I’m a glutton for anything cute so obviously, a smily cartoon cow made this packet stand out for me on the shelf. These sogokimyun beef ramen noodles though, weren’t quite as brilliant as the packet suggested. They’re made by Samyang (of Buldak fame), a popular Korean brand.
Perhaps it’s just me who thinks that the red packaging implies spiciness but these noodles aren’t hot. They have a slight heat and a peppery warmth but are not hot (in my opinion at least!!). The noodles themselves were good, they had that slight chew to them which I like. It adds texture but the broth itself was fairly plain. As you can see from the pictures too, the seasoning mix was fairly simple. I like it when you get a sachet of dehydrated vegetable bits – green onion, carrots etc.. which plump up in the boiling water. They add a bit of bite and bit of something to the bowl, beyond the broth and the noodles. And that ‘bit of something’ was sorely missed here and one of the reasons I scored them down on taste and texture.
Ease of making
In theory I should probably give these a full 10 because it’s just boil some water, add noodles and the seasoning. Wait a bit. Eat. But, I think I’m reserving the full 10/10 for cup noodles when you don’t even need to rip open a seasoning sachet. So, these are easy but with a very minor element of effort required!!
Scores on the doors
Ok so this is a difficult one because I like my ramen spicy and this one didn’t really tick that box. I found it a little plain, although peppery in flavour. Because of that, I’d say that this is a good one to use as a base to pimp up your instant ramen rather than as a meal in itself. As you can see, I added some kimchi!!
So… let’s see how this one ranks
- Flavour – 5/10
- Texture – 5/10
- Ease of making – 9/10
Total: 19/30
Buy again? Probably not. This sogokimyun beef ramen was nice, just a bit boring. This is a shame as I’ve had other Samyang noodles which I’ve been disappointed by too (including their Seafood party brand). Let’s hope I find some better ones from their range soon!
have other noodles which are much tastier imo – including these I think the cow on the packet might have been thinking of a different ramen when he liked his lips!
If you love instant noodles as much as I do, consider checking out my guide to instant noodles which features a shed load more reviews for you to peruse!