Its been half a year, so you’ve undoubtedly been wondering when the next licensed ramen review was coming. Worry no longer; it’s time for Tamagotchi!
Tamagotchi are the original ‘digital pets’ that were first released almost 30 years ago. The toys are still available in many (including retro) forms, but the characters are also available on a wide range of merchandise. In Japan, Cup Star is using them to sell instant noodles, such as this soy sauce flavoured example:
Apparently there are 20 different lids, each featuring graphics from the 29-year history of Tamagotchi devices. I wonder if collectors are going mad trying to collect all of them?
Opening the lid revealed an impressive-looking product, generously filled with pieces of egg, shrimp and unidentified brown rocks. To my surprise it smelled good, and I immediately became curious about the taste.
I added hot water and let it steep for three minutes, and the above shows the finished product. It smelled even tastier cooked, and unlike most of the (over) 70 ramens I’ve tried these past years it was with no hesitation that I extended my fork…
My verdict: actually quite good! If I had cooked this up in my Hakodate hotel room I would have been perfectly happy with it, and it’s only due to me simultaneously preparing a chicken ramen that I didn’t eat it all. Special props need to be given to the tiny shrimp, which rehydrated well and were very tasty.
As mentioned I purchased this in Hakodate, at a large and impressive supermarket. It was part of a large endcap display with all sorts of standees and point-of-sale graphics, none of which I bothered translating. This was a mistake, since I didn’t know that buying one entitled me to a free sticker, which almost certainly would have gone on that day’s postcard. 🙂