Ivan Ramen Las Vegas

I just recently had Ivan Ramen in their new location in Las Vegas. I wanted to try this place because I appreciate his ramen story and I tried making his Shio Ramen recipe at home. Ivan earned his rep through his Tokyo Shio Ramen, so that was my pick!

How was it? It was good. Definitely one of the better shio ramen I've had. The broth was light and perfectly seasoned. Salty, umami, great chicken flavor, and some fishy funkiness (which some may dislike). One thing about ramen is, depending on the bowl, it can have flavors of fishiness and ocean due to ingredients used (dried fish and fish flakes, kelp, etc.). It's sort of like if you've never had fish sauce before, it may turn you off at first. The fatty aroma oil coats your mouth. His toasted rye noodles (rye is not used for the usual ramen noodles), was more chewy than the usual noodles, but it still had a good bite.

I also got the pastrami bao (comes with 2), and it was alright. Strong salty beef pastrami balanced by sauerkrat/pickled onions. It's paired with a nice thousand island-like sauce. All in a soft bun. To be honest, I'd say you can pass on this. You're already paying around $18 for a bowl of ramen, its not worth adding another $14 for an okay bao imo.

My wife had their Sesame Noodles, and it was pretty good. It's served cold/chilled, which is super cooling and refreshing after a long day of walking in the sun. Great sesame and umami flavor. I would warn though, the chilli and peppers in this bowl is on the spicier side.

Tbh, I've seen a lot of hate on this spot and… I dont get the hate? At the end of the day tho, food is subjective.