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| - Nothing like a warm bowl of noodles on a cold, wet day! Located in the Grange food court is Manpuku, a small sit-down restaurant serving up cheap and delicious bowls of udon.
I ordered the Curry Udon - basic plain udon topped with a Japanese blend of beef curry sauce ($5.99). I was expecting the broth to be a lot thicker from the curry but it was still a pretty light soup base with a mild curry flavour. Very enjoyable! The slices of beef were tender and the green onion garnish was the perfect addition to the dish.
There's an option to make any of the udons or donburi's a combo for $2 which comes with a choice of two sides including chips, salad, soup or Takosen. I went with the soup (miso) and Takosen. The Takosen was basically a takoyaki sandwiched between two Japanese rice crackers. I didn't like the rice crackers very much, which I found to be a bit stale (but I'm not sure if they're supposed to be this way). As for the takoyaki themselves were delicious! And hot, so you might want to let them cool a bit before popping them in your mouth.
My boyfriend ordered the Niku Udon - basic plain udon topped with pork and onions in a special blend of sauce ($5.99). The pork was nice and I really enjoyed the broth, which wasn't too salty. If you find yourself still hungry after a bowl of noodles, you can get a noodle refill for $1.10.
Since I was starving while ordering, we also ordered the Yakionigiri - traditional rice ball stuffed with tuna and grilled in soy sauce ($3.49). I've never had this before but it was surprisingly delicious. I loved the crispiness of the exterior from being grilled. There wasn't actually much tuna on the inside (which I believe was canned tuna), but I didn't mind. This would make for a nice little snack.
Overall, I really enjoyed Manpuku. The food was cheap, quick and delicious and the service was friendly. A great spot for those craving a warm bowl of noodle soup.
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