Pokemon Ramen, Soy Flavor

This was one of the items I got in my OyatsuBox for June. This is currently one of the most popular items on OyatsuCafe, as well! It also comes in a Seafood variety, but I'm glad I got soy. As much as I've gotten used to the taste of seafood in real life, I still don't think the flavor gets translated well into an artificial form. Soy on the other hand - what can go wrong?

This is a snack-size portion, just about 150 calories for the pot.

It's all very on-theme for Pokemon - well, specifically Pikachu. I wonder if Pikachu is going to get his own year like Luigi? Frankly, every year is the Year of Pikachu, as beloved as he is. I'm waiting for the Year of Meowth. I was surprised that the only included packaged thing in this packet was a sticker, but it was very cute!

It's just that usually with instant noodles they get layered on with soup, dried vegetables, oils, et cetera in packages that you take out while the noodles cook. In this case, all of the flavoring & additional items for the ramen were already mixed into the noodles. As you can see, adorable Pikachu fishcakes included. Also bits of corn, green onion, and soybits. By that I mean soy-flavored powder.

Here it is after cooking. Love the completely distorted Pikachu in the top left. Reminds me of Marge's discount smeared t-shirt from the Simpson's.

I find with Japanese instant noodles that they're usually very springy & a bit chewier than the instant noodles created elsewhere in the world. They've got some bite & chew where a lot of instant noodles get quite soft. The quality is a bit higher than average - well, if you like noodles to be more al dente. Kudos for them being this nice from what is probably a children's snack noodle!

The soup is salty & quite savory, with a tiny bit sweet of a soy sauce base. The fishcakes are ever-so-slightly fishy with a chewy & slightly rubberized feeling - trust me though, it's nice. The corn freshens up really well after being cooked, and tastes like sweet canned corn. The green onions...kinda don't show up at all.

Over all, this was a really tasty and filling snack. They're kind of expensive for the size of the pot, but it comes with a collectible sticker & I think you can keep the packaging by cleanly removing it from the bowl, as well. If you're a big Pokemon fan, I think it's worth it.