Nissin Makes a Brand of Spicy Ramen Now and I Tried It

Nissin is horning in on Buldak’s turf. The brand best known for Top Ramen and Cup Noodles recently released Geki, a new line of spicy instant Asian noodles in sauce, and it’s giving Buldak, right down to the first two flavors to launch: Spicy Hot Chicken and Spicy Carbonara Chicken. Maybe they’ll get mad at me for saying so, but the packaging even looks similar. There’s even a little weirdo animal mascot (granted, Buldak’s is a chicken and Geki’s appears to be a little lion with a mane that looks like a beautiful blond bouffant wig). 

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I know people are passionate about Buldak ramen, but I am not one of them—too spicy, man. I really struggled through this taste test. But that just means I’m unbiased! I have no skin in this game! Has Geki successfully made something as good as or better than Buldak? Let’s find out! 

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Geki Spicy Carbonara Chicken

Nissin

Pros: I love the noodles. These aren’t just slabs of repackaged Top Ramen noodles; they’re flat and wavy, and they’re really enjoyable to eat. The texture is much more like fresh pasta than most dried noodles. Both Gekki flavors come with two packets: one with a powdered seasoning and a smaller one filled with hot sauce. I’m putting this under pros, because if you’re like me and you don’t enjoy the experience of eating foods that are physically painful to consume, you can skip the added hot oil (although, more on that in a sec). I liked how creamy, savory, and still plenty spicy these noodles were with only the powder packet. Asian noodles never actually taste like carbonara to me, but if you really think hard about it, I feel like you can taste a little bacon or pork in the mix.

Cons: When I added the sauce packet and took another bite, I was surprised by how much the sauce changed the flavor of the noodles. It gave them a fake-buttery sort of flavor I really didn’t love. They taste way better with only the powdered seasoning—and they’re still nice and creamy if you only add ½ cup of pasta water as the instructions say.

Rating:

7.5/10

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Geki Spicy Hot Chicken

Nissin

Pros: Again, really nice noodles. Perfect for a saucy rather than a brothy noodle preparation, because the wavy noodles really hold the sauce well. Again, I tasted these both with and without the hot sauce packet, but unlike the Carbonara noodles, the Spicy Hot Chicken noodles were actually improved by the flavor of the sauce. It didn’t have the same effect of making them taste weirdly buttery; instead, it gave them a little extra depth. 

Cons: The overall flavor isn’t that compelling. I think a little MSG would have gone a long way.

Rating:

8/10

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