Finally, the freshest and tastiest udon, prepared right before your eyes, is now in the Philippines, thanks to Ben Chan’s Suyen Corp., which has brought in one of Japan’s largest udon restaurant chains, Marugame Udon. It recently opened its first branch at Bonifacio High Street in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
Marugame Udon had its first outlet in Japan in 2000, and now has about 1,000 branches around the globe, including China, Thailand, Hong Kong and Hawaii.
True-blue Japanese food lovers and noodle eaters can attest to the freshness of Marugame’s udon, which has a rich, tasty feel in the mouth. Every Marugame outlet is equipped with a specialized noodle-making machine that whips out freshly kneaded udon.
There’s also a large pot for boiling noodles for that al dente texture. The open-kitchen style allows diners to see the actual preparation and smell the food’s aroma.
“We make our udon from scratch,” said Takaya Awata, president of Toridoll Holdings Corp., the Japanese company that runs Marugame chain. “That’s how fresh it can get.”
Asian market
Awata said that the timing of Marugame’s opening in Manila was perfect, although he had wanted to open earlier, about four years ago.
“It took us some time to find the right location for the first shop,” Awata said. “We were hoping to open a store in Manila years ago because the Asian economy has been steadily rising. The Philippines’ growth rate is impressive.”
Awata also admitted that other Philippine companies, through a trading firm in Japan, had first tried to partner with them to open a branch in Manila. But Awata said it was decided that Suyen Corp. best fit their plans.
“First, Suyen has the power to expand and open stores in many places, and they’re used to handling all kinds of brands,” said Awata. “Second, it has the experience in dealing with other Japanese brands.”
Marugame Udon in BGC has a warm and friendly ambiance. The modern interiors with wide, comfy cushioned seats and wooden tables blend well with the traditional Japanese brick rooftop and mini curtains.
Self-service
The self-service-style restaurant makes it easy to place an order: first, choose the type of udon you like and your preferred udon temperature, either hot or cold; second, choose the tempura or omusubi sidings; and lastly, pay your bill and select your condiments. It takes just 30 seconds to make the udon.
You can have your bowl of udon with a light soy sauce or with a heavy broth soup and loads of toppings, such as sliced beef, Japanese poached egg, cod roe, etc. Side dishes include Pork Tonkatsu, Tempura Zucchini, Potato Croquette and Chicken Karaage, to name some.
Some of its popular dishes from Japan are Beef Ontama Bukkake Udon and Kake Udon. But the restaurant also has a special localized version of its udon dish called Chicken Paitan, which adapts to the Filipino taste.
Adjusting to customers
“In every country we go to, we try to adapt and create a localized version of a certain dish,” said Awata. “And, if you were a Japanese eating udon, you would prefer to eat a simple udon with radish on it and a soy sauce. That’s simple. But, in the Philippines and other countries, people enjoy udon with broth topped with beef or chicken. We constantly try to adjust to what the customers ask for.”
He added: “We want people outside of Japan to get to know our udon and have them try and taste it. We know that sushi, ramen and tempura are famous outside Japan, and udon has not penetrated much yet. So, we want Marugame Udon to be the biggest player for udon outside Japan.”
The opening ceremony was attended by the big bosses of Toridoll Holdings Corp. led by Awata, with executive directors Kimihiro Tanaka and Takashi Nagasawa.
Suyen Corp. executives present included president Virgilio Lim and chair and CEO Ben Chan. They were joined by Rowena Tomeldan of Ayala Land Inc., Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano and Makoto Iyori from the Japanese Minister of Economic Affairs.
Marugame Udon is at Unit 982, B7, Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.