Noodle Journey Episode 93: Samyang Buldak Tomato Pasta Ramen

Continuing my deep dive into Samyang’s Buldak product line, I’m trying out one of the more unique flavors left in my review queue, the Tomato Pasta variety. Some online chatter, particularly on Reddit, claims this is basically a South Korean spicy take on Spaghetti-Os. That doesn’t sound too bad to me, though we’ll see how it plays out in practice.

This flavor isn’t rare or import-only, so you should be able to find it easily at most Asian markets or online for around $7–10 per four-pack, with a predictable Amazon markup. Sodium content is 1,490mg, which is actually on the lower side for a tomato sauce–based product.

Inside the pack, you’ll find the familiar round Buldak noodle block, a sauce packet, and a powder packet. The sauce contains ketchup, sugar, spices, and a cheese blend of mozzarella and cheddar, along with oyster sauce, so it’s not vegetarian. The powder packet adds more cheese, including mozzarella, cheddar, camembert, and gouda, plus parsley, basil, and oregano. It’s essentially the same four-cheese mix found in Cream Carbonara and Quattro Cheese Buldak, reworked into a tomato-based Italian-Korean fusion.

Noodles:
These are the same Buldak noodles found in other varieties, and they hold up just as well to a tomato-based sauce as they do to normal Buldak sauce.
• 8/10

Spiciness:
Heat is on par with the black-packaged Hot Chicken flavor. I had to edit out a few coughs and throat clearings while filming the video version of the review, so it’s definitely no slouch.
• 8/10

Overall:
This isn’t great tomato sauce, but it’s not as bad as it could have been either. It tastes exactly like you might expect: a Buldak base with tomato powder, basil, oregano, and Italian cheese mixed in. So underneath all those fusion flavors is still that sweet, spicy, smoky, umami sauce flavor you get from other Buldak packs. I was concerned about ketchup being the first ingredient, but it doesn’t overpower the flavor, and the balance is surprisingly decent. The “spicy Spaghetti-Os” description is pretty accurate, with a budget tomato sauce vibe that some will like. It’s not my favorite and I wouldn’t buy it again, but it’s far from the disaster I half-expected. It’s easy to dress up, with some parmesan cheese, extra herbs, or even something silly like chicken nuggets could make it more interesting. Still, with better Buldak flavors out there, no one would blame you for skipping this one – it’s fine, but I’m just not super enthused about it.
• 6.5/10