Ramen shops and soba shops in Hirosaki City will start offering "Chuka Zaru" from mid-May.

"Chuka Zaru" is a summer menu offered in the Tohoku region centered on Aomori. Chill ramen Chinese noodles and eat with soba soup. It is said that it originated in North Tohoku, but there are various theories and the origin is unknown. In Hirosaki city, there are many shops that serve in the summer alongside Hiyashi chuka.

At "Ginsui Shokudo" (Shinkajimachi, Hirosaki City), a signboard of "Zaru Chuka Hiyashi Chuka" was set up at the storefront from May 21st, and the service started. "Kumakko Ramen Aoyama Main Store" (Aoyama, Hirosaki City) started offering "Chuka Zaru" after Golden Week. The owner, Tadamitsu Aoyama, says, "Chuka zaru starts in early summer when the temperature rises above 20 degrees Celsius, and then chilled Chinese. In midsummer, chilled Chinese sells better than Chinese zaru."

The soba shop "Ichiriki" (Tomita) started "Chilled Chinese" on May 21st. "Chuka Zaru" is not listed on the menu and is included in "Zaru" (750 yen), and will be offered if an order is received. According to Takao Kato, the third-generation owner, the soba restaurant in the Tsugaru region, which has been around since the prewar period, began to offer ramen after the war, and the noodles may have been diverted to become "Chuka Zaru".

"In winter, especially Zaru soba cannot be sold in Hirosaki, so we started to serve warm ramen as a pillar of income. Chinese noodles are not on the menu, but customers have told us to serve them. Because it is close, many children come to the store, and children order Chinese noodles rather than soba noodles, "says Kato.

Michio Kuronuma, the 4th owner of the long-established restaurant "Sanchu Shokudo" (Watokumachi), which was founded in 1907 (Meiji 40), says that Chinese zaru is not a menu that has existed since its opening. "I remember eating meals when I was a 73-year-old junior high school student. I'm not sure when I started serving meals as a restaurant menu, but I started offering them at the request of customers who saw meals." talk.

"Our shop offers Chinese zaru chuka all year round. Since we serve ramen and soba, we only serve Chinese noodles with soba soup, so there is no need to increase inventory. Therefore, we also add soba hot water. Chilled Chinese is 6 as usual. It will start after the moon begins. "