Marugume Monzo was our intended lunch destination for the day but seeing as we were hungry in the moment and 40minutes was too long of a wait for out hungry stomachs we stopped by TaNoTa for a quick appetizer. This takoyaki break killed about 25minutes so we rushed back across the street in the hopes that we might be called early.
LOCATION: 329 E 1ST ST., LOS ANGELES, CA. 90012
We managed to find a nice semi shaded spot in line outside of Marugume and waited for our name to be called. When we got back from TaNoTa we only had about 4 more people in front of us so we were seated in about 10 or so minutes which wasn't bad; just enough time to digest our takoyaki and get hungry for some udon. Christel and I both love udon and seeing as it's not as popular as ramen don't get to eat it as often. Of course thick chewy noodles are where its at so udon is perfect.
Christel has been here before and knew she wanted the Miso Carbonara Udon. Marugume is famous for their Sea Urchin Cream Udon but I've only had sea urchin once and wasn't a huge fan so I didn't want to risk my one treat at udon on something I was unsure of. Christel doesn't like sea urchin either so there it would be a dish wasted if I didn't like it so I aimed for something a little safer. I decided to try the Mentai Squid Butter Udon because she said one of her brothers tried it before and enjoyed it. It comes with seasoned fish eggs butter sauce with squid and onions and I also decided to add some green onions for a few cents to add some fresh green lightness to a pretty heavy dish. I'm not saying the green onions did a lot but I like to pretend.
The bowls that they serve the udon in are huge which is comical to see but also fun to eat out of. My udon's were a little fishier than I was craving and the texture of the squid was smoother and softer that I'm used to but I ate every bit of that handmade noddle till I was ready to burst. We each ordered sprites to help wash down some of the heavy creaminess which was a smart move for us. All in all, I would go back again. Marugume has a ton of crazy flavor combinations that all sound pretty delicious and the texture of the noodles is perfect for me. The line moves pretty fast and everything was really great; definitely a great way to mix things up from the flood of ramen everywhere. To me, udon is the true unsung hero of noodles.