Jason B.
Yelp
Uma Uma is awesome!!
My friend and I had spent the entire morning working on a project at his house and appetites were ready for porcine, spicy, deliciousness.
We seem to pick perfect days for projects. Last time, it was pouring rain. Today, it was quite cool and drizzly. In any case, something warm and piquant seemed to fit the bill.
Uma Uma is a medium sized establishment in a small shopping mall. Walk in, and you will see booths, a set of tables out front, and a cool bar area. Looking as flagged as we must have appeared, we were graciously seated at a comfy booth near the bar.
We got shrimp gyozas for an appetizer. The wrappers were expertly crisped, the shrimp interiors were well cooked (not overly chewy), and a delightful sweet sauce was expertly dashed across the gyozas.
For mains, we both got the kitsune udon. My friend got no spice. I opted for the top level - 5, on the side. I now wish I had not wussed out. I eat Dave's Insanity Sauce at home on practically everything...so, for whatever reason, I give restaurants the benefit of the doubt when they offer levels of spicy. In this case...I scraped every last bit of the thick spicy concoction into the deeply umami'ed (is that even a word!?) broth.
Within my bowl were mini boo choy, seaweed paper, half a soft boiled egg, and two slices of thinly cut pork (presumably the tonkatsu). The flavors all meshed well, the egg was not overly cooked - it melted away into the broth. I genuinely enjoyed my soup!
What surprised me was the little lightly alcoholic beverage. Icing White Grape. Don't let the fru-fru name fool you. Our waitress said it was very popular and I can see why. It's crisp and fruit forward flavors really balanced out the deep umami in the udon broth.
I think I shall return...and I suggest you treat yourself to a visit as well. Udon well, my friends!