Opened in 1967, Kineya is a udon-specialty shop that can be found all around Japan. What set them apart is their kakejiru and in-store freshly made udon.
Zaru Udon 杵屋のざるうどん
讃岐うどん Sanuki udon is characterised by its square shape and flat edges with rather chewy texture. It can be served cold (with a dipping sauce called mentsuyu めんつゆ) or warm (with dashi broth or with a thicker dipping sauce).
With a dipping sauce, you are suppose to eat the udon as soon as you receive it. There is a big different between the quality and the taste if it takes you too long before trying it out. After a period of 15 minutes, you get to realize that it will become soggy and soft. A complete turn around from the al dente and firm texture you may get once it is served.
Kake Udon かけうどん
The udons are made fresh every day. The kakedashi かけだし is a Kansai-style golden colour clear broth made from bonito flakes that is added to the chewy noodles. Served with vegetable kakiage (deep fried fritter) and a mentaiko onigiri (rice ball).
Tsukimi Gyu-suki Kamatama 月見 牛すき釜玉
The beef udon is a wonderful combination chunky noodles, and sweet and spicy shigure-simmered しぐれ煮 beef with a slightly spicy and strong flavoured dipping sauce. Topped with a generous sprinkling of chopped scallions and nori (seaweed) strips, it came with a raw egg for you to mix into the beef for that extra creaminess and smoothness, which is aptly described as tsukimi 月見 or “seeing the moon”.
“Kamatama” is a popular way of serving Sanuki udon noodles. The udon noodles are removed piping hot from a boiling cauldron (kama) and placed in a bowl and then have a raw egg (tamago) and a special kind of stock-infused soy sauce poured on top. The chewy noodles and the raw egg, which quickly becomes perfectly half-cooked, mix in your mouth to create a mild, gentle flavour.
I took some of the scallions and nori, and put them in the spicy dipping sauce.
The sauce was special, slightly spicy, a bit of yuzu/lime fragrance, strong soy sauce taste – this sauce went well with the egg coated udon.
This shop is found in Nishi-Shinjuku and very crowded during lunchtime. But the turnover of the tables was very quick during my last visit. English menu available on request.
Kineya 杵屋 新宿第一生命ビル店
東京都新宿区西新宿2-7-1
小田急第一生命ビル1F
Tel : +81 03-3343-8010
Visited Nov 2023
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