Dongwon Cheese Topokki is the other Korean rice cake variety from this manufacturer that I found recently at Walmart, and given how delicious I thought the Spicy and Sweet flavor was, I figured I’d better try this one too so I know what to stock up on next time I find myself in a Walmart. This variety leans into one of the other more popular preparations of tteokbokki/topokki: a rich and mild chili, cream, and cheese sauce.
Read more: Review: Dongwon Cheese TopokkiLike the flavor I reviewed prior, I paid $3.78 at my local Walmart for a bowl of this, and you should be able to find it in certain Walmarts and other Asian markets around the USA. I do really love that I can now find something like this in an American supermarket chain rather than having to make a longer trek to the nearest Asian markets.
The sodium count in this is a fairly reasonable 1210mg.
Inside the bowl, there’s a surprisingly sturdy clear plastic fork, along with a pouch of cylindrical rice cakes and a sauce powder sachet. The rice cakes look to be the same as before, and that means there is an alcohol preservative that you will smell when you open them. This cooks off when you microwave the topokki, so there’s nothing really to worry about if it smells a little funny prior to cooking. The cheese powder isn’t just cheese – it’s going to have some spice to it judging by the ingredients. You’ve got a blend of red pepper and mixed cheese powder, along with MSG, garlic powder, cream, and rice flour (I assume to thicken it up). While the other flavor appeared to be vegan, this one is only vegetarian due to the abundance of dairy products.
Rice Cakes:
Simply a perfect texture to me. I love topokki. These are supple and chewy, and the microwave cooking process gets them to the perfect texture without overdoing them.
- 10/10
Spiciness:
This has a pretty comfortable heat level, especially in comparison to how spicy the previous flavor was. If you can tolerate that one, or other comparable spicy products like Shin Ramyun or Buldak Carbonara, this one will be a breeze.
- 3/10
Overall:
My initial reaction to the smell of this wasn’t a great one. The cheese powder, to put it bluntly, stinks. Think Kraft Mac and Cheese powder with a little foot odor thrown in. Thankfully the taste is better than that initial aroma, but I don’t love it. The sauce is just overly sweet with only a little umami funk from the cheese in the background. With every bite, I found myself wanting an additional salty or savory element to balance it out, but alas, it was not to be found. I accept that a lot of Korean cooking has some sweet elements to it, and when done properly, like in Buldak sauce or bulgogi marinade, I love it. With this, it’s just too much sweetness and not enough cheese or other interesting flavors. The terrific texture of the rice cakes just can’t save this sauce. Disappointing, especially considering how much I liked the last flavor. I ended up finishing it but only because I didn’t feel like making something else for lunch.
- 4/10
