'Weird/perplexing oil' yakisoba (Aug 2022)

It was hard to translate 迷 (mei) in the right way for this. Something like... 'perplexed, in doubt, lost the way, an illusion'. Let's call it 'weird' and get on with it, shall we?


Having read the product blurb online, it sounds to me like they were going for a "is this yakisoba or oil soba now?!" meaning. This pack comes with a lot more oil than usual, a "garlic-flavoured seasoning oil". Does that perplex you? Is simple 5-minute yakisoba meant to provoke this much thought?

I was curious about one thing, though. More oil means more calories, right? -  at 722, this has nearly 200 calories more than the standard serving's 544. And the same 200 calories more than a different oil-free spicy garlic yakisoba that's also out this month. How about that.

Still nowhere near the giant packs with calorie counts in the thousands, mind you...

Fun fact to pad this post out a bit: I originally misread 迷 as 謎 (nazo), or 'mystery'. Finding "spoiler alert: it's garlic" right there on the website wasn't much of a mystery. Worst-kept secret ever. But to be fair, 'garlic' isn't on the ingredients list. The closest we get is 'edible flavoured oil', which... for a food product, you really hope it's edible.

The 'seasoning oil' packet is pretty big. That's a bag of 200 or so extra calories right there.


The instructions say you should mix the oil in after the yakisoba sauce. I did as I was told. 

I also did that clever (read: obvious) thing of leaving the oil packet on top while the noodles soaked, so it heats up. And it enhances the scent of the oil when you finally open it. Yep, that's garlic. I'd recognise the stuff at 50 paces. Into the mix it went.

No pics of the finished yakisoba, because it's nothing special. It looks like every other tub of instant noodles I've ever posted. You can't see the oil once it's been stirred in, anyway, no point.

Tastes awesome, though. That added garlic and oily-ness really does the trick on relatively plain noodles. It wasn't overpowering, but it gave the sauce a kick I didn't know it was missing.

Verdict: 8/10. There should be more garlic in yakisoba all the time, if you ask me.