🚩Bitan Plaza Basement - Economical Udon Noodle Shop

On holidays, we hiked at Bitan and Meishan, and after hiking, we didn't have the energy to walk far to find food. Besides the quite expensive scenic restaurants along the noodle river, the DCC Bitan Plaza, connected to Xindian MRT Station, also has several options to choose from. Bitan Plaza opened at the end of 2019, and the stores on the 2nd floor have already changed several times, while the Marugame Seimen on the basement floor has been in continuous operation for over three years, which suggests it has its unique advantages.

The ordering process starts with lining up at the cooking area on the right, ordering from the staff, and then pushing left to the counter for payment, accepting cash and credit card payments. (With the receipt from the neighboring PX Mart, you can upgrade from a regular bowl to a large bowl for free, saving 30 NT dollars.) After payment, you can head to the condiment area on the wall to add green onions and other seasonings. The dining area is shared with other shops, spacious, bright, and has plenty of seats, but many people occupy seats without ordering, so it's recommended to find a seat first.

Here are my impressions of the dishes:
Vegetable and Pork Udon Noodle: The udon noodles are chewy with a bit of Q texture, packed with plenty of vegetables and thin slices of pork, making it a very healthy combination. The broth has a bonito flavor, and you can add more after finishing, mild but not satisfying enough (too bland 🤨).
Teriyaki Chicken Don: Fried chicken pieces drizzled with sauce, topped with a soft-boiled egg and shredded nori. The sauce on the meat seems sweet, but it doesn't pair well; the rice is plain and doesn't have a salty sauce to go with it, just a bit mushy white rice. This dish wasn't very good, so I don't recommend it 😕.
NT$40 Upgrade to Soup Udon: The simplest udon noodles in a medium bowl + soup, purely to fill you up.
Fried Items: Okra, white fish, and squid, all pre-fried and kept, but the batter isn't too hard or too soft. Tasty in a plain way.

The dishes I ordered this time were quite basic and didn’t leave a deep impression, belonging to the type of place you might pass by but wouldn’t specifically come to eat. However, compared to several other shops around the basement, Marugame has more choices and reasonable prices. While we were dining, there was quite a long queue of customers, the kitchen delivered quickly, and the service attitude was very good, making it a conscientious shop.