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The reason and discussion behind the free rice in Japanese Lamian Noodles shops
In Japan, Lamian Noodles is a favorite traditional food, and some Lamian Noodles shops will provide delicious noodles and a bowl of free rice. This kind of collocation has become the standard for many Japanese to eat Lamian Noodles – some people like to eat rice with Lamian Noodles, and some people will wait until the noodles are finished before pouring rice into the remaining noodle soup.
However, with recent discussions among Japanese netizens about this phenomenon, there seems to be a deeper reason for the “welfare” of this white rice.
Background: Controversy over Free Rice
Recently, Sanxiangjia, a popular Lamian Noodles shop in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, has aroused heated discussion on social media. The shop owner criticized the customer for not finishing the free white rice, stating that this has caused waste for the store, especially in the context of Japan’s recent white rice shortage and rising rice prices.
This post quickly spread online and sparked heated discussions among netizens.
Some netizens have raised the question of why they are so angry because customers haven’t finished their meals, given that the restaurant is willing to provide free meals? Some people even speculate that the provision of free rice may have the intention of the shop owner wanting customers to “clean up” the noodle soup.
Theoretical exploration: White rice and the treatment of “industrial waste”
A netizen nicknamed ‘zapa’ shared a unique theory. He said that the reason why Lamian Noodles shops provide free rice might be to let customers use rice to absorb the remaining noodle soup, so as to avoid treating it as “career waste”.
According to this theory, if the noodle soup is not consumed by the customer and poured directly into the sewer, it may clog the pipes, causing hygiene problems such as the production of odors and the breeding of cockroaches and mice.
On the other hand, restaurants cannot handle these soups for free like families do, but need to incur additional costs for processing. Therefore, providing free white rice for customers to finish their noodle soup can actually help reduce the processing burden on the shop owner.
This statement immediately sparked a lot of discussion among netizens.
Netizens‘ reaction: Urban legend or reasonable explanation?
Although there is no clear evidence to support the theory of ‘zapa’, netizens have expressed that this explanation is very reasonable.
Some netizens mentioned that when they worked in some Lamian Noodles shops, they did encounter difficulties in dealing with noodle soup. Due to regulations in the catering industry requiring the installation of oil-water separation tanks, the cooled oil can easily clog the drainage pipes. Therefore, if customers drink the noodle soup, it can indeed reduce the cleaning work of the restaurant.
However, there are also many netizens who hold a skeptical attitude. They believe that although the processing of noodle soup is indeed troublesome, compared to the cost of providing free rice daily, this statement seems somewhat exaggerated.
Some netizens even joked, “Drinking noodle soup will block blood vessels, leaving noodle soup will block water pipes
Is there really a deeper meaning behind free rice?
Although the term ‘industrial waste’ has become a hot topic of discussion, it is more like an unconfirmed urban legend.
In fact, the reason why Lamian Noodles stores provide free rice may be simpler: it may be just a marketing method for the store to improve the dining experience of customers or attract more customers.
The processing of noodle soup is certainly troublesome, but this may not be the main motivation for the shop to provide free rice.
Win win relationship between customers and shop owners
However, many netizens have pointed out that regardless of the authenticity of the theory, the provision of free rice by the shop does create a win-win relationship between customers and the shop.
For customers, they can get free rice while enjoying Lamian Noodles, which meets the dual needs of taste and satiety. For shop owners, customers drinking noodle soup reduces the difficulty of processing, which is also a convenience.
The act of Lamian Noodles shop providing free rice has triggered extensive discussion among Japanese netizens. Although the theory of “career waste” sounds reasonable, it is still doubtful whether it is the real reason.
However, this discussion undoubtedly revealed some unique features of Japanese catering culture, and also let people see the cultural and economic links behind Lamian Noodles.
Whatever the real reason, the combination of rice and Lamian Noodles has been deeply integrated into the Japanese diet. For shop owners and customers, perhaps this is just a simple dining choice, but the cultural and economic background it contains is worth savoring carefully.