Just realized this turned in to a review.
Time to bump this thread up. Just this week, H-Mart started to Carry Shin Ramyun Black. I believe it came out earlier this year around May. Since August, I've been looking for it. It's basically part of Nong Shim's "Premium" line of noodles. I went and bought a 4 pack for $6.98. That's right, these noodles cost effing 6.98
on sale. Making them double the price of the regular/standard affair. From what I can tell right away, the packaging is different(Obvious). It's black compared to the usual Red. The Noodle itself seems to be the same. The most notable differences are the Vegetable packet and the one extra soup base packet, making it a total of 3 packets.
The vegetables are Bigger and more visible. You can definitelly see the mushrooms, the onion/scallions, beef peices etc etc. This also makes them more "tastier".
The second packet is your regular spicy red powder packet but in a smaller portion do to the third packet of soup base.
Now, this is the main thing/magic that makes this Shin Ramyun premium. It comes with a packet of "Sul-Long-Tang". A traditional korean beef stew that takes a lot of hours and prep to cook. I assume this is the only reason why the noodle is so expensive. Nong shim also sells this "Sul-Long-Tang" as a standalone noodle package. (I have also bought that one)
Anyway, after cooking it. The aroma of the noodles is different along with the soup looking more creamy. As for taste, it's definitely a bit different due to the extra soup base and the bigger chunks of veggies and beef. I found that it was not as spicy as the regular and the garlic from the second soup base "co-existed" along with it.
Do I think this noodle rivals and trumps the original? Nope, I don't think it trumps it. As a matter of fact I prefer the original over this, plus I don't think its worth it's price. Do I think you guys should try it? Ofcourse, as a Shin Ramyun fan or not, I think you should try it. Some of you guys might like it over the regular. It's really a matter of preference.
Packaging 8/10
Taste: 7/10
Price: 3/10
(too lazy to take pictures, I'll take some next time as I still have a few packages left.)
