Udon Shin is located off the main street in Shinjuku in an alleyway. The small eatery is hidden from view in a lane near a police box.
Go through the white noren (curtain) at the entrance and you will see a cozy interior consisting of six counter seats and two tables. The restaurant only serves udon made from scratch: dough is rolled by hand with a rolling pin, then fed through a chopper where ribbons of udon fall onto a tray. Fresh udon, thick and square cut, is boiled upon your order.
Udon is served in cold or hot versions with various toppings. The basic variants are Zaru Udon, cold udon served with a chilled dipping sauce; Kake Udon, hot udon in broth topped with thinly sliced scallions; and Bukkake Udon, cold udon with a thicker dashi broth.
Soba is also available. You can choose from a variety of ingredients to go with their simple soba. One of the popular toppings is Kashiwa-ten, a soft, fluffy, and juicy chicken tempura.
If you want the cold option, go for the tenzaru that comes with an assortment of two shrimp and a few vegetable pieces. It is served with a cold, dried bonito-based dipping sauce. For the warm option, go for the gobo (burdock root) tempura with sweet-flavored, thinly sliced beef. The gobo tempura is also made using a dried bonito-based broth. If you fancy a fusion of Japanese udon with a western pasta, try the carbonara-inspired bowl served warm; it is topped with parmesan cheese, butter, pepper, a raw egg, and a big slice of bacon tempura.
There is a simple English description of each dish in the stylish pictorial menu.
天ぷらはサクサクで麺もコシがあってうまい！1時間ほど並びましたが、それでもまた行きたいと思うほど満足でした。 Quote from Google Map Review
Photographers:udon_shin.official
