Testing my tastebuds: Trying three viral foods inspired by TikTok trends

In the age of TikTok where every swipe leads to a new trend, I found myself compelled to try three new foods: Buldak Ramen, the Chamoy Pickle Kit and a chopped Italian sandwich. These foods have garnered attention on TikTok not just for their taste, but also for their vibrant colors and presentations. 

Foodies everywhere will most likely frown at dishes like the Chamoy Pickle Kit — a red pickle wrapped in fruit roll-ups stuffed with takis and gushers — but the Italian chopped sandwich seems more digestible. Buldak Ramen is similar to the traditional Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup, but with a bit more seasoning and spice for flavor. 

I tried a few flavors of the ramen, the Pickle Kit and the chopped sandwich to see which I would like the most or, which would be too repulsive to ever eat again.

Buldak Ramen

You can’t scroll on TikTok without seeing the brightly packaged flavors of Buldak Ramen. I tried three variations: spicy chicken, cream carbonara and tomato pasta.

The spicy chicken flavor was my favorite. It had the perfect amount of spice and the classic chicken flavor ramen connoisseurs — like myself — recognize. After I garnished it with sesame seeds, it took the dish to a whole other level. I will definitely be ordering this flavor in bulk for future late-night dinners. 

The cream carbonara flavor was up next. I added some shredded cheese to this dish to elevate the cream aspect. I garnished it with some green onions which added a mildly sweet and peppery taste to the creamy ramen. This packet had a bit of a kick to it, but nothing like the spicy chicken. I would not crave this flavor again, but it was worth a try. 

Tomato pasta, as expected, was my least favorite. I knew combining tomato and ramen would make for an interesting flavor combination, which is why I would probably never return to this packet. The tomato flavoring tasted more artificial than the other packages, and it didn’t have any outstanding flavor that was memorable enough to go back again.

Chamoy Pickle Kit

Photo by Izzy Madover

I could not have been more excited for this next viral discovery, the chamoy pickle.

Every college student you ask has heard of this and either wants to try or already has. I could barely even swallow my first bite.

Chamoy is a Mexican condiment that combines a variety of flavors, usually made from pickled fruits, lime juice and various spices. The combination of sweet, sour, salty and spicy was too much for my tongue to take, and it was way too overloaded with contradicting flavors that were not even pleasant.

In my chamoy pickle, I added takis, gushers, a fruit roll-up and swinkles, which are a chamoy spaghetti candy. While the pickle was worth a try, I will, with full certainty, not be returning to this snack anytime soon.

Italian Chopped Sandwich

This different take on a classic sandwich is going to be my new lunch order for a while.

I combined chopped-up lettuce, salami, pepperoni, ham, provolone, tomatoes, red onion, banana peppers, mayo, olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning — combining it all together inside of a sub roll. It was so easy and tasted incredible.

It tasted similar to an Italian sub sandwich with all of the same ingredients, but the items in the sandwich blended to create a much messier, but better, situation. Of course, my opinion is subjective, but I believe a chopped Italian sub sandwich is a better version of the traditional version.