Spiciest Asian Food In Columbus, OH

There is a very clear number one in this list, and the story behind it is a lot of fun. For a long time we went searching for the best Indian/Japanese/Chinese foods and we feel like this list represents those genres pretty well.

This is based on our Spiciest Dish in Columbus Series, so if Asian dishes aren’t your thing, be sure to check that one out. Below is our top ten as well as the restaurants we’ve yet to try, but could have some spicy contenders.

Can you spot the Reaper slices?

1. Satori Ramen Bar: Shinigami Ramen aka “Reaper Madness” (Fall Only)

Excerpt from the full Satori Ramen Bar: Shinigami Ramen post: “I am Spicy Icarus. I flew too close to the spicy sun and someone was here to clip my wings. I laughed, the lady of the farm laughed, the remaining broth laughed. I was going to die eating this ramen. The spite soup, the vengeance vegetables, the ramen of retribution was created to wreck my world. I took a few sips from the edge of the bowl, trying to take down the liquid napalm that sat in the dish. My body had abandoned me. No more sweat, no more tears or snot, I was on my own.” Continue Reading

2. Fukuryu Ramen – Red Dragon Ramen, Level 4

Excerpt from the full Fukuryu Ramen post: “Out came a bright red bowl of Red Dragon Ramen, Level 4. Our server looked at me, with a look of “why are you doing this to yourself,” and wandered away. Staring into the redness, I started to re-consider everything. After mixing up the ingredients a bit, I dug in. The first thing you notice is the balanced flavor of the chicken bone broth. Salty and savory, it took several bites into the noodles before the heat hit me. It was minor at first, but I could feel it growing. My nose started to run and in order not to attract attention to myself I wiped the snot away instead of giving it a hard honk.” Continue Reading

3. Thai Grille: Extra Spicy Pad Kee Mao

Excerpt from the full Thai Grille post: “An initial whiff didn’t allow us to detect much, but as I had my back turned, the Lady of the Farm swiped a noodle from the plate. Slow, burning, regret. As she sat down, she quickly reached for her drink as the spices caught up with her, a sign that we might be on to something with Thai Grille. The flavor combos of the sauce, veggies, and noodles are about as perfect as they can be. As I was admiring the tastiness, the heat started to mount. I nodded at the Lady of the Farm who was still panicking from her initial bite and noted that “yes, this dish does warrant that reaction from a lesser spice lord.”” Continue Reading

Look at all the redness, its beautiful.

4. Noodle Topia: Szechuan Noodles

Excerpt from the full Noodle Topia post: “The first punch in the mouth comes after the savory taste of the beef broth. The pepper rides the back of that wave, waits for you to lower your guard, then POW, right to the back of the throat. All of the little flakes you see floating around in the above picture are parts of the peppercorns and other peppers. They taunted me, encouraging me to continue consuming, so I obliged. The noodles are perfect. Great texture, easy to bite through, and as long if not longer than your forearm. My nose had started to run and from time to time a pepper flake would hit me, reminding me of the heat and a couple times making me cough in surprise.” Continue Reading

5. GOGi: Spicy Chicken Stir Fry

Excerpt from the full GOGi Korean BBQ post: “The chunks of chicken are juicy and tender and hold the spices better than the vegetables, or so I thought until we got to the bottom of the dish where the remaining oils and drippings were hanging out. The concentration of spices coating the vegetables definitely got my attention and the heat lingered for a few minutes after we were done eating. There’s something strange about this dish. We’ve never encountered an addictive heat before, but GOGi’s Spicy Chicken Stir Fry punches you in the mouth, delivering a spectacular flavor and a bit of savory sweetness that masks the initial heat of the dish.” Continue Reading

6. Bamboo Thai Kitchen: Extra Spicy Green Curry

Excerpt from the full Bamboo Thai Kitchen post: “On the initial bite I noticed a great combination of flavors. While we may not know much about curry, we love the flavor and even have a few experimental sauces where we use it heavily. Mixed with the rice, the curry’s coconut milk base and lime offer a sweet and slightly acidic taste, backed up by the savory pieces of chicken found throughout. While I was sitting on the flavors, the heat started to kick in. The Extra Spicy is a “back of your throat” heat that lingers. I noticed what the lady of the farm had noticed and was a bit surprised.” Continue Reading

7. Meshikou: Spicy Mala Ramen

Excerpt from the full Meshikou post: “The Mala is a Silky Paitan Broth with an infusion of their house sichuan tare. Tare is an essential ingredient in ramen and is the primary delivery system of the salt and umami in the broth. The sichuan base brings a kick along with it, but with just the noodles, I wasn’t picking up on much of it. It was spicier than I expected, but the noodles didn’t seem to be bringing much of the broth with them. The braised pork painted a spicier picture, and the kikurage mushrooms had sopped the broth up a bit, giving them some heat.” Continue Reading

8. Satori Ramen Bar: Kara Kapow!

Excerpt from the full Satori Ramen Bar post: “A nice warm heat from the chili with a savory broth underneath. The ingredients are solid and the noodles were slightly chewy, but good overall. More green onions than I typically like, but the braised pork and soft-boiled egg definitely steal the show (as they typically do). The heat of the Magma is immediate in broth alone, but not too noticeable when eating the primary ingredients. It wasn’t until the majority of it was gone and I was drinking straight broth that the heat started to catch up.” Continue Reading

Are we getting kickbacks from this bowl manufacturer yet?

9. Xi Xia Western Chinese Cuisine: Dapanji Stirred Noodles

Excerpt from the full Xi Xia Western Chinese Cuisine post: “Freshly prepared dough that is then put through a machine, the noodles in the Dapanji dish were thick and chewy, but above all pretty darn tasty. Made with “bone-in chicken legs fried with house special hot sauce and topped with fried potatoes, peppers, green onion and cilantro,” this is an addictive dish. On the surface, there’s nothing crazy going on, but for the Dapanji Stirred Noodles, the sauce pulls it all together.” Continue Reading

10. Nong’s Hunan Express: Extra Hot Sriracha Fried Rice

Excerpt from the full Nong’s Hunan Express post: “This Sriracha Fried Rice from Nong’s is a decent spiciness and the color is as I would expect it to be. Shoveling a few fork-fulls in, I was picking up on the heat, but it flew away pretty quickly. You know that scene in Onward when the dad starts showing up but then it’s just half of his body? That was similar to how this spice hits. It builds and you start to have this anticipation of where it’s going, but as soon as you start overthinking it, the heat disappears.” Continue Reading

11. Amul India – Level 6 Lamb Vindaloo
12. Helen’s Asian Kitchen: Stir-Fried Cauliflower
13. Sushi Ten: Dynamite Roll
14. Spicy Hop: Szechuan Minced Chicken (3-pepper rating)
15. Siam Orchid: Crazy Noodles

Spots We Still Need To Try

1. Two Fatt Indians
2. Min-Ga
3. Himalayan Grill
4. Tiger + Lily
5. Bangkok Thai
6. Rishi Sushi
7. Ampersand Asian Supper Club
8. Nida’s Thai On High
9. Aab
10. Hyderabadhouse
11. 868 Shabu Shabu
12. Godavari
13. Curry Up
14. Curry and Hurry
15. Jiu Thai
16. Yao’s Chinese Bistro

Look below for more in our spiciest dish in Columbus series and hit us up if you have any suggestions that are not already on our list!

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