7-Eleven is trying to innovate beyond cup noodles, but does this new technology deliver the flavor ramen fans need?

Recently, we found ourselves in the mood for ramen as we stepped through the door of a 7-Eleven Japan branch. On this day, though, we didn’t head to the aisle where the Cup Noodles and other instant varieties are stocked. Instead, we made our way to the freezer case…

…and when we got there, we grabbed a bowl of shoyu (soy sauce-based broth) ramen.

Now, you might find yourself asking two questions here: how are you supposed to eat ramen that’s still frozen, and why are the ingredients arranged in a circular pattern with a hole in the center, like some sort of ramen donut? The answers to both of those questions are found at the coutner at the front of the store, where after we paid for our ramen, the cashier directed us to the ramen-cooking robot.

Produced by Japanese tech company SoftBank, the Steama cooking robot started appearing at 7-Eleven branches this past fall, promising the joy of freshly made ramen with convenience of, well, a convenience store. It’s incredibly simple to use. After paying for your ramen, you push the start button on the robot’s display screen, then scan the QR code printed on the side of the bowl.

▼ The QR code scanner is inside the yellow circle.

The robot then starts a 30-second self-cleaning cycle, to make sure the interior is spic and span and ready to receive your bowl. When it’s done, you open up the robot’s front panel and place your bowl, with its plastic-wrap covering still in place, in the center of the compartment.

Close the panel back up, and it’s time for the robot to get cooking by dropping down a nozzle that punctures the bowl’s wrapping and funnels in the hot water and steam.

The cooking process takes just 90 seconds, half the time of even the speedier varieties of make-it-yourself cup ramen.

The bowl comes with a sticker patch that you can use to cover up the hole made by the nozzle if you’re planning to take your ramen back home, to the park, or anywhere else to eat. However, the 7-Eleven we’d stopped by has an eat-in space with tables and chairs, so we elected to do our taste-test right then and there.

As we removed the bowl’s covering, a cloud of steam, with the delicious aroma of ramen, rose up towards us. A word of caution: right after cooking, the contents of the bowl are extremely hot, even hotter than what you’ll encounter at actual ramen restaurants most of the time. Because of that, you’re going to want to be sure to use the little handles that extend from the sides of the bowl if you need to move it, since they’re really the only non-scalding contact points at this stage.

Giving our first mouthful of noodles a few cooling blows got them down to a bearable temperature, though, and as we popped them into our mouth, we were very happy with the results.

This is a simple and straightforward ramen, with no odd embellishments or showy unorthodox ingredients. It is also a ramen that’s delicious enough that it doesn’t need any tricks. The broth is rich and flavorful, with a great combination of soy and dashi notes that complement each other without overwhelming your taste buds.

The textures are outstanding as well. Both the noodles and chashu pork are invitingly tender without being soggy, something that’s rare to find cup ramen and usually requires a trip to a dedicated ramen restaurant.

7-Eleven’s robot-made ramen is a clear cut above ordinary make-it-yourself instant and frozen varieties, and while it might not reach the lofty levels of a top-tier specialty noodle house, at 680 yen (US$4.45) it’s also more affordable than the trendiest ramen joints, and without any long line to wait in either.

With the cooking robots being a fairly new addition to select 7-Eleven Japan branches, the chain is still trying to get the word out about them, and posted above the register at the store we went to were photos of some of the other kinds of noodles it can make, including miso ramen, a mixed soy sauce and tonkotsu (pork stock) ramen, and even udon with strips of pork. 7-Eleven has also started partnering with famous ramen restaurants for limited-time Steama versions of their noodles, so it looks like there’s going to be even more to like about this new system from here on out.

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