As I’ve lived my life, grown in wisdom – fine, just gotten older – intensely salty and rich dishes have lost their appeal. Hence, I found my love for ramen waning, as the broth seems too overwhelming for my taste buds and digestive system.

Midori Ramen’s signature tori paitan ramen ($17.49) seemingly was developed for me… the broth wasn’t overly salty, yet it was still creamy and hearty enough to satisfy. It didn’t leave me with an overwhelming need to drink tons of water after the meal and given was less oily, my stomach didn’t have an adverse reaction either. I can see how some diners find their broth bland as it’s not as powerful as some competitors, but I found it was flavourful enough without being too much.

If you’re in the mood for a punch of flavour, their spicy ramen ($15.49) could work. I liked that they offer a scale of spiciness as we found the “mild” already had a sufficient kick.

The noodles were cooked perfectly, the thick version springy enough with bite. I just wasn’t overly fond of the ingredients included in the signature ramen: the red onions were too raw and needed ample time in the broth before the stingy acid subsided; the finely shredded aosa sea lettuce was lost in the soup not adding any flavour or texture; and the fried bogo (burdock root) was too hard and made me feel like I was eating hay. Moo….

I would have liked the two pieces of cha shu (pork and chicken) to be hotter. At Midori, they don’t seem to blowtorch the meat before it’s presented so they are also pale and pasty. Their onsen egg was just bordering on becoming overcooked, the edges solidifying against the molten texture, yet still ice cold in the centre, despite sitting in the broth.

If anything, the chicken karaage ($6.99) was probably the best part of the meal and I would have happily had it with a bowl of plain ramen with scallions. Left in three palm-sized pieces, the larger cuts meant the chicken was juicy. The breading also included an ideal amount of spices for flavour.

Maybe my experience will encourage ramen restaurants to offer a “build your own bowl” menu item. Because as much as I enjoyed Midori’s noodles and broth, the ingredients included in a bowl of ramen is still an integral part of the meal. And unfortunately, these all fell flat.

Before COVID, when someone mentions “instant ramen”, a square of hard dried noodles is what comes to mind. That goes into a pot of boiling water for about five minutes and a powdered soup gets prepared, sometimes enhanced with another packet of dried seaweed and vegetables. Many are spicy, but you’ll need to find a delicate balance of the soup base to water… one false move will leave you with a kick at the back of the throat. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I literally cough when too much powder is added.

Then COVID hit and Ramen Raijin reinvented the concept of instant ramen. Theirs is a frozen circular disk that literally incorporates everything – the broth, noodles, and various toppings that are a far cry from the rehydrated vegetable fragments. In about the same time it takes to boil water to create the dried version, the frozen disk goes into a pot until it melts and is heated through.

And there’s no guessing games with Raijin’s spicy tonkotsu ramen ($12). The spicy-miso pork broth has enough chili to flood your mouth with flavours, but the fiery finish is subdued, and the miso adds a lovely creamy finish.

Perhaps it was all the tightly packed vegetables (corn, slivers of cabbage, bean sprouts, and green onions) and the extra minced chicken mixed into the soup base, but the spicy tonkotsu did take a couple minutes longer to prepare than the non-spicy version so the noodles ended up being a less chewy than the other.

The noodles in the Hakata tonkotsu ramen ($10) turned out perfectly and Raijin’s Hakata-style rich pork broth was just as creamy and umami laced as anything you’d find at a restaurant. Something about the freezing process makes me like the pickled ginger more, it’s mellower and melts into the broth nicely. It’s all finished with a rather thin slice of pork belly cha-shu, kikurage mushroom, green onion, and enough sesame to add a nutty finish to the soup.

Will the frozen ramen overtake the delivery and takeout options across the city? While close to the “real deal” they are still missing some of the beloved toppings like a gooey onsen egg and the crispy fresh toppings that can make it sing. The additional garnishes are easy – you can easily get a dried seaweed snack pack and finely chop scallions – but the elusive egg is more difficult. Raijin provides a recipe with the order confirmation to allow home cooks to recreate them at home. But all the work for one or two eggs … let’s just call me lazy.

To augment the meal, as the lone slice of cha shu isn’t the most substantial, Raijin offers extra pork or a host of frozen appetizers, some care of Zakkushi on Carlton just down the street. The yakitori momo ($8.50) goes bag and all into boiling water for five minutes and then you’re presented with four skewers of juicy chicken yakitori. The sauce is waterier than the lovely glaze you’ll normally find at restaurants, but in a pinch these will do.

Before placing an order, ensure your freezer has some room as for deliveries there’s a minimum $50 order size (about five ramen) and a $7 delivery fee. If you create that room if your freezer, the delivery fee is waived for a $100 purchase.

I love and value the ingenuity entrepreneurs have shown during this crisis. Dried instant ramen, you’ve been disrupted.