Super Goal-Class Tomato

Whenever I see a new cup noodle on the shelf, I can't help but buy it.

There's no reason for it. Just seeing the word "NEW" written on it is enough for me to put it in my basket. It's probably a habit, and I have no intention of breaking it.

The one I picked up this time was Cup Noodle's Lobster Ripe Tomato. The lid has a Canadian flag on it and says, "Super Goal-Class! Taste of North and Central America." The broadness of the "North and Central America" category bothered me a little, but I didn't look into it too deeply. I'm just weak for the five characters that spell "lobster."

I pour in the hot water and wait three minutes. When I open the lid, the underside is clouded white with steam. Inside, it's red. Shrimp-flavored balls are floating around in a tomato-colored soup. I can also see cabbage and carrots. It looks pretty close to the picture on the package.

I take a sip.

It's sweet. The sweetness of the tomato is intense. There's almost no acidity. It seems the "ripe tomato" claim isn't a lie; it's not the sourness of ketchup or the raw greenness of a fresh tomato, but the sweetness of something that has been simmered down. This is a flavor I like.

However, halfway through, I wondered: where is the lobster?

The lid says it has the rich umami of lobster and tomato. But my tongue couldn't pinpoint the lobster. The shrimp-flavored balls taste like shrimp. The soup tastes like tomato. Something that might be lobster is probably dissolved somewhere in this richness. It might be dissolved, but it never made an appearance.

What I was expecting was something more like a deep, oceanic intensity, as if it had been boiled down with the shells. What I actually got was a soup where the tomato is the star. It feels like I went looking for the lobster, couldn't find it, and the tomato stood up and raised its hand instead. It's not bad. In fact, this tomato flavor alone is enough to carry the whole bowl. It's just that the name on the sign and the contents are a little out of sync.

Come to think of it, I had a cup of tempura soba for lunch yesterday, too.

In other words, I've had cup noodles for lunch two days in a row. And since it was tomato the day after tempura soba, the order might actually be an upgrade. From Japanese to Western. To North and Central America.

I didn't find the lobster, but the tomato was delicious.

Lunch was settled with that.

The manga was drawn in the New Usami style.