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“Maru” means “circle” in Japanese. It was one of the first Japanese words I learned at Nihonggo Center. So when I read the signage that says “MaruMaru”, I immediately thought, “CircleCircle”.

Anyhoo, I was on my way to an art exhibit when I suddenly felt hungry. I was in Glorietta, as usual, and I just wanted a quick snack because I knew I would be fed well on an exhibit opening night.  The hiragana for “CircleCircle” caught my eye. Have I ever mentioned how fond I am of Japanese food? I have? Hehe.

The star of MaruMaru’s menu is, of course, their takoyaki (P39), a snack that originated from Osaka. This is where I guess the name of the establishment comes from. Takoyaki are baked octopus balls and these aren’t anything like your run-of-the-mill squid balls. The balls have a creamy filling of octopus, tenkasu (tempura bits), konnyaku, green onions, seasoned with okonomiyaki (Japanese pizza) sauce, aonori, Japanese mayonnaise, and katsuobushi (fish flakes).

I was so curious about their yakisoba (P55), though, so I also ordered that, along with their red iced tea. Yakisoba was based on the Chinese chow mein. Upon my first bite of the noodles, I figured that Pinoy taste buds, which are so used to MSG and preservative-laden instant noodles, may find MaruMaru’s yakisoba bland. This made me wonder if it really is true that their dishes are authentic. There’s a high chance of that since the Japanese are not big on saltiness.

I love how chewy these noodles are. Of course, the instant ones you buy from the grocery stores are cheaper, but something this satisfying for P55 is a steal!

MaruMaru can be found at the Glorietta 4 Food Court. It’s very commercial and I consider it the student-budget-friendly Japanese snack stall. It’s not to be compared with the high-end Japanese restaurants found in Little Tokyo.