Noodle Review: Sapporo Ichiban "Beef"

It's been quite a while since I last did an instant ramen review.

Today we're looking at a Sapporo Ichiban. I first need to admit that I've been so stubbornly loyal to Nissin's "Take-Out" brand that that the only reason I bought a case of "Sapporo Best" was because the local market didn't have any of the Nissin "beef" flavour stuff. You know, it turns out to be not-so bad.
The immediate thing to let go of is the plainly English lettering on the front. I've seen Sapporo Ichiban in western grocery stores as well as the local Asian market. So I developed a habit of turning up my nose at it thinking it was some kind of inferior westernized product cheaply made to cater to western taste.

Actually, the packaging is kind of ugly, if you ask me.

Opening the package reveals something very interesting however: really authentic looking dried ramen. A note about cooking instructions on the back... It says to boil it for 3 minutes as opposed to the Nissin recommendation of 5 minutes. Not sure if that is why, but the noodle ends up a big more chewy than the Nissin stuff.
So this is what it looks like. I am all turned around on this Sapporo Ichiban stuff. It costs about the same as the Nissin brand stuff but the noodle is way better. While the soup is nothing to write home about, the ramen noodle has great texture (feels a bit like chewing on an al-dente spaghetti). I doubt I'll be going back to Nissin for my beef-flavoured instant ramen. I am giving it my Thumbs-Up!