marukame udon

had to wait a loooong time to get in and eat freshly made udon, but it was amazing. cheap and good quality food, but if you add lots of the extras, it all adds up. add one or two, but no need to go crazy as the udon is quite filling.

had the curry one, which was fantastic and the udon with dipping sauce on the side. had to wait for mine and when i asked about it, they realised they had forgotten and gave me extra noodles as a way to apologise. needless to say, i didn't finish it all...

if you're staying around here, i'd highly recommend you drop by... early.

if you love noodles and only have one place that you can visit in waikiki, make sure to try marukame udon on kuhio avenue.

their freshly made sanuki-style udon is amazing. of course, this means that it can get really busy here during the peak rush. since they open early, we decided to avoid the big crowds and have udon for breakfast… this also let us walk off our extremely filling meal afterwards.

once you enter the restaurant, you get in line to place your order and watch how they quickly assemble your udon. then the fun part begins as you get to pick from a big selection of tempura and musubi to add to your meal.

here we have the niku udon with sweet beef and caramelized onions in a traditional light fish and seaweed broth (topped with an added poached egg of course).

next is the ontama bukkake udon with a flavourful bukkake sauce and soft poached egg.

as i mentioned, there’s a large variety of tempura to select from. on this visit, we tried the crispy fried chicken, asparagus, prawn, eggplant, squid, and fish cake tempura to name just a few… not to forget the spam musubi.

don’t forget to garnish your udon… the condiments area is just past the cashier and has tempura sauce, chili flakes, wasabi, tenkasu, welsh green onions, and grated ginger.

sanuki-style udon noodles tend to be a bit firmer and chewier and i’ve yet to be disappointed here.

the noodles are quite filling so make sure you don’t overindulge with the tempura.

dat yolk tho!

definitely add a soft poached egg to your udon and try them out for breakfast to avoid the crowds.

such good value udon for the price. we arrived and the line was huge however it moved fast and gave me plenty of time to suss out what i was going to get. it was also fun being able to watch the whole process from the noodles being made then ending up in your bowl. my sister and i had the regular sizes, not the large, and we took around half home with us as it was plenty! yum yum yum!

best udon i've ever had in my life. came in around 230pm and waited ~10mins in line. definitely coming back here to try everything on the menu!

no contest. the best udon i've ever had. house-made noodles were firm and chewy, the broth was incredibly flavourful, not too salty, but complex enough for the noodles to sop it up and be an amazing meal.

marukame udon is a highly hyped restaurant and upon first glance i was sceptical. it looked like a food court style eatery in the inside with a crazy long wait. the line did take maybe 20 minutes to get through, but they have their turnover in the restaurant down to a science.

in the end, the wait was worth it. great udon and an interesting selection to choose from. i got the kamaage which is the style where you dip the noodles into the broth. really allows you to take in the texture of the noodles uninhibited by soaking in a bowl. the broth was also fantastic, quite salty but savoury and filling as the tempura flakes clung to the noodles.

along with the udons, you're also able to purchase sides from musubis, rice rolls and tempuras. it looks and tastes so good that it's a difficult decision to choose what you want without getting too much to eat.

definitely a must-visit restaurant in waikiki.

umami, often referred to as the fifth taste, is described as a pleasant “brothy” or “meaty” taste with a long lasting, mouthwatering and coating sensation over the tongue. let me just tell you up front, marukame udon is the place on oahu to seriously get your umami on.

totally worth it!!!!!!!!!😀 there was a line outside, but we were eating heavenly udon and tempura within 30 minutes. my husband had the curry udon which was flavorful but not spicy, i had the bukkae udon light but delicious!!!!!!!! we also had fantastic shrimp, asparagus, sweet potato, pumpkin tempura best i've ever had. and the two of us with a little tip for clean up under $20, a must for anyone visiting waikiki!

niku udon and tempura – traditional broth with light fish and seaweed taste topped with beef and caramelized onions. the noodles were cooked perfectly and had a chewy bouncy texture. i thought the regular portion was a good size and ended up being quite filling. the broth was light and had a slightly salty seafood flavour, but also tasted a bit sweet from the caramelized onions.

we were amused when we saw the long line up for this restaurant, so we thought whats the deal? maybe we should try it at a stage when the line up was shorter. alas this was not to be-every time we passed it was the same! so we decided to see what all the fuss was about & joined the fray! we waited in line for 15mins (something i have never done for any restaurant incidently) this was a holiday in hawaii though so why not! was worth the wait the food was fresh & tasty & ultra cheap. loved the vegetable fritters. you can actually watch the guys making the noodles through the window (if you can squeeze in to see that is). good job all you hard working guys in there

ontama udon. you can order it cold or hot with hot broth.

quick and yummy udon. yes there is a huge line, but service is very fast. simple quick food. freshly made udon noodles and pick your own tempura seafood or vegetables. cheap and yummy. great broth too.

marukame udon was one of my must-eats while we were there....you order the basic noodle you want and add the toppings you want as you move down the line. i ordered the bukkake udon, a cold udon, which was refreshing in the heat. i added a shrimp tempura and soft boiled egg. the noodles were wonderfully chewy and it was a great first meal on the island.

with this place being super busy, i was surprised with how organized and efficient the line up and process was in getting our meals together considered the amount of people that come through this place. the only down side to this place is needing to have the patience to wait for the table even after getting the food at times, being the place only holds 66 people via sitting wise. and... i question whether there is much ac in the place or if its just warm inside due to all the hot soups and people! :p

highly recommend this restaurant. some of the best udon i have ever had, counting living in tokyo. freshly made noodles are unparalleled. the broth is savory but not overwhelming. the vegetable tempura was a little under done (sweet potato and pumpkin), but the shrimp was perfect. next time i will be sure to try the veggie ball.

one of the cheaper joints in waikiki would be this noodle shop marukame udon ... can't say it's authentic hawaiian food, but if you're want to check out what's popular in town,  you can't miss it, because there's always a line up ! everything was really fresh there.  lots of variety to choose from and portions are big cafeteria style shop -  to keep up with demands