Paldo Shirunashi Cheese Dakgalbi / paldo 汁なしチーズタッカルビ

Paldo is one of the bigger South Korean instant ramen noodle makers, competing with Nongshim, Ottogi and Samyang for the crown in the Korean instant noodle market. Although compared to the other 3, I would argue that they are the least well known out of the South Korean big four.

They are definitely trying to close that gap with this relatively new instant pack, which seems to target the same spot as the iconic Samyang cheese hot chicken flavor ramen. As a fan of dakgalbi and having had the Samyang version already, I wanted to give this one a fair try myself.

The pack itself comes with 140 grams of deep fried noodles per pack and 2 sachets, one for the flavoring hot sauce and one for the powdered cheese. 574 calories per pack are rather on the higher end of calories for a instant ramen pack.

Preparation

Boil noodles in 250ml for 1.5 minutes
Add red sauce pack and boil for 1 more minute
Turn off heat and add cheese package.

*Authors note: Natural light makes everything look 10 times better.*

Review

Paldo has created an “okay” attempt at competing with Samyang, but falls a bit short in terms of flavor. The noodles are probably the strongest part of the pack, delivering a nice chew and firmness. They are also quite long and therefore nicely slurpable, which makes them fun to eat.

The flavor of the hot sauce unfortunately does not really punch through enough. I was consistently wondering if I should add some other hot sauce to spice things up or just to add what is missing in flavor. The cheese has a slight chemical flavor to it, maybe a bit more than expected, but not too distracting overall.

In the end, I think this bowl can be used as a base for a lot of customization instead of standing on its own. So, whip out your Sriracha, Lao Gan Ma or other condiments, and just go crazy, because you won’t cover any flavor that has to be experience by itself.