Nissin instant noodles started the whole ramen on the roam movement with the renowned starting manouvre, the Nissin Chikin Ramen (日清チキンラーメン) in 1958. Its inventor Momofuku Ando (安藤 百福) developed the concept that has been essential to the food on the go, food when travelling or handy back-up in the cupboard for generations. Taste tests were essential then.

Nissin Instant Noodle Miso

Strange. The packaging leads one to believe that this is Nissin Holland, complete with Noodleboy® and his Steaming Box®, but it’s a subtle ploy, a sleight of hand, for this is Nissin Hong Kong and what a Herculean task they have set themselves. First take the soup of a nation, pack it with a serious portion of noodles and expect it to work. There’s more. Instead of providing a miso paste, surely the logical thing to do, instead they offer a double powder combination. Madness surely? Well, yes and no.

The noodles are as good as ever, and they do not swamp the flavour, a real surprise. The flavour itself is definitely miso with a reasonable touch of a mildly fermented feel, but something is not quite right. There is a meaty undercurrent that feels incongruous and a vague scent of roast sesame that seems to have come from a different packet. Closer examination of the package reveals pork, chicken and beef, so not one for vegans as you may have initially thought. Top class tasty product that far exceeded expectations but irritatingly fell at the last fence. Write to your MP and demand a veggie version.

Nissin Instant Noodle Tonkotsu

On goes the water, up comes a perfect aroma of pork with a hint seasoning, the stock instantly turns milky white and even the very noodles whisper, “Mmmmmmm…” in delight. To hell with the packaging and the sachet notes, you know that the noodles are going to be cooked to perfection (they are Nissin approved and their quality department is second to none) so let’s get down to business – flavour of the soup. Awesome. There is no chilli or pepper heat to speak of, this product is just pure flavour all the way through. Rich pork flavours give way to a pleasant hint of garlic, just enough so that you’d notice its absence in a light stock that is exceptional. But it doesn’t end there, oh no, there are whole sesame seeds that crack like little flavour bombs in your mouth, complemented by the subtle sesame and garlic puree flavoured oil. Simply divine. Nissin Tonkotsu Instant Noodles are unreservedly recommended..

Nissin Stir Noodle Jah Jiang

Nissan’s range of Japanese noodles that haven’t been made in Japan continues with this Hong Kong licensed product. It does differ from its European counterparts. Gone is the notably sozzled Nissinboy on the packet but instead we have a striking diagonal style and a more appetising noodle shot as part of the design – they are not afraid to show off their product. The adoption of 100g as the default portion size leads to a mighty bite of high quality noodles, there is some ruthless noodle manufacturing quality control at work.

Jah Jiang is a good robust and interesting flavour that is a personal favourite of mine – varied, exciting and exotic. What a disappointment then, that this one is so insipid; no crunchy garlic soup, no fried bean husks, no clinging stickiness of tangy goodness. The sauce is so…western, like glutinous cheap ketchup. A waste of quality noodles and an insult to a great flavour. Please don’t take this too negatively, they are more than edible and the noodles are great but it was just such a disappointment in the flavour department because of what it should have been and not what it was.

Nissin Demae Ramen Seafood

One sachet of flavourings to 100g of noodles is not a good omen – surely the taste would be swamped by Nissin Foods’ hefty portions or be too ferociously fishy to compensate and end up being that worst of flavours, ‘gagging fish’? Fortunately the answer is no to both parts. ‘Seafood’ is a particularly difficult flavour to get right but Nissin have actually pulled a sure fire winner out of their hats. Delicate to nose and palette, these are silky smooth noodles but with no overpowering aftertaste. A real triumph of flavour and ideal for when you are hungry. The Mediterranean sea blue packaging is offset by a sun bleached bowl of soft noodles, hidden under a pile of celery and prawns.

Many Nissin food products feature Nissinboy, an endearing cartoon character who carries a hot and steaming noodle carrier and this one is no exception. Nissinboy is distinctive because despite his traditionally Japanese attire he seems confusingly Dutch in appearance and has a red nose that seems to be indicative of him drinking far too much sake, certainly for a minor!

Nissin Stir Noodle Spicy Garlic

If ever there was a flavour name that leaped out and yelled, “Try Me!” that name would be Spicy Garlic. What other name could bring such anticipated warmth, taste and annoy-your-colleagues smell to mind? Add to that the classy lilac shade of the packaging and with one appetising plate of yummy goodness, 100g of tummy filling promise and the tantalising “With Seasoning Oil” tag line on the packet, what could possibly go wrong? In a nutshell – nothing major, in fact, only one minor quibble. A rich garlic aroma soothes the nostrils, the noodles cook to perfection – the instructions specifically forbid the addition of the oil until after the soupbase, a very careful precaution from Nissin’s health and safety department and worthy of comment – and the taste is excellent, not overpowering at all, with the garlic roasted in flavour.

A real treat with the only teeny criticism being the use of the word ‘spicy’; ‘tasty’ would be more appropriate. Eat some now and incur the wrath of your workmates!

Nissin Cup Noodle Spicy Seafood

What on earth possessed me to buy a ‘Pot Noodle’ looking item I don’t know. I think I was confused or something. Add to that the dim recollection that I’d seen this brand around before, in our local Co-Op, and the prospects were not looking good at all. Adding water didn’t help too much either until, what’s that smell? Lovely fishy nose, thin but ideally textured noodles and loads of ‘bits’. The ‘bits’ in question are mushroom, sweetcorn, fish balls and chewy cuttlefish. A real treat. While the noodles are a little on the wispy side the whole package is surprisingly good and filling. A momentary lapse of sense has come up with a real winner. Later I checked our local Co-Op and yes they do have Nissin Noodle Cups in stock but (unsurprisingly) they don’t have spicy seafood and stick instead with chicken flavour.

Nissin Demae Ramen Satay

It claims to be Japanese noodle soup but closer examination reveals Dutch origins. This is not a problem as Nissin Demae Ramen Satay has been produced under license and the ‘Men from Nissin’ have kept a tight quality control reign on their European producers. The result: excellent noodles that burst out of the mug with a ‘look at me’ need to impress – 100g of raw noodle power makes it hard to contain in one mug, even one as large as mine! The bite is right, although by the time you reach the bottom of the substantial portion on offer some of the noodles may have become slightly too soft but this is a mere quibble.

This packet excels with its flavour, a perfect balance of tasty soup and a seriously scrumptious peanut butter and oil combo, the metal sachets sealing the flavour in while, being plastic lined on the inside, imparting no nasty metallic aftertaste. A glance at the ingredients shows that the harmony of taste and texture is no accident, a lot of research has gone into this: garlic powder in the noodles for even distribution, roasted squid in the soup base for that extra squiddy touch. The only disappointment is the cover shot – lumps of knobbly beef and some overgrown broccoli hide most of the noodles (which frankly look far inferior to the real thing anyway) almost as though they are embarrassed by them. Flaunt ’em Nissin, flaunt ’em!

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