Nobody celebrates a milestone anniversary like Cup Noodle. 2021 marks 50 years of this conbini legend, and they're pulling out all the stops.
One of this year's most fun ideas is the 'fusion' Cup Noodle - 8 of the core flavours paired up into 4 'alliance' special editions. To promote it, each flavour's represented by a Power Ranger! When their powers combine, they become even more delicious. And the names get weird.
[The YouTube video I used to have linked in this post has been set to Private, boo!]
I've decided to try 2 of these super fusion combos, and here's the first:
Chee-li Curmato, the epic alliance of Cheese Curry and Chili Tomato.
The promo insists this combo is peak compatibility in a cup, the most popular with Nissin employees. (So you're telling me they've been mixing this stuff behind our backs this whole time?)
It feels like one of the most natural pairings, for sure. Cheese and tomato go together like Cup Noodles and being a single person with nobody else to cook for on a regular basis. But I digress.
I love the designs of these special Cup Noodles. The split down the middle is somehow perfect, even though the letters don't line up. Let's give the packaging design team a round of applause for making it feel so neat.
Open the lid, and whoa that's a lot of flavour powder and added ingredients.
And a lot of cheese! As well as the generous lumps inside, there's a special packet of 'deluxe' cheese powder on top. 3 more types of cheese, but I've got no idea what they are. Maybe it was on the cup.
Anyway. Be careful when opening these little packets, as if you rip them open too hard the powder goes everywhere. May I serve as a warning to others.
There's nothing special about prepping this Cup Noodle, it's too familiar to ever change.
First shalt thou open the Holy Lid (and pour in hot water up to the line). Then shalt thou wait for 3 minutes, no more, no less. 3 shall be the minutes thou shalt wait, and the minutes of the waiting shall be 3. 4 shalt thou not wait, neither wait thou 2, excepting that thou then proceed to 3.
5 is right out.
Open it back up, shove the extra cheese powder in, give everything a good stir (fork or chopsticks, your choice), and you're ready to eat.
The ingredients soak up a lot of the water, with the rest becoming a comfortingly thick tomato soup. It looks like a crime scene, and it smells amazing.
My first reaction to this was: pizza! It tastes like a 'margherita pizza drizzled with Tabasco sauce' Cup Noodle. And I mean that in a good way. I'm a big fan of tomato ramen, and tomato cheese ramen, and tomato aubergine cheese ramen... This hits the spot, alright.
This mix is super cheesy (enough that it's hard to stir), and heavy on the tomato - but I think the 'curry' bit gets lost in the spices. It's in there somewhere, it's just hard to recognise when you're eating. Chili Tomato kicked Cheese Curry to the kerb in the spice stakes.
It shouldn't surprise you to learn that I devoured this faster than you can say 'Cup Noodle Super Alliance Series'.
I'd rather see this on the permanent product list than be forced to buy 2 Cup Noodles to recreate this flavour from now on. But (obviously) that's what Nissin wants from me. And, on some autumn evening in the near future when I'm feeling desperate for comfort food, I'll probably do it.
Verdict: 8/10. I think the day this one's no longer on sale is going to upset a lot of people.