If you like Japanese Ramen, Momofuku La Vegas is a MUST! If you are like me, you may be thinking “How different can Ramen really be from other places?” Boy was I wrong! I have heard a lot of good things about Momofuku before, but still I was blindsided by how good the Ramen is here.
When you first walk in, there is what I can explain as a bar / lounge -ish area. There are some people who are eating in this area too, and this is what is visible from the outside. So I thought to myself, ok…its a small Ramen place….but once you go through this area, there is a whole dining area with a different vibe and atmosphere.
Once we got seated here, I already knew my taste buds were in for a surprise. The menu can be a little intimidating, however after talking to our server, we started to order. We started out with some Shishito Peppers.
Ok….everyone at the table was easing in to the atmosphere….enjoying the peppers….still sort of deciding on what to try here. Another thing that caught my eye on the menu, were some pork buns. You can’t go wrong with pork buns.
Ok, so the Pork buns come out. They are good, but even up to now I am not THAT impressed. Again, nothing was wrong with the food so far, however nothing really screamed Michelin rated, or WOW, I have to come here again. To be fair, food was good, just not really that different from other good restaurants. And then came the Ramen…
I first started with the Mushroom Ramen, and as soon as I tried a sip of the soup, my taste buds just screamed WOW! Ok, now I see what the big deal is about this place. I’ve been to really good ramen places in Gardena, CA….Downtown LA…..but this was really something else. So I had to try some of the Spicy Miso Ramen.
And to my surprise, the Spicy Miso Ramen was just as good! Different in taste from the Mushroom Ramen, but equally good. When I say equally good, it was hard for us at the table to decide which one is better. That is not something you see everyday. I am not a big fan or Truffle, so we did not get any Truffle Ramen….but if this is MP (Market Price), I wonder how good this one is!
Momofuku Noodles, located inside of the Cosmopolitan Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. This place is not a cheap place. Especially when the Ramen is $30 for a smaller portion. But it is definitely worth trying at least once, or every once in a while at least. Again, I don’t know if its something they put in their soup base, or an ancient secret on how they prepare it, but this is by far the best Japanese ramen I have tried…hands down.