We visited Jin twice and made return visits to both Ippudo and Momofuku Noodle Bar (two of the most popular ramen joints in the city, and according to our own rankings, contenders for the best ramen in NYC) in order to see how this newcomer would stack up. And how was it? Awesome. More

While the wontons weren't the most exciting part--whole tiny shrimp in a thin wrapper--the crispy fish skin was a revelation: not really fishy as much as salty and crunchy, almost like a fish crouton. More

In the great quadrumverate of Japanese noodles—that would be ramen, udon, soba, and somen—New York is sorely lacking in the latter two. At least, we were lacking in the latter two. Cocoron, a new-ish soba joint in the Lower East Side has brought it, and man, is it good. More

Hand-pulled noodles are dramatic to watch being made. Starting with one cylindrical rope of dough, a noodle maker pulls and tug on that rope and folds it over his fingers, weaving his hands back and forth as if playing an accordion, each time stretching out the dough so that before long all ten of his fingers hold up progressively thinner strands of one singular, unbroken string of dough. The chewy texture and slightly irregular shape of a hand-pulled noodles keeps each strand interesting and fun to eat. So we checked out five hand-pulled noodle joints in Manhattan's Chinatown, looking for the best the neighborhood had to offer. More

The XO Steamed Rice Noodle ($3.50) is a fat pile of slippery, tender, steamed rice noodles that comes coated in a rich, spicy sauce of minced pork flavored with plenty of whole braised garlic cloves, chilis, and shiitake mushrooms. More

With the success of Bozu, the self-proclaimed Japanese Tapas Lounge featuring small plates of refined Japanese-European fusion, chef-owner Makoto Suzuki continues his Williamsburg-based expansion with Samurai Mama. It's an unfortunate name for what is a truly excellent noodle shop, and what I hope will be the start of a new, moderately-priced Asian-themed noodle dynasty. The hand-made udon are certainly good enough to carry it. More

Given how well Xi'an Famous Foods (full review here), the Flushing noodle and soup joint that made a successful leap across the East River to the East Village is doing, it was only a matter of time before a few of its competitors began to follow suit. Henan Flavor, the brand new Chinatown spinoff of Flushing's Henan Feng Wei, serves a menu that resembles Xi'an's in many ways. Wide hand-pulled noodles available in soups or platters, simple homestyle stews, and pork-stuffed sandwiches. But despite these superficial parallels, a few bites in and it's quite clear that you're in a different province entirely. More

Noodle dishes are the highlight of my lunch visits to Chinatown Brasserie. I often go out of my way just for an order of their E-Fu Noodles—when that specific craving hits, there's no other place that can satisfy. Recently I've been venturing around the other noodle dishes on the menu and was particularly pleased with the Mushroom Noodles ($15). More

Late-night eateries usually don't take too much care with their food, and often aren't vegetarian friendly. M Noodle Shop defies both of those generalizations, with nicely prepared food and lots of vegetarian options. More

[Photo: Kathy YL Chan] Having a particular soft spot for $5 hand-pulled noodles at various Chinatown joints, I was skeptical of Hung Ry on Bond Street—where bowls of hand-pulled noodles start at a pricey $11. But I'll spare you... More