Oni Ramen - Deep Ellum

Y'all. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know that I've found the best ramen in Dallas. I've been disappointed in the ramen scene in Dallas for quite some time, but we're actually starting to get some good ones. Some of my go-tos... Wabi House, Monta, and Santouka (inside Mitsuwa's food court). But Oni Ramen blows them all out of the water. The other ones all have their strong points, but overall, Oni shines in all accounts.

Apparently there was already a location in Ft. Worth that I wasn't aware of, but we went to the new Deep Ellum location a few weeks ago. Since then I've been back already. I rarely go back to a restaurant within a month these days. I've never been to the Ft. Worth one so this review is purely for the Deep Ellum location.

Oni Ramen - Deep Ellum
2822 Elm St.
Dallas, TX 75226
(469) 620-2162
www.oniramen.com
Price: $$

The layout of this place reminds me of ramen shops in Japan. It's pretty small. A few tables, some bar seating, and 2 tables outside in the back. You can either order at the computer screens or sit at the bar and get full service. I've gone twice now... first time we did the kiosk, second I sat at the bar. I'd have to say I prefer the bar seats because I always like to ask questions and potentially have substitutions and stuff. Yes, I'm one of "those" people. haha. Plus you get to chat with Brett, who mans the bar. He's a super cool dude. :) But seriously, you can't go wrong either way here. The food is ultimately good both ways of ordering.

The first visit. We did the kiosk orders and then went to go find seats. It's self service this way so there's a water station where you can get your own water.

At first glance, the bowls look freaking fantastic. I was impressed by the amount of toppings that come standard to their noodle bowls. And even the add-on's are reasonable in price.

Kyushu Tonkotsu (garlic-white pepper pork broth with pork belly, bamboo shoots, woodear mushrooms, mustard greens, red ginger, green onion, black garlic oil, and egg) $12~ 

My husband got this. First thing that draws my eyes were the 2 massive pork belly slices on top. The color on these were perfection. And they are "chopsticks" tender. I can use my chopsticks and cut right through. The broth had so much flavor, and was surprisingly not too salty. That's one of the main problems I find with ramen in Dallas, and in general... after a while it becomes too salty. This wasn't the case. The flavors were bold and rich and you can continue to taste them til the last bite. The noodles were chewy and curly. My favorite kind. The black garlic is always a good choice, it adds another depth of flavor. Plus the black looks cool. hehe.

Rich Tonkotsu (rich pork broth seasoned with soy topped with pork belly, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, woodear mushrooms, and green onion) $9~
Soft Boiled Egg +$0.50~
Leafy Greens +$0.75~
Medium Spice +$1.00~

I love that they have a lot of vegetable toppings. Another thing I don't like is typically ramen doesn't come with a lot of veggies. I really enjoyed the leafy greens in there. The soft boiled egg, a must, was cooked perfectly and actually had great flavor! I got the medium spice in the ramen and it gave a good level of heat. Wasn't super spicy so I enjoyed it tremendously. My sister got the demon spice on the side. (Oni means demon in Japanese... so they've got a demon spice add on as well as a Oni Reaper ramen.) With the demon spice on the side, my sister said it wasn't too spicy. But I suspect if she had gotten it mixed IN the broth, the heat would've built up quickly. I'm OBSESSED with their pork belly. And you get TWO!!!! They are large, thick cut, and so freaking tender.

My bro in law got the Tan Tan Men (spicy sesame seasoned dashi broth topped with tempura shrimp, woodear mushrooms, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, leafy greens, green onion) $11~ This one can be made vegetarian or vegan.
Chicken Thigh +$2~

The flavor on this was different than the others. You can actually taste the difference between each type of broth. He enjoyed it a lot. And this one comes with a slightly thicker noodle... also curly. :)

Second visit. I went with 2 friends that wanted to go after I told them about it.

Signature Miso (rich pork broth seasoned with sweet and nutty soybean paste topped with pork belly, bamboo shoots, buttered corn kernels, bean sprouts, and green onion) $9.50~ My friend is a ramen snob. She's really picky, and she could not stop texting people about this place. Yaaassssss!!!

Chef's Creation: Miso with Black Garlic (rich pork broth, pork belly slices, diced pork belly, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, buttered corn kernels, leafy greens, shredded leeks, toasted seaweed; soy marinated soft boiled egg). 

The chef created this for me. I feel so special! The black garlic oil covered the entire surface of the broth. It was pretty damn cool. So yummy. TONS of flavor. I especially loved the black on the noodles as I pulled them up from the broth. Serious food porn here, y'all. He also gave me a mountain of diced pork belly below the slices. Tip: if you want a bunch of meat, get the diced, it's $1 less as an add on, but it's just as tender and I think you get more! This was amazing. And so far I've tried several flavors now and they are all consistently excellent.

Like I said, best in Dallas. It's legit. Speaking from someone who's been to Japan twice. And the first time in Japan, I made a point of basically doing a ramen tour... hit up more than 7 or 8 ramen shops while I was there. And comparing prices against other places in DFW, you get the most bang for your buck here at Oni. Most of the toppings come standard, and you get a lot of it. The overall portion size is good too. I have yet to finish my bowl. Although both my friends, both small Asian girls, killed theirs. haha.

You KNOW I'll be back soon. Thanks for feeding us, Chef Jesus!
Also... this is NOT HOSTED! I just love it so!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Monta Ramen

Dallas, it's time to rejoice! We now have a good ramen shop. Yaaaaassss!! Just last week, the Las Vegas ramen shop, Monta Ramen, has officially opened. Now, I've never been to Monta in Vegas, but I've always heard good things about it. Plus, I've had Japanese food in Vegas (off the strip) and they have some legit Japanese food. I was very excited when I found out they were opening a location here.

Monta Ramen
800 North Coit Rd, Ste 2550B
Richardson, TX 75080
(469) 333-7777
www.montaramen.com
Price: $$

We went on Saturday, 2 days after they opened, for a late lunch. We arrived at 1:30PM and there was a fairly long line out front. I wrote our names down on the list and counted 7 groups ahead of us. On the wait list, you can indicate if you want to sit at a table or at the bar. I put both so we can potentially get in faster. The wait wasn't super long.. I'd guess about 20-25 minutes, but their waiting room had no AC... only a small fan. It was pretty damn hot.

Finally, it was our turn. Our group of 3 were seated at the bar. It was a pretty small space. Maybe 7-8 seats at the bar and about 10 or so tables of 2 in the entire space. It looked like there was a small section of the dining area not yet being utilized... maybe they'll open that up in the future. It can probably fit another 2 tables of four.

We've already been studying the menu while waiting. I wanted to try everything. This is the first time I see a menu at the ramen place in Dallas that reminded me of the restaurants in LA. They offered the same items as many LA ramen shops. Several different types of ramen broth, fried rice, and various appetizers. And guess what, the prices match LA as well! All the ramen were under $10. Now that's what I'm talking about. Ramen is NOT supposed to be ridiculously expensive. But it seems like the trend it's been taking since it's considered a "novelty" in Dallas?! Places like Ten Ramen and Wabi House where, after you add a few toppings, becomes like a $18 bowl of noodles. That's just crazy to me. You don't even need to pay over $10 for a bowl of amazing ramen in Japan!

Anyways, we decided to order a whole bunch of stuff. Whatever we don't finish is going to be leftovers for dinner. :P

Gyoza (handmade pan-fried pork and vegetable dumplings) $5.95~ 

These looked good. They had a nice sear on the bottom. Unfortunately, the meat inside was quite dry. I could see that it was dry when I look at it too. Flavor is not bad. They might wanna tweak their filling recipe a little.

Takana Fried Rice (mustard leaf, onions, green onions, egg, chopped chashu pork with rice) $6.95~ 

This is one of my favorites when I go to a ramen place in LA. Shin-Sen-Gumi makes a great takana fried rice. I like their fried rice better than their ramen. haha. Monta's was pretty good. Not LA caliber but a good fried rice still. The chunks of chashu was a little dry but overall I enjoyed it.

Chashu Bowl (slices of grilled chashu prok served over rice with green onions) Reg. $5.75~ 

First of all, TOTALLY did NOT look like the picture on their menu. hahaha. :( The slices were no where as impressive looking. However, the pork we did get was super tender and moist. The flavors were good too. The rice texture was nice and chewy. Maybe just a bit more pork on top would make this a good side dish, or even main dish.

Chashu Buns (steamed buns filled with chashu pork, served with Monta's original spicy bun sauce) $5.95~ 

 

My fiance really wanted these, I was on the fence since I saw a pic of them and it looked pretty sad. And they were kinda pathetic looking... Kinda flat, with a piece of iceberg lettuce sticking out. But guess what? This was the best appetizer we got. The buns were steamed perfectly fluffy. The pork was super tender and the flavors were just right. I mean... they could've put more pork, but the amount that was in there was definitely enough for the buns to meat ratio. And the lettuce added a touch of freshness. Thumbs up.

Hiyashi Chuka Cold Noodle (pork chashu, egg, cucumber, bean sprout, kikurage (woodear mushroom), and tomato. Choice of sesame or yuzu sauce) $9.50~ 

I got this. I've had cold ramen in the past and I've always loved it. I've always preferred dry noodles to broth since I'm not much of a soup person in general. And cold noodles are so refreshing on a hot day. This was loaded with toppings. They certainly didn't skimp on anything. The sesame sauce was good. It had a slight tang to it. It wasn't as good as the one I had in Taiwan...but then again, nothing is as good here as in Taiwan. :P The noodle texture was spot on, nice and chewy. I liked it a lot. And my fiance loved it. haha.

Kuro Ramen Black Garlic (pork broth, two slices of pork chashu, kikurage (woodear mushrooms), bamboo shoots, green onion) $8.95~ 

 

I told my fiance to get this. I also told him to get it with the thicker noodles. It normally comes with thin. He loved it. He couldn't decide if he liked this or the cold noodles better. hehe. This is the first time I've seen black garlic ramen in Dallas. I liked it a lot when I had it in NYC and Japan. This was delicious! The broth had a ton of flavor, but it wasn't too salty. We did notice half way through that it didn't come with an egg. But to add an egg is $1.50, cheaper than all the other ramen places. It does have TWO pieces of chashu though, and the meat was super tender. The thicker noodles were the same as in my cold noodles. Cooked perfectly chewy, it makes all the difference. I find the thin ones don't have enough texture and usually ruins the whole bowl for me. Personal preference... but try the thick noodles vs the thin and decide for yourself. So the ramen is good!! Definitely closest thing to ramen I've had in LA. Will definitely be back to have this again!

My friend got the Tonkotsu Ramen (pork broth, two slices of pork chashu, kikurage (woodear mushrooms), bamboo shoots, green onion) $7.95~ 

Normally comes with thin noodles, my friend requested thick noodles. She loved it. The broth also had a lot of flavor without being overly salty. Which seems to be a struggle for most other places in Dallas. Salt does NOT equal flavor, people!

Great first experience. They have a few kinks they need to work out with the appetizers. So I'll be back in a few weeks to test them out again. The waitresses were all very nice. And I noticed the majority, if not all, of the staff were Japanese, which is a very good sign. I also heard that they are under the same owners as Mr. Max in Irving, which is a fantastic hidden gem for Japanese food. The only big complaint was the AC... remember how I said the waiting area was too hot? The dining room barely had AC at all too. I was so glad I got cold noodles. haha.

Soooo happy the Dallas ramen scene is finally on the map now, with a place that has good ramen and reasonable prices. :) AND a great location! Yay!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Victor Tangos

The birthday celebration continues! This past Saturday was my bf's bday dinner with his friends. I suggested Victor Tangos because from my experience in the past, they have an interesting menu and a pretty good bar. Also, they take reservations for large parties!

Victor Tangos
3001 N Henderson Ave.
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 252-8595
www.victortangos.com
Price: $$-$$$

FYI. Parking on Henderson is pretty much nonexistent. But they offer complimentary valet. Trust me, just do the valet. haha.

We had a party of 17 people for 7PM. Most of us arrived early and they were able to seat us earlier. When arrived, there wasn't that many other people in the restaurant. I specifically made an earlier reservation because I knew VT gets super packed. And I was right. By 7:30 the entire bar was full and the dining room was getting there. And I was surprised for a restaurant that's not that big, there were 4+ groups of more than 12 people. One group had almost 30? The place gets pretty "energetic" so it's a little hard to hear when talking across the table. But I think it's the vibe at VT that draws a lot of people in.

Some people already got drinks at the bar. After we sat down, the waitress came by for more drink orders.

(Sorry for the grainy pictures... it was really low lighting in there.)

My bf got the Pepper Smash (gin, red bell pepper, local mint, lemon, clover honey) $10~ It was quite good! Sweet, so both of us liked it. You can taste the bell pepper but it just added a fresh sweetness to it. He really liked it.

I got the Passionfruit Gimlet (vodka, fresh thyme, passion fruit, freshly squeezed lime juice, extracted pineapple) $10~ I asked them to use gin instead of vodka. It was also really good. Definitely sweet enough for me but still strong. I enjoyed it very much. But it was time we got some food in our stomachs. haha.

We later got the Peach Blossom (gin, white peaches, Japanese basil, lemon, honey) $10~ (was too busy eating so I didn't take a picture, sorry. haha) But this was my favorite out of the 3 cocktails. Peachy and refreshing. Yum.

As we were looking through the menu, I noticed there were many changes from their online menu. I hate it when that happens! Cuz usually the dish that I want is the one that's not available anymore.. Same case this time. I wanted a pork belly dish that was no longer there... Same for one of the desserts. :( So it took me awhile to finally make up my mind. Most things sounded ok, but nothing really stood out.

Ahi Tuna Nachos $15~ 

 

Multiple people ordered this. My bf got one too. The dishes at VT are kind of made for sharing but I wouldn't say it's tapas style or anything. The nachos were good. Crispy chips with fresh bits of tuna. I really liked the chili cream sauce and the jalapenos on top. You know I like my spicy! Seemed to be a popular dish all around. I thought it was good, but I've had better.

I ordered the Summer Vegetable "Fried" Rice (green curry, poached egg) $11~ 

The waitress told me the rice was puffed rice. It sounded so interesting! It was delicious. The presentation was nice. The contrasting colors between the white puffed rice and green curry. She instructed me to mix it all together then eat. So I broke the perfectly poached egg and mixed it all up. 

Really enjoyed it. Although the puffed rice got soft pretty quickly, the first few bites where it was still crunchy was fantastic. Lots of textures and flavors and wasn't too heavy.

I also got the Roasted Mushrooms (leeks, black garlic and pea greens) $12~ 

 

I didn't mean to get 2 vegetable dishes, just happened that way. But I loved both of them. This was my favorite of the night. Different types of mushrooms gave it different textures. The black garlic sealed the deal. It had such bold flavors. I even scraped up the bits of garlic and sauce and ate it with the fried rice. Mmmmmm! So good. I wish the portion size was bigger!

Here are things other people ordered...

Jar of Pickled Baby Vegetables $4~ The sourness hits you like a truck, but then slightly mellows out. Had some sweetness to it. Not my thing, but I'm not a huge fan of sour stuff in general.

Mini Crispy Carnitas Tacos $10~ 

Also a popular item at our table. And probably the most bang for your buck! It was massive. Our friends said there was like 6 tacos or something, all loaded to the brim. And they said it had lots of flavor. I think at VT you take a chance with the portion size, some things are quite filling, and some are not. But they all taste good.


Tempura Asparagus with Olive Aioli $10~ Didn't get to try but looked good.

Sweet Tea Marinated Short Ribs (with Spring garlic and cucumber salad) $24~ 

Loved the presentation on the wood platter. The bright vegetables peeking out from the charred meat. It was tasty. You can't taste the sweet tea marinade though.

Whole Market Fish (crushed lemony potatoes, crispy capers, pimenton aioli). 

This was an impressive dish. Also served on a wood platter for some added drama. hehe. It was a big piece of fish! I think I overheard someone saying it was a branzino. Normally the whole branzinos I've seen in other places are 2/3rds of this size. The fish was cooked well and had lots of flavor. Only downside.. a lot of bones. But that can also make it a fun challenge to eat! hehe.

Green Bean Panzanella (avocado green goddess, smoked trout roe) $11~ 

Pretty dish, quite small. I got to try part of the egg topped with the trout roe with the green beans. Very good. All the elements worked together well. My friend said that if you don't eat all the elements together though, it didn't really work.

Warm Sticky Toffee Cake (with mascarpone cream) $9~ 

 

I ordered this when I ordered the entrees and asked them to bring it out later with a candle. Holy crap! This thing is massive! I saw pictures online and knew it was big but it was at least another 30% bigger than I imagined. It was literally the size of my face! (And believe me... I got a pretty big face. hahaha.) The cake was warm and the mascarpone cream was essential to it. The bites without the cream was a bit dry. But overall a good dessert. Doesn't compare to the whiskey cake at Whiskey Cake in Plano, but was still a success with the group. We passed it around and everyone was able to take a big bite or more!

It was a good dinner. I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Some people did say they were still hungry though since some of the portions were smaller. But overall everyone said the food was tasty. The service was good too. The waitress had no problems dealing with the big group. The food came quickly and she was always around when we needed something. The water glasses were always filled. And the checks were split with no issues.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~