In case you haven’t guessed it by now, I think about ramen a lot. In fact, besides my school being repo’ed for not paying rent and enjoying a paid furlough, my biggest excitement this week came when my favorite ramen brand, SHIN RAMYUN, released their first new product in 15 years—SHIN RAMYUN BLACK, now with ox bone flavor!

Korean ramen and Japanese ramen are very different. Korean ramen is cheap, always instant, and has a very strong spicy-salty flavor. You’ll often find kimchi, eggs, green onions, and/or american cheese in a bowl you order at a cafe for $2. It’s awesome, but sometimes you want something a little bit more subtle, with less msg. 

You won’t find half-cooked noodles sitting in a blood-red salt bath at a Japanese style ramen restaurant. The broth isn’t made with a packet of powder, it’s a pork bone and soy based stock that you can see through, topped with slices of real pork. Does that mean it’s unpopular in Korea? Not really. It’s much more expensive ($8 for ramen!) and not suited for a quick lunch. College student seem to enjoy it, though, and most of the restaurants where you can get it are found near campuses. I went to Furusato in Myeongdong to get mine. It took a while, as you can see, but it was worth it.

Sorry no tripod.