I've been checking out different ramen places around Vegas for past couple of years and wanted to hear others thoughts on best ramen.

I have to give the nod for best to Ramen Sora on Spring Mt. but I think Monta Ramen is a close 2nd.

Ramen Sora
ramensoralv.com

Monta Ramen
montaramen.com

I have a serious question. I read a lot of talk about Vegas Ramen restaurants on this board. Obviously this can't be the same 50-cent Ramen noodles I lived off of in college?

I love Asian foods of all kinds so I guess I need to try this but am wondering exactly what it is and what to expect.

It's the same kind of noodles with some other ingredients. Japanese food is not about the ingredients, it's usually like "it tastes really well but it's better if you dont know all the ingredients"

Ramen Sora was excellent!

Real Ramen, not the fried noodles with sodium packets you speak of, is all about the broth. Tonkotsu Ramen is made from pork bones and is simmered up to 24 hours. It is by far my favorite, but there are lots of different kinds depending on the restaurant. There are other ingredients added to it as well and the noodles are also important, but the broth is the star.

Not all Japanese restaurants make great Ramen, so I would find a Ramen specific restaurant and go sample.

Consider the difference between Scarpetta and Chef-boyardee.

Thanks for clearing that up. Makes sense.

Have always liked ox-tail broth, tastes like liquid steak if done right .....do ramen places use it ?

Ramen is derived historically from "la mian" or pulled noodles. These days, most ramen at respectable shops are freshly made but not hand pulled. They typically contain some alkaline to increase the chewiness.

For the broth, there are 2 main types. "Pai tan" white soup and "qin tan" - clear soup. White soup broths are simmered at a higher temperature so more collagen and fat are extracted, creating a rich milky soup. Clear soup is simmered at a lower temp and is more akin to a consomme.

Below these main categories are many subtypes. The most common ones being tonkotsu (pork), shoyu (soy sauce), shio (salt), miso. (not including tsukemen, the dipping noodle, as its more a way of eating than a broth type, though the broth is usually distinctive).


Tonkotsu - pork bone based white soup that is thick, rich and milky.

Shoyu - soy sauce added in form of tare. Can be either white soup or clear soup based.

Shio - strictly clear soup based with salt. Typically much lighter. Can be chicken, pork, or even seafood stock based.

Miso - miso added to typically white soup. Common accompaniments are butter and corn.

As to what to expect

Places in Japan will have specialty ramen like ox tail based, clam broth based, snapper based, etc.... By and large, you wont find these in the US.

Monta is very small and usually has a long wait. Sora is a bit lesser known and has a larger space and not much of a wait list. I usually prefer sora over monta.

I love me some pork pho. I will look for a Ramen dish next time.

I just saw you are in Arlington, I'm over in Dallas. I don't know how often you get to this side of town, but there are a few that I have had that are really solid. Here's a link to a recent rating of Ramen in Dallas.

https://dallas.eater.com/maps/dallas...rth-best-ramen

Ramen Sora is traditional pork based broth only. Monta Ramen offers a chicken broth option and mixed pork/chicken broth option.

Ramen Hashi also on Spring Mt. is chicken broth only. Their seating is counter top only. Something about the broth at Ramen Hashi tasted off to me. I've tried it a few times.

One of the main differences between ramen is pho is that ramen doesn't have any cilantro in it. Also, the noodles are different, not sure if pho is rice noodle, but ramen is usually a thicker wheat noodle..

I am going to open a Ramen restaurant in Vegas. Figure I should do so in Caesar's.

After all, that was part of the Ramen Empire

That claim was debunked in The Hangover

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8jBk4S8bbk

... but a good joke.

Ramen Tatsu on Jones (same plaza as the original Chada Thai) is criminally underrated.

Thanks for the list. I'm in Addison often for meetings. I'll check out the place on Beltline.

Here is a decent guide for a beginner to learn about ramen. You can use it to understand many of the terms you might find in this list of some of the top ramen places in Las Vegas.

Let me know what you think about it. I haven’t been to that one yet, but it’s on my list. It’s one of only a few places that has gluten free Ramen.

Pho is a rice noodle, but there’s no requirement to have cilantro as a garnish. Northern pho often uses only sauces (fish, chili, vinegar) as garnish and while Southern pho generally uses more herbs, there are lots of alternatives to cilantro. For example culantro, which has a much stronger taste.

Can someone explain this egg? I am always up off a little by its appearance as opposed to a hard boiled egg that’s white with light yellow center. I think if I understood how it was cooked I could be good with it.

Its basically a 7 minute egg thats peeled and marinated in a soy, mirin, dashi mix overnight.

Watch video at 3 min.

I really love how people share so much info about food. I love Pho and have my fave places, but I’ve never bothered to learn the differences between them. Well now I know the diff between North and South. For the record, I’m a Southern fan and love cilantro in mine.

Thanks. (I've also had that question.)

This thread again delivers, in a succinct, informative manner.