Richardson dining heats up with Monta Ramen's debut and new digs for Afrah

Richardson's dining scene has just gotten a whole lot more interesting. That's because Monta Ramen, the noodle house from the owners of Mr. Max -- who also own a couple of ramen shops in Las Vegas -- opened Thursday (July 16).

The inviting little place in a shopping center on the southeast corner of Coit Road and Arapaho is already filled with diners slurping noodles: tonkotsu ramen; shoyu ramen; miso ramen; hiyashi chuka (cold noodles) and more. Ramens range from $7.95 to $9.50; you can customize them with toppings such as pork chashu, kimchi, spinach, butter, nitamago (flavored egg), takana (mustard greens) and more, for $.75 to $2 each. Other dishes include pork-vegetable gyoza, fried rices, chashu bowl, mini mentaiko bowl (spicy cod roe over rice with green onion and sesame seeds) and others, for $2.50 to $5.95.  A salad of shredded daikon with shredded egg, kaiware sprouts, seaweed and Japanese rice cracker ($3.95) sounds appealing and fresh as a pre-ramen starter; so does hakusai salad -- chopped Napa cabbage with crispy noodles, red chile threads and sesame dressing ($3.95).

Meanwhile, three weeks ago, Afrah Mediterranean Restaurant and Pastries opened fancy new digs next door to the original location on E. Main Street. With Eid-ul-Fitr -- the end of Ramadan -- being celebrated this weekend, the place was hopping at lunchtime for Afrah's famous buffet, which is now $11.99 per person. The buffet takes up an entire room, and there's a spacious and inviting dining room.  Last month Afrah opened a new location in Irving as well.

Back in Richardson, just around the corner and up Greenville in the shopping center that houses Jeng Chi, Sichuan King and other Asian eateries, a sign over a storefront promises a Pho Que Huong Noodle and Grill "coming soon."

Monta Ramen, 800 N. Coit Road, Richardson; 469-333-7777. Open Monday-Friday 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 10:30 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Afrah, 314 E. Main St., Richardson; 972-234-9898; 3351 Regent Blvd., Irving; 469-420-9197