The Sankei Shimbun reported on Wednesday that Yoshinoya, a chain famous for its beef over rice, will launch its “Kyutama Stamina Mazesova.” Gyutama means beef and eggs, and Mazesova means noodles mixed with other ingredients. This is similar to the traditional beef over rice dish that has only noodles.
Sankei said it is the first time that Yoshinoya, a rice bowl restaurant founded in 1899, is introducing noodles. Although it was launched as a seasonal menu aimed at the summer, it is not irrelevant to the soaring price of rice that has turned to noodles at the chain, which has only walked a single path with rice bowl.
At a press conference the previous day, President Tetsuya Naruse said, “It is not easy to manage due to rising food materials such as rice and beef and labor costs,” adding, “We will increase the number of visitors by challenging a new genre (cotton).” Japan’s recent average retail price of rice has fallen for four consecutive weeks due to the release of so-called “half-priced reserved rice,” with 5kg reaching 3,920 yen, but it is still 78.3% higher than the same period last year.
Yoshinoya Holdings, which has Yoshinoya as its subsidiary, also announced last month that it would use ramen as its future growth business.
The situation is similar for other chains. “Legendary Stadonya,” a rice bowl restaurant with about 200 stores outside of Japan, opened a ramen restaurant in Tokyo on the 8th of last month. “It is difficult to operate only with rice bowls due to rising rice prices and unstable supply,” an official of the company said. “Ramen can cost about 100 to 150 yen lower than rice bowls based on one meal.”
In addition, Ichibanya, who runs “Care House Coco Ichibanya,” took over the ramen shop last year, and there is a noticeable increase in the movement from the restaurant industry to noodles, Sankei said.
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
