Social media has done it again. In the past six months at least, Singaporeans have been buying up South Korea’s extremely spicy Samyang Flaming Chicken Noodles (Buldalk Bokkeum Myeon), better known as Fire Noodles.
The reason? A viral fad on social media called the "Fire Noodle Challenge" appears to have made the fiery hot noodles just as popular as last year's ALS Ice Bucket Challenge - with Singaporeans joining a host of other countries, including originator country South Korea, in video-ing themselves trying to finish a bowl of the noodles as fast as they can.
According to a Sheng Siong spokesperson, the noodles have been a hit among its customers since the supermarket chain started selling them in March this year.
There was even a “sold-out situation” at several branches in April, which lasted two to three weeks, the spokesperson told Yahoo Singapore.
For NTUC Fairprice, they first started selling the noodles over a year ago and have seen sales double in the last six months.
Singaporeans have also gone to Korean minimarts in the country as well as major local supermarkets such as Cold Storage and Giant Hypermarket to buy them.
Our editor conducted a taste test and found that the noodles were spicy, but not as spicy as local spice chili padi.
For our Muslim friends, be warned though - the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) says the product has not secured a halal certification as the product is not manufactured in Singapore.
In January, however, Samyang Foods reportedly said they have "obtained a halal certificate for Buldalk Bokkeum Myeon (from the Korean Muslim Federation) in November last year and the company is making every effort to open up more markets to Muslim countries”.
Editor's Note:
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