Cup Noodle Championship with a Cup Noodle Researcher, Part 2: Sugomen's Udon and Arizuki's Motsunabe Ramen Score High

First up was Sugomen's "Ehime Yawatahama Champon," which reportedly came out relatively recently. taka introduced the story behind its development. Cup noodles supervised by famous restaurants are usually made after the manufacturer approaches the restaurant about turning its dish into a product. In this case, Yawatahama City Hall sent a letter to Yamadai asking it to turn the local champon into a product. According to taka, Yamadai does get inquiries like "please make this kind of ramen," but this was the first request it had ever received from a city hall. Yamadai reportedly started its research from "What is Yawatahama champon?" and "Where is Yawatahama?", and it took about a year to complete.

The soup is a wheat-colored chicken-bone base, which taka explained is a different thing from the cloudy white soup of Nagasaki champon. The toppings include jakoten, a Yawatahama specialty. The fish aroma is strong from the moment the lid comes off. Ryuji was surprised that such small pieces of jakoten could have so much impact, and said that a kamaboko of unclear identity (possibly a shrimp ball) was also delicious.

The rating was S+ (shown in the subtitles as "S-plu"). Ryuji's assessment: it may be a Sugomen trait, but the salty soup brings out the ingredients, and it really tastes like champon when you eat it. It looks mild, yet it "packs a real punch." taka added that it probably differs, in a good way, from what viewers would imagine.

While waiting for the champon, Ryuji asked, "Don't you do bagged noodles?" taka replied that they don't know much about bagged noodles, and revealed that their wife knows more about instant noodles. She has appeared on TV many times for her instant noodle knowledge, and according to taka, she knows roughly 6,000 to 7,000 varieties. She can reportedly identify products by touching or smelling the packaging.

Ryuji laughed, "Bring your wife on," and asked that she come next time. According to taka, the Yawatahama champon was also her recommendation. This topic comes up once more at the end as a preview of the next installment.

The second item was the limited-time "Winter Shio Ramen." As taka explained, salt ramen cup noodles used to be summer products, and salt flavors were basically never released in winter. This brand began in 2003 with the idea of "making a ramen that tastes great in winter," and it sold so well that the manufacturer's production couldn't keep up. As a result, a "paradigm shift" reportedly took place that made it acceptable to release salt ramen in winter.

The concept changes every year, but the common threads are reportedly thick noodles, a rich flavor, and the inclusion of some kind of trend. This time the key point is the amount of back fat, which was said to be double that of the previous winter's product. When Ryuji asked, "Where do you even find that out?", taka answered that the manufacturer will tell you if you ask.

After eating, Ryuji praised the noodles' strength as typical of Sugomen. The flavor combines a paitan salt soup with napa cabbage, garlic, and chili pepper, and despite being salt ramen, it has a depth like Sapporo ramen. Ryuji also noted that the post-cooking topping changes the flavor significantly. Their impressions: "a ramen flavor you can't find anywhere else" and "an insanely tasty new kind of ramen." On the other hand, Ryuji also said it "feels like it went too far ahead," and that it's a flavor that could serve as a reference for their own cooking. The rating for this item can't be clearly made out from the subtitles.

The third item was "Kyoto Fushimi Chicken Paitan Ramen," a chicken paitan fragrant with sake lees, actually made using the lees of the Fushimi sake "Tamanohikari." Eating one after another, Ryuji joked that "this project is shortening my life." Ryuji isn't originally much of a fan of sake lees, but said it depends on the amount. According to taka, Ace Cook also makes ramen using sake lees, but this is the only such product in the Sugomen line.

The soup was pure white, and the sake lees were only faintly fragrant. Ryuji praised the chicken meatballs as "really delicious" and said the soup was also surprisingly not bad. However, Ryuji found it strongly salty.

The rating was B. There were two reasons: the salt was too strong, and, "I'm really sorry, but personally," Ryuji felt the sake lees flavor wasn't necessary. It's an interesting flavor, but Ryuji said it's quite polarizing.

The fourth item was Sugomen's udon, "Sundubu Jjigae Udon." Even before introducing it, taka stressed, "This one is insane." According to taka, it took more than 10 years to create a non-fried udon. The first release was a meat-broth udon in 2022, so it hasn't even been five years yet. The noodles are not fried in oil, with particular care given to the boiling process. There are two topping packets, one of which was tofu.

During the wait, the two talked about their food preferences. Ryuji likes seafood flavors but isn't very fond of "flavors where you can sense life," like oysters or firefly squid. Ryuji loves meat, which got a laugh when taka quipped, "Meat is life, though." Ryuji also said they usually eat almost nothing but meat: yakitori, yakiniku, and yakiton.

The wait time is five minutes. After eating, Ryuji said they hadn't expected anything at all, but the soup was delicious, and then was surprised by the noodles. "It's the best of all the cup udon I've ever eaten," and "this is probably the noodle that's impressed me most in the past few years," Ryuji said, adding that they were moved by the technical skill. taka responded, "This is what Sugomen is all about" and "quite an innovation."

The rating was SS. Ryuji said the soup and the heartiness of the tofu were good too, but stressed that above all it was the texture of the udon. One bite will surprise you, Ryuji said, recommending that people experience it even if it means going out to buy it right now.

The fifth item was New Touch's "Nadai Fuji Soba Beni Shoga Ten Soba." It isn't a Sugomen product, but it uses non-fried noodles. The pickled red ginger tempura is large, and the instructions say to soak it well in the soup right before eating. Once soaked, taka explained, its flavor seeps out and changes as you eat. Regarding the "Tokyo specialty" label on the package, Ryuji asked whether red ginger tempura soba exists only in Tokyo, and taka answered that it isn't found in the Kansai region.

After eating, Ryuji repeatedly said the kakiage was delicious: "Sell it on its own." Ryuji would like the soba to stand out a bit more, but the kakiage steals the whole show, and the tempura is so good that the noodles' stiffness and such don't bother you.

The rating was S. Ryuji explained that with slightly better noodles it would have been SS, and that the rating was almost entirely for the red ginger tempura. According to taka, Donbei also releases a product topped with red ginger tempura every year around Setsubun, but both said this one tastes better and has more impact.

The sixth item was the Seven-Eleven exclusive "Arizuki-Supervised Hakata Motsunabe-Style Ramen." It is made by Ace Cook, and the wait time is five minutes. It contains a solid amount of offal. Ryuji said that the salt content of cup noodles in general has gone up recently, and the two agreed that a salt equivalent in the 7 g range is a lot for a tall cup.

According to taka, Arizuki is said to have led the "second motsunabe boom." The first boom was driven by Daisho's motsunabe soup, which reportedly spread nationwide because it made the dish easy to enjoy at home. Ryuji agreed that motsunabe is the best seller among Daisho's hot pot soups. taka added that pork offal is also used in products such as Peyang. One staff member had been to Arizuki and said it was delicious.

The soup has a strong miso aroma, with garlic and white miso as its base. Ryuji said they sensed a richness like beef tallow, and that despite the salt content it doesn't sting, with the umami winning out. In praising the miso, Ryuji found themselves comparing it to the others, saying it was "five times better than the miso one," and laughed at their own bad habit of putting others down. It was the best soup of the day, and Ryuji drank every last drop.

The rating was SS, which by Ryuji's own count was "the third SS today." If anything, the noodles could be singled out, but the overwhelming deliciousness of the soup covers everything, and it was far better than expected. taka said they were impressed that this flavor works as a ramen. Ryuji said it made them want to visit an Arizuki restaurant too.

The seventh item was Seven Premium's "Ryu Shanghai Honten Akayu Karamiso Ramen." According to taka, Ryu Shanghai is a Yamagata restaurant founded in 1958 (Showa 33). Miso ramen is strongly associated with Sapporo, but the restaurant reportedly has a history of serving miso ramen even earlier. taka explained that it was originally a shina soba restaurant serving shoyu ramen, and that the roots of its miso ramen lie in the family drinking leftover soup in place of miso soup. taka also said the niboshi aroma is probably a remnant of that broth.

Here Ryuji showed fatigue, saying, "I've eaten so many cup noodles my brain had stopped working" and "my battery's dead." The amount of liquid soup is quite large, and the two remarked that, in addition to the strong miso aroma, the inclusion of aosa seaweed was interesting. The spicy miso is potent enough to make you sweat.

The rating was B+ (shown in the subtitles as "B-plu"). taka's reaction was one of surprise. Ryuji's explanation: it's a miso ramen with no sweetness at all, and the saltiness hits head-on. The Tohoku-style seasoning was interesting, and people who like salty flavors might enjoy it, but for Ryuji it stuck out a little, and they might not be able to manage it without rice. As a matter of personal taste, it was too much.

The final item was Sumire's "All Stars Muranaka no Ippai Miso Ramen." According to taka, it isn't sold through general retail. It can be bought at Sumire restaurants, at souvenir shops such as those in New Chitose Airport, and by mail order. It is a different product from the Sumire cup noodles sold at Seven-Eleven, priced at 600 yen and reportedly made by Yamadai.

taka explained the difference between the two in terms of their development starting points. For the Seven Premium product, the base price is decided first, and they do everything they can within that framework. This one, by contrast, aimed for the best from the start, and refining the flavor ended up putting it at 600 yen. It has been renewed once, and at that time the bean sprouts were reportedly increased by 25%. The highlight, taka said, is the soup, which is "a bit otherworldly."

The post-cooking liquid soup is very large. The salt equivalent is 9.2 g, and Ryuji was surprised: "Isn't that the strongest so far?" Mixing it in releases a ginger aroma. Ryuji called it a delicious miso soup on a different vector from Arizuki's, and felt it was close to restaurant flavor: "It's pretty much the restaurant." Eating this at a restaurant would cost 1,000 to 1,200 yen, so considering it's half that, Ryuji said it's worth it.

The rating was S+ (shown in the subtitles as "S-plu"). Because it showed how far a product can go without constraints, Ryuji said, "Cup ramen will be even tastier 10 years from now," and described it as a flavor that showed real potential. However, buying it once is enough, and for repeat purchases Ryuji would go with Arizuki.

Having eaten a total of 15 items across the two parts, Ryuji laughed that both their blood sugar and blood pressure had probably gone up. Including the previous installment, the ones that left the strongest impression were Arizuki's motsunabe ramen and Sugomen's jjigae udon, and Ryuji named Arizuki the winner of the second Cup Ramen Championship.

Ryuji reflected that it really is something when an expert comes on. The video ended with Ryuji announcing that a project in which taka's wife introduces instant ramen is "confirmed" for next time.