Foodie Heaven: An Udon Restaurant and Tempura Bar | Marugame Monzo
After hearing the hype around the new Marugame at South Coast Plaza, I knew I had to come and give it a try. I didn’t know what to expect besides Udon, so I was pleasantly surprised when I had the beautiful experience from just walking through the line.
vibes
It’s fast, cramped, and almost hectic, but that’s the beauty of it. They really maximized the small and narrow space that they have. The conveyer belt of food is at the entrance of the restaurant and seating is stuffed in the back and along the wall towards the front.
When waiting in line, you can enjoy the views of Udon making through a clear window, from kneeding the dough to cutting noodles and boiling in water. It’s considerably entertaining lol. Then you order your Udon and watch it get made as you move along the line. After you receive your dish, you go through a line of tempura items, musubi, and other sides. Having very little self control I had a very intense internal struggle in choosing which fried items I wanted to put onto my tray.
We found seating right away after paying for our food, but we were only a party of 2. It’s the kind of situation where you eat, you clean up after yourself, and you gtfo.
fooods
We ordered the Nikutama (because it is the #1 best-selling item on the menu), the Tonkotsu Udon, potato croquette, ebi tempura, and karage. Both of the udon were $9.90. They have other simpler Udon options as low as $5.00, which is amazing. I believe the tempura items were around 2-4 dollars each.
I enjoyed it. The Nikutama has sweet beef, Kake sauce, and soft boiled egg. Kake sauce is a dashi, soy sauce and mirin based concoction that is often eaten with Udon. It was quite sweet in my opinion, almost like a sukiyaki, but still enjoyable because it was rich in fats from the egg and beef. The tonkotsu Udon literally just tastes like Tonkotsu ramen with Udon noodles and is more savory and has a deeper pork and miso flavor. They also have chili oil, tempura flakes, and green onions available to add the extra oomph and texture.
The tempura was super fukin lit. Great texture, super light, and freshly made. I literally snatched some fresh af shrimp tempura as soon as the cook shook them onto the tray. The potato croquette was fire as well. I also loved the white meat karage, because I love white meat (don’t judge me). But they really maximized the white meat’s potential ok.
YALL I TRIED THAT BUKKAKE DON + EGG AND THAT SHIT WAS FIRE ESP. W CHILI OIL AND SCALLIONS. My new go to item!
final thoughts
I think this is a bang for your buck and a wonderful, wholesome experience. They’ve managed to create the taste and nostalgia of being in Japan inside an American shopping mall.
When I go back, I’ll definitely try a simpler dish like the Bukkake lol or Kitsune Udon that’s not as sweet, add an egg and hella tempura. I also would like to go to the Sawtelle location, which is much larger and cuter.
what I recommend: Nikutama Udon, shrimp tempura, potato croquette, chicken breast karage, bukkake don WITH egg
find it: Inside South Coast Plaza, Under Din Tai Fung and across from Uniqlo | 3333 Bristol St #1073, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
side note: The system here is that you eat and put your own plates away. But the staff will offer to put your plates away for you when you finish. There were these #rude af #snooty af white people next to us who got frustrated at the workers offering to clean up their dishes, even though they were clearly done eating (stacked dishes and all), saying “No, I am NOT done” in an aggressive tone. In the end, they just left without cleaning up their bowls. *screams*. Let’s all be kind humble and understanding pEOpLE.
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