The three-minute wait to make cup noodles just got a lot more exciting.

Instant cup noodles aren’t difficult to make – all that’s required is a peeling back of the lid and the addition of boiling hot water. When you’re hungry though, the recommended three-minute wait to let the mix, rehydrate, and come together for tasty consumption can sometimes seem like forever, making you irritable and likely to start eating before the noodles have reached their delicious prime.

That’s where this cute product modelled on Japan’s Opisthoteuthis depressa comes in. The cute orange octopus is usually found in waters off Japan, but now it’s come ashore as a nifty plastic weight to help hungry noodle eaters keep a lid on their food in the most adorable way.

Called the “Cup Mendako” or “Cup Flapjack Octopus“, the bright orange weight is perfect for keeping cup noodle lids closed in order to help seal in the steam essential for enhancing the moisture of the noodles. Given that it’s so adorable to look at, the three-minute wait passes in no time, with users tempted to keep the octopus on for even longer in order to spend some more time with the cute invertebrate. And that’s a good thing for instant noodle makers, who want customers to taste the full flavour of their products as they were intended to be enjoyed.

Deep Sea Mother, an interior goods shop specialising in deep sea creature products, announced the arrival of the Cup Mendako a few days ago on their official Twitter account.

Retailing for 3,024 yen (US$26.54), the cute product has been so popular that it’s now currently listed as “extinct” at their online store. The company is aiming for new stock of the popular species to arrive within the next five days so if you’d like to get your hands on one of these rare cephalopod marine mollusks, be sure to visit their store online!

Source: Deep Sea Mother
Featured image: Twitter/@deepseaMOTHER