Welcome to Mio's instant noodle tier list!


I take instant noodles very seriously. Here I will list, rank and review various instant noodles for fun. This is my very Swedish and autistic opinion (i.e. I will judge these plain out of the box most the time), and I am actively expanding my noodle repetoire and spice tolerance. These opinions are highly subjective, try 'em all and make your own list! :D


No. of noodles reviewed: 46

Spice level reference!

= Not spicy.
= Tingles ok, yet hardly deserves to be called spicy.
= Avarage!
️ = Perfect, hurts so good.
️ = I could eat this, but it bordered on unpleasant.
= Help. (Skill issue)
Rank
Noodle
Brand
Review
Spice Level
S+
Beijing Jjambbong Ramen 120g
Ottogi
I dream of the day I get to eat these noodles again, but I guess I'll have to go back to Britain to do so... Amazing. Fantastic. Fishy and spicy. Seafood lovers, you can't miss this!!! It is very likely that my love for these noodles hinges on the fact it's one of the first Korean ones I ever had, and a year or so later I would LOVE to compare it to Champong and SiuKay if I had the opportunity. Sadly these are just not available in my country whatsoever, for some reason.
️️
S
Mi Goreng 80g
Indomie
Lives up to the hype. Not a mouth blast but a mild pleasant flavor unlike anything I've ever had before. Spice was sporadic, delicious and VERY tolerable—could be spicier! Because of the price I am going to continue buying these in bulk, that's for sure.
Cons: Not enough noodles!!
A+
Buldak Rosé 140g
Samyang
NOTE: Did not use full spice packet! I think this is my favorite Buldak flavor so far! It was STILL extremely spicy despite only using 1/3 of the packet, and I am so glad I did that. I like enjoying things! This rosé sauce actually flavored the noodles for once, giving a mild carbonara-adjacent feel, and it was soooooo creamy~ Luxurious time all around!!
A
Salted Egg Stir-fry 85g
Mama
Mama being absolute peak again?? Frankly, the powder egg smell was at first a little offputting, but this tasted absolutely amazing. The noodles are also completely different from it's western-labeled counterparts, which leaves me very confused. Nevertheless, these were GREAT all around. It was super simple, with a tasty egg character and nice chewy noodles. It was satisfyingly spicy, which was a slight shock too. Spicy egg!
A
Special Chicken 75g
Indomie
For the record, this is not the first time I ate this. The first time I didn't read the packet and thought this was stir-fried just like Mi Goreng. Big mistake. Now that I have actually eaten this as a soup and not as a pile of salt, this is one also does not miss. Indomie makes the best spice mixes, what can I say! It's another heavy hitter featuring a perfect combination of savory, spicy, umami and some oniony sweetness. As usual, the only thing you're left wishing for is more of it.
A
Mi Goreng Spicy 80g
Indomie
This tasted like Mi Goreng had a chili flavor on top of it, with a slightly higher spice level. Not by much, and maybe I would have liked it better if it was simply spicy Mi Goreng. If it ain't broke, don't make it taste like extra chili flakes. I obviously still love it.
️️
A
Shin Gold 120g
Nongshim
While cooking, this smelled so much like chicken that it was shocking. There's always some kind of of fake flavor to these chicken soups to me, but this was CHICKENY. It was a nice change of pace from the other Nongshim noodles, I really liked it! It was nice and warming, with a rich flavor that wasn't overbearing. It was quite spicy, but not in a way that became unpleasant.
A
Potato Noodle Soup 100g
Nongshim
This earns a very comfortable spot in my top 5 Nongshim noodles! It's not that the broth is so very special or surprising (it's very Nongshim) but holy fuck, whatever they did with these POTATO noodles is awesome. They should use these all the time!! They just do not go soggy. At all. The bite is absolutely amazing, and it STAYS amazing. What a pleasant surprise. I will come back to these, and decide if I want to put them any higher.
Side note: It wasn't super spicy or anything, but for some reason the seasoning really irritated my nose while cooking it. I went around with a tissue and sneezing in my kitchen for a good hour after making it.
A
Chapaghetti 140g
Nongshim
Amazing noodles, but unfortunately a very strange sickly sweet soy sauce. Very jarring, but would not mind eating again. Noodles were huge and had a fantastic chew! Maybe I should give Chapaguri a shot?

6/2/25 Update: Enjoyed it much more the second time, and I didn't find it as sweet. I think this may be becoming a favorite, just because of how different and creamy these noodles are, and I'm pretty certain the're EXTRA THICK. They are SO satisfying when you're hungry, especially when cooked perfectly al dente. Moved from B+ to A.

A
Jjajangmen Chajang 200g
Paldo
Is it better than Chapaghetti? Is it worse? I feel like I need to taste both again and really give both of them a fair match. I think I'm discovering that this flavor profile is not what I eat noodles for. These two are just like this delicious brown gunk of the mildest variety. It's a little soy sauce, it's a little bean. This one at least takes the cake for being a lot to eat. Inside the sauce bag there is also chunks of potato and other mystery flakes. It's quite texturally interesting. I think what I'm trying to get at is that these are the noodles you pick up when you want a creamy pasta. When I crave noodles, however, I look for something light, salty and spicy.
A-
Shin Ramyun Stir Fry 131g
Nongshim
2/6/25 Update: I was so curious to try these again for the sake of testing my brand new spice tolerance. Unfortunately, I had not improved it as much as I hoped, but this time I did manage to finish the entire bowl without crying and putting it away. It was a lot of sniffling and drinking milk, though. Win...? I believe this remains where it currently stands. I like this one much much more than the standard Shin Ramyun, as the flavor is stronger, being spicier in the process. What this offers is what I consider a much more rich and unique taste of chili. It's impossible to describe this flavor profile, but it set out to taste a particular way and it succeeded to do so.

Old review:

Day 1: War flashbacks to the first time I had Shin Ramyun. Pain. Suffering, sweating. I couldn't finish it and put it back in the fridge. The rice cakes were so cute though and the noodles were good!!

Day 2: Microwaved the noodles, fried a runny egg. The noodles suddenly became mild and creamy, but retained a rather violent kick. In moderation, this was super good! I think I finally get the Shin hype!

B+
Buldak Hot Chicken Stew 140g
Samyang
NOTE: Did not use full spice packet! Not bad! It would have probably been so much better if I had used the full spice packet. It lacked a richness that would have been remedied by the extra sauce. I know how spicy these get though, and I just love eating Buldak, so I made compromises. It's good!
B
Flat Noodles Yen Ta Fo 50g
Mama
Picked up for the super cute packaging, having no idea what to expect. In simple terms, these are GARLIC noodles. The garlic is intense, with a slightly sour aftertone. I LOVE garlic, and the combination of the fun pink broth and delicious flat noodles made this an absolute treat. The flat noodles are MILES better than Mama's usual repertoire, so I have to look for more like it!
B
Bean Vermicelli Yen Ta Fo 55g
Mama
Here is simply a re-review of Yen Ta Fo, which made me kick both of them down a few notches. I only bought this one again because I went, "Really? Was Yen Ta Fo that good to deserve fourth place in my entire ranking?" And yeah, I was wrong about it, because this is a very Mama tasting garlic broth. There's something about Mama that makes me love it so much the first time, and realize it's much less hype the second time. This one has bean vermicelli noodles, which was slightly less exciting than the flat noodles. The broth is the same, however, which is pleasant with a rather smoky and sour garlic flavor.
️️
B
SOON Veggie Ramyun 112g
Nongshim
100% Vegan! Surprised to see this one rated so highly from my main supplier, meaning I had to give it a shot. I understand why it's so popular! This is a very comforting soup with a mild spice. It doesn't taste like any particular veggie, but more like some mystery flavor that is quite delicious. It didn't blow me away or anything, but it was pretty great! Bonus points for being cheaper than its "meatier" counterparts.
B
Champong Ramyun 124g
Nongshim
I don't know if my memory fails me, but simply not as good as Beijing Jjambbong, even though the seafood character is similar. It had a very good spice level, and the noodles were the great Nongshim quality you'd expect!
B
SiuKay Spicy Seafood 127g
Acecook
Since it's been a while, I can't decide if this is better than Champong or not, so consider them an equal match. Additionally being my first Acecook experience, these were awesome!!! An absolutely perfect arrangement: In the bag you get one portion of delicious, sweet squiddy sauce, and then you get a sachet of spice powder so you can control the dish and get exactly what you want. Yummy! A drawback is the nonexistent flakes here, I suppose.
B
Hoàng Gia Bánh Đa Cua (Rice pancake with crab) 120g
Vifon
This is a whole different league of noodles. This is the final boss of instant noodles. You don't even have to cook this on the stove. You just add boiling water and then a soup packet with actual real meat in it. The noodles are the delicious flat kind, great texture, with the flavor bomb of yummy dried shallots throughout. This is nothing other than CRAB SOUP. Holy CRAP it is crab. I love seafood, but crab in particular can be a little overwhelming.
B
Crab Flavor Bánh Đa Cua 60g
Vifon
Something in me prefers this to Hoàng Gia Bánh Đa Cua, mostly for textural reasons. They are pretty much the same thing. This soup is simpler, smoother and is much lighter on the overbearing crab in the process, tasting a little bit more like seaweed. While I prefer it, I have to deduct points for being a little watery. The noodles are shockingly excellent, as I've learned to expect from Vifon. The convenience of only having to add hot water is great as well.
B
Buldak Hot Chicken Ramen Regular & 2x Spicy 140g
Samyang
NOTE: Did not use full spice packet! I know, I know. This was my first introduction to the REAL Samyang and I wanted to actually eat it. Delicious! Opened up a whole new world of instant noodles to me. Who knew they could be this thick and saucy!!! The spice on these is a very numbing one, but the flavor is really good!
B
Háo Háo Mi Goreng (Shrimp & Onion flavor) 76g
Acecook
I didn't go into this bowl expecting it to be like Indomie Mi Goreng on any level, and as such these are just very decent, mid-tier of a noodle experience. The noodle texture is not as good as Indomie, but it is also extremely close. Taste wise, it's only half as good which is still like, pretty good! It was quite salty and had a good, mild spice level. I'm still putting this rather high, because the flavor profile is a favorite of mine.
B
Hoàng Gia Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang (Rice noodles "Phnompenh" style) 120g
Vifon
I like this one a little better than Phở Thịt Gà because it had a deeper, meatier flavor. Besides that, these two are pretty similar, being a mild, rich soup with flavors of umami and dried onions. I'm pretty sure the noodles are the exact same as well, which are good quality. Vifon will not fail you with these, but if you want a little bit more of a punchy flavor, grab Bánh Đa Cua!
B
Hoàng Gia Phở Thịt Gà (Rice noodles with chicken) 120g
Vifon
️Nothing shocking or extraordinary, but I'll still say I love it solely because it's different. Absolutely lovely noodle soup with mild, pleasant flavors that will satsify anybody. The little chicken packet provided tasted like canned chicken, which I do not mind at all and may even consider as one of my guilty pleasures.
B
Jin Ramen (Mild) 120g
Ottogi
As my local supplier has no Jjambbong, I might as well sample the Ottogi they have in order to figure out if they're the most goated brand or not. This is the first! Meh. The bite is different from Nongshim, but this reminded me a lot of Shin Black both in flavor and viscosity of the soup. Despite being described as "mild", you should expect all Korean noodles to still have a kick to them.
B
Shin Black 130g
Nongshim
Hard to describe the flavor besides a simple "good". It lacks the typical Shin character and had about 1/3 of the spice level of the original, which was appreciated. I am falling in love with the noodles themselves. They carry the broth well and the texture was perfect. Had a ton of flakes!
B
Shin Kimchi 120g
Nongshim
Nice, strong kimchi flavor! Better than original Shin Ramyun to me and not at all as spicy. Noodles themselves are still not my favorite.
B
Rabokki Ramen 145g
Paldo
So close to perfect. I smelled this one and tasted the sauce and went OH YUMMY this is exactly what I've been looking for, it's that absolutely delicious Korean red mystery sauce that's also in tteokbokki!!! (what is this sauce called. please tell me). Then I went aw man, it's just decent. It needs the Buldak kick to it. The sauce really gotta step up and kick me in the teeth! Good noodles though, tasty.
️️
B
Bean Vermicelli Tom Yum Koong 55g
Mama
This is Mama's Shrimp Tom Yum but with wayyyy better noodles. Perhaps it's only a little bit spicier, but the rest of the flavor was quite indistinguishable. First of all, I had no idea these were bean noodles, having bought it blindly and then looking it up online later. They are simply quite excellent, thin vermicelli noodles. You're not gonna know it's beans. A banger gluten-free alternative, I imagine!
B-
Buldak Cream Carbonara 140g
Samyang
This tasted like a very standard Buldak noodle. The spice level was high but tolerable. I could not taste any carbonara. Willing to overlook the flavor beacuse it WAS creamier than their other flavors. As usual, the general noodle experience was fantastic. Minus points for being expensive while not being anything out of the ordinary.
B-
Spicy Cheese 140g
Samyang
This also tasted like Buldak sauce.
C+
Shrimp Tom Yum 90g/55g
Mama
Nice! I was afraid of getting too much lemongrass flavor, but the spice coated it all wonderfully. The broth was nice, rich, warming and the meal felt substantial, especially with shrimp. The noodle texture wasn't my favorite, but I was willing to forgive it for both the price and amount. Toppings: Frozen shrimp.
C+
Mama Chicken flavor 55g
Mama
For the price I must say: buy this now. Flavor—4 stars, the entire deal deserves a 5/5. However, the noodle texture feels very cheap. You're so close to perfection, Mama! The broth is mildly spicy and wonderfully garlicy. Even for 55g it feels like a good amount of noodles. Plus it only requires hot water and 3 minutes to cook, amazing!
C
Ansungtangmyun 125g
Nongshim
"Beef stock" noodles. All of these flavors are all starting to blend together at this point, especially Nongshim. These noodles didn't taste very meaty or stood out paricularly well compared to their other flavors. As usual, mildly spicy, and probably delicious for people who don't eat as many different noodles as I do...
C
Seafood Ramyun 125g
Nongshim
ANOTHER seafood ramen from Nongshim. Will it finally shock me? Sadly not so much. The initial smell of this one worried me, as it was neither fishy nor much of anything (compared to Champong, which REEKS of seafood). While it lacked some of that fishiness, I at least liked the flavor profile more than Neoguri. Rather than a watery shellfish soup, this one tries to be something different. I don't know what, but works quite well. Not very special, satisfyingly spicy, and a good bowl of warming food.
C
Shin Ramyun 120g
Nongshim
I don't know. I really don't know. Am I trying to convince myself I like these better than I actually do because so many Americans keep telling me this is the superior instant noodle? First of all, I hated these for being so spicy while having none of the good qualities of Beijing Jjambbong. A year after my first sample, my spice tolerance has improved massively. No, it's not terribly spicy, but I keep waiting to be impressed. Am I gonna keep eating these until I am impressed? Probably!!! They're not offensive! I'll eat these again! Just don't call me a Shin Ramyun fan, but it certainly isn't much worse than most of the noodles in C tier.
C
Tempura Udon Cup 62g
Nongshim
Ok. Did not stand out. Enjoyed a seaweed flavor as usual! This confirmed my old memory of cup noodles just not matching with their boiled counterpart at all, so I will not be sampling many cup noodles in the future.
C-
Spicy Neoguri Seafood 120g
Nongshim
A good example of why spiciness makes most of these noodles better. Coated in some nice heat meant that the bland flavor of the mild version really didn't stand out as much. It also had the exact kind of spice level I enjoy, making for a good meal. Still not nearly as good as Champong. Flakes still weird and insufficient, and where did the cute fish cakes go?! 😡
D
Mild Neoguri Seafood 120g
Nongshim
By far the worst seafood soup I have tasted out of the bunch, but its not necessarily bad. Pathetic amount of seafood flakes compared to Champong and Jjambbong, with carrots in it for some reason?? The broth was quite watery, and the noodles failed to pick up any of the flavors, having a strange raw flour taste to them. It sounds like I hated them, but truth is a seafood soup is hard to fail for me in general, and the Nongshim noodles never miss. Despite being described as mild, this still had a peppery character to it that I liked. The tanuki (red panda?) fish cakes were adorable!
D
Samyang Ramen 85g

spicy > chicken, beef > mushroom > vegetable

"Samyang"
Spicy "Samyang" is my favorite basic grocery store comfort noodle. This is not the Samyang you think it is, it's a Swedish brand with the same name. This noodle has a superior texture to anything else you can find in the same price range, on par with Indomie. The flavors are not there. Each one is extremely lame and watery, but the noodles themselves make up for it! Despite my love for it there is nothing spicy about these, do not be fooled by the name!!!
D
Damae Ramen 100g
shrimp > spicy > curry > chicken, beef
Nissin
Hard to rank. Aged badly for me, especially after all the great noodles I've now experienced. The broth just does not sit right with me, no matter the flavor. It's either simply very watery, or barely tastes like what's described on the packet. The texture is just okay. I will not stop testing Nissin if I come across more of them, I'm just not a Damae fan. Pros: Big portion! Big noodle!
D
Wok Style Soba 111g teriyaki > classic > yakitori > chili
Nissin
Quite good and versatile! Some of them are an aquired taste and I don't always want the rich sauce. Exists in cup form too, but the bags are cheaper and have a better chew. Goes super well with leftover meats! I just find myself not really wanting to eat them unless I get desperate.
E
Chongqing Instant Noodles (Spicy Hot) 110g
A'Kuan
Unfortunately not a flavor profile I like whatsoever, tasting like chili flakes with chili and nothing. It was like the spice level swung between "decently spicy" and "nothing"; like the ghost of a hot pepper clung to my lip and to nothing else. I'll once again stress: It's actually impressive how much these noodles just have a NOTHING aftertaste. Somehow, the vegetable packet was the components that sucked up some semblance of a tasty broth, with some bites having a note of sesame and a pretty impressively strong taste of scallion. The noodles were okay, but quickly went soggy.
E
Damae Black Garlic Oil 100g
Nissin
This noodle really balanced on the border between "delicious" and "I can't stand this." This is a very rich soup with a wonderful noodle, and then theres that strange "black garlic oil" cutting through it like burnt rubber. Acquired taste, probably, but a shame when the broth without the oil tasted so good! Both the taste and the smell of this one really overstayed its welcome, but it made for a filling meal.
E-
Chicken Flavor 75g
Indomie
No. What? No. It's so gross. I hate it. The noodle texture is just slightly better than "Samyang" Ramen but somehow tastes WORSE. Calling it a "taste" is generous, because they don't taste like anything but irritating spice powder. Disgusting. My heart is broken. It's not F tier material purely because of the noodle texture, which is still better than most grocery store experiences.
️️
E-
Buldak Kimchi 135g
Samyang
Terrible experience. There was nothing kimchi about this. Only pain. Does not deserve the F, since it's Buldak after all and this was a classic EU tastebuds issue. I crown this one for being the spiciest thing I have eaten in my life. That being said, I WOULD revisit with half the spice packet.
F
Hot Chicken Flavor 60g
Reeva
This is one of those miserable supermarket noodles that do nothing for you. It does not deserve to be called "hot". For the price? I guess you can't complain too much. Toppings: Chili oil and roasted garlic. Made more tolerable (and actually spicy). Use the noodles with toppings if you must. Who am I kidding, buy literally ANYTHING else.
?
Shin Ramyun Toomba 137g
Nongshim
️️
?
Phở Bò 55g
Mama
️️
?
REAL Kimchi Ramen 122g
Jongga
️️
?
Bibim Men Ramen 130g
Paldo
️️
?
Broad Noodle Chili Oil Flavor 115g
A'Kuan
️️
?
Broad Noodle Sesame Paste Flavor 115g
A'Kuan
️️
?
Instant Panang Noodles (Thai Red Curry Soup) 85g
Mama
️️
?
Hakodate Shio Ramen (Scallop flavor) 87g
Nissin
️️
️