My favorite handmade udon place in LA just opened a second shop in Vegas! When I saw them pop up on Yelp, I knew I had to make a visit! The bonus about this location includes no wait on a Friday evening! The location in LA has 1.5 to 2 hours wait on a Tuesday night! There was never not a line and it made me appreciate all that hard noodle kneading work more.
Though it's the same establishment, I felt like the noodles here are a bit lacking. I'm not quite sure what it is lacking but something is missing. Perhaps it's lacking an umami feel that was left behind in LA? Or the water in Vegas is different? The noodles are still good but didn't quite give me that wow factor.
My hubby ordered the mentai squid butter udon and the broth was creamy with squid and little fish eggs (mentai). I decided to venture from my usual sea urchin cream udon, which I know is fantastic, and try the hot dragon udon, which is spicy paitan broth with bean sprouts and ground pork. This is like a ramen bowl, except with udon. Both broths were flavorful and the noodles had a nice bite.
The negitoro for the appetizer was delicious to eat and fun to assemble. The sauce to dip the wraps in had a wasabi kick. The vegetables and shrimp tempura had a nice hot dipping sauce. The shrimp tempura was slightly soggy on the inside; otherwise, everything was fried well.
Though I wasn't blown away with the dishes here as I have with every visit in LA, it's still exciting to know they have another location now and when in Vegas, I have more noodle options.