"Here's the question we ask when judging any udon spot: Are the cold zaru noodles neatly bundled together like a princess's ponytail? At Kirimugiya Jinroku, the udon indeed looks like Rapunzel’s golden locks: smooth, tangle-free, and glossy. Beyond the zaru, they offer other variations, such as noodles served in piping hot soup or topped with mentaiko. Kirimugiya Jinroku also makes excellent tempura with a thin, shattering batter, the star of which is the soft-boiled egg, with an intact amber and oozy yolk center. Kirimugiya Jiroku has two locations. The main Shinjuku restaurant can get crowded, so we like the one in Naruko because it’s less busy, which means less time in line and more time eating thick, bouncy udon." - Kiera Wright-Ruiz