Chapter 4.3.2

Contents

Marukame Seiso part-time job
1. Marukame Seiso Stalls
2. Other Oolong Noodle Chain Stores
Related Resources

Marukame Seiso part-time job

Marukame Seiso Stalls

Some of you may have eaten at Marukame in Taiwan, but let me introduce you to this large Japanese udon noodle restaurant chain.

Marukame Udon (まるがめせいめん, Marukame Udon) is an udon noodle chain founded in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, in 2000 and operated under the control of Zuishi-sha Trudel. Since its establishment, Marukame Udon has been committed to providing fresh and tasty udon noodles by adhering to the "freshly battered, freshly boiled, and freshly mixed" principle.

Detailed Features

Insist on handmade udon noodles
- The best feature of Marukame Sekiso is that the udon is handmade in the store every day. Each store has a noodle-making machine, so customers can watch the master making udon noodles live.
- They are also made to order to maximize the chewiness and flavor of the udon noodles.
Self-service model
- Adopting a self-service model reduces labor costs and makes udon noodles relatively affordable.
- While waiting for the noodle to be prepared, customers can clip the tempura or rice balls they want to eat to minimize the waiting time.
- Free sauces such as green onion, ginger and "tengasu" (Chinese: deep-fried residue) are available at the self-service counter, so you can add them to your liking.
Extensive menu
- The restaurant offers a wide variety of menus, from a fixed menu of udon noodles to seasonal menus. For example, we offer cold udon noodles in summer, and hot pot udon noodles in winter, etc. The seasonal menu gives customers a sense of freshness when they return to the restaurant.
- Toppings such as tempura, rice balls, and inari sushi can be enjoyed with udon noodles.
Reasonable price setting
- Marukame Sekiso has succeeded in providing high-quality handmade udon noodles at reasonable prices. The price of kakeうdon is around 300 yen, which is very affordable and popular among students, office workers, housewives and other groups. The fact that the price is set so that the whole family can enjoy it is also a big attraction.
Domestic and Overseas Expansion
- We have more than 800 stores in Japan, mainly located in major cities and shopping centers.
- As a result of our aggressive expansion into overseas markets, we have set up outlets in Asia and the United States, and currently have about 200 outlets overseas, endeavoring to promote the Japanese udon culture to the rest of the world.

With high quality handmade udon noodles, rich menu and reasonable price setting, Marukame continues to grow into a popular udon noodle restaurant chain. Its success is attributed to its philosophy of providing fresh and delicious udon noodles.

App Promo Code

If you have downloaded the "Marukame Seiso" app, you can enter the following invitation code to receive a 100 yen discount coupon.

Hospitality Code: IV6728AF7CE1BE2
Invitation Code: IV6728AF7CE1BE2

The detailed input process is as follows:

First, launch the "Marukame Seiso" app and click the "その他" (Chinese: 其他, dotted symbol) button in the upper right corner.
Click on the "Hospitality/Prezidente Code" section.
Enter your invitation code and click the "クーポンを得得する" button at the bottom.
When you show the discount coupon "100 yen per cup" at the checkout, they will automatically deduct the money for you.

If you haven't downloaded the app yet, you can also download it to pick up bargains. The app offers discount coupons from time to time, and there is also a point collection function, so udon noodle lovers should not miss it.

Google Store

The Apple Store

A side note: I will also receive a 100 yen discount coupon when you use my invitation code, so if you think this is a good post, let me have a cheap udon noodle ～!

Recipes

It used to be possible to buy udon noodles and soup mixes from the Marugame Seimen online store, but it seems that there is no longer such a way to get them. For reference, if you are interested, you can buy the Marugame Noodle Recipe Book "Marugame Noodle at Home" below to make some udon noodles.

LUMINE® Market

Amazon.

Controversy: The Dissatisfaction of Kagawa People

When I met a resident of Kagawa Prefecture at work, he was disdainful of "Marukame Seiso", and I found out the reason why when I heard him talk about it:

Marukame noodles originated in Hyogo Prefecture, which has nothing to do with the city of Marukame in Kagawa Prefecture, but it is called "Sanuki udon noodles".
Marukame's prices are more expensive than those of the udon stores in Sanuki, and the taste is not top-notch.
Marukame's noodle-making business has become so big that people from outside the city are unfairly led to equate Sanuki udon with Marukame's noodles.

These are the reasons why people in Kagawa Prefecture and those involved in Sanuki udon have criticized this act, which has caused many internet storms. After 2022, it seems that the udon business in Sanuki is getting better and better, and there is only one branch of the medium-quality Marukame Sekiso left in Kagawa Prefecture, where it originated.

However, in recent years, Marukame Seiso has been giving back to Marugame City and the local people, such as the training program in Xanqi, cooperating with Marugame City and paying for advertisements, and so on, and many of the local people have thanked Marukame Seiso for letting the world see them, and some of the articles have praised the chain for maintaining this quality, so it looks like everything is going in a good direction.

As a foreigner, I think it is a blessing to have a good udon noodle store in front of me when I want to eat udon.

Other Oolong Noodle Chain Stores

In addition to Marukame Seiso, I think there are two other chain stores that are familiar and can be found on the street: Hanamaru Udon and Nakamau.

Hanamaru Udon (Hanamaru Udon)

"HANAMARU" means "full marks" or "excellent" in Japanese, and it is usually used in the learning process when teachers correct students' homework or test papers by drawing a picture that says "Well done! The name of the program is ""。 Since the founder had never gotten this pattern when he was a kid, he wanted to get "Hanamaru" from his customers, so he named the store "Hanamaru," which is a very cute reason for naming the store.

Historically, the first store opened in Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture, in May 2000, a few months before Marukame Seiso. Due to its low prices and self-service, it received a lot of media coverage and was acquired by the parent company of Yoshinoya, one of the top three donburi chains, in 2004. It is now the second largest udon chain in Japan.

The following are the characteristics of "はなまるうどん":

Using the highest grade wheat flour imported from Australia and blended with Japanese wheat flour, the noodles are stomped using the traditional stomping technique to ensure the unique toughness and texture of the noodles.
Water quality is strictly controlled during the noodle making process, using a mixture of soft and pure water to ensure that the noodles are soft on the surface and elastic on the inside.
The udon soup base insists on using specially selected dried small fish and is made in small quantities every day to maintain the best flavor.
The green onions, the third main character, are carefully selected to ensure that the color, taste and aroma are of the best standard.

NakaU

At first, I was curious about the name of the store and couldn't understand what it was selling. When I went in, I realized that this store not only sells udon noodles, but also donburi (rice bowl). Why is the name of the store "NakaU"?

In fact, the founder skillfully combined the pronunciation of "Naka" in his name with the "U" in the Japanese pronunciation of "Udon" for udon noodle to form the word "NakaU". In addition, the character "U" is shaped like the double-sided door of a cabinet dedicated to Avalokiteshvara, symbolizing openness and blessing, and it also happens to have the meaning of the rabbit, which is a quick-hopping rabbit in the Chinese Zodiac, which conveys the company's vitality and spirit of continuous upward mobility. Therefore, the Chinese character pronounced "U" was replaced with "卯" to create today's "なか卯".

On the timeline, Nakamo has the longest history of operation, opening its first udon restaurant in Osaka in 1969, adding a parent-child donburi menu in 1994, and then slowly adding a donburi menu after being acquired by the parent company of one of the three largest beef donburi chains, Sukiya, as one of its umbrella companies in 2005.

The following are the characteristics of "Nakamau":

Using selected chicken and special sauces, each serving is handmade in-house and is known for its smooth egg texture.
Beef slices are sliced to strict safety standards, adjusting the thickness of the slices according to meat quality and fat content.
All rice is domestic.
Udon noodles are handmade in Kansai style, emphasizing the taste and texture of the noodles.
The udon noodle soup base is carefully simmered with bonito and kombu, keeping it light but flavorful.
"Haikara Udon" is the restaurant's signature dish, featuring simple fried remnants served with Kansai-style udon noodles in soup.
Chicken meat and eggs are sourced from designated factories using special feeds and strict hygiene standards.
24 Hours

Side note: Nakamo's beef donburi was featured in the manga "Kinnikuman," so this store has a special cultural status. In addition, an original song called "Nakautte" is played in the store to remind customers of the chain.

Comparison of 3 Oolong Noodles

distinctiveness	Marukame Seisakusho	Hanamaru Udon	Nakamau
Main Menu	Udon Noodles	Udon Noodles	Donburi
Sidekick Meal	Tempura	Tempura	Udon Noodles
noodles	Store Production	Produced in 4 factories nationwide	Factory Production
Soup head	Kansai Style Shiba Fish Seaweed Soup	Sanuki Flavored Dried Small Fish Soup	Kyoto Style Bonito and Kelp Soup
Price range	Cheap (340 yen~)	Cheap (330 yen~)	Cheap (300 yen)
tempo	plain-spoken	plain-spoken	plain-spoken
Service Type	Self-service	Self-service	Table Service
segments	the masses	Favored by women	Suitable for people who work early and stay late

Comparison table of 3 major udon noodle chains

Each of the three restaurants has its own advantages, so customers can choose the one that suits them best according to their personal preferences and conditions. For a quick meal and donburi, "Nakamau" is a good choice; for a relaxing meal of udon and tempura, "Marukame Seiso" is a good choice; and for a wide variety of udon and seasonal specialties, "Hanamaru Udon" is more recommended.