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50-year-old instant noodle recipe is back from the past in Japan for a limited time[Taste test]

Casey Baseel Mar 30, 2026
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As Donbei celebrates its 50th anniversary, two of its original noodle recipes return.

Nissin might be most famous for their Cup Noodle ramen, but they know a thing or two about speedy udon and soba noodles too. They offer both as part of their Donbei instant noodle line, which has been a hit ever since it first went on sale in 1976.

Over the years, Nissin has tinkered with the Donbei recipe, adapting and updating it to suit changing preferences. To celebrate the brand’s 50th anniversary, though, they’ve brought back the original Donbei recipe in what they’re calling Donbei Classic. It’s going on sale March 30, but we were able to bend time and get an advance taste of this flavor of the past when we received a Donbei Classic box set prior to its official launch.

▼ The box is cleverly designed to look like a TV from the ‘70s.

Included in the set are four bowls of Donbei, with both the current and classic versions of their Kitsune Udon and Tempura Soba represented. We decided to start our taste test off with the udon, which comes in the green bowls.

▼ The Classic version (shown on the left) even recreates the packaging style from 50 years ago, but the overall look has stayed pretty consistent, especially the font used to write Donbei (どん兵衛).

Both the Classic and current kitsune udon take the same five minutes to cook after you add boiling water, and as soon as we picked up a mouthful of noodles with our chopsticks, we could see that they’re thinner for Classic udon than they are for the modern version.

▼ Classic Donbei Kitsune Udon

▼ Modern Donbei Kitsune Udon

While they share a smooth, slippery texture, the modern Donbei udon also has a chewiness that you don’t get with the Classic’s less substantial noodles. Similarly, the modern Donbei’s broth has a stronger presence, with more pronounced dashi (bonito stock) notes than the original recipe delivers. It’s not that the Classic Donbei is bland, but it doesn’t match the depth of flavor that the current recipe has. The trend continued with the aburage (fried tofu) topping, which is plumper in the modern Donbei.

Next up was the Tempura Soba. Since it uses the same broth as the udon, we had the same feeling, that the modern Donbei broth has a deeper, richer flavor. The newer Donbei also uses straighter noodles that have a more pronounced and enticing buckwheat aroma, and its tempura is crispier too.

▼ Classic Donbei Tempura Soba

▼ Classic Donbei Tempura Soba again

To be clear, the Classic versions aren’t bad at all. They’re tasty, entirely viable options, and might even be to one’s individual preference if they’re in the mood for something simple and light. Eating both the new and old Donbei back-to-back didn’t leave us disappointed at the Classic ones, but rather impressed that even 50 years ago, Nissin’s instant noodles were this good, and with the Classic Donbei priced at just 236 yen (US$1.50), this is about as affordable as quasi-time travel gets, so they’re worth checking out, even if, in the end, we’re glad to be living in the present.

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