If you enjoy instant noodles, no doubt you’ll recognise the angry chicken on the picture above. Today’s review is the Buldak habanero lime noodles.
A flavourful addition to the growing range of Samyang Buldak (hot chicken) range and probably my preferred one so far. These noodles are just as fiery as you’d expect but have a picante, sweet and spicy hint to them. Weirdly, but not unpleasantly, the smell and taste almost Mexican or even like Indian chutneys.
But, as usual, by the end of the bowl, my mouth was on fire and I needed a lot of water to get through them.
The sauce packet combines tomato ketchup, soy sauce, and a blend of spices, while the flake packet includes dried vegetables like carrot, cabbage, and bok choy. As usual, they rehydrated and fluffed up a bit with the hot water. I wouldn’t say I could taste chicken particularly but they definitely got the zesty lime in there.
Cooking instructions:
The packaging is straightforward, with clear instructions for both boiling water and microwave preparation. I went with boiling as follows:
- Add noodles and vegetable flakes to 350ml of boiling water (as usual, I went with slightly less water as is my preference)
- Cook for 5-6 minutes
- Add the sauce, stir well and enjoy.
Final scores:
As always with my noodle reviews, I scored these out of a possible score of 30.
- Flavour – 7/10
- Texture – 6/10
- Ease of making – 8/10
Total: 21/30
Buy again? No
Despite having real flavour beyond the heat, these aren’t really for me. I eat them occasionally for the novelty but unless you can really tolerate spice, and enjoy it, Buldak will never be a regular repeat meal for me. Have you tried any of them yet, or are you thinking about giving them a go? Let me know!
If you want to try them, you’ll find Buldak habanero lime on sale in many places including most Asian supermarkets. They cost around £1.20 a packet and are also sold in packs of five.
Want more instant noodle reviews?
As you know by now, I do have a not so secret love of instant ramen and have begun building a guide to the best ones I can find, which I’ve lovingly called my Noodle Reviewooodle lol! Why not take a look and see what else I’ve been reviewing lately?