Oh you fancy, huh?

Normally the meal of choice for hard-up college students, salarymen who’ve blown through their weekly food allowance, and late night boozers with poor impulse control, the original high-salt, low-cost instant noodle phenomenon Cup Noodle launched a new line of “luxury” flavors last year to appeal topresumablymore discerning palates.

We scoffed a bit at the time, but the new flavors proved to be a spectacular hit, selling about 14 million cups to date. Unsurprisingly, the company has decided to expand the series, and this week, they announced the latest flavor: rich abalone and oyster stew.

Available nationwide on April 24, the new flavor boasts the freeze-dried noodles you know and love in a “thick, rich oyster sauce-based soup flavored with abalone soy sauce, topped with abalone-seasoned bok choy, king oyster mushrooms, cloud ear mushrooms and red bell peppers.”

With all that talk of “abalone-seasoned” and “abalone soy sauce”, one wonders how much actual abalone you are getting, but at the very reasonable price of 230 yen (US$2.12), who can complain?

▼ Of course, this isn’t really what you want to see when you tear open your late night snack, either.

Still, 14 million customers can’t be wrong. Let’s wait for the taste test to judge. Anyway, it’s got to be better than 16-year-old moldy Cup Noodle, right, Mr. Sato?

Source: Nissin
Top image: Nissin
Insert image: Toby Hudson/Wikicommons