Name: Marukame Udon & Tempura
Location: 2310 Kuhio Ave #124, Honolulu
Cuisine: Japanese
Website: Marukame Waikiki
Rating: 5/5
Last year, I remember seeing so many great reviews online for Marukame Udon with pictures showing long line ups of people waiting to get a seat. But unfortunately, we never had the chance to check it out because we were only in Oahu for 4 days and had a tight schedule. So this time around, we made sure to visit the restaurant to see what all the hype was about!
We visited Marukame Udon early in the morning for breakfast (yes, quite a big breakfast lol) and were happy to find the place empty so we didn't have to wait! (TIP: If you want to try this restaurant but you're finding long line ups, I highly suggest going there for breakfast because they open at 7 AM and there are hardly any customers). The restaurant is quite large with many seats throughout the place. Once you walk in, you order from their menu and move down the line to cash out, as you would at a cafeteria.
Marukame Udon is known for their fresh noodles that are made in-house daily, as well as their low prices which is perfect for locals and tourists. There are two locations in Honolulu, with one in Waikiki and the other in Fort Street Mall.
The restaurant has an open kitchen concept where you can see the staff preparing all the noodles, soups and garnishes.
The type of noodles that are made at Marukame Udon are called Sanuki udon. Many people may think that the process of making udon noodles is easy, but they don't know how delicate and time consuming the process is to produce the perfect texture, taste and freshness. They're very committed in maintaining freshness even with their soups, where they never make large batches but only a certain amount by hand every so often.
Click here to learn more about how Marukame Udon makes the perfect udon.
There are two sizes of udon bowls: regular and large. You also have a choice of adding extra beef to select udon bowls.
Not only do they sell udon, they have vegetable and seafood tempura, fried chicken, potato croquettes, Inari and musubi.
Customers can choose their own sides with the tongs and plates provided along the line.
Double Nikutama Bukkake Udon - Large ($9.25)
Bukkake sauce topped with sweet beef,
caramelized onions and a soft boiled egg
caramelized onions and a soft boiled egg
I ordered a large Double Nikutama Bukkake Udon with a potato croquette, inari and shrimp tempura on the side. I don't know what I was thinking ordering a large bowl for breakfast, but I was able to finish the entire thing (lol)!
As soon as I tasted the broth, I immediately fell in love. The soup was extremely delicious and wasn't salty at all. The noodles had the perfect chewy texture and I was able to taste the freshness. For the sweet beef and caramelized onions, I was surprised at how good it tasted because just by the looks it seemed plain, but it was actually packed with a lot of flavour. The soft boiled egg was cooked perfectly with a velvety runny yolk. I also enjoyed the tempura, inari and potato croquette which were very fresh and great accompaniments.
Nikutama Curry Udon - Large ($8.75)
Mild Japanese curry with shredded beef, onions and soft boiled egg
Kevin was craving for something more rich in texture and so he went with Nikutama Curry Udon. He also enjoyed the udon and was very pleased with the quality of the overall dish. I tried some of his soup which tasted great, but I preferred my udon.
We were stuffed after finishing all the udon + sides, and were very satisfied with our meal. I was really amazed at how fresh everything was and how all the flavours were on point. I know there are many restaurants in Oahu that I highly recommend, but Markuame Udon is a MUST-have or else you will be missing out on something out of this world!!
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