Two Taiwanese food giants are making more money in China by refusing to cut prices, a rare bright spot in a market stuck in a spending slump.

• Master Kong and Uni-President China both posted first-half profits growing faster than sales, defying talk that instant noodles are a dying business.
• Instead of joining the price war, they pushed pricier products — premium bowls sold through warehouse chains like Sam's Club, and classic beef noodles aimed at travelers.
• Uni-President's noodle sales grew faster than China's packaged-goods market overall, and Master Kong's noodle profit margins improved.
• The delivery apps that started the war are the ones bleeding: JD posted its first quarterly sales drop since listing in the US in 2014, hurt by subsidy burn and weak Chinese demand.

Outlook: If cheap delivery meals keep losing money, the premium-noodle strategy looks likely to keep paying off while the subsidy war grinds down the platforms.