| rev:text
| - Dropped by after finding out about this new ramen and teriyaki restaurant via Yelp. From all of the anime characters outside, one might think that it is a video or anime or comic store, but it clearly has "ramen & Teriyaki" after Anime. The restaurant is still in its soft opening phase of operation, so business is still relatively slow and there is a 25%off soft opening promotion.
When I walked in, I was immediately greeted by two uber cute and very cheerful waitresses. The place was empty, but nicely decorated (although the waitress said it looks like a pho restaurant - a nicely decorated new pho restaurant) with many anime paintings or art works on the wall, so I basically picked where I like to be seated.
The menu has a comic strip look to it, a nice touch.
After checking out the menu, I opted to try Karaage Chicken Wings and Tonkotsu Ramen. The chicken wings were fried perfectly, but it was served with ketchup, which I thought was untraditional (chicken karaage is also traditionally boneless). I think a simple wedge of lemon would have been a better choice.
The Tonkotsu Ramen (they source the ramen from the same purveyor that supplies Monta and Big Wong), but the noodle was not prepared as well as those served at Monta on my 1st visit. But I also don't think they hired a ramen chef directly from Japan either. For now Monta's ramen is still better than the ones served here.
Finished the meal with Tempura Ice Cream. It is a good size, not the small ones served at the AYCE sushi places. But the waitress told me to try their Honey Toast, which she said was not as sweet as the ones served upstairs at Ichiza (I could not remember if I ordered that there or not, but will see about getting this on my next visit).
Ordered the Tom Yum Chicken Ramen (9-18-11) and the ramen was cooked a lot better tonight. The broth was yummy and maybe a 3 spicy level. Different waitresses, not as talkative but still very pretty, so still a positive experience.
Decor/Ambiance: 4/5 Definitely sticking to the theme, although there are still a lot of room to go in the decorating department, such as Anime-related items as decoration on the tables (under a sheet of protective glass of course), photos of cosplayers that dine at the restaurant, anime figures, etc. Even some of the waitresses are dressed in maid outfits like in some Anime, although some only donned anime-colored wigs and graphic tees.
Service: 4.5/5 Very friendly, energetic, and attentive. (I definitely gave an extra star for this, although your mileage may vary depending on the waitress, your youthful good looks and AXE application)
Food: 3.5/5 Some items still need fine tuning, but that is to be expected for a new restaurant in the soft opening phase. Would suggest serving more soup in the ramen, lemon wedge or alternative dipping sauce for the fried wings, serving the ramen WITHOUT the spoon already in the bowl.
Alcohol: Will be on the menu once the proper licensing and other requirements are in order.
Price: 2.5/5 All items are under $10. Ramen (san the 25% soft opening discount) is priced higher than Monta, but comes with 1/2 shoyu boiled egg. Personally I think at the 25% off price, it is a competitive Japanese casual comfort food dining spot, but a harder sell without.
Value: 2-3/5 Not going to win any Best Deals in LV awards, but will not break the wallet either.
Location: 5/5 Very centrally located in Chinatown, not that far down the street from the Palazzo, Wynn, and Treasure Island. Just downstairs from Ichiza and a few doors down from Yagyu.
Parking: You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk????
Final thoughts: This could possibly be a great "wotaku" hangout in Las Vegas or just a nice friendly place to chill out and watch whatever Anime they happened to have on at the time. Waitresses are definitely the friendliest I have encountered around LV. Have yet to wait for a table, and the place is larger and seats more people than Monta.
Note: Accepts debit cards and only MasterCard at the moment, which hopefully will change after Chase card processing is also approved.
As of Oct 3, 2011, there are no more 25% grand opening discount.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)