Nissin 7-11 Exclusive Premium Gold Ippudo Bowl Instant Ramen Review

I bought this 7-11 Japan, Premium Gold Ippudo Bowl Instant Ramen on my last trip to Japan in December of 2022.  It is a premium instant noodle bowl you can pick up at any 7-11 convenience store over there as an exclusive part of their Premium Gold line of products.  I've always want to try this and the Nakiryu instant noodle bowl that 7-11 has as they are both supposed to be really good.  This review was a real treat to do!

Ippudo is a popular ramen restaurant chain in Japan and I usually eat there at least once on every trip over there. Their signature dish is the Ippudo Shiromaru Ramen, a classic Hakata broth-based noodle dish made with a rich, flavorful pork bone broth and topped with tender sliced pork belly, soft-boiled egg, and green onions.  They have these little 1/2 size gyoza that are tasty too!  Get a small order with your ramen.

Hakata ramen originates from the city of Hakata in Fukuoka prefecture. It is characterized by its thin, white and firm noodles and a rich, milky pork bone broth that is usually served with chashu (roasted pork), green onions, and sometimes with other ingredients such as kikurage (wood ear mushrooms) or ajitama (seasoned boiled egg). This kind of ramen is known for its flavorful broth made by boiling pork bones for an extended period of time.

The packaging of this ramen bowl appears bold, yet plain, but it has presence.  The 7-11 Gold branding is present, but is an underscore to the large yellow characters of the Ippudo logo.  There has been a 7-11 Ippudo ramen around for decades from what I can research, but I clued into it about five years ago.  This particular house brand is manufactured by Nissin and it is a well selling product.  The text on the lid describes a Hakata tonkotsu soup that pursues richness and depth while also being one of the best highest grade soups!

3/4 view of the ramen bowl.  It is a bright red on the sides with the Ippudo logo well displayed in black with a white outline.  It would be hard to miss this on the shelf with the logo facing out.  The top of the bowl is well designed with a red border that blends with the side of the bowl for half of it.

The top of the ramen bowl.  It prominently features a picture of the soup that isn't far off from what you would actually get and the Ippudo logo in big, yellowy gold lettering.  The is almost a yin / yang kind of feel to it between the ramen soup and the dark half which emphasizes the logo well.  You can see the all of the soup ingredients on the cover starting with the milky pork broth, thin noodles, the chashu pork, the black seasoning oil, the dollop of spicy red miso paste, and green onions.  It does look good!

Not the best printing on the side of the bowl, but this is the manufacturers info and preparation warnings.

Nutritional information and allergens.

Preparation directions.  My bowl is a little creased from traveling in my suitcase.

Ingredients.

When you open the bowl there is a block of non-fried noodles that stays in the bowl, and four packets to remove.  Three packets are foil and one is plastic for the chashu.  It is always really nice to see an instant noodle with lots of ingredients for it.

This is the liquid soup base, a concentrated tonkotsu soup stock.

This is the orange packet is the soup stock powder and toppings that you start with.  The toppings are kikurage and green onion.

There are two sections to this red foil packet.  The left is the black seasoning oil, the right is the spicy red miso paste.

Slice of chashu pork (it is pressed and formed meat). 

Most instant ramen are pretty simple to prepare.  This one has a few extra steps due to the order you should add the ingredients. Prepare this ramen in the following steps.

1. Peel back the lid halfway. Take out the packets.

2. Put the packet of garnishes and soup stock powder in and the chashu slice in now (the meat is already cooked, but it is like a jerky right now).  Depending on how chewy you want the chashu, you can decide how long it should sit in the soup. DON'T add in the liquid soup yet - the package warns that the noodles might not separate properly if you do!

3. Add in boiling water to the fill line and close the lid.  The thin noodles are the non-fried variety and will rehydrate in a short period of time.

4. Wait three minutes then remove the lid.  You can now mix in the liquid soup base along with the seasoning oil and spicy miso.

5. Stir everything well to mix the flavours and enjoy your meal.

The noodle block showing the thin noodles.  They are air-dried and not fried.  The soup base powder has been added and then water will be added to the fill line.

The finished bowl with a dollop of the spicy paste in the centre.

I highly recommend giving this 7-11 Ippudo Bowl Instant Ramen a try if you ever have the chance.  The air-dried noodles are thin and break easily on the bite, providing a pleasant chew. The soup is rich and flavorful, with a good tonkotsu flavor and a combination of black seasoning sauce and spicy red paste that gives it an extra umami kick. The big piece of thin pork adds a meaty and chewy touch that is savory in its own right. The garnishes, including diced black kikurage and green onions, add a nice flourish and a bit of crunch to the broth. The tonkotsu broth is the real star of the show, simulating a broth that has been simmered for hours, not just mixed with a few packets of instant soup mix. I was very satisfied with this bowl of Ippudo Instant Ramen and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a premium instant noodle experience. The Japanese are enjoying this instant ramen whenever they like, and it's a shame it's not available in other countries.

Closeup of the noodles.

The soup was good to the last drop!

 

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