New in Town: Tomo Noodles and Dumplings
Currently, the weather in Las Vegas is hitting the low 100s, so naturally, I thought it was time to try a new ramen place. Last month, Village Square welcomed its newest addition: Tomo Noodles and Dumplings. My husband, Rich and I decided on a lunch visit.
Eat More Ramen
I’m one of those people who eat with their eyes as well as their stomach. For me, atmosphere contributes to the flavor. That’s why I was excited when we walked into Tomo. The high-ceilinged, sparsely decorated, airy space is highlighted by dramatic and dynamic murals.
Spanning the whole length of the restaurant is a vast wall festooned with three separate but cohesive pieces. A lady samurai casually leaning on a snarling dragon, Tomo’s mascot: a toothy tentacle creature devouring bowls of ramen, and finally (my personal favorite), a manga-style comic starring another badass samurai lady. Done in a limited palette of orange, black, white, and gray, these murals set the scene for an atypical ramen-dining experience.
The space is home to the counter for Enso Tea House as well as Tomo. We entered through the door on the left in front of the hostess podium for Tomo, and looked ahead at an orange neon sign which commands ‘Eat More Ramen’. You got it neon sign! The hostess promptly seated us and I foolishly sat with my back to the wall. Half the meal was spent craning my head around for a closer look at the art behind me.
Better Boba
The menu at Tomo consists of noodles, dumplings, rice dishes skewers, sandwiches, and appetizers. There are no lunch specials, which I’m normally a fan of, but most of the dishes are $10 and under. I ordered the Creamy Vegetarian Ramen and Rich ordered the Spicy Salmon Dumplings. From the Enso menu, I ordered the Honey Bee with Boba (less ice) and Rich ordered the Royal Garden (less ice). The Royal Garden seemed like a unique menu option as it features Royal powder, which we suspected would give it the flavor of Rich’s favorite canned milky tea.
We didn’t have to wait long to confirm our suspicion. The Royal Garden tasted just like the Sangaria Royal Milk Tea! My Honey Bee was delicately sweet and satisfying. In both beverages the boba consistency was excellent. A little chewy but not gooey or sticky. The boba was smaller than usual, something which we both enjoyed.
While sipping our boba and waiting for the food, we took in the bold, graphic murals around us. Squinting his eyes Rich said, “This looks familiar, it looks like Sig.” Of course, he was correct. Now, Rich hasn’t seen Sig’s work in a while, so this is either a testament to how memorable his work is, or to my husband’s incredible art-eye. I like to think that it’s a little bit of both.
The Main Event
Other than a small snafu where a party seated after us received their food (including an item we had ordered) before we did, the service was quick and friendly. This clears the way to focus on the food. Rich was pleased with the five Spicy Salmon Dumplings, citing them as “tasty and fresh.” I’m not sure what it means when dumplings are ‘fresh’, but he enjoyed them. The dumpling filling was the salmon mix you would expect to find on top of a sushi rice bowl. I tried one, and the ‘spicy’ moniker is a bit deceiving.
My Creamy Vegetarian Ramen was indeed creamy. Just not in the way I expected. The broth texture and flavor split the difference between a red curry and a regular ramen miso broth. Almost as thick as a curry, to the point where drinking just the broth felt weird. The toppings were varied, many, and unusual: baby corn, enoki mushrooms, slivered almonds, and edamame. There were more, but these were the ones that stood out in flavor and feel.
I’m all for trying new ways to make vegetarian dishes more exciting and interesting, but this overload of toppings didn’t add to the experience. However, none of this could take away from the clear star of this dish—the noodles. They were firm but tender, with a spectacular twisty texture. Easy to slurp and wonderfully light. So even though I can’t truly recommend the Creamy Vegetarian Ramen on the basis of broth and toppings, I can say the noodles were worth it. Rich also had the Pork Belly Skewers, which he said were slightly under-seasoned but still delicious.
Black & Orange
Following our experience at Tomo, I reached out to Sig. He is a local artist whose work we became familiar with back when my husband and I had a store downtown. His art showcases influences from sci-fi, cyberpunk, Asian aesthetics and iconography. I reached out to him over email, curious about this collaboration with Tomo.
Veronica Klash: How did the project come about?
Sig: I’ve done murals for [the] owners family before […] They like me they, like my work. Particularly how my murals look high end but are actually quite affordable. So when this project came about I was lucky enough to be invited to take part.
VK: What was the direction Tomo gave you in creating the murals?
S: Tomo wanted an urban look mixed with modern art. A very hip, new age look incorporating street art and the look of Tokyo nightlife. I was sent references as guidelines. I knew I had to make Tomo their own entity and not just another fad. I’m a concept artist at heart, creating entire worlds with intricate culture, technology, beings, wildlife […] They definitely wanted manga and some modern pop art. Next step was finalizing the mock-up on paper so they can see exactly what they were getting. Then the green light.
VK: What did you most enjoy about creating these pieces?
S: What I enjoyed the most was the subject matter. They let me draw samurai and dragons ... not only that but manga panels where a lady cuts a rather annoying fellow down. That’s how hip Tomo is. Samurai duel in a family restaurant cool!
Conclusion
Come for the noodles and dumplings, stay for the eye-popping murals. The atmosphere at Tomo is modern, different, and fun. There’s plenty of variety in the menu and I’m looking forward to trying more of their original dishes like the Shrimp Sando or Spicy Garlic Green Beans. When the temperature dips below 90 we’ll return for round two.
Have you visited Tomo? How was your experience?
