Tamoya — sanuki beef + pork egg udon + mentaiko tater tots ($35)!

Dinner date with BB — Tamoya Sanuki udon twin bowls + mentaiko tater tots side. $35 total. Proper Japanese hand-cut udon chain. 😋

What was on the table ($35 for 2 pax):

• Sanuki beef egg udon (top bowl) — thick chewy sanuki udon in dashi-soya broth with sliced beef, wakame seaweed, chopped scallions, tempura crumbs (tenkasu), and a soft-boiled onsen egg.
• Sanuki pork egg udon (bottom bowl, mine) — same setup but with sliced pork instead of beef + visible chashu-style pork curls.
• Mentaiko tater tots (right plate) — golden flower-shape tater tots topped with pink mentaiko (spicy cod roe) mayo + bonito flakes (katsuobushi) + drizzle of sauce.

Tamoya Udon (玉や) is the SG-Japan sanuki udon chain — handmade thick chewy noodles from Kagawa prefecture (Sanuki = traditional name). Bowls are made-to-order, you can see the udon being cut + boiled at the open kitchen.

Sanuki udon is the thick chewy variant of Japanese udon — distinguished from Inaniwa (thin) or Kishimen (flat) by its square-cross-section thick noodles with that signature firm chewy “koshi” bite. Slurp test: should resist before giving way.

The beef + pork twin setup let us share + compare. Beef was thinly sliced + dashi-poached, pork was thicker chashu-style with more fat content. Both bowls had the onsen egg (Japanese soft-poached at 63°C) — break the egg over the udon for the creamy yolk coating.

Mentaiko tater tots are the chain’s playful side — Japanese tater tots topped with mentaiko mayo + bonito flakes. Mentaiko (Hakata speciality) is spicy cod roe, blended with mayo into a pink savoury-spicy spread. Bonito flakes wave from the heat. Side dish but ended up being the table favourite.

Total: $35 for two mains + side.

Overall: 4.3 / 5. Udon had proper sanuki chewy bite, onsen egg was textbook 63°C, mentaiko tater tots were the surprise highlight, broth was clean dashi-soya. Will reorder mentaiko side. 😍👍🏼

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