Market Friday - Ramyeon and More!

It's not that BKK doesn't have those, instead they have them everywhere. The only difference is that you have to go to a dedicated store for Korean products and it's not something you can get easily in 7/11 as it has only a few selections and unlike Indonesian convenience store where they have a section for Korean 라면 with quite varied choices and even instant Jjajangmyeon.

In BKK, there are places all around the city called K-mart where you can get Korean products. And in Indonesia, though something like K-mart exists, Korean products can also be found in convenience stores and supermarkets easily. So, it's why when I got back, I was just thrilled I can see Korean noodles again much easier as I love occasional late night 라면 (Ramyeon).

What I find really funny yet informative at the same time is that even instant noodles have an association. They are called WINA (World Instant Noodle Association) which provides a space to exchange information among manufacturers so noodle lovers can enjoy it with safety and trust. And much like any other organization, they're also organizing social contributions through it. At the same time, they also provide a ranking system such as the country with highest instant noodle demand. From the list, China & HK comes on the first and Indonesia the 2nd, and Vietnam on the third _{For the full list of the country, you can simply click on the links attached above.} Although from that list, I am pretty surprised that South Korea made it on the lower half in terms of demands. Maybe after all, they just like to produce instead of consuming.

At the same time, South Korea culturally has a few things related to 라면 and in modern times, if you've watched enough K-drama and movies, you'll know this phrase, "Do you want to eat ramyeon at my home?” or in Korean, 라면 먹고 갈래? (Ramyeon meokgo gallae?) )which though sounds like a delicious invitation, it's quite a way of saying, Do you want to sleep with me? if in many parts of the world, it's called Netflix and Chill, in South Korea, it's Ramyeon and.... maybe chill. There's just too many things to talk about it but anyhow, back to Ramyeon!

The characteristics of Korean Ramyeon is that they are spicy and brothy. They also don't often make fried ones as the most popular one is the soupy Ramyeon. Their Ramyeon is also known for its cheese flavors. It was something that was quite challenging to find in a regular convenience store back in BKK. But here, you can see different types of Ramyeon easily although the picture I displayed above was only showing half of the shelves.

Other than Ramyeon, there's an emerging flavor from Korea called " Rose sauce" which is made from tomato and cream. I know this flavor from a Korean eating show and apparently, it's pretty famous until well, they make rose pasta flavored things including those toppoki snacks. I am not really a fan of it when it comes to the snack as it was too salty and acidic. But I love it as a pasta flavor.

Here, Korean noodles are almost 4x the price of Indonesian noodles such as Indomie and Mie Seedap. So, I always associate Korean noodles as a treat and something I would have once every a couple of weeks instead way too often. Perhaps for health reasons, they're also better too as excessive instant noodles aren't good either. And it's always a good day when I get to stack my pantry with K-noodles again 😁