Week Four: Second Opinion

My first thought about Samyang Beef Flavored Ramen, with its complementary vegetables and zesty-red hue, was that it closely resembles the kimchi flavored ramen we reviewed the first week. That may be due to the fact that the kimchi flavored ramen hails from the same Samyang brand.

I agree with Daniel that Samyang Beef Flavored Ramen has good quality ramen noodles. The plumper noodles were a nice change from last weeks thinner cup of noodle style noodles. I thought it was funny how Daniel also questioned how much beef is actually in the broth... I found that that while the beef broth is definitely present, it lacks the more wholesome beefy flavor that I've experienced with other ramen that I've bought from the local Safeway. Perhaps the beef flavor is inhibited by the other spices that give the ramen that little extra pep that isn't found in other beef flavored ramen.

Overall, the noodles were excellent and the broth was good, but I think Samyang can do better. I'm sure there are some things they could do to beef up their broth (pun intended). I respect Samyang Beef Flavored ramen in its attempt to strive past the traditional beef flavored ramen, but in this case they may have strayed a little too far. Great if you're looking for ramen, not so great if you're looking specifically for beef flavored ramen.

4 out 5 chopsticks!

Ramen Experience: Week Four

Samyang Beef Flavored Ramen is the Delicioso! Food Blog's Ramen of the week.  Unfortunately for all the other ramen's we've reviewed, Samyang Beef is easily the best ramen I've tasted thus far.  Putting other ramens (especially Mama Pork Flavor) to shame, Samyang Beef has all the ingredients it takes to make a great ramen.

Firstly, Samyang Beef is the first ramen I've encountered with a packet of flakes that actually adds up to something worth noticing.  Seemed to me that the mushrooms were actually decent after being boiled back to life.  I've often times thought about completely excluding the packets of freeze-dried crud, but after having Samyang Beef, I'll give future miniature vegetables a try.

Secondly, Samyang Beef has an excellent broth.  Not too spicy, not too salty, flavorful enough to distinguish from another flavor, Samyang Beef broth is just right.  Honestly, I don't know how much "beef" flavor is in the broth, but what flavor there was worked really well this time around.

Finally, Samyang Beef wraps up the package with a metric ton of noodles.  Well, it isn't an actual metric ton, it just seems like a ton of noodles.  Somehow they have a nice consistency, absorb enough broth to be flavorful, and also maintain a slight chewiness.  I suppose this all depends on how long you boil them, but following the directions certainly produced excellent results, so I'd suggest starting there.

Samyang Beef is so good, I'm ready to try some other Samyang flavors of ramen soon.

4.5 out of 5 chopsticks!

Week Three: Second Opinion

While Jenna enjoyed the ramen despite the initially lowered expectations, I didn't think Mama Pork Flavored Ramen did anything to prove my low expectations wrong. Yes, the cooking instructions involve Cup Noodle style steaming, but here's something you might not know about me:

I don't like Cup Noodles. I think the noodles are terrible. The texture, the shape, they just don't appeal to me.

For this reason, Mama Pork Flavored Ramen scores a little low. One thing I can't really fault the ramen for is the spicy flavor. I don't like spicy things, ramen included (though Jenna actually prefers her ramen spicy). With three different ingredient packets, Mama Pork Flavored Ramen doesn't force anything on you, but I dimly went ahead and included the small packet of chili powder.

I take responsibility for my mistake there and will make note that I shouldn't include that ingredient next time, if I mistakenly give Mama Pork Flavored Ramen a second try.

2 out of 5 chopsticks.

Ramen Experience: Week Three

Please excuse the tardiness of this post. Daniel and I were busy having a splendid time in Ventura, followed by a not so splendid time beginning summer session at SJSU.

Ah, but here we are again... ready and able to write about eating delicioso ramen! This week we tried Mama Pork Flavoured ramen. My first thought about this ramen was that it was quite unusual that this standard plastic-wrap packaged ramen advises that the ramen be prepared like a cup of noodle style ramen. Rather than boiling water and adding the noodles and soup base to the pot, one is instructed to add the boiling water to the noodles and soup base in a bowl and cover for 3 minutes. Interesting...

I soon realized why these instructions were provided when I discovered that the noodles are the same as those in cup of noodle style ramen; thin and lacking in the full robustness of the standard ramen noodle.

Now it should be known that I am a noodle lover. Typically, I enjoy the ramen noodles more than the broth itself, and often a small amount of broth remains after I have thoroughly enjoyed my noodles. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Mama Pork Flavoured ramen broth had a very nice and satisfying full-bodied flavor. The accompanying chili powder packet gives the broth an unexpected kick that makes the ramen especially enjoyable when one initially anticipates a more mellow pork flavor. I found myself straying from routine and made sure to savor every last drop of broth.

Mama Pork Flavoured ramen definitely exceeded my expectations. Or perhaps the cup of noodle style cooking instructions and the three accompanying packets (soup base, bean paste, and chili powder) made me a bit skeptical at first. Either way, the ramen was delicioso!

If you aren't afraid of a little spice paired with your pork broth, you will enjoy this ramen. Just be mindful of the chili powder flakes... if you sip too slowly they may stick to the back of your throat and catch you off guard.

3.5 out of 5 chopsticks!