Nongshim Shin Ramyun Tom Yum Flavor Jayfai
If you have visited Bangkok or watched any “best food in Bangkok” video on YouTube, you will come across a lady named Jay Fai. Jay Fai is a Michelin-starred street food legend in Bangkok, known for her crab omelette and fiery wok skills. Her fame skyrocketed after appearing in Netflix’s Street Food series and hosting global personalities, actors and musicians. Apparently Nongshim visited Jay Fai’s restaurant multiple times to get the flavor right for this collaboration. Even though Tom Yum isn’t the thing that Jay Fai is famous for, it is probably one of the easier combinable flavors with the original flavors of Nongshim Shin Ramyun.
As a sucker for instant ramen novelties, of course I had to get my hand on a package to see what it’s all about and if it is worth the hype.
Nongshim has released 2 versions, a soup version and a dry mazesoba style version. In this review, we are taking a look at the soup version.
Content
The package of Nongshim Shin Ramyun Tom Yum Flavor Jayfai contains the typical Shin Ramyun noodles, the classic freeze dried vegetable mix and the Shin Ramyun soup base. I don’t think they have modified anything of these original ingredients. What is new is the Tom Yum paste package, which comes separate from the other items.
Preparation
Boil 500 ml of water in a pot.
Add: Noodles, soup base powder, tom yum paste and dried vegetable flakes
Cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pour into a bowl and enjoy!
I personally think that Shin Ramyun is best enjoyed with a plethora of other toppings, especially things that soak up some of the spicy punch. I added some fried tofu, raw egg and some green onion.
Review
I cannot deny that I am a big fan of Shin Ramyun, probably like most readers of this website. Like for many, it was a revelation in terms of quality of instant noodles, as well as spice level. There just was not that much that could compare back in the days in Germany.
So the question is not really, if this is going to taste good. But rather: Does the Tom Yum paste add anything special to the mix? Does it elevate the instant ramen beyond its original greatness?
In short, I have to say yes and no. The Tom Yum flavor is definitely noticeable at first, especially when you are taking your first few slurps. Even before that, the aroma wafts through the air, unmistakably pointing you towards a Tom Yum dish.
The problem is that the Shin Ramyun original flavor and spice completely takes over after a few bites. It becomes really hard to taste the Tom Yum in the background, until only some gingery and lemongrassy notes remain.
It's not bad by any means, but somehow I had hoped for more. Maybe even just increasing the amount of Tom Yum paste would have done the trick. If you have Tom Yum paste at home, you can probably just drop some of it into regular Shin Ramyun and get a very similar result.
It’s a good product, that had the potential to be great. So I’ll give it the score I would give a regular Shin Ramyun as well.
8 out of 10
