Hey everyone, it’s time to get into the very first site-exclusive Noodle Journey review! If you’re confused about why this is a bunch of text with no video, check out the recent blog post explaining my decision to split up my reviews between the channel and this site.
Anyway… cheesy instant noodles. I think cheese may be the most divisive ingredient I’ve ever encountered in instant noodles (aside from all the stuff in the gimmick flavors out there). Here we have Maruchan combining a cheese sauce with their yakisoba noodles into what I’m imagining is going to be a glorified mac and cheese with minimal-to-no Asian flavors.
Read more: Site-Exclusive Review: Maruchan Yakisoba Cheddar Cheese FlavorYou should be able to find this one at your local supermarket, but where I live, the only places that seem to carry this are the various dollar stores and Five Below. I paid $1.50 at Five Below for a single pack of this one.
Nutritional information:
Sodium is a reasonable 1170mg for the entire container.
Inside, you’ll find a block of flat wheat noodles and a powdered cheese packet, both of which I forgot to photograph. Sorry, this is my first time doing a written review and I will more than likely be working out some kinks for a little bit!
There’s not much surprising about the ingredients in the cheese powder. You get a blend of cheeses, some sour cream, garlic, MSG, salt, and sugar, with some turmeric for, I assume, the yellow color.
Noodles:
The texture on these noodles was unexpectedly good considering it’s a cheap Maruchan product. In the microwave, they came out reasonably firm and chewy. They’re thin and flat, and I really appreciated the mouthfeel, almost like a thin fettuccine. My issue with these noodles is the same issue I have with their Instant Lunch products, and it’s that whatever oil they fry these in has an aftertaste to it that I have to adjust to every time I eat Maruchan’s fried noodles (the fried ones manufactured in their American facility at least – their air-dried noodles are excellent). I got past it, but that aftertaste brings the noodle score down a smidge.
- 6/10
Spiciness: None. This is as mild as mild can get.
- 0/10
Overall:
First off, if you’ve never had this before, know that it suffers from the same problem most instant cheese products have – the cheese clumps up like crazy if you don’t stir the hell out of it. Once I got those little orange lumps out, the consistency was fine, if not a little watery, but it did end up thickening nicely as I ate it. The aroma that came from these was a cheese and yeast combo, what I think people commonly refer to as an “artificial cheese” smell/flavor even though it does contain real cheese. Think cheap mac and cheese aromas. The taste was also about on par with a cheap mac and cheese. I thought that maybe, this being labeled as “Yakisoba,” this would have some kind of actual yakisoba element to it, like a fusion of cheese flavor with yakisoba sauce. Sadly (or maybe mercifully since I don’t know how well that would work), that is not the case, and this is a pretty standard powdered cheese sauce with Maruchan’s flat noodles. Do I love it? “Love” is a strong word here, but I don’t hate it either and it does scratch a certain nostalgic itch in only the way cheap artificial cheese powder can. I hate to admit it but despite its flaws, I would buy this again when I’m in the mood.
- 6.5/10
If you’re a lover of all things mac and haven’t tried this, you should. It’s cheap and makes for a good meal in a pinch. If you don’t enjoy cheesy noodles or don’t like the fake cheese smell/flavor that accompanies a lot of mac and cheese products nowadays, steer clear from this instead. It’s pretty far from a premium cheesy noodle experience, but for some of you, that might be part of its charm.
