Chūka Zanmai is a line of Chinese instant noodles from Myojo Foods. In 1987, they introduced the New Chūka Zanmai line, including a deluxe series featuring hand-made ingredients and luxurious flavors like shark fin and abalone.

The deluxe boxes were only available inside department stores and sold for ¥1,000 each, an outrageous price for prepackaged soup that apparently became a hot topic. According to the ad, there was a shortage of ingredients, making the product hard to come by for some time. Hence, the apology in the tagline.

The opulence of the period extended even to instant food.