Ramen is great.

However, long queues at popular restaurants, short lunch breaks and midnight hunger pangs mean that we can’t get a proper ramen fix whenever we like.

Enter the solution: NISSIN RAMEN.

It comes in two flavours inspired by classic Ramen flavours: Kyushu Black, which contains mayu (black garlic oil), and Tokyo Shoyu, taking hints from the soy sauce-based Shoyu ramen.

Now, comparing instant noodles to restaurant-quality ramen is going to be a bit of a stretch, but how will NISSIN RAMEN hold its own against the very dish it’s trying to replicate?

NISSIN RAMEN vs Restaurant Ramen

Before we proceed to the comparison, here’s the full disclosure: the restaurant-bought ramen was delivered to the office.

As such, the seaweed looks soggy, but that’s the downside of having dishes like ramen delivered, or rather, even making it a deliverable item in the first place.

Here’s the bowl of ramen we ordered.

And here’s a bowl of NISSIN RAMEN in the Kyushu Black Flavour:

And the Tokyo Shoyu flavour:

The ramen looks kind of plain with just the garnishings that came with the packaging, so we spiced it up with classic ingredients, such as narutomaki fishcake, seaweed, ajitsuke egg (braised eggs with gooey yolk), bean sprouts and spring onions.

Here’s the NISSIN RAMEN in Kyushu Black flavour with toppings:

And their Tokyo Shoyu flavour with toppings:

Visual comparison

As you can see, the NISSIN RAMEN soup is surprisingly similar to actual restaurant ramen, especially the Kyushu Black flavour.

Given that it’s made in just four minutes, the soup is very much comparable to the ramen stock used in restaurants.

Even without additional ingredients, the portion size of the instant ramen was nearly the same, which is welcome for hearty eaters.

Taste comparison

As for the taste, the consistency and chewiness of the noodles are comparable, though restaurant ramen is a bit silkier and thinner.

Interestingly, the flavour of the NISSIN RAMEN soup is not overpoweringly salty.

When paired with other traditional ramen items, it’s surprisingly passable as a legit bowl of ramen.

Certainly you’d pay for proper ramen if you could, but if you’re stuck between your desk and a hard place, we’d suggest you spend the money improving your instant ramen experience, rather than blowing it on delivering the noodles that will likely be mediocre by the time you tuck in.

Who knows, it might be the next best thing to the leftover sandwich in your fridge.

NISSIN RAMEN is available at major supermarkets and online stores.

This article is sponsored by Nissin Foods Singapore, who provides us with the finest culinary experience we can have in four minutes.