Isabel Yang

A line of people wait at Valley Fair’s Marugame Udon. The restaurant’s efficient food service makes it stand out from other similar spots.

The sounds of dishes clattering, noodles tossing and line cooks hollering fills the air in Westfield Valley Fair Mall’s Marugame Udon. Against the swirling backdrop of colorful murals, cooks ladle steaming noodles into hot porcelain bowls, pouring broth and sprinkling toppings. The restaurant is open and inviting, featuring a large glass window peering into their gleaming kitchen with wooden poles separating the dining area from the mall’s walkway.

What makes Marugame Udon uniquely enticing is its unorthodox but efficient food service system: instead of a conventional sit-down meal experience, the restaurant serves food through its udon bar. Customers enter the restaurant and make their way along the side of the bar, watching the workers assemble udon bowls within minutes of ordering. The bar also provides a self-serve section for tempura sides and a beverage cooler for bottled water and various sodas. 

Though we came at the peak lunchtime hour of 12 to 1 p.m., the line was surprisingly quick, and we only waited five minutes before we were able to order. 

For our main meals, we ordered the best-selling Nikutama udon for $13.49 and the limited-time Tomatama curry for $13.99 in regular sizes. We also bought additional sides of tempura, gyoza and other veggies, which cost $2.49 per piece. Extra drinks made of juiced fruits were $3.50 per cup, pre-made and poured from dispensers. While the menu also offered a variety of rice bowls with meat toppings, the udon was clearly the most popular order in the restaurant.

We were both pleasantly surprised by the Nikutama udon, a sweet steaming bowl of thick and chewy udon noodles. Chefs neatly arrange assorted toppings like Japanese beef, green onions, crispy tempura chips and a melted runny egg on top of the silky dashi soup. Pleasantly blending savory and sweet, the broth was flavorful but light, complemented by the crunch of the tempura chips and the springy, flavor-absorbent noodles. However, the beef consisted of a crumbly texture, which contrasted oddly with the rest of the dish.

On the other hand, we were less thrilled with the Tomatama curry. While the noodles were the same, the broth was heavy and tasted unnaturally sweet. The curry contained shreds of egg, accompanied by chunks of tomato that had the texture and taste of gelatin. It was also surprisingly spicy, which was unexpected since the menu did not mark the item as spicy.

The traditional toppings of chicken katsu and green onion attempted to revitalize the dish, yet failed to freshen up the curry base. The crispy outer shell of the chicken katsu became disappointingly soggy in only a couple minutes, with the green onion vanishing into the sauce.

Unfortunately, both the shrimp tempura and gyoza went cold quickly and were criminally expensive at $2.49 a piece. While the shrimp tempura exceeded expectations with its enjoyable crunch and palatable sweet-savory flavor, the sauce was piping hot and far sweeter than a conventional Japanese tempura sauce would be. Furthermore, the gyoza proved to be stale and tasted like a store-bought microwaved snack, packed with a beef filling that tasted nothing like beef, or any sort of identifiable meat. Overall, the additions seemed to serve the purpose of enticing newcomers who don’t mind the extra expense.

The Pineapple Sunrise drink, advertised as a refreshing blend of pineapple and blood orange, tasted like an intense and overwhelming combination of fruit punch, Kool-Aid and concentrated Jolly Rancher syrup. It was unnecessarily sweet, but it helped drive off the spice in the Tomatama curry later on.

Bursting with the hustle of a Valley Fair restaurant, Marugame Udon provides a welcoming atmosphere filled with a constant stream of customers. With an efficient tray drop-off and a well-streamlined traffic system, Marugame Udon earns points for its speed. However, by embracing modernity, the restaurant surrenders its authenticity, and we felt that many of its dishes strayed too far into fast food territory. If you’re looking for a place to quickly grab a bowl of udon to fuel up for shopping, Marugame Udon is a fine restaurant to dine at. But for special or meaningful meals, we would recommend trying someplace else.