Japan has convenience store fried chicken-flavor instant ramen, but does it taste like it says it does?

We taste-test Family Mart’s new Famichiki cup ramen, which contains no Famichiki .

Like all Japanese convenience stores , branches of the Family Mart chain are stocked with dozens, if not hundreds, of delicious things to eat.

That said, the star of the store at Family Mart is definitely Famichiki .

This year Family Mart’s cooked-in-store fried chicken cutlets are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut, and they’re more popular than ever .

They’re so tasty that if we’re craving fried chicken we’re probably as likely to find our feet carrying us to Family Mart as they are to KFC.

As part of the party for Famichiki’s 20th birthday, Family Mart has a couple of special treats lined up, and on October 6 they started selling a brand-new Famichiki-flavor instant ramen! Here’s where things get mysterious, though.

Famichiki Flavor Noodle isn’t cup ramen with sliced Famichiki inside of it.

As a matter of fact, Famichiki Flavor Noodle doesn’t actually contain any Family Mart fried chicken , but Family Mart still promise they have the flavor of their namesake.

To quote the company’s description: “An addictively delicious cup of ramen combining spices, a fragrant, fried-flavor savoriness, and a broth brimming with umami that’ll have you feeling like you’re eating a juicy piece of Famichiki” Family Mart is clearly confident in its new instant ramen, but can it really recreate the flavor of Famichiki? There was only one way to find out, so when we brought our 321-yen (US$2) cup of Famichiki Flavor Noodle up to the register, we asked the Family Mart clerk to also grab us a 248-yen Famichiki from the display case so that we could perform a back-to-back taste test .

Taste-testing duties fell to our Japanese-language reporter P.K.

Sanjun . ▼ P.K., feeling both giddy at having a job where he gets paid to eat ramen and fried chicken, but also apprehensive at the solemn responsibility that comes with such an important assignment as this.

P.K. decided on a simple, straightforward testing protocol .

First, he would take a bite of Famichiki, letting its familiarly juicy deliciousness wash over his taste buds.

Then, resisting both the urge to lapse into a food coma or keep eating the Famichiki until it was all gone, he would immediately eat a mouthful of Famichiki Flavor Noodles, and see if the flavor sensation shifted.