Marukame Udon

Front Of Marukame Udon

Making Fresh Udon

           After a grueling 8 hours of waiting on a plane and waiting for a rental car, we came out with a free upgrade for our rental car. We upgraded from the cheapest compact car to a moderately priced mid size SUV. However, this was a bit confusing as the rental car attendant just pointed to the lot and said the grey SUV, so we had to get her to explain. Finally, we went in a few circles looking for the exit onto the main road. After a snack at Costco, we finally proceeded to our hotel. Lets just say it was a long day, so what better way to end it than getting some udon at Marukame Udon. There wasn't that much of a line, but by the time we left, or around 8 pm, there was a line and a half. We waited for about 10 minutes, which gave us plenty of time to choose what different kind of udon you want. On entering the establishment we saw someone making fresh udon. Unfortunately I wasn't quick enough but managed to get another snap. Anyways, the way you ordered was to tell the chef what udon you wanted, toppings or not (of course toppings!) and grabbing some tempura left under the warmer. None of us grabbed any musubi or anything like that because it was prepackaged and we had enough food either way. Udon is really filling, you know. Finally, you would grab chopsticks, tempura sauce and pay for your order. Our's came to $31 U.S.D for 4 bowls of udon and tempura. By the way, this place has a 4.8/5 rating on Zomato and was put as the 10th best place to eat in the United States according to Yelp. 

Regular Ontama Udon $4.25 + $3 for Tempura

 Regular Niku Udon $5.25

           Along with my sister, I got the Ontama Udon. It comes with lots of thick udon noodles in a nice shoyu broth with a soft poached egg, along with a scoop each of Tempura Flakes and Green Onion. I just got a sweet potato tempura and a shrimp tempura. Not feeling very adventurous again after walking for 30 minutes with a backpack. The udon itself was actually only $4.25 U.S.D, which wasn't very pricey at all, especially for Hawaii. Adding the shrimp tempura for $1.75 and sweet potato for $1.25 wasn't the best idea, as I barely touched the sweet potato, and was very full at the end. This was a fantastic bowl of udon that made my    taste buds sing. The soft boiled egg acted like a yellow waterfall that streamed into the soup. The broth was just flavorful enough to complement the al dente udon.The large scoops of green onion helped add color, texture and some freshness to the dish, along with the crunchyness of the tempura flakes. The only problem was that as the evening went on, the tempura flakes got soggy and tasted like wet flour. You couldn't really blame them though, as there really is no way to counteract it. I would give this udon a 5/5. My family was kind

Large Curry Udon $7.25

 enough to give me a bit of the Niku udon, which practically just replaced the soft poached egg with some shredded beef. At $5.25, this was a decent value, and was quite good. The beef was very tender, and the broth was slightly richer. However, the difference wasn't that noticeable and just tasted good. It was about that same as the Ontama Udon with the same al dente noodles. I would give the Niku Udon another 4.5/5. The final udon we got that night was the large Curry Udon, which was a pretty large portion as well for $7.25. I didn't get to sample this one because my dad ate it all really quickly and gave me 2 thumbs up and a 4.5/5 rating. He said it had the same al dente noodles with a small hint of spice. Supposedly it wasn't too spicy, although the broth did smell different to me. In the end, Marukame was a very affordable and filling meal that tasted really good too. Definitely would recommend this place as it isn't far from Waikiki. Just remember that the line gets longer as the evening goes on.

Bottom Line: Delicious Inexpensive Udon
Tip: Come Earlier for Shorter Wait
Overall: 5/5 (5/5 for noodle lovers)