A while back I had my first taste of Nissin’s U.F.O. noodles in the form of the Hong Kong export version, which I was lucky enough to find at a local Asian convenience store. The other variety I picked up from that store around the same time is this one, another Hong Kong export variety that is a “super hot” yakisoba flavor.
Read more: Review: Nissin U.F.O. Super Hot Chilli Flavor (Hong Kong)The downside of these Hong Kong varieties is that they don’t contain real meat or meat extract like the Japanese varieties do, which makes them less savory than their Japanese counterparts. The upside is that since they’re meatless, you can find them outside of Japan much easier than the Japanese varieties because there’s no import restrictions on meatless noodles.
I paid $3.29 at my local S.Mart for this flavor, but tariffs could affect prices and availability on everything shipped from China nowadays, so I can’t guarantee you’ll pay in the same ballpark for this if you go looking for it.
This one has 1727mg of sodium in it, which is not crazy for a bowl of yakisoba this size.
Peeling back the lid, we’ve got a block of wheat noodles containing some additions like palm oil and tapioca starch. There’s also a seasoning powder containing sugar, MSG, onion powder, soy sauce, garlic powder, sesame seeds, and powdered seafood extract made from shrimp, crab, squid, and unspecified “fish”. We’ve also got a spicy seasoning oil made from palm oil, soy sauce, chili, and various spices. And lastly, the dried toppings are a generous amount of textured soy protein and green onions. I’m honestly a bit more impressed with the variety of ingredients in this one compared to its mild counterpart. This appears to be pescatarian-friendly but it is not vegetarian or vegan.
Noodles:
Pretty much the same experience I had with the mild variety: they’re a little softer than I would’ve hoped for given that this is a “stir-fried” instant noodle experience. Serviceable, but not great.
- 6/10
Spiciness:
This isn’t top-of-my-tolerance spicy, but it is certainly very hot and has a strong linger to it. The chili oil stuck to my lips and in the back of my throat for a while. It’s up there with some Buldak flavors for sure, and it sure stuck around long enough to keep my nose running and eyes watering for quite some time. 7 points for the heat, and an extra half point because of how long it overstayed its welcome.
- 7.5/10
Overall:
This has a pleasant flavor to it underneath the burn (which itself has a really nice pepper flavor rather than a bitter capsaicin aftertase), but it does remind me more of a sweet and spicy Buldak-adjacent sauce rather than what it should be: a yakisoba sauce that’s been infused with chili oil. The telltale zest from Worcestershire sauce that is usually present in yakisoba isn’t something I’m really getting here, but rather more of a generic salty/sweet combo. I can appreciate that the spice doesn’t overpower the flavor like I found with Buldak Yakisoba, at the very least. I like it just fine, but it really comes across to me as something like a way hotter Mi Goreng than what I thought was going to be the mild U.F.O. flavor with extra heat. The onions and textured soy bits are plentiful and provide a nice texture and additional flavor. Overall, this is a conundrum, in that I both enjoyed it but was also slightly let down by the flavor profile given the kind of product this is claiming to be.
- 6.5/10
