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Hakata ratanmen Marutan Nanokawa main restaurant

Vegetarian

Supervisor / Recommender

What is a new category called “Hakata ratanmen” ?

What do you think of when you hear “Hakata ramen?” Isn’t that thin noodles in Tonkotsu soup (made from pork bones)?

Do you know there is a new category called “Hakata Ratanmen” which originated in Fukuoka that is a very competitive area for Hakata ramen. Hakata ratanmen is a kind of combination of the best characteristics of “Hakata ramen” and “Tantan men.” Hakata Ratanmen Marutan has 4 branches across Fukuoka prefecture, offering the unique noodles in a new category at reasonable prices.

I went to the Nanokawa main restaurant for the interview.

Outside appearance

Outside appearance

This restaurant is located on Nisseki street and easily accessible. There is a bus stop nearby and there are also toll parking lots available. Upon arrival, you can purchase tickets for food out of a vending machine next to the entrance.

What makes Marutan special is the soup. Although a lot of people probably have an image of Tonkotsu soup when it comes to Hakata ramen, here they blend sesame paste into broth cooked with a variety of vegetables for a long time. It is a plant-based soup, but it is very delicious and fragrant with lots of flavors from the sesame seeds and vegetables which can be just as good as animal-based soup but not as greasy on your stomach. All the noodles at Marutan are served with this plant-based soup.

Inside the restaurant

Inside the restaurant

Vegan ratanmen that was created to be enjoyed by a variety of people

Known as a combination of best of Hakata ramen and Tantanmen, the noodles are served with toppings full of flavors which are mixed with minced pork, onions, gingers and miso paste.

Menu list

Menu list

It is still not easy to find noodles with “non-Tonkotsu soup” in Fukuoka. Marutan felt the increasing demand of plant-based menu through frequent inquiries “Are there any plant-based items on the menu?”, hence they started developing plant-based dishes so that anyone including vegans can enjoy their food.

They focused on creating plant-based items just as good as ordinary Ratanmen. Minced meat with miso paste, which is substituted with soy meat, is created with stronger flavors so that non-vegans can also enjoy the soy meat even if they have never tried the soy meat before. So if you try it on its own, you might recognize it is soy meat, but if you mix with noodles and soup, you probably won’t even notice it is soy meat. They also tried to create the wholesome taste which maintain the image of “soybeans are healthy,”so you will taste the natural flavor of soybeans as well. They changed the noodles to plant-based noodles for vegan ratanmen.

They were particular about the texture of noodles. Majority of customers prefer the hard texture, so they tried to create noodles with hard texture yet still tastes delicious. Their noodles are also slightly thicker than Nagahama ramen, leaving the satisfying feeling.

Vegan ratanmen

Vegan ratanmen

After trial and error, they created “Vegan ratanmen” in September 2020.
The crispy lotus root chips add the unique characteristics to this dish.

Don’t miss out ! Marutan, that is constantly changing for the best.

The reason why I highly recommend Marutan is their sincere attitude and commitment to change constantly so that ensure to provide best possible food all the time.

Staff working at Marutan

Staff working at Marutan

Vegan dishes can generally more expensive. Here at Marutan, they offer vegan rartanmen with an additionl cost of only 100 yen to normal rartanmen because they want more people to enjoy this vegan rartanmen without hesitating due to high prices.

In fact, when they first discussed the price upon launching the menu, some staff said that the price was too low. However, Chairman and president had a firm belief of “We want more and more people to try our food and like it first and foremost” and they offer such affordable prices. For that, they needed to make an extra effort.

For example, they switched to plant-based noodles for all the dishes on the menu. This can lead to increased volume of production, reduced cost of ingredients, and food wastage as well by having the common ingredients between normal dishes and vegan dishes throughout the menu.

They are currently developing a spicy seasoning which can be used for both normal dishes and vegan dishes, so that vegan rartanmen can be enjoyed with more varieties.

In the long run, they aim to select ingredients locally produced. They started using lotus roots produced in Japan for deep-fried lotus root chips and intend to switch to local products step by step.

They are thriving with creative ideas and sincere attitude to change so that they can offer best possible dishes, please come and experience their beautiful dishes.

Takeaway / Delivery ServiceNoodle menu available for takeout
(Noodle only or topping only are not available)

「 Hakata ratanmen Marutan Nanokawa main restaurant 」Basic information

Store name Hakata ratanmen Marutan Nanokawa main restaurant
Tel 092-522-6777
Address 2-2-9 Nanokawa Minami-ku, Fukuoka city, Fukuoka prefecture
Business hours

11:00~04:00(LO.3:30)

Holiday The third Thursday of month
Budget

1,000yen

Payment method

Cash

Parking Lot Toll parking lot availbale nearby
Language Japanese
Advance reservation
Cooking description
Note

Counter seats : 13

Store HP
web siteinstagramline

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