowls

4. Paldo Jjajangmyeon

My first jjm test. Interesting because the noodles are a lot more al dente than normal ramyeon. But that also means it took 5 minutes of microwaving instead of the usual 3. The noodles had a nice fried taste. This came with a sauce packet (with fake meat bits?) rather than the usual powder, and recommends leaving some water behind from cooking the noodles. Taste wise, tastes like Bovril, perhaps because of the onions which would undoubtedly be preserved. Overall, not bad because very moorish (slightly sweet and salty) but still not close to jjm.

Ratings: 4 bowls

5. Nongshim JJM

Ok this really doesn't look like much but tastes far more authentic than Paldo. Problem is that it came with a soup base, oil and veg packet, and I must admit I was disappointed when I opened it. The noodles are similarly al dente with the fried taste, and also require 5 mins, altho they seem to suck up more water than Paldo. The veg packet also comes with fake dried meat. Still deducting a star for presentation ie no sauce packet and no sticky sauce even though I was also instructed to leave water behind (perhaps that's why the noodles sucked up all that water?) but taste is definitely superior to Paldo.

Rating: 4 bowls

6. Paldo Namja

Touted as the man's ramyeon, it's supposed to be spicer than others, but I would only say that it's in the Paldo range. Frankly, I can't discern the difference between this and my usual Shim, the taste and even the dried veg packets are similar, and neither is the noodle cake bigger or smaller than Shim. It actually tastes exactly the same, except maybe it's less intensely hot and salty. So it can be a milder version of shim, nice for summer when I don't need to be sweating over it as I do with Shim, which means I usually avoid Shim during hot weather.

Rating: 3 bowls

7. Nongshim Neoguri

This is an interesting noodle but I think it's Japanese inspired, and it's called udon, perhaps meant to be tanuki udon. The veg packet includes tenkasu, which are tempura bits. The noodle is also a bit al dante and the soup is more peppery than spicy. Interesting different tasting ramyeon because it's not the standard salty, spicy and/or sour but I'm not sure about the purpose of the tenkasu since it's just soggy in the soup.

Rating: 4 bowls

8. Nongshim Angsungtang myun

Other than the spiciness level, this tastes exactly like the Shim ramyeon but less spicy (and maybe a little less sweet), and no wonder too, they are both by Nongshim. The main difference however is that the dried food packet is noticeably missing. I don't recall whether Shim is more expensive, I guess it should be if one ingredient is missing. I think I will stick to the 'real' thing.

Rating: 2 bowls

Update: Among all my blog posts since I started blogging in 2005, this blog post has taken the most time and effort to write. 2 months! But it's finally done.