Marukame Udon, Honolulu

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Attention noodle lovers! Come and visit this Udon heaven!

Marukame is a chain in Japan, called Marugame. They just opened a cafeteria style restaurant in Waikiki back in April 2011. This place is packed every night! Don't be discouraged of the line though. It goes pretty quickly. And the food is worth waiting for! They're open every day from 11 am to 10 pm.

They make the udon fresh from Nippn brand Mentakumi flour. You can actually see them in action making the noodles. When we went there TWICE, Hector was the dude in charge of boiling the noodles. This guy is full of energy. Greeting each customer and yelling out "ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHAAAAA!" He makes everyone smile especially the girls! :) You can see him in one of the photos posing as Mickey Mouse.

Grab a tray, tell the person behind the counter which style of udon you want. There are 7 types of udon you can choose from: the Kamaage Udon (their #1 seller), Curry Udon, Niku Udon, Ontama Udon, Bukkake Udon, Kake Udon, and Zaru Udon. The food is very cheap here! Some udon starts at $3.75! After getting your udon bowl, make your way down to the cash register. There are various tempura / "Age" treats along the way. They also have inari sushi and musubis for you to try. We tried the chicken karaage, fish cake, and vegetable tempura. We also tried the spam musubi. I got the Niku Udon while my wife got the Curry Udon. Both were delicious! The broth is flavorful and the noodle has the right chewiness.

Don't forget to check out magazines from the stands. They have free drink coupons in those magazines.

I can still taste the udon in my mouth! I want some more! Did I mention this place is cheap?!!

Favorite Dish: Udon, udon, and more udon! Love the chicken karaage, fish cake, and vegetable tempura!