Paldo: King Cup Noodle "Lobster taste LANGOSTA"

Brand: Paldo: King Cup Noodle
Flavour: Lobster taste LANGOSTA
Format: cardboard bowl
Packets: two
Identifiables: noodle frustum, dried veggies, fish cakes, flavour powder
Sodium: 2.68 grams

The Paldo King Cup Noodle! Few things in this world are as awe-inspiring as the height and girth of this ramen bowl. In fact, it takes up three slots in a Ramenbox! The grandiosity doesn't stop there; it takes five distinct languages to fully express it though none of them do it in quite the same way. Japanese seems to be used for everything. English is used for the name of the bowl, the nutritional information, the import label and the instructions. Spanish is used for the ingredients list. French is used for the allergy warning. Korean is used for the name of the bowl and part of the directions. It's as though straws were drawn for whose language got the most coverage.

Once the foil lid is off the bowl, it's fairly standard, except that it becomes apparent that a significant part of the height of the bowl is empty space even past the fill line. This may make for a convenient bowl for those who are messy with their noodles, but it's also why the thing takes up three slots! The packets are actually rather standard, and I may start referring to them as the "Common Two"; one shiny packet with flavour powder and one translucent or transparent packet with veggie bits. In this case, neither has any English.

Preparation, according to the ring of directions around the lid, consists of opening the lid partway, adding the soup base and boiling water, and closing the lid to wait three minutes. Nothing is mentioned about the veggie bits or just how much water, though an assumption to include the veggies with the powder and pour to the inside fill ridge seems to have worked out decently.

The results are basically Nong Shim's "Seafood Ramyun" with more and larger pieces of seaweed and fish cake, and grittier broth. The heat level and flavour are very similar, and in no way is this a bad thing. It's a very satisfying bowl, though I wish it were shorter....

Numbers: packaging 3, preparation 4, heat 4, flavour 4, overall 4
Music: Jake Kaufman - Contra 4 (DS) - Factory