Sanukiseimen Mugimaru

Alternately known as Sanukiseimen Mugimaru (Costa Mesa, CA/Algonquin Heights, IL) or Mugimaru (Torrance, CA), this small chain of udon and tempura restaurants can be found inside select Japanese Mitsuwa supermarket food courts. In Orange County, the menu consists almost exclusively of udon noodle bowls with or without soup broth and toppings – pork cha shu, sliced beef, chicken, tofu, boiled eggs, and/or vegetables – plus a collection of self-serve a la carte tempura pieces. Generally, you choose an udon bowl with your preferred ingredients ($8-16), select tempura fishcake, shrimp, karaage, and veggies ($1-2 each) with tongs and paper plates, then find a table in the often crowded communal seating area.

If this sounds similar to the larger Japanese chain Marugame Udon, that’s accurate – though Mugimaru differentiates in a couple of ways. First, you can choose from a few additional items, including curry rice plates and onigiri rice balls. Second, immediately neighboring restaurant Don Don Tei is owned by Mugimaru, focusing on full rice bowls and soba noodles. They don’t use the same cash registers, but their menus and ingredients overlap significantly, and small groups can easily move from one line to the next to order different types of noodle or rice bowls.