2X BULDAK

Ok, where to begin? The packaging says it has under 10,000 SHU. This can't be true, as I regularly use 25K and 100K Cayenne. Maybe it is though, who knows. The packaging is simple - on the front is a very enraged fire chicken warning you what is to come. Inside are your typical cake of dried Ramen noodles and a small packet of what looks to be an oil of some kind. That's it. This is a no-frills nuclear hot ramen. I made this three ways: 1) As directed on packaging - I left a few tbsp of water after draining the noodles, added the oil packet, tossed, and served. I took the first bite, noting it has a pepperiness to the chicken flavor that's pretty good. Not too hot yet. Take a bite. Ok I can feel it getting a bit warm. Take a bite. My heartrate is visibly up. Take a bite. It burns SO MUCH. At this point I'm cackling at how hot it is and the fact my entire mouth and lips are numb from the burning, and I can't stop drooling. At this point I realize finishing this will do a number on my already sensitive gut, despite the fact I want to finish because it actually tasted really good (when you can taste it, that is). It's very splishy-splashy since you mix a few tbsp of water with the oil, and I felt the oil didn't have good coverage on the noodles. Next comes attempt #2. 2) Not reserving any water - Very similar to #1 except this time the oil is VERY well adhered to the noodle. Like #1 except even more intense. 3) Half packet of oil, not reserving any water - Ok, I found the sweet spot. It was pleasantly spicy without being too spicy. I still had to take my time with it, but I was able to get through the entire packet and enjoy the experience. Was it still very, very hot? Yes. But this time it didn't render me a blathering mess, and I didn't hate myself the next day (too much), and I could really taste the peppery chicken flavor. In all 3 attempts, the noodles are pretty good and have a nice chew to them. Not your typical cheap thin ramen noodle. Also, to note, since I'm alive and writing this review, I did not do all 3 attempts in one sitting. These were spaced out about a week apart. If you like spicy ramen, and you can tolerate decently hot things, give these a try. They're actually really, really good, if you can handle the heat.

I absolutely love the flavor of these noodles! They have become my go-to choice for a quick, filling meal whenever I’m feeling too lazy to cook a full dinner. The noodles themselves have a great chewy texture that holds up well, and the sauce is incredibly savory with that signature Buldak taste. Be warned: when they say "2X Spicy," they really mean it! The heat level is intense, but it’s the kind of spice that "hurts so good" because the flavor behind the heat is so delicious. If you aren't a seasoned spice lover, you might want to start with half the sauce packet, but for me, it's perfect. They are very easy to prepare and much higher quality than your standard grocery store ramen. It's definitely worth keeping a pack in the pantry for when you want something tasty with a serious kick.

This is probably the only listing that has these at a reasonable price ($13.72 for 10 packs at the time of this writing). Thick, chewy noodles with nearly twice as much food as cheapo 20 cent ramen you might find in stores. The spiciness does overpower the chicken flavor, but it's still really tasty. Respectably spicy, if you can handle habanero dishes this is probably manageable with milk. If you haven't built up a tolerance for that sort of thing, you need to be a little careful about eating these without milk because it'll build up as you eat and stick with you for a few minutes after you finish. Samyang Bulldark Spicy Chicken Roasted Noodles, 4.9 Oz (Pack of 10) (Package might vary) is also priced somewhat reasonably (they're about $16 at the time of this writing for 10) and is much milder though still noticeably spicy. If you can handle topping your food with Tobasco, you can handle these noodles just fine and they taste a bit better than this variety since it's not quite as overpowered by the heat. Either one can be diluted a bit by adding some extra food. I like adding some chicken, apparently porkless bites are a tasty vegan option according to a friend, brocolli's also good. Add your extra food in right before you stir fry the noodles so the sauce can coat and stick to everything. The package also says to just stir fry for 30 seconds - I find this leaves way too much liquid so I usually go for more like a minute.

My normal spicy noodles are the Nongshim shin spicy noodles. They're not super hot, but if you made them 2x hotter, they might be too hot. The Samyang Buldak noodles are at least 2x more hot. I'm experienced with hot food. I order my Thai Pad Prik extra spicy. My Indian Vindaloo extra spicy. I like them both that way. I order 5 BW3 Blazin' wings every time I go to BW3, and I finish them (but I find them crazy hot and a bit un-enjoyable by the last wing). When prepared as per the directions, the sauce covering these noodles are as hot as anything I've ever eaten. By the end of the bowl, my brain was having a hard time concentrating on anything but the pain I was feeling. It was overpowering. The Good: The noodles are very good. Better than any other noodle soup I've had. They're thick, tasty, and have a really good texture. Just slightly chewy, but not rubbery. If you want hot, this has all the hot. The bad: Expensive. The flavor of the sauce is chemical over natural.

This is my favorite Buldak flavor. It’s the perfect amount of spicy, has an authentic kimchi flavor and comes with a packet of kimchi bits. Please bring this one back!!!!🙏🏽🍜

(UPDATE: On the back of the 5 pack package it claims this is 8,808 Scoville Heat Units which is very low - on par with some of the hotter Jalapeño pepper breeds. So not that measurably impressive. Habanero peppers start at around 100,000 SHU, Ghost Peppers / Carolina Reaper hundreds of thousands/millions higher. Many hot sauces are far hotter than this. Making a YouTube challenge video for this is equivalent to a "can you eat a raw Jalapeño pepper" YouTube challenge, which isn't that impressive. Just pointing that out.) To the original review: This stuff is good. Do not let previous reviews scare you away from ordering this. If you aren't familiar with spice levels on par with hot peppers then this might be too much, but this is no where close to something one would make a "YouTube Challenge" in regards to because it's no where close to Carolina Reaper levels at all. I would even go as far as to say that I've eaten raw habanero peppers that were far far hotter than this. I could easily eat this multiple times without stomach issues or extreme mouth pain. The feeling in the mouth that I get from this is a very light, balanced burn. The heat level is not at a level that I have to run and get milk to cool it down, so I don't find it painful at all; it is pretty much perfect for what I like. Which is a good thing, because I often feel disappointed by how some people define "extremely spicy" in the US. There is actual flavor here in addition to the heat, but if you aren't used to hot food then the heat may distract you more. I'll probably be ordering more in the near future and I hope they raise the capsaicin levels higher than this in future products.

Way too spicy !! I know it’s supposed to be but the heat really messed up the flavor. Way to spicy to enjoy for me unfortunately

When I first tried these, the flavour was amazing. Barely spicy, sweet, salty, everything you’d want in ramen. I thought to myself after about 3 bites, “this is what the internet’s been going crazy over for the past 3 years?? so dramatic.” and then as I ate, the buildup got to me. My mouth was burning so much and I don’t think I could’ve eaten it all without the 2 packs of seaweed and half a carton of chocolate soy milk I had. I also had to keep taking breaks; I had about 3 or so. I could NOT keep eating it without it. The inside of my mouth felt like it was literally gonna burn up and crisp off. I had to swish my mouth with the soy milk to get the capsaicin off of the sides of my tongue. That kinda helped. But yeah, after 2 entire packs of seaweed and a half carton of milk, I got through it. I’d rate the flavour an 8/10. I took two points off because the actual flavour of it gets lost in the spiciness about 6 bites in. 10/10 for the noodles; not your typical instant ramen noodles. Very nice quality. 6/10 for the price. $15(plus shipping) is a bit much for 5 packs of instant noodles. 8/10 for spiciness. Not as hot as I was expecting, but still pretty damn hot. I’d rate my overall experience about an 9/10. I took a point off because it did make my stomach hurt a bit after, but that’s to be expected. So yeah, eat it if you dare.