The new bowls will recreate the old taste of 50 years ago when the famous brand first dropped. Nissin Donbei’s kitsune udon and tempura soba cup noodles are getting a makeover–by going back to 1976. T

The new bowls will recreate the old taste of 50 years ago when the famous brand first dropped.

**Nissin Donbei’s kitsune udon and tempura soba cup noodles are getting a makeover–by going back to 1976. **The brand is no newcomer to creating novel recipe ideas for its noodles or branching into other foods like rice balls. Beginning in 2024, it also created East Japan and West Japan versions of its products for sale in different parts of Japan, in which the noodles, broth, ingredients, and spices are all subtly adjusted for regional tastes. However, this marks the first time that Nissin Donbei is attempting to recreate former flavors in celebration of its 50th anniversary this year by releasing Classic versions of its cup noodles.

▼ Nissin Donbei Classic versions. The brand’s logo has remained relatively unchanged since its initial release.

The Nissin Donbei Kitsune Udon Classic comes in two versions–an East Japan version and a West Japan version–and the **Nissin Donbei Tempura Soba Classic **comes in one. Employees spent two months tracking down files in company offices with any information about the products at the time of their release, and then spent an additional three months perfecting the recreations.

Accordingly, the biggest difference between the original versions and the modern versions is the consistency of the noodles. The Kitsune Udon Classic versions incorporate udon that are thin, fine, and wavy.

▼ The East Japan version features a bonito flake-based broth with a sharp soy sauce flavor.

▼ The West Japan version features a bonito flake, mackerel flake, and mackerel scad flake-based broth with a sharp soy sauce flavor.

Meanwhile, the Tempura Soba Classic version incorporates soba that are thick, stiff, and wavy. It features a bonito flake, mackerel flake, mackerel scad flake, and dried sardine-based broth with a sharp soy sauce flavor. The cooking time in hot water has also reverted to five minutes versus today’s three minutes.

The three Nissin Donbei Classic products go on sale on March 30 for 236 yen (US$1.49) each. For another slurp down memory lane, see Nissin’s similar homage to past instant ramen classics when Nissin Cup Noodle celebrated its own 50th anniversary a few years ago.