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2014-05-06
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Marugame Seimen is a popular chain offering cheap sanuki udon with a self-service model. My first experience with this restaurant was actually in Hawaii a few years back when I saw a long line of Asian tourists lining up in front of the newly opened shop. I remember the prices of the udon were very cheap especially in a tourist destination like Hawaii so I ended up trying the bonito soy sauce udon with a half boiled egg. Not bad for the price. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that Marugame
The choices for udon were vast - to the point I had difficulty deciding what to try at first. I guess the 3 main categories are udon with mixed rich soy sauce, soup udon, and bonito soy sauce mixed udon. Each of the choices differ by what kind of toppings it came with. Since I already tried the soup udon before, I decided to try the Udon with Beef Dipping Sauce - available for a limited time only apparently.
After placing my order, I got a tray and moved along the line to the tempura section where I can pick and choose anything I want in addition to my udon. The prices were quite cheap ranging from $7-$13 each. Seafood like squid and shrimp were available as well as vegetables. I think the choices were rather limited though compared to other locations like TST.
At the end of the line, you can get the seasonings like the tempura sauce and condiments like green onion and crushed ginger.Udon with Beef Dipping Sauce ($38) - my udon arrived in a rather cute wooden container while the beef dipping sauce sat in a separate bowl. The udon was nice and chewy but nothing that special. The beef dipping sauce was really salty, which made the beef and fried tofu strips inside too salty to eat as well. I had to fish out the contents and wash it in the plain broth in the udon to make it edible.
Sweet Potato/Pumpkin Tempura ($14) - I love veggie tempura more than seafood actually so I picked out a sweet potato and pumpkin tempura. Unfortunately, the tempura were not kept warm at all so it was not as good to eat. I mean it wasn't half bad for cold tempura but I prefer to eat fried things hot if you know what I mean.
Marugame Seimen is just known for their value. The food is nothing spectacular - you get what you pay for. Next time I shall just stick with the udon with bonito soy sauce.
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