This New Nongshim Toomba Ramen Is a Creamy Dream

When I was told we were reviewing the new Nongshim Shin Ramyun Toomba noodles I was excited, mostly because I had literally no idea what that meant and the name sounded fun. Once I found out what it actually was, I got even more excited, because guess what, folks? This may just be the most roundabout cultural mishmash the instant ramen world has ever seen.

It is an instant ramen based on an instant ramen hack that involves adding milk, American cheese, and sautéed onions and garlic to drained ramen noodles, along with the spicy Shin ramen seasoning packet. Some people garnish with scallions or mushrooms, but here’s the kicker: This hack is supposed to make your Shin ramen taste like a pasta dish that South Korean locations of Outback Steakhouse named Toowoomba Pasta after a city called Toowoomba in Queensland, Australia. The city is not known for sauce or pasta or anything; Outback Steakhouses (South Korean ones included) just love naming things after random Australian cities. I firmly believe all those factors coming together to bring us this Toomba (supposed to sound like Toowoomba) instant ramen is not happening in any other timeline. Either that or Toomba ramen is inevitable, just like crab-shaped animals. But I digress—let’s try these noods!

New Product!

Nongshim Shin Ramen Toomba Flavor

Walmart

Pros: This ramen is delicious. The noodles are bouncy, the sauce packet is garlicky and umami, and the powder is spicy and cheesy. This tastes a lot like a more garlic-forward version of Buldak’s carbonara ramen, albeit with thinner noodles. We tried it both with and without draining the water (since both methods are shown on the back of the packet), and found that the drier, drained version was (perhaps unsurprisingly) had a more concentrated flavor and was extremely spicy, while the version with broth is creamy and slightly less spicy. We also tried some with just the powder and some with just the sauce (and a touch of powder to help the sauce congeal), and let me tell you, all iterations were umami, cheesy, spicy, and delicious.

Cons: I think hardcore Buldak fans will still prefer Buldak. This Toomba ramen is less spicy, the sauce is a bit less pepper-forward, and tastes more like cheese, sautéed garlic, and pure spice (no pepper flavor). That said, that’s exactly what the hack is—cheese, garlic, onion, and heat—so it seems like Nongshim kind of hit the nail on the head. Also, if you are a garlic fan, there’s a chance you might like this (*GASP*) even more than Buldak Carbonara. Either way, this is a delicious product and if you are thinking about trying it, I say go for it.

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Nongshim Shin Ramen Toomba Flavor

Pros: This ramen is delicious. The noodles are bouncy, the sauce packet is garlicky and umami and the powder is spicy and cheesy. This tastes a lot like a more sauteed garlic-forward, thinner noodled, version of the Carbonara Buldak ramen. We tried it both with and without draining the water (since both ways are shown on the back of the packet), and found that the more dry drained noodle version was (unsurprisingly) more concentrated in flavor and extremely spicy, and the one with more water was more creamy and slightly less spicy. We also tried some with just the powder and some with just the sauce (and a touch of powder to help the sauce congeal), and let me tell you, all iterations were umami, cheesy, spicy, and delicious.

Cons: I think hardcore Buldak fans will still prefer Buldak. This Toomba ramen is less spicy, the sauce is a bit less pepper-forward flavor-wise, and tastes more like cheese, sauteed garlic, and pure spice (no pepper flavor). That said, that’s exactly what the hack is – cheese, garlic, onion, and spicy, so it seems like Nongshim kind of hit the nail on the head. Also, if you are a garlic fan, there’s a chance you might like this (*GASP*) even more than Buldak Carbonara. Either way, this is a delicious product and if you are thinking about trying it I say go for it.

9/10 Sporks