u/KW160

A few weeks back I posted my impression of sixteen different varieties of Buldak. That post got so much traction I was motivated to get my hands on the last few flavors I could find available online: 3x Spicy, Birria and Jjajang. If you haven’t already looked at my previous post, please take a glance at my first set of ratings and their criteria.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BuldakRamen/comments/1uz9doq/i_tried_and_reviewed_sixteen_different_buldak/

1. Birria: Rating: 1/10 (!), Spice level: 2, standard noodles, overpowering bad smell once the powder was added. The pack was not expired, so I can't explain it. Smells like mold. That smell permeated the flavor as well. No idea what is going on with this one.
2. 3x Spicy: Rating 6/10, Spice level: 8, thick noodles, overpowering spice, decent flavor. This caused me to sweat, my nose to run and my eyes to water. I had to eat this slowly, too much pain for a regular meal. I was only able to eat about a third of the pack in one sitting. This is more of a contest/curiosity than a meal.
3. Jjajang: Rating 7/10, Spice level: 2, thick noodles, great jjajang flavor, well balanced and a little on the sweet side.

So…I really want to know what was up with birria. I’ve experienced cumin having a strange smell in other things but never to this degree. I have four more packs of this…when I make it again I may skip the powder entirely or try just adding a small amount. I’m loath to reproduce what I experienced when I made the first one.

I’ve been an instant ramen enthusiast for over two decades, so I decided to go all-in on Buldak earlier this year. I acquired every variety of non-cup noodle I could get my hands on. I ended up trying and reviewing 16 flavors over approximately a 6 month span. I prepared each one using the packet directions without adding anything extra so I could get as neutral of a rating as possible.

A note about ratings:

• The overall rating is based on the following scale:
  • 1=inedible (never found anything this bad)
  • 5=uninspiring but an adequate meal (ex: Maruchan chicken)
  • 10=perfection (ex: Samyang Hot Chicken Flavor stir-fried noodle)
• I am also a big spice enthusiast–I have eaten a whole, fresh carolina reaper in a single sitting. The spice ratings are based on my heavily skewed rating scale:
  • 1=detectable spice
  • 5=fairly painful, but enjoyable if I pace myself, realistically this is the most spice I would want in a meal
  • 10=capsaicin oil (1M+ SHU?)

My ratings from least to best:

1. Swicy (not pictured): Rating: 4/10, Spice: 1/10, standard noodles, slight chili pepper flavor, tastes like a donut with the small portion I made with the sprinkles, the rating increases to 6 without the sweet sprinkles
2. Habanero Lime: Rating: 6/10, Spice: 3/10, thick noodles, medium lime, below average soup flavor
3. Tom Yum: Rating: 7/10, Spice: 2/10, excellent wide and thick noodles, well balanced lime flavor
4. Cheese: Rating: 7/10, Spice: 2/10, thick noodles, mild cheese, not as good as Maruchan cheese cup
5. Quattro Cheese: Rating: 7/10, Spice: 2/10, thick noodles, medium cheese. A little better than the cheese flavor but not overly different
6. Taco: Rating: 7/10, Spice: 2/10, thick noodles, strong enchilada/Ortega mexican spice packet flavor
7. Rose: Rating: 7/10, Spice: 3/10, thick noodles, tastes like broccoli cheddar soup
8. Seasoned Chicken (Asia Only): Rating: 7/10, Spice: 2/10, thick noodles, slightly sweet, similar to yakisoba
9. Original: Rating: 8/10, Spice: 2/10, thick noodles, strong chili pepper flavor
10. Yakisoba: Rating: 8/10, Spice: 4/10, thin noodles, slightly sweet, this caused me to sweat
11. 2x Spicy: Rating: 8/10, Spice: 5/10, thick noodles, strong chili pepper flavor, I hyper ventilated a little and sweated a lot. A painful, fun time.
12. Carbonara: Rating: 8/10, Spice: 2/10, thick flat noodles, mild cheese and tomato flavor, great noodle texture
13. Mala (Asia only): Rating: 8/10, Spice: 3/10, thick noodles, some hints of Indian spices, good balance, similar to Lucky me! brand Pancit Canton
14. Curry (not pictured): Rating: 8/10, Spice: 3/10, thick noodles, medium curry flavor
15. Cream Carbonara: Rating: 9/10, Spice: 2/10, thick flat noodles, stronger cheese and tomato flavor than regular carbonara, great noodle texture
16. Stew Type: Rating: 9/10, Spice: 2/10, excellent thick wide noodles, excellent soup flavor, the essence of instant ramen right here

Some final thoughts: all but two of these flavors are clustered together in the 7-9 out of 10 range. This tells me that Buldak is pretty consistent between flavors with quality and it’s perhaps because they all use pretty much the same base flavor. I was bummed to hear that Stew Type was discontinued. If I ever see this one again I will for sure stock up. The ones that are 8 and above I would buy again. Hopefully the community finds this dive into the brand interesting.