Country of Origin: South Korea
For the masochist on the go.
Consumption
Ahh, the return of the fire noodle in a convenient pot. I felt a twinge of nostalgia looking at these, thinking of those early days when we were but children in the playground of ramen instead of the bitter, cynical reviewers we now are.
This is pretty much same-same but different – same sauce, same nori and sesame, but different noodles, thinner, sleeker, faster. Oh and the pot. Preparation is seriously fast – using the soak method these noody babies are ready in no time, with a convenient drain perforation in the lid making the meal a snap to get ready. My only niggle would be a lack of disposable fork, but we can’t win ’em all.
As the flames of capsaicin engulfed my leathery calloused tongue I got a pang of regret. Would I ever see a new horizon open up before me as it did in those days, with spicy ramen as far as the eye can see? Or am I doomed to an ever-increasing tolerance of spicy noods, where I will eventually be forced to mainline birds-eye paste in a back alley flophouse in downtown Seoul, chasing a burn my tongue can only feel in its dreams?
Don’t be fooled by my wistful words children, these are f**king hot bastard noodles that will raise a sweat just from the smell of them, so tread with caution if you’re just setting out, but they’re the same great taste as the regular Samyang.
Heat Level
Taste Level
The Aftermath
I may have taken the grizzled veteran act a bit too far. I wasn’t sure if it was due to my diet (as an external uni student on top of my job I subsist on mostly caffeine and procrastination), but come 5 o’clock I felt a booming knock on my backdoor, coupled with an all-too familiar burn in my gut.
Like a shitty Jehovas Witness the banging would not stop until I opened the door, and experienced the diatribe that was to follow. Much like a sermon, this was hellfire and damnation from the old testament – the burning destruction of the wicked (me) as I repented for my sins. The one saving grace of this is that it was over relatively quickly, with one follow up sermon roughly 2 hours later, and that was all she wrote. Again, fairly convenient for the masochist who wants to get the flogging done without messing around.
7 flames, 2 bastard painful visits all in one convenient 3 hour period.
Oh boy oh boy; I always love an excuse to have some more fire noodles! What makes this more exciting is it’s the bowl variety; yay! Who doesn’t like making their noods in a big carboard bowl? The noods are thinner than their packet cousin (I’m guessing it lends better to faster cooking on the go) and the seem to hold the sauce better (no puddle at the bottom). Taste is the same fantastic fire nood taste we have grown to love; but I miss the thick chew of the packet noods. No loss of heat on these babies; still extreme and still a puddle of sweat on my bald head!
Wow; something is different with the bowl version of these because at about 7pm I was on the loo clutching the sides for dear life. Fast, watery, with a bit of sting. It was brief so I thought maybe this wouldn’t be so bad but 30 minutes later I was back on squirting brown liquid all over the bowl. Stingy stingy regret. Samyang what the hell?
6.5 flames; 2 upsetting visits, but after that the rest of the night was smooth sailing.
Wow, Great bowls of fire. Probably our favourite instant ramen returning in bowl form. We figured it’s technically different and this is truly a great way to torture yourself on the go. The Nood block has been changed up, thinner noodles which I find carry the sauce better. Less mixing required towards the end and far less residual hot sauce at the bottom.
I feel we have increased our tolerance since we last visited the fire noods; It was manageable but I could tell that it was indeed still the flames of Hades in noodle form. The flavour remains fantastic, sweet, spicy, delicious. I would almost recommend the bowl form of these for first timers instead of the standard block just due to the sauce mixing better and getting a more consistent punch with each mouthful.
I retract my initial statement, it was great BOWELS of fire. Seriously, I have no idea who was in charge of the bowl Buldak, but shit was there shit. Stingy shit. Painful stingy shit. Seriously, It hurt to sit afterwards. No next morning regret is the only reason this isn’t higher
7 Flames Makes for a very sore butthole.
Overall Porcelain Punishment Level
