San Francisco: Marugame Udon
Abby had been raving about Marugame Udon for a long time. I finally got a chance to check it out when my mom and I went up to the city to help Abby move out of her apartment. One the way back to the South Bay, we made a quick lunch detour:
The line was long when we arrived and only got longer while we waited. Eventually, we made it inside:
The good thing about waiting in line was that we got to see the magic in action as all orders were made fresh to order.
The first step was to choose a type of udon. Options included curry, beef, and tonkotsu, among others. Most types came only hot, but some, such as the nikutama, could be ordered cold. Selection made, the next step was to decide on size (regular or large) and then to watch as our bowl was assembled:
Then, cafeteria-style, we headed over to the tempura station to choose whatever caught our fancy (at additional cost, of course):
Once we paid at the cashier, the final step was to top off our udon with green onion and crunchy tempura bits:
I got the beef udon (regular $7.90) and added a soft boiled egg ($1). I couldn't resist also getting a fishcake tempura ($1.70), a squid tempura ($1.90), a shrimp tempura ($1.90), and a croquette ($2.20):
I would skip the tempura, but the beef udon was slightly sweet and uber delicious. The highlight of the entire experience, however, was the soft boiled egg. There's only one word for it: delightful.
SO DELIGHTFUL.
My mother got the tonkotsu udon (regular $9.90):
The pork broth came with chashu pork, miso ground pork, garlic, and chili oil. A soft boiled egg was included and we asked for it on the side so that I could steal it.
Yes, I stole the egg from my own mother. No shame and all that. Heh.
My sister got the nikutama udon (regular $8.50):
Instead of a soup noodle, the nikutama udon came in kake sauce with beef and a soft boiled egg.
I'm a sucker for rice balls, so when I came across the rows of onigiri by the cashier, I couldn't help but grab a crab mayo one ($1.40) and a tuna mayo one ($1.50):
To my great disappointment, the onigiri barely had any filling in them:
No bueno, man.
Straight from Japan, Marugame Udon has all of the characteristics you typically associate with its motherland: elegant, delicious, and oh-so-efficient. Even better, it's affordable. The cheapest udon on the menu will only set you back $4.50. Even the fancier udons are less than $10. The udon noodles are fresh and chewy and really don't get much better than that.
And the soft boiled egg. Oh, the soft boiled egg.
Delightful, my friends. DELIGHTFUL, I SAY.
Marugame Udon
3251 20th Ave
San Francisco, CA 94132
(415) 680-1280
https://marugameudon.com/
The line was long when we arrived and only got longer while we waited. Eventually, we made it inside:
The good thing about waiting in line was that we got to see the magic in action as all orders were made fresh to order.
The first step was to choose a type of udon. Options included curry, beef, and tonkotsu, among others. Most types came only hot, but some, such as the nikutama, could be ordered cold. Selection made, the next step was to decide on size (regular or large) and then to watch as our bowl was assembled:
Then, cafeteria-style, we headed over to the tempura station to choose whatever caught our fancy (at additional cost, of course):
Once we paid at the cashier, the final step was to top off our udon with green onion and crunchy tempura bits:
I got the beef udon (regular $7.90) and added a soft boiled egg ($1). I couldn't resist also getting a fishcake tempura ($1.70), a squid tempura ($1.90), a shrimp tempura ($1.90), and a croquette ($2.20):
I would skip the tempura, but the beef udon was slightly sweet and uber delicious. The highlight of the entire experience, however, was the soft boiled egg. There's only one word for it: delightful.
SO DELIGHTFUL.
My mother got the tonkotsu udon (regular $9.90):
The pork broth came with chashu pork, miso ground pork, garlic, and chili oil. A soft boiled egg was included and we asked for it on the side so that I could steal it.
Yes, I stole the egg from my own mother. No shame and all that. Heh.
My sister got the nikutama udon (regular $8.50):
Instead of a soup noodle, the nikutama udon came in kake sauce with beef and a soft boiled egg.
I'm a sucker for rice balls, so when I came across the rows of onigiri by the cashier, I couldn't help but grab a crab mayo one ($1.40) and a tuna mayo one ($1.50):
To my great disappointment, the onigiri barely had any filling in them:
No bueno, man.
Straight from Japan, Marugame Udon has all of the characteristics you typically associate with its motherland: elegant, delicious, and oh-so-efficient. Even better, it's affordable. The cheapest udon on the menu will only set you back $4.50. Even the fancier udons are less than $10. The udon noodles are fresh and chewy and really don't get much better than that.
And the soft boiled egg. Oh, the soft boiled egg.
Delightful, my friends. DELIGHTFUL, I SAY.
Marugame Udon
3251 20th Ave
San Francisco, CA 94132
(415) 680-1280
https://marugameudon.com/
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