Oh you fancy, huh?

Normally the meal of choice for hard-up college students, salarymen who’ve blown through their weekly food allowance, and late night boozers with poor impulse control, the original high-salt, low-cost instant noodle phenomenon Cup Noodle launched a new line of “luxury” flavors last year to appeal to—presumably—more discerning palates.

We scoffed a bit at the time, but the new flavors proved to be a spectacular hit, selling about 14 million cups to date. Unsurprisingly, the company has decided to expand the series, and this week, they announced the latest flavor: rich abalone and oyster stew.

Available nationwide on April 24, the new flavor boasts the freeze-dried noodles you know and love in a “thick, rich oyster sauce-based soup flavored with abalone soy sauce, topped with abalone-seasoned bok choy, king oyster mushrooms, cloud ear mushrooms and red bell peppers.”

With all that talk of “abalone-seasoned” and “abalone soy sauce”, one wonders how much actual abalone you are getting, but at the very reasonable price of 230 yen (US$2.12), who can complain?

Still, 14 million customers can’t be wrong. Let’s wait for the taste test to judge. Anyway, it’s got to be better than 16-year-old moldy Cup Noodle, right, Mr. Sato?

Source: Nissin
Top image: Nissin