The new kid in town: Ramen Sora

I'd like to start by saying this one is gonna be a long one kids, so let's make sure we've got our snacks ready and a comfy chair in place.  Many don't know that I lived in Okinawa, Japan for almost 6 yrs because I was a Navy brat, and because of that, I have a love for Japanese food and culture that will probably follow me for the rest of my life.  Here in Vegas I've been a strong advocate for Monta's creamy tonkotsu ramen and to be honest, the day I decided to visit Sora Ramen was simply due to the fact Monta's line was way too long.  Am I happy with the decision? Well you'll have to read on to find out!


 The restaurant is not big but has a typical Japanese feel to the decor and is staffed by mostly Japanese people (sometimes a good sign).  There is a deceptively good amount of seating and could easily accommodate large parties although no private rooms are available.










Sora's claim to ramen is having it's roots as one of the most popular shops in the Sapporo area of Japan offering a clear pork broth Shio soup base which is noted to have pork bone boiled into it over a day, and a Miso broth that integrates some of the pork shio.






The Ramen Menu is pretty decent with Nori (seaweed,) Negi (green onion,) corn and butter (self explanatory,) Chashu (bbq pork) and Menma(bamboo shoot,) to go along with the Miso and Shio broth choices all ranging between $7.50-9.  Green onion, bambo shoots, half a semi-boiled egg and a few slices of pork are standard in all soups with a few variations towards whatever specialty you decide on.  There's even a deluxe ramen for $10 which seemed to be bigger with a little extra everything, had I been hungrier this would've been my choice.

Our soup order ended up being a Spicy Shio and a Corn and Butter Shio ramen.

The backside of the menu contains small bowls, fried rice, and other sides.  Here we opted for the mini chashu curry bowl and seared premium pork chashu.  I'd like to note that you can order a hot barley tea fresh brewed from a pot instead of a can, many won't notice this but to those who are frequent tea drinkers, this makes a huge difference.

The first thing to come out is the mini chashu curry bowl.  Yes it's small but for $2.85 you have to keep expectations in check.  The curry sauce itself has great flavor and consistency.  I was never great at determining whether curries are made from scratch or not but either way I liked this one.  There are a few standard veggies like carrots, onions and potato with the real star being the little chunks of chashu pork which was not as tender as I'd like but still had great pork flavor despite the strong curry sauce.


 Next to come out were our soups, the first I'll talk about is the spicy shio ramen.

The spicy shio is a decent size and comes with the standard toppings listed earlier with some ground pork added in and a little bit of spicy oil giving a dash of red tint to the bowl.  The shio broth was a bit oily but still had a light flavor to it without overpowering, and you do get the slight flavor of the pork bones they boil into the broth.  The bamboo shoots are plain and the egg is cooked to have a slightly soft cooked yolk although I enjoy it more "rare."  The slices of pork are tender with just a thin layer of fat in it, you can tell it was roasted without much seasoning to flavor the meat so it went well with the mild broth lending to more porky goodness.  The spicy factor was mild to non-existent and I had to order extra hot oil but that isn't a deal breaker, overall the experience was still tasty.

 I've always been a fan of butter and corn in my ramen, the butter usually adds a depth of flavor to ramen broth that plays well with the corn.  I think maybe the clear shio wasn't the best choice for this, the miso might have been a better mix for the two flavors due to the unexpected oily nature of the shio ramen.  As you can see, a few additions and this soup could've been called a "spicy," ramen as well but I digress, it still had good flavor and all the toppings were well executed.


My only gripe with the ramen would be the noodles.  The noodles were thicker than I'd like and they had a chewy texture that I didn't enjoy.  I prefer a bit thinner noodle and a bit softer texture, but i suppose details like this are very personal as I understand others might be the opposite.

The best dish of the meal ended up being the side of premium seared pork chashu.  The order comes on the side with some green onion and a sweet bbq sauce drizzled on top.  Unlike the chashu in the ramen, these pieces had a bit more fat on them.  They tasted great, soft enough to breakaway with chopsticks and a sweetness from the drizzled sauce that set off the flavor of the pork.  I was a little disappointed by the steep price of $3.98 for only three pieces, but if you're a pork fanatic like me you might not mind the cost.


I'll definitely be back to try more of the menu and definitely go for the miso broth next.  It seems the reigning champ has competition although really the choice is going to come down to personal preference.  The real winner here is Las Vegas as we have another excellent alternative to choose from, and not only because the line is too long at your original choice.

RAMEN SORA
4490 Spring Mountain Road
Las Vegas, NV 89102
702.685.1011