Ramen Rules: Warm up from the inside out with these five tasty and take-out friendly noodle bowls

MONARCH RAMEN

Steamy windows always remind of that hide-away restaurant tucked into an urban side street, with pungent aromas hitting as you enter — the promise of something warm and hearty on the plate. At Midtown Monarch, that something is in a bowl, and having tried nearly all five of their standard ramen noodle soup offerings since the place opened in October 2019, it’s tough to choose a fave. The signature Monarch ramen hits all the right notes with a spicy pork broth, savory and very tender braised pork, crunchy vegetable toppings like bean sprouts and bamboo, and the creaminess of a fried egg. The pickled mustard greens on top of the soup cuts through the richness and balances the other flavors, making you wonder why pickled goodies aren’t part of every soup offering. Even better, you can build your own ramen ($13), which allows you to explore the various broths, noodles (try kale noodles), proteins and toppings to create the perfect bowl. (CARRIE SCOZZARO)

Young Kwak photo

Monarch ramen

KOKORO RAMEN

You might be skeptical about how well ramen can travel, but Kokoro Ramen and Boba Tea Time gives you a user-friendly setup. You’ll find all those tasty noodles, a sheet of nori, sliced pork, green onion, red ginger, bamboo shoots, a soft-boiled egg and other veggies, depending on your ramen choice, perfectly arranged in a travel bowl with a lid. The unctuous, fatty broth is in another container ready to be poured right into the bowl. Many Kokoro fans swear by the black garlic ramen, but their tonkotsu — made with their unique recipe for pork bone broth — is perfectly delicious, too. Hitting all the savory notes you can only get from slow-boiled broth, this dish warms you from the inside out, perfect for winter time and that classic ramen craving. For 50 cents more, you can make it spicy. The servings are hefty — you might even get two meals out of it like I did. Plus, if you want some sweet with that savory, Kokoro offers extensive boba tea options (seriously, almost 40 tea options, and that’s not even counting the smoothies) with add-ons like tapioca boba, popping passion fruit boba, lychee jelly and more. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)

LITTLE NOODLE

Run, don’t walk, to Little Noodle, the Garland District’s new, seasonal noodle shop that debuted in October inside a space occupied the rest of the year by Honey Pig Barbecue. A project of local chef Kadra Evans (formerly of North Hill on Garland) and her brother-in-law Ryan Stretch, Little Noodle was born of creative necessity after both were laid off from previous jobs due to the pandemic, and to spotlight Evans’ carefully perfected pho recipe. The shop’s take on ramen is just as worthy of your taste buds. Thankfully, ramen noodles, their toppings and broth travel well to combine at home into the largest bowl you’ve got. Evans and Stretch’s take on ramen features an ultra unctuous miso-based broth that’s well seasoned with traditional Japanese togarashi spices (red chili pepper, hemp seed, roasted orange peel, sesame, ginger, nori and poppy seed) for rich, warm flavors. All the protein options for both pho and ramen are smoked prime meats (plus tofu), including tri tip, pork and pork belly (our favorite), as well as shrimp. Bonus: The kitchen doesn’t skimp (unlike many ramen houses, which only serve a single slice of pork) on these savory, smoky, salty meats. Joining the hearty protein portion are a few usual suspects: baby corn, a soft egg, green onion and dried seaweed. (CHEY SCOTT)

Young Kwak photo

Spicy minced pork ramen from King of Ramen

KING OF RAMEN

I was an early advocate of King of Ramen when Nick Weng and Terry Pan opened the unassuming spot in a Division Street strip mall in 2016. The broths used in steaming bowls of tonkotsu ramen or their Spicy King ramen were so heavenly it took me several visits before trying the spicy minced pork ramen. Ever since I did, I rarely let my attention travel to other parts of King of Ramen’s menu except for the occasional gyoza or spring roll appetizer. Resisting the broths of the traditional house ramens isn’t easy, but this dish is worth it. Visually, it almost resembles an Italian pasta dish. The minced pork, piled high and topped with a jolt of electric-pink ginger, delivers incredible flavor through its spices that leave your tongue tingling, and the meaty mixture sits on a bed of ramen noodles that help you sop up every last bit of piggy, peppery goodness. If spicy or pork-based dishes aren’t your thing, King of Ramen has plenty of options, from those dreamy traditional ramens to a couple of curry and teriyaki dishes. And best of all, all their dishes proved just as tasty taken to-go for at-home dining. (DAN NAILEN)

Related

Pho vs. Ramen: How to tell the difference between these two delicious Asian soups

NUDO RAMEN HOUSE

With its eye-catching pop-art aesthetic and unorthodox menu options — ramen burgers, anyone? — Nudo Ramen House has become a go-to spot for getting your ramen on, and both their downtown Spokane and Newport Highway locations are as bright and inviting as the food they serve up. As far as I’m concerned, any combination of savory broth and chewy noodles is likely to be a slam dunk, especially on a drab January evening. But this time around, I opted for the tantanmen, a dish that was new to me and might now be a future favorite. It’s a Japanese variation on a popular sichuan noodle meal, with chicken, veggies and peanuts swimming in a sesame paste broth. Nudo’s menu specifies that the dish is spicy, which often gives me pause (you never know just how volcanic it’s going to be). But it turned out to have just the right level of heat for my tastes, and that extra kick meshes nicely with the earthiness of the sauce, the tenderness of the chicken and the crunch of the carrots and peanuts. (NATHAN WEINBENDER) ♦