Down for delicious donburi

Yakiniku Don ($9.95 dine-in; $11.95 takeout)

If you’re craving udon, TsuruTonTan is your newest go-to spot. Serving delicious handcrafted noodles made fresh daily, it’s hard to beat the quality and authentic flavor of the udon meals. The soups, dashi and noodles are all carefully made using ingredients from Japan.

“We even use a specially filtered water to mimic that of the water in Japan so that we can create the most authentic Japanese udon,” says general manager Takuma Lathrop.

Ahi Avocado Poke Bowl ($9.95 dine-in; $11.95 takeout)

The restaurant in Waikiki has affordable lunch specials for $9.95 that come with a customer’s choice of udon (kake, curry, cream or hiyashi) and a donburi that changes weekly. There’s a shoyu-based ahi avocado poke bowl if you’re craving raw fish, or a hearty yakiniku donburi with tender beef, slow-cooked egg, green onions and benishoga. For something lighter and with a variety of vegetables for your daily intake, try the shrimp tempura don served with two pieces of shrimp, kabocha, eggplant, nori and shiso.

Although the restaurant does not offer curbside pickup, there’s plenty of free parking in Royal Hawaiian Center with reserved stalls for food pick-up on the third floor.

Shrimp Tempura Don ($9.95 dine-in; $11.95 take-out)

“TsuruTonTan is located on the third floor, so park there so you don’t need to access any elevators, stairs or escalators,” says Lathrop. It’s also not a far walk, as the restaurant is located right near the parking lot. You can make the most of your trip to Waikiki by shopping around the mall as TsuruTonTan offers three hours of validated parking for kamaaina and military.