Dragon Tiger Noodle co — Restaurant in Spring Valley

It pains me to write a negative review, particularly for a restaurant as highly anticipated as Chef Jet Tila's Dragon Tiger Noodle. However, our experience at the Rainbow Commons location was a complete disappointment, leaving my friends and me with a bad taste in our mouths.

While the restaurant earns one star for its unique decor, that's where the positives end.

As a Las Vegas resident for almost two decades, I know that the local ramen scene is fierce, with many excellent options across town. Some of my favorites include JINYA Ramen Bar, Monta Japanese Noodle House, Ramen Kobo, and Ohjah Noodle House, to name a few. Even nearby Henderson has hidden gems like Michi Ramen and Umai Ramen. So when I heard about Dragon Tiger Noodle, I was excited to try it, especially given Chef Tila's reputation.

Unfortunately, our excitement was short-lived.

Dragon Tiger Noodle is a fast-casual restaurant, similar to chains like Chipotle, Shake Shack, and Panera Bread, but for ramen. While I was okay with the "fast-casual-noodles-your-way" concept, it was confusing for everyone in our group. Even people standing in line behind us were asking how to order. The staff seemed unaware of everyone's confusion. The place was understaffed, with only two visible workers juggling multiple tasks, from greeting customers, serving, handling the cash register, making hand-made noodles, frying chicken wings, and bussing tables. While I don't fault the staff for being overwhelmed, their training was clearly lacking.

On top of the confusing process and poor reception, I was disappointed with the food. The noodles lacked texture, and the beef pho broth I ordered was underseasoned and lukewarm. Everyone in our group also complained that their broth was lukewarm, which is a big no-no in ramen-making. We all know that lukewarm broth never results in delicious ramen. I also ordered the thin-sliced rare beef, which was also lukewarm, and didn't taste good. The toppings had a nice selection, including bean sprouts, mushrooms, corn, lime, scallions, Thai basil, and cilantro. The add-ons like ramen eggs, garlic oil, and the 'famous' dragon wings (which are not add-ons, but more like an appetizer) were also available. However, while the topping selection was vast, the veggies felt like they were not fresh.

I did hear good things about the braised pork belly, the tonkatsu broth, and the ramen eggs, though.

In short, no one in our group finished their food, not even the dragon wings. We ordered 20 wings, and at least a third were left behind. While they were cooked perfectly, they lacked seasoning and were not tossed in the sauce. The sauce came on the side, but it was cold, and the flavor was bland. Hardly anyone touched the sauce.

Finally, the price was steep. We were a group of four, each ordering a ramen bowl, and we ordered 20 wings for the table, with a total cost of $120+. Is it overpriced? You decide.

My recommendation for this restaurant is to have enough staff members so customers are not waiting in long lines; train your staff better so they know to greet customers as they walk in and offer help with the menu (process); make sure your broth is hot enough; make sure your veggies are fresh; and finally, rework the sauce and toss them wings!

(There are no pictures for this review because we were all so sad during our meal that I didn't...

Went to Rainbow location. If your now the plaza, you know there is ample parking, however In/Out Burger cannot manage their drive-thru lanes, so please allow at least 15 minutes in your schedule to get in and out of the location. I did not include this inconvenience in my score, just noting the issue. Upon arriving the store was empty. Not a single patron. The menus are on TV screens, hung entirely too high on the wall. At my height (6’) one might think I’d not be craning my neck to see the menu. After standing there for a few minutes one of 4 staff approached us. And told us on the left is seasonal, and on the right is traditional. Not helpful we both wear glasses and were struggling. Their build your own menu is lettered onto clear glass partition between customer and food, and is also hard to read, because of low light and the activity behind the glass. We ordered two regular-size “build your own” bowls… Mine was built with: regular house-made ramen noodles, beef herb broth, garlic oil, double “pork belly”, which was a reasonable price-point upgrade (I’ll circle back on this), chutes, sprouts, mushrooms, bok choy, and chile. The pork belly did not look nor taste like pork belly; I’m almost positive it was just sliced pork shoulder. The broth was bland, no hint of promised herbs and spices, I saw him put garlic oil in, but given the look/taste of the pork, it could have very well been plain old canola. I took it home to hubby, he tasted it and didn’t like it either. Same complaints. Except he thought the “pork belly” was beef. Just dumped it down the garbage disposal and rightly so. My son’s bowl was built with: house-made “fire” ramen, tonkatsu broth, garlic oil, “pork belly”, Wagu (also a reasonable upgrade), sprouts, corn, chili. Same as mine, bland. I tasted his red “fire” noodles and they were indeed bland as he had warned. He too was questioning the “pork belly”. But, we both agreed the Wagu was nice: thinly shaved and served on a side platter, for dunking. He ate and finished his. Atmosphere has potential: Cool art; Glass wall allows customers to watch the noodle machine; bowl warmer built into tables.

Final price was $41 and change. We will not be back. We’d rather give our money to Ramen Kobo (another small shop with house-made noodles). Note to manager/staff: deceptive food practices are a violation of FDA guidelines; training of staff is definitely in order; and, scooping food in a bowl is not...

Hubby and I are trying a new restaurant every week or whenever we are out for an errand or appointment. Yesterday's choice was Dragon Tiger Noodle Co. I had no clue what I was walking into, wasn't expecting much. I just had really bad ramen last week so my expectations were low. I walked in and saw that it's like Subway, order and add as you go, not what I expected for ramen but no judgment. I did the handmade ramen with tonkotsu broth, pork belly, bean sprouts, corn, cilantro, and egg. What I loved was they gave me 4 large pieces of pork belly and all toppings were free besides the egg. The egg was softboiled, had very gooey yolk, and was well-seasoned, perfection! Hubby did the Fire noodle with tonkotsu broth, pork belly, corn, cilantro, green onions, and egg. The tonkotsu broth was hearty, milky, meaty, and super flavorful, not oily at all. The Fire noodles were shockingly good, very unique, and had a good kick. My only complaint was the soup was not hot enough, but it was perfect for my hubby. I like my broths scorching hot. We also order their chicken wings and we did Spicy, they did warn us that Spicy is VERY Spicy. We said we can handle it. We have done the Hot Ones Challenge so we should be able to handle it. They weren't playing, their wings were on FIRE. It's a dry rub spicy, and it comes with a Sriracha Mayo sauce on the side, I didn't try it but the hubby said it cooled the wings down some. The wings showed up halfway through our ramen so it was perfect to have a couple of wings and then finish our ramen to cool down the spiciness, but those wings were too good! They were crispy, flavorful, and spicy as hell, but addicting! If you have not had the Dragon Tiger Noodle experience, I suggest...