Pot Noodles King Bombay Bad Boy

This is the King-size version of Pot Noodle’s Bombay Bad Boy, a UK instant noodle cup in their Unilever lineup. I picked this up from a convenience store in England and traveled back to the US with it in my bag, which is probably why the noodle disc inside had broken into smaller pieces before I even opened it.

Produced in the United Kingdom.

What’s in the Package

Inside the King-size cup you get a dry noodle disc with yellow curry seasoning powder dusted on top, a scatter of dehydrated green peas and corn kernels mixed in, and a small Hot Sauce sachet for adding at the end. Noodle base is wheat flour. The interior seasoning is already mixed with the noodle brick. No separate soup powder sachet.

How to Cook Pot Noodle King Bombay Bad Boy

1. Peel back the lid halfway and remove the hot sauce sachet. Set the sachet aside.
2. Add boiling water to the fill line inside the cup. Re-cover with the lid and leave for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the contents of the hot sauce sachet, then leave for another 2 minutes.
4. Stir well and eat straight from the cup while hot.

How Does It Taste

The smell going in is good. It comes off clearly as curry out of the cup. Warming, yellow-spice-forward, more of a mild Indian direction than Thai or Malaysian.

The actual flavor is where things get weird. It’s a curry-tasting broth, which is fine, except that what’s there isn’t distinctive. I don’t know what Bombay flavor is supposed to be outside of “Indian,” and the bowl doesn’t help clarify. It tastes like a blank curry. All the curry notes are there on paper but none of them really come through. It’s a watered-down version of the Nissin Cup Noodle Curry.

The bigger issue is the texture. This broth is jarringly thick. Almost mashed-potato thick. At first I thought I’d under-watered it, but no. That’s just how the King Pot Noodle Bombay Bad Boy is. The noodles and the curry powder combine into something closer to a starchy gravy than a broth. James and I both laughed at how thick it was. Broth viscosity sits at a 3 out of 5, which is high for a cup noodle.

The noodles themselves have thick structure. They’re closer to thick egg noodles than a typical instant ramen noodle. Maybe 2 out of 5 on noodle thickness. The hot sauce sachet adds a little heat at the end but doesn’t save the flavor. Spice came out at 2 out of 5.

How Does It Compare

The closest flavor reference on the site is the Nissin Cup Noodle Curry, which is the Japanese take on a curry cup noodle. Nissin’s version is more refined. The Pot Noodle Bombay Bad Boy is the UK convenience store version, aimed at a British curry-night palate rather than a Japanese one.

The Indomie Curry is the Southeast Asian curry cousin. Saltier, spicier, and cleaner in flavor. The Mama Green Curry pushes more in the Thai direction. Both are more distinctive than this Pot Noodle.

How to Level Up Pot Noodle King Bombay Bad Boy

Fried chicken on top. That was my first instinct and I’m sticking with it. A piece or two of crispy fried chicken breast or thigh stirred into the thick curry gives the bowl the protein and texture contrast it badly needs. Very proper British curry-and-chips energy.

Because the broth is so thick, this bowl wants something to soak it up. It would actually work stirred through mashed potatoes. Treat it like a curry sauce over mash rather than a noodle soup. It’s an unusual move but the thickness of this bowl practically asks for it.

For brightness, a handful of fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lemon juice cut through the starchy curry base. Green onions on top for color. A few pieces of fried onion from a jar would be the easy move. Curry and fried onion are made for each other.

Final Verdict

The Pot Noodle King Bombay Bad Boy is a mild British curry cup with a jarringly thick broth and a blank-curry flavor that doesn’t quite come together. It’s fine in the way a convenience store meal is fine. It doesn’t taste bad, but nothing about it invites a second purchase.

I’d probably pass on this one next time I’m in England unless I specifically wanted something fast, hot, and cheap from a Tesco. It’s closer to a novelty than a staple.

How do I rate my ramen? Check out the Ramen Rating Guide.

Related Instant Ramen

• Nissin Cup Noodle Curry
• Indomie Curry
• Mama Green Curry Instant Noodles
• Maggi Perisa Tom Yam Instant Noodles
• Smoky Curry Chicken Ramen

Where to buy Pot Noodle King Bombay Bad Boy

• Amazon