Here's all the noteworthy noodle news you may have missed in April 2026. And it looks like April must be a heavy month for noodle makers because there's a bunch of new product announcements to get through. Read on for all the info I've gathered this month!
The Big List of Buldak
Samyang Buldak is such a popular brand that its fans try to seek out every single flavor that has ever existed to make sure they can try them all. A while back on Reddit, I started maintaining an active list of all known flavors and their status. You can now find that list here, along with links to my reviews of each one I've tried. This list does not include offshoot products like tteokbokki, dumplings, or hot sauce, but rather only focuses on noodle products.
Nongshim Neoguri Spicy Seafood Stir-Fry Noodles Review | Noodle Journey
Here's one I should have reviewed a long time ago: Nongshim Neoguri Spicy Seafood Stir-Fry Noodles. If you never watched my 25th episode spectacular from way back when, I pitted the soup versions of Neoguri against each other, Korean export vs. American manufactured, and it was a pretty interesting experiment and it gives you an idea as to what Neoguri's all about. Basically, it's a thick-noodled spicy beef and seafood broth concoction not too dissimilar from jjambbong, and it's also available in this stir-fry form if you prefer something brothless.
Maruchan Instant Lunch Flamin’ Hot Chicken Ramen Review | Noodle Journey Episode 219
Visit https://www.noodlejourney.net for a complete searchable index of every single review, plus noodle news, site-exclusive product reviews, and more! BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/noodlejourney.net Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noodlejourneyofficial Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noodlejourneyofficial Email: [email protected] Noodle Journey is an episodic review series in which we learn all about instant noodle brands and products and then do a deep dive into the noodle quality, spice level, and overall flavor. All reviews are as thorough as possible. The noodles are cooked according to the manufacturer's instructions using only the contents of the product package unless otherwise indicated. This ensures that the review is as unbiased as possible and evaluates whether or not I think a product is worth a purchase either as a standalone meal or as a base that you could spruce up. Each review represents my personal opinions and is for informational/entertainment purposes only. I am not responsible for how the information is interpreted or used. Here's a unique new product from Maruchan in collaboration with Frito-Lay: Instant Lunch Flamin' Hot Chicken Ramen! Watch the review to see if Flamin' Hot flavor works well with instant ramen, or if this is a forgettable gimmick. Please like and subscribe! 0:00 - Introduction & Channel News 1:42 - Product Introduction 3:20 - Ingredients 4:03 - Review 7:52 - Final Thoughts #Noodles #InstantNoodles #InstantRamen #NoodleReviews #InstantNoodleReviews #RamenReview #FoodReview #Ramen #Ramyun #SpicyNoodles #ChickenNoodles #AsianCuisine #AsianFood #JapaneseFood
Maggi Classic Masala Noodles Review | Noodle Journey
It has been quite a while since I touched Maggi noodles, so when I saw these Maggi Classic Masala Noodles in my local Grocery Outlet (along with a couple other flavors that I'll get to eventually), I thought it was high time to revisit the brand. Now, just as before, this comes with the standard warning: Maggi is owned by Nestle, and Nestle has done enough terrible things to warrant a #fucknestle hashtag on social media, so you are well within your rights to not want to support the company. Having purchased these from an outlet store, the minimum amount of money possible was exchanged between me and Nestle for the purposes of this review. With all that said up front, read on for the review.
Samyang Buldak Mac n’ Cheese Review | Noodle Journey Episode 218
Today’s review is not technically an instant noodle, but it is certainly part of the instant noodle universe. These are brand new from Samyang: Buldak Mac n' Cheese Sweet Corn Flavor and Carbonara Flavor.
Kang Shi Fu Hot & Spicy Artificial Beef Flavor Noodles Review | Noodle Journey
A few weeks back, I had my first taste of Kang Shi Fu with their Braised Beef flavor, so now I'm moving onto the next bowl of theirs in my pile: Kang Shi Fu Hot & Spicy Artificial Beef Flavor Noodles. I'm not entirely sure as I write this introduction if this is simply a spicy version of the braised beef flavor or something more removed from that flavor profile, but either way this seems to be a pretty popular flavor of theirs.
Nissin Top Ramen Beef Flavor with Bachan’s Roasted Garlic Barbecue Sauce Review | Noodle Journey
I did not enjoy that last Nissin x Bachan's flavor very much. Is it possible I've saved the best for last? Nissin Top Ramen Beef Flavor with Bachan's Roasted Garlic Barbecue Sauce is the flavor that appeals to me most of these three Nissin x Bachan's collaborations, mainly because I love garlic so, so much. Despite that, I've never bought this roasted garlic sauce flavor from Bachan's before, mainly because I've never seen it in any of my nearby grocery stores. I do love a new experience with garlic, so let's see how this goes.
Nissin Top Ramen Beef Flavor with Bachan’s Sweet & Spicy Barbecue Sauce Review | Noodle Journey
Nissin Top Ramen Beef Flavor with Bachan's Sweet & Spicy Barbecue Sauce is the second of three collaboration products between Nissin and Bachan's Japanese Barbecue Sauce that I'm reviewing, and for me I am now out of the familiar territory that I was in with the Original flavor, because I've never had the Sweet & Spicy sauce on its own before. The Original flavor paired very well with the beef broth, but my chief complaint about Bachan's Original has always been how sweet it leans. Is the "Sweet" in "Sweet & Spicy" going to be overkill for me? Read on and find out.
Nissin Top Ramen Beef Flavor with Bachan’s Original Barbecue Sauce Review | Noodle Journey
Today begins a trio of reviews of collaboration products between Nissin and Japanese barbecue sauce maker Bachan's. I figured I'd start with Nissin Top Ramen Beef Flavor with Bachan's Original Barbecue Sauce because it is the only flavor of Bachan's that Nissin is using that I've tried before. So thankfully I've got some familiarity with the special add-on sauce here and am not going into this totally blind. This is also the reason I gave the Nissin Top Ramen Beef Flavor Bowl a try in the last review - using that flavor as a baseline, hopefully I can explain a little better how the addition of Bachan's instead of Nissin's normal sauce packet changes the end result.
Nissin Top Ramen Beef Flavor Bowl Review | Noodle Journey
I know what you're thinking: why am I reviewing something as pedestrian as the Nissin Top Ramen Beef Flavor Bowl? Well, I have my reasons, and they involve getting a proper baseline for the product before I review the Nissin x Bachan's Top Ramen bowls I mentioned in last month's news post. I've had the pack version of this flavor countless times in the past prior to starting the channel, but I've never had the bowl before. Imagine my surprise that this comes with an additional sauce packet, which is completely absent from the pack version.