Nissin AFURI Yuzu Shio Bowl Noodle Review

I picked up this bowl of instant noodles last time I was in Japan. I've never eaten at AFURI in Tokyo, but I've had some citrusy yuzu ramen before. AFURI is best known in Japan for its signature yuzu ramen—a refreshing twist on traditional ramen that balances light chicken-based broth with the bright, citrusy kick of yuzu.

Founded near Mount Afuri in Kanagawa and later expanding to Tokyo’s Ebisu in 2003, AFURI has built a cult following for its shio ramen infused with yuzu, offering a delicate yet complex flavor that stands apart from heavier tonkotsu styles.

3/4 view of the bowl. It is bright yellow in colour to match their logo

The lid of the bowl has a nice clean design that incorporates the restaurant's name and mountain logo nicely. You can see you'll be getting a chicken-stock based soup with a clean looking presentation.

Directions and allergens.

Manufacturing information.

Ingredients.

Nutritional info.

The lid with the restaurants background in Japanese and English. This is a first for me as I have never seen a Japanese cup noodle with equal presentation for English!!!

You get a dried noodle block (takes 4 mins to hydrate), dried menma and meat, a soup base powder/green onions, and a yuzu flavouring oil pouch.

Closeup of the dried meat, menma, and noodles. Be aware you add the dry ingredients like the soup powder and toppings to hydrate in boiling water for 4 minutes. Only then do you add the oil flavour pouch as the oil will interfere with the rehydration of the noodles by coating them and not letting water in.

The final rehydrated bowl of noodles. 

This is a nice different tasting bowl of instant noodles. It has a savory taste with a mask of bright yuzu citrus on top. The yuzu is a unique citrus and it reminds me a bit of like lemon zest and has a dull lemony bitterness rather than a sharp sour note in this soup. It smells like citrus too! There are slivers of green onion, bamboo shoot, and nice pieces of meat cubes. There is a slight of a fishy note and the broth does come off as salty. The yuzu helps to offset that for the chicken based broth. The noodles are on the thinner side with an easy break and a light chew. 

Noodles closeup.