Summerlin-ers have every right to be jealous, since the newly opened Monta Chaya in Henderson is every bit as good as the flagship Monta, thereby negating the need to make the drive to Spring Mountain.\n\nIf Monta Chaya is the sister restaurant to Monta, I would liken the former to Monta-ca (er...I mean Monica) Cruz, Penelope Cruz's younger and less famous sister, who is every bit as beautiful with perhaps more charm and flare for style (she's a fashion designer and world class flamenco dancer). This comes in the form of a more spacious interior with higher ceilings, located next door to the adorable Japan Creek Market (borrowing a page from Fukumimi Ramen which also has an adjacent Japanese market next door), and the additional flight of \"chaya\" appetizers consisting of the following:\n*chicken karaage\n*flash-fried shishito peppers\n*daikon salad with shredded egg,rice crackers, seaweed, and Wafu dressing\n*fried calamari in broth \n*chasu buns (similar to Ippudo in Manhattan)\n*Hakusai salad (napa cabbage, crispy chili threads, crunchy noodles, sesame dressing)\n\nRamen and standard appetizers appears identical to the original location, and I went with the Hiyashi Chuka, which appears primarily during the warm months at Monta, so not sure if they plan on keeping this as a permanent item.\n\nThe Hikyashi Chuka is a cold ramen without broth which I liken to a bizarro version of the Korean bibimbap (hear me out)\nRather than piping hot rice, assortment of julienned veggies, bulgogi, red chili paste, and fried egg mixed together in the Korean dish, you have nice firm cold noodles topped with julienned scrambled egg, cucumbers, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, sprouts, marinated pork belly, sweet pickled radish, tomato, and a dollop of Japanese mustard on the side and your choice of sesame or yuzu dressing. Deciding to feel a bit more untraditional, I went with yuzu and the dish was a refreshing mixture of textures, colors, and interplay of sweet spicy salty and sour. Word of caution: unless you want to simulate biological warfare on your sinuses, do not mix the entire portion of japanese mustard into the mix. Just use the end of your chopstick and do a light schmear into each bite to get that little hit much like you would for wasabi on sushi. \n\nA wonderful addition to the ever-expanding ramen scene in Las Vegas and which will hopefully keep Shoku Ramen nearby on its toes so that the victors in the battle for ramen supremacy in Henderson will ultimately be diners like ourselves.
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