Here’s all of the noteworthy noodle news for January 2025!
Read more: Noodle News Roundup: January 2025Samyang Buldak Jjajang Discontinued
This one’s a real bummer. A valiant Redditor reached out to Samyang directly to ask about the growing scarcity of the Buldak Jjajang flavor, and unfortunately Samyang’s response to them was that the Jjajang flavor has been discontinued. Further investigation shows that all traces of Buldak Jjajang have been removed from Samyang’s American and South Korean websites.
If you are curious about this one, I reviewed it way back when right here. Since last year, there has been a second Buldak Jjajang flavor (which we’ve been referring to colloquially as “Fried Jjajang”) in a dark green package, but it is a different recipe and currently appears to be a South Korea exclusive. I’ll be reviewing that one hopefully soon.
If you are a fan of this flavor and are looking to buy some, any stock you see right now is likely the last of it. A great alternative is Samyang Hot Pepper Jjajang if you’re able to find it. There’s also several spicy jjajangmen varieties I haven’t reviewed yet, like Paldo’s Teumsae Jjajang, Paldo Bul Ramen, Nongshim Spicy Chapagetti, and a few others.
Ottogi Rebranding
In case you hadn’t seen, Ottogi announced last year that they would be doing a global rebranding of their name in order to address confusion about different spellings in their English-market exports. Some of this new branding has started to appear in Asian markets as of this month. If you see a product with the name “Otoki,” you can rest assured that it is just Ottogi with new packaging. It also appears that some of Otoki’s mainstay products will undergo a packaging design change beyond just the logo.
Strawberry Shortcake Noodles?!
Believe it or not, back in 2016, Myojo sold strawberry shortcake-flavored yakisoba noodles as a Christmastime exclusive. And now, they’ve just announced that the flavor is coming back for a limited-time run on February 17, 2025. Make of this crime against ramen what you will, but you can bet I’ll make every effort to get a pack of these to review.
Pholicious Makes Shark Tank History
If you didn’t see my review of Pholicious’s three current instant pho flavors or catch it on TV, it looks like instant pho is going mainstream! On January 17, Pholicious scored a deal on Shark Tank with Kevin O’Leary with a promise of getting their products into more stores nationwide. On top of that, they’ve been teasing a Premium Instant Bowl on their product page that’s coming in March. Noodle Journey congratulates you on your successful deal, Pholicious!
That’s all the noteworthy noodle news I saw for this month. If you have any news to add, leave a comment below!
