Udon done right

A bowl of Udon for only P95 at Marugame

What was the first comment that I heard about Marugame Udon restaurant, which recently opened at Bonifacio High Street? That it should be called “Muragame” — c’mon, a regular size curry udon goes for P170, while a beef yaki udon will cost you P190. Get this: the Kamaage, Kake and Zaro udon dishes are priced at P95 each. You read that right — less than a hundred pesos. Inexpensive, yes, and the other thing it has going for it is freshness.

“It’s all about the process,” explains Takaya Awata, president of Toridoll Holdings and Corp., a Japanese firm that counts Marugame (as well as Toridoll Yakitori, Tokyo Table, and Bottega Del Ramen) among its lineup of restaurants. Awata tells us that every dish is made to order. Diners can see everything being made in the restaurant’s open kitchen, starting with 100 percent Japanese wheat: udon noodles are freshly kneaded, cut, boiled and cooked right before your very eyes. Thirty seconds for a bowl of udon. Tops.

In designing each Marugame outlet (there are about a thousand worldwide), the priority is securing a space for making udon: there is a large pot for boiling noodles (texture: al dente) as well as a special fryer to deep-fry crispy tempura.

And the udon is always boiling in the kitchen, adds Awata. So it is ideal for people in the Bonifacio Global City area to just saunter into Marugame, choose their preferred noodles (hot or cold), go to the tempura and omusubi counter to pick the sides, proceed to the condiments station with its phalanx of flavors (wasabi, ginger, tenkasu, spring onions, dashi-shoyu sauce, etc.), and enjoy those Sanuki-style Japanese udon.

There are five types of udon, the people at Marugame inform us.

Kamaage Udon is served hot from the pot to the bowl, with a dipping sauce flavored with grated ginger, green onion and ground sesame.

Zaru Udon is rinsed in cold water and goes very well with thick broth.

Kake Udon is the classic incarnation served in hot broth. 

Bukkake Udon is served with a thick broth and a just a touch of dipping sauce.

Kamatama Udon (Mentai Kamatama Udon) is topped with egg and cod roe to be sprinkled with dashi-shoyu (soy sauce).

The Marugame origin story takes place in an udon factory in Japan. “It was just a simple factory, not even a restaurant.” But Awata spotted people lining up, bowls in their hands, eyes twinkling in anticipation — oodles of udon were swimming in fragrant broths somewhere. He followed the queue.

“I wanted to have that atmosphere,” shares Awata. He believes udon is one of most popular dishes in Japan — it can hold its own against perennial all-stars sushi, tempura and ramen. In establishing its first of many outlets in the Philippines, the people behind Marugame Udon & Tempura made sure the offerings would be affordable to average Filipinos like you and me. Toridoll’s partner in the Philippines, Suyen Corporation, is supporting the endeavor all the way.

“Suyen has all kinds of different brands, which it has managed successfully — food, fashion, etc.” Awata explains. Not only that, Ben Chan and company already have the expertise in dealing with Japanese food concepts. Plus, the man himself clearly loves the cuisine and culture of Japan.

So, how do the Japanese partake of udon?

“Very simple,” concludes Awata. “Usually, we order the simplest udon with the most simple broth.”

So very Zen, yes. But for us Filipinos, there are no dos and don’ts when it comes to udon. Heck, the udon-meets-carbonara dish looks uncommon and scrumptious at the same time. And, says my pun-wielding friend who has already dined at Marugame in Tokyo, “If it is MURA, we are GAME.”

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Marugame Udon is at B7, Unit 982 GF, Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.