Samyang Carbonara instant noodle review

 

Korean noodle products seem to be immensely popular in the UK at the moment. It doesn’t matter whether I am in the supermarket, or an ethnic grocery shop, or even a convenience story in the UK, I can always find either Shin or Samyang instant noodles. I was intrigued by a “Carbonara” noodle product, so I bought it for a taste test.

The product

Samyang are a South Korean noodle brand famous for their hot and spicy noodles. They were the first instant noodle manufacturer in South Korea, starting production in 1963. Samyang’s Buldak range are their famous hot noodle product, with the phrase buldak translating as “fire chicken”. The mascot on all the range is a cute cartoon chicken whose mouth is very clearly on fire. 

 

The Buldak range of noodles gained notoriety in 2024 when it was banned in Denmark for being too hot (the ban was later lifted, to the relief of Danish spiceaholics and chilli fans). Their 2x Spicy Buldak product looks like it is nothing less than incendiary: https://www.ramenregretrater.com/2017/02/08/samyang-2x-spicy-buldak-bokkeummyeon-2x-spicy-hot-chicken-flavour/. I don’t have the same heat tolerance as these brave people, so I have opted for something which I hope is milder.

There is another Samyang Buldak carbonara product on the market; their “Creamy Carbonara” noodle, which Alex at Gingey Bites has reviewed here: https://gingeybites.com/2025/08/buldak-cream-carbonara-instant-noodles.html

I found this product in the Korean supermarket in Kingston Upon Thames for £1.19, where I also bought some Ssamjang, Gochujang and Makgeolli. It was great to see the same brands I found in my trip to South Korea here, and if I had not been meeting with old friends for lunch, I might have taken the opportunity to stock up on Korean food products more substantially.

What’s Inside

The noodles are thick and flat, and look like a cross between noodles and pasta. I would say they were going for a tagliatelle vibe. They have even coloured them slightly yellow to get that pasta like appearance. The amount in the packet represents a very generous portion for one, but unlike some of the other Korean instant noodle products, not quite enough for two. 

 

There are two packets, a sachet of hot sauce, and a sachet of powder to make the cheese sauce. There is debate about whether the hot sauce is the same as the famous Samyang hot chicken noodles, and some say it is the same, while others say it packs less heat. Thanks to the noodle enthusiasts of Reddit, I was able to find a Scoville rating scale for the respective Samyang products. I cannot vouch for the accuracy, although I have no reason to doubt it. Here it is for your information, all feedback gratefully received: https://www.asianneeds.com/blogs/featured-blogs/buldak-ramen-spice-levels

Making up the noodles

I made this instant noodle product at home as the instructions call for the noodles to be cooked for 5 minutes. 

 

I read this to mean that just soaking in boiling water would not be enough and the actual application of heat was required. This job needed to be done on the hob. It seems this is not a convenience product for a quick storecupboard workplace lunch.

 

I have seen a BuzzFeed article where the writer added salt to the pasta water. But instant noodles are already high in salt, so much so I only have them as an occasional lunch. So I was not going to follow that approach. In the final analysis, the noodles and sauce did not need any salt. 

 

The instructions ask you to retain 8 tablespoons of the cooking water (120ml). I have read that some people choose to use only half of the sauce packet, but I decided that if I am trying this product out for review, it has to be made as the instructions intended – 120ml of cooking water with the full pack of sauce and the full pack of carbonara cheese powder. It mixes up quickly with a good stir with no lumps. 

 

What does it taste like

One of my Bluesky friends told me that these noodles were “really bloody horrible” which did fill me with a sense of dread. However, I would say they were edible, but definitely not a carbonara. The noodles might look like a noodle/pasta cross, but they have the flavour and texture of noodles. There is a pleasing garlicky flavour to the finished noodles. The little green flecks of herb are parsley, but the taste is not easily detectable. There is definitely chilli heat here, and it builds up as you keep eating. Thankfully this was a hot Korean instant noodle I could finish eating, unlike some of the others I have sampled. I have even seen noodle challenges advertised in South Korea for tourists – eat for free if you can manage to eat the full portion. 

The noodles were semi-firm after 5 minutes of cooking, and I would prefer them with a little more bite, which could be achieved through taking a minute off the cooking time. There’s a vague sense of cheese, but it feels more milky. The sauce seemed a touch too thin, and I wonder if adding only 80-100ml of the cooking water would give a thicker and creamier sauce.

If you want it cheesy, I’d suggest that you add a small grating of Parmesan to enhance the flavour and texture. If you want the unctuous mouthfeel of carbonara, you could add beaten egg, but with a much reduced amount of cooking water, at a guess only 30ml or a couple of tablespoons.

There are a great many YouTube videos of people pimping their instant noodles with a slice or two of American style processed cheese, and I imagine this would also work well. Personally, I would have these again as a working from home lunch, but I would add a little bit of cooked ham (I wouldn’t bother cooking up any pancetta or guanciale for this) and grated Parmesan.

My overall verdict is that these are pretty good, but not the creamy, cheesy experience I had been expecting. The added fuss of making it in a pan on the head is another convenience factor to consider.

I use Gingey Bites’ rating system for my noodles. For Alex’s scoring method and an index of all of her instant noodle reviews, please see: https://gingeybites.com/guide-to-instant-noodles

My ratings:

Texture 7/10

Flavour 7/10

Ease of making 7/10 (at home; would be inconvenient at work)

Would I buy them again: Maybe, but with some tweaks as set out above

It seems that even Sally Abé, author of A Woman’s Place is the Kitchen, and head of food for The Bull in Charlbury is partial to Samyang’s Carbonara noodles:

“There are nonnas turning in their grave at the utterance of it, but I love Buldak’s Samyang Spicy Ramen Carbonara (available at Sainsbury’s). Buldak are bit of a cult instant noodle brand which come in this cute packaging with love hearts on it – I think that’s what drew me in – and they are very spicy, with a cheese powder you sprinkle on at the end. They are gross, but in a good way, and as a post-shift snack they are perfect. After cooking rich restaurant food all night, I want to be hit with that massive chilli flavour, and they don’t need pimping; they’re primo-pimped.”

(Taken from: https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/supermarket-cheats-ready-meals-microwave-mash-3680325)

For my previous Instant noodle reviews please see:

Doll brand Hello Kitty Dim Sum Japanese prawn flavour instant noodle: https://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2025/08/doll-hello-kitty-dim-sum-noodle-review.html

Itsu’s Chick N Ramen noodles:  https://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2025/03/itsu-chick-n-ramen-instant-noodle-review.html

Nissin x Shoryu “Ramen Masters” Cup Noodle: https://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2024/01/nissin-x-shoryu-ramen-masters-cup.html

Maruchan spicy chicken and prawn noodles: https://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2024/05/maruchan-spicy-chicken-and-prawn.html

Nongshim brand’s “Chapagetti” noodles: https://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2024/09/nongshim-chapagetti-noodle-review.html

This review represents the genuine opinions of Snigdha, who has received no incentive to write this review, and who purchased the product with her own money.