Made by the restaurant that created the first chilled noodles in Japan.

Our love of ramen never wanes, even during summer, because when the stifling heat and humidity zaps our energy we reach for cold noodles, and convenience store chain Family Mart has some of the best on the market right now.

The chain’s new cold noodles are so popular people online are describing them as a “hot item”, and what makes them so great is the fact that they’ve been produced in conjunction with Sakaeya Honten, an esteemed noodle restaurant in Yamagata Prefecture that created the first chilled ramen in Japan.

▼ While foreign shoppers might view these noodles simply as “Cold Soy Sauce Ramen”, there’s decades of history and expertise in the product beneath the label.

▼ Launched on 16 July, the new ramen is reasonably priced, at 630 yen (US$4.09).

Lifting the lid on the meal reveals a beautiful array of ingredients, including bean sprouts, cucumbers, green onions, corn, chashu beef, and half a seasoned egg. In terms of ingredients alone, this much variety beats a lot of other chilled ramen at rival convenience store chains right now.

Pouring the included soup sachet over the mix is all you need to do to prepare the meal, and the broth itself has a beautiful golden hue.

Upon slurping the noodles, the first thing that stands out is the taste of the Japanese-style broth, which softly spreads its delicious, rich aroma over the taste buds. It’s amazing to think that so much flavour can be created from little more than just soy sauce, bonito and kelp.

As for the noodles, these too had been carefully crafted, with just the right amount of bite to them.

While a lot of chilled ramen on the market focus on delivering an extremely refreshing taste, this ramen focuses more on delivering richness with a solid punch of flavour, which makes it very unique.

As you eat the dish, the umami of the beef adds an extra depth of flavour to the noodles and the broth, keeping the palate excited for more. Every new ingredient is like a new discovery for the taste buds, so you’ll easily get hooked on eating it.

As an original product produced by Family Mart and Sakaeya Honten, there’s no other noodle dish like this on the market. It’s only around during the summer months, though, so you’ll want to get in soon to try it, and maybe pair it with the chain’s Aloe Yoghurt Frappe, for an extra cool experience.

Related: Family Mart
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