Handmade Japanese Udon – Zaru • Orlando, FL
I am soooo excited to share to you one of favorite meal this month! I was able to get a sneak peak of ZARU, a new Japanese udon shop serving handmade cold and hot noodle bowls! The noodles were so thick, chewy and bouncy.
This is just one of the restaurants brought to you by Make Studios (Soseki, Camille, Viet-Nomz, Sorekara) by the Tung Brothers (Johnny & Jimmy Tung). They traveled to Japan and fell in love with udon as well as the 500-year-old-noodle making tradition, they loved it so much they brought it back here to Orlando, Florida.
Inside this beautiful 25-seat dining room with a open kitchen, they serve Sanuki style udon noodles made from Japanese flour sourced from Kagawa Prefecture, the birth place of udon!
I was more than ecstatic to finally see more Japanese restaurants in Florida that serves more than just sushi and ramen. My hubs and I crave traditional Japanese flavors, but would always have to resort to just cooking at home.
The menu itself is a very simple one, we have a small selections of appetizers and a even smaller selection of either hot or cold udon. You then chose your add-ons which they recommend a few selections per person. We decided to try the Yaki Gyoza $9 – which was tasty but it had a flavor that was throwing me off. I just couldn’t pinpoint it, but I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite, but it was still tasty.
We got 1 cold and 1 hot udon to share, the Ikura Shiso Udon $20 – marinated salmon roe, shiso, ume, and the Nikutama Udon $18- sliced beef, onsen egg. We also added a shrimp tempura $4, sweet potato tempura $2 to the Ikura Shiso order and bonito flakes $2, and toasted nori $3 to the Nikutama.
I was very surprised by the texture of the noodle in the Ikura Shiso, it reminded me of al dente pasta and was quite chewy and bouncy. The flavor was very savory and deep, but it grew on me and I enjoyed it a lot. It was refreshing yet strong in flavor. (The ikura did all sink to the bottom so it was difficult to eat it with the noodles).
The Nikutama felt like such classic to me! It reminds me of a gyudon but instead of rice you have udon. The combo of soy, dashi, sliced beef and a runny egg is such a warm and comforting dish. I did also notice the texture of the udon was softer in here and it may have just cooked more in the hot broth. I would highly suggest trying this one out!
I can’t wait to go back! The flavors were really pure and clean and they are very proud of their imported ingredients from Japan. I also have to add that sitting by the window and just gazing out into the city life at night was just a vibe!
