Marukame Udon (& a yarn about motherhood)

Childbirth, motherhood and everything that comes with it are the hardest yet most rewarding things I have ever done. I didn’t partake in any antenatal courses but I doubt that attendance would have prepared me for the onslaught of emotions, frustration, helplessness and tears, from baby and myself, that motherhood inevitably brings. People warn you of the sleepless nights, the fatigue, the crying... but there are the secrets that no class, book nor other mothers mention – that breastfeeding is hard work and is accompanied by many poos (oh, the poos!) and a crazy amount of nappies early on, that textbook advice rarely yields the described results in your non-textbook baby, and that you will have less time to yourself than you ever expected. And now, seemingly all of a sudden, Mini-human is 9 months old today and my feelings about motherhood are quite well summed-up by Catty. Though there are days when I feel that he is stretching my newfound levels of patience so much that I may have to chuck him in the bin, he can win me over effortlessly with nothing more than a flash of a smile. I’m now convinced babies are evil alien masterminds cloaked in mini-human cuteness with an intent to rule our worlds, but I remind myself that I have only another 2 months day-in-day-out with mine before the return to work beckons.

I don’t have the luxury of sleep-ins anymore and we are going through a trying period of post-viral fussiness/teething/night waking/milk refusal, which means that until Mini-human sorts himself out, Husband and I don’t have the option of leaving him in someone’s care whilst we go on a dinner date. He’s only been without the both of us twice – the first time for Mistress’ wedding, and then this.

Often when we’re out having brunch/lunch we take it in turns to eat whilst the other keeps Mini-human amused or takes him for a short walk in the pram so that he drifts off to sleep. The sad result is that we’re out together but end up eating separately as such. We had an early afternoon bank appointment recently and took the opportunity to catch lunch beforehand while our mothers kindly kept an eye on Mini-human. The choice was Japanese cafeteria-style, now-not-so-new Marukame Udon which Husband hadn’t had the chance to visit as yet, plus it had been many months since I went with Chocolatesuze and a particularly fussy Mini-human at the time. (Yes, there is ample space to manoeuvre prams here but you’ll be restricted to downstairs seating. Also, bring someone along so they can order while you scope out where best to sit.)


So you front up to the counter, admire the udon being freshly machine-made onsite and choose from the 13 udon options on the menu. While it’s cooking, shuffle along the smorgasbord of battered and crumbed deep-fried goodies and try not to go overboard with your selection. Husband is a batter man, as evidenced above, but give the squid a pass as sadly it’s refashioned squid paste rather than the bouncy real thing. The cheese frankfurt is my guilty pleasure, pleasingly smoky, and great washed down with a refreshing iced green tea for only $1.50, sweetened or unsweetened, from a self-dispenser near the cashier.


I’m a crumb fan myself and the curry croquette is reassuringly non-goopy with a nice curry powder flavour. If you want to up the ante, there is curry salt along with unlimited spring onion, tempura flakes and other condiments at a separate counter after you pay. The tonkatsu has a thin ring of fat around one side of the fillet, and appears to be pork loin, but there is no tonkatsu sauce to be found for dipping, boo... **EDIT** and you can find tonkatsu sauce in the "Worcestershire"-labelled bottles at the condiments station (thanks Shez!).

Make sure you grab a spare plate if you get the seaweed salad, as it unfurls substantially and you’ll need room to toss it with the contents of an included mini-bottle of fragrant sesame dressing. It’s good value at $3.90 and provides relief from the deep-frieds as well as the bouncy udon in sweet-ish broth and, in our case, gooey egg yolk. Perfect for warming your insides in this colder weather.

332 Victoria Ave (btwn Spring & Archer St), Chatswood  NSW
Tel: (02) 9413 9434

Opening Hours:  Mon-Wed  11:30am-8pm
Thurs-Sat  11am-8:30pm
Sun  11am-8pm

Marukame Udon on Urbanspoon

happy eating!

19 comments:

  1. You and the G-Man have done well with the little human! That's some serious egg on that udon!

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  2. wow never knew squid paste was a thing! hehe mini human sounds like a bundle of joy nonetheless!

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    1. Yeah, thought it would be a squid tube but not in our case =(

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  3. You do realise you are right on your alien assumptions, and it never goes away, toddlers, tweens, teens, twenty somethings............ welcome to the alien appreciation club :p

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    1. He controls my life, I tell you! But I love him, of course =D

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  4. This has become my go-to place for a quick feed in Chatswood. I tried the squid when it first opened and I swear it was real squid... but I guess they've changed it since then? The curry croquette is my favourite :)

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    1. The squid was soft and doughy when we went and a bit sad, really, but perhaps it changes??

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  5. There's a bottle at the sauces counter labelled Worcestershire sauce and it's actually the sauce for tonkatsu! Marukame upon is my alone time place, I'm glad you got to revisit with company.

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    1. Sneaky tonkatsu sauce masquerading as Worcestershire! *shakes fist*

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  6. aw <3 and glad you got to go back to Marukame! also, how awesome was the green tea!

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    1. More awesome was an elderly lady whom I spotted grabbing deep-fried stuff for takeaway!

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  7. I bet you are doing an awesome job! The scrunched up smile in the top photo proves it :)

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  8. Naw.... alien mini human's a cutie...! x
    Keep meaning to try this place when I'm in Chatswood but there are so many places to try around there!

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    1. Haha too many choices! And they close early-ish too so you gotta time your dinner here.

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  9. Absolutely loved your post Rita. I forwarded this to my sister she often speaks about all the things you've mentioned about motherhood and even the tears during the tough days and eating separately of being alone with the baby. Hopefully one day I'll get to experience a mini human of my own.

    Its really good / healthy to take time out for yourself and your hub.xx PS. Udon looks awesome!!

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  10. I feel you lady. I could have written the first section of your post myself (except we threaten to put Master out with the council clean up). And yes the poos. Looking at, sniffing for, examining, mentally counting, and attempting to correct the consistency of poos. I've even voluntarily looked at a slideshow of photos of different poos. Didn't think this would have been remotely possible pre motherhood. And I've got a non textbook baby too - today was the first day I ate in a restaurant with him on my own without needing someone else to occupy/entertain him so I know exactly what you mean about eating alone!

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    1. It is so literally true when people say that, with children, you will never be alone ever again haha!

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