This is a variety that came out of last year’s final ZenPop Ramen subscription box, and it’s something I’ve been keen to try for a while. The bagged version used to pop up over on Yami every once in a while and I always missed grabbing it when it was in stock. Now I finally get to try it, albeit in cup form.
Read more: Review: Myojo Charumera Cup Barikata Tonkotsu RamenThere’s some new terminology to unpack here. First off, “Charumera” is the name of this product line, and it is the name of the instrument you can see the little mascot blowing into on the bottom-front of the cup (check out the picture below). It’s an oboe-like instrument that Japanese street vendors would blow into to announce their presence. The other new term for me here is “barikata,” which Google is telling me refers to the texture of the noodles here, which is usually more firm and al dente, to the point of feeling slightly undercooked. Sounds awesome to me since I really prefer firm noodles.
This cup contains 4g salt equivalent, or about 1575mg of sodium.
Inside the cup, we’ve got a block of noodles made from wheat flour, egg, vegetable protein, and pork extract. Yes, pork extract in the noodles. Cool! There’s also a broth powder made from pork extract, salt, lard, milk, scallop extract, and spices like pepper and garlic. The dried toppings you can see inside are little pieces of roasted pork, sesame seeds, chives, and pickled ginger. There’s also a little seasoning liquid packet on the lid, however the translation says to remove it before steeping, which is a bit unusual since most seasoning oils are intended to warm up with the cup. Either way, that liquid is a wonderful-smelling concentrated garlic concoction.
Noodles:
Despite the intent of the product being firm, underdone noodles (the “barikata” in the product name), the noodles in here feel pretty thin and standard to me. They only took 60 seconds to steep and ended up having a good cling to the broth, but they don’t feel any more firm or al dente than other cup noodles I’ve had. To me they’re a bit better than Nissin’s, for reference, but not the al dente final form that the product line promises. Kind of a marketing misfire but they’re still good. And there’s a lot more of them than you’d think there are given that it’s a smaller cup.
- 7/10
Spiciness:
This has quite a strong, zesty zip of ginger and garlic to it with a hint of black pepper, but there’s nothing about this I would call spicy, per se.
- 0/10
Overall:
The first flavor I noticed was ginger when tasting this for the first time. Then came a savory wave of pork, onion, and garlic notes and, yeah, all of those flavors make for a really solid tonkotsu. The consistency of the broth is a little cloudy and rich, right about where a tonkotsu cup should land. Aside from all the savory umami going on here, the dried pork flakes are the other standout – tender, flavorful, and plentiful. This is an incredibly solid cup, but as a personal preference, I like a little less ginger in my tonkotsu. Still, this is a recommended purchase if you like all these flavors. Abundant noodles, flavorful broth, and excellent toppings… this is terrific quality for such a little cup. Just beware that the noodles aren’t going to be “barikata” as promised.
- 9/10
