Dining Guide: Asian
Each week Neon spotlights a different cuisine in the Dining Guide, with Asian restaurants this week. Opinions by R-J critic Heidi Knapp Rinella (H.K.R.) are indicated by initials. Price symbols are based on the cost of an average entree: $ = entrees less than $10; $$ = entrees $10 to $20; $$$ = entrees $20 to $30; and $$$$ = entrees more than $30.
AMLEE GOURMET
3827 E. Sunset Road; 702-898-3358
Amlee’s is an old-school kind of place, Chinese-American with the emphasis on American. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, if that’s what you (like a legion of others) are looking for. The chicken chow mein was in the western style, with soft noodles, and the tomato beef had lots of large chunks of bright fresh tomatoes. And the Amlee’s Plate of appetizers was a true blast from the past. (3/22/13 H.K.R.)
$$
BLUE FIN SUSHI & ROLL
3980 E. Sunset Road; 702-898-0037
The fact that Blue Fin differentiates between sushi and rolls was a good initial sign that was followed by a great experience in food, atmosphere and service. We loved the Cajun tuna nigiri sushi, the Marisa Special and Golden Tiger rolls and a Screaming Orgasm starter. (2/28/14 H.K.R.)
$$
CALIFORNIA NOODLE HOUSE
California Hotel, 12 E. Ogden Ave.; 702-388-2680
Sometimes what you want is a nice bowl of comforting noodles, and if that’s the case, California Noodle House will come through. We found plenty of solace in the truly garlicky garlic noodles and also liked the Korean street tacos, Cha Gio Chopsticks and Vietnamese grilled chicken. (5/22/15 H.K.R.)
$$
DIM SUM CAFE
3700 S. Hualapai Way; 702-257-1668
One of the best things about conventional dim sum is the way different foods keep arriving at the table. But one of the worst things is that means they’re not always fresh and hot, so Dim Sum Cafe’s dim-sum-to-order technique bridges the gap. In the final analysis, we loved the pan-fried chive dumplings and the potstickers and liked the chicken shu mai and the steamed barbecue pork buns. (2/6/15 H.K.R.)
$
DISTRICT ONE KITCHEN & BAR
3400 S. Jones Blvd.; 702-413-6868
District One may offer a long list of pho, but it’s more pan-Asian than strictly Vietnamese. Whatever; it’s a fine place to get a bowl of rib-eye pho, and also spring rolls, beef and lemongrass wrapped in betel leaves, and slow-braised pork belly in young coconut juice. (7/23/15 H.K.R.)
$
FAT CHOY
Eureka Casino, 595 E. Sahara Ave.; 702-794-3464
You may not be familiar with the Eureka Casino, but Fat Choy took a peripatetic path in getting there and it’s worth seeking out. For what? For the fun Amer-Asian diner vibe and especially for the fusion dishes on which chef Sheridan Su built his reputation, like the Pork Belly Bao, Peking Duck Bao, Duck Fried Rice and Fat Choy Burger. (1/24/14 H.K.R.)
$$
I LOVE SUSHI
11041 S. Eastern Ave.; 702-990-4055
I Love Sushi is a “fusion” sushi restaurant, of the genre that are refining and redefining the art to be more in keeping with American tastes. To that end, there’s a heavy reliance on tuna and salmon, but we’re not complaining. We liked the Joe’s Special, Sex on the Beach, the I Love Sushi Special, the Lisa Hand Roll and the Tornado. And a vanilla mochi for dessert. And there’s teriyaki, teppanyaki and yakisoba, in case sushi’s not your thing. (1/15/14 H.K.R.)
$$
ITSY BITSY RAMEN & WHISKY
The Ogden, 150 Las Vegas Blvd. North; 702-405-9393
A bowl of nice, rich ramen — tonkotsu, the traditional pork-based broth, with chashu, braised pork — was perfect on a rainy evening, but Itsy Bitsy has more to offer than that. Also worthy of note: Japanese street corn, beef robata skewers and mushroom spring rolls (7/17/15 H.K.R.)
$$
LUCKY FOO’S RESTAURANT & BAR
8955 S. Eastern Ave.; 702-650-0668
Hip without being hipster, Lucky Foo’s knows how to have an edge without going over it. We liked the warm, welcoming staff, and dishes including Stellar Nachos, chicken and scallion yakitori, shaved Brussels sprouts and the Giant Fortune Cookie. (4/23/15 H.K.R.)
$$
MARSSA
Loew’s Lake Las Vegas, 101 Montelago Blvd., Henderson; 702-567-6125
Signature dishes: agedashi tofu, opakapaka lau lau.
THE MIDORI
1550 N. Green Valley Parkway, Henderson; 702-492-9200
Unlike most Japanese restaurants that try to cover the whole gamut of this extensively varied cuisine Midori sticks pretty much to sushi — to its advantage. Especially laudable were the creative and refreshing salmon and lemon roll, the Rising Star with its shrimp tempura, avocado and cucumber with crunchy tempura bits, and The Temptation, with spicy tuna, spicy crab, tuna and shrimp. And we also liked the deftly prepared gyoza. (3/26/15 H.K.R.)
$$
MOTHER’S KOREAN GRILL
China Town Plaza, 4215 Spring Mountain Road; 702-579-4745
Mother’s succeeded where other Korean restaurants have failed in one major way: It cured us of our fear of kimchi. But the kimchi isn’t the only thing at Mother’s that’s carefully prepared — like your Korean mother would make, probably; we also liked the Dol Sot Bibimbap, bulgogi and dak bulgogi, as well as the various banchan side dishes. (5/16/14 H.K.R.)
$$
NAGA THAI DINING
76 Horizon Ridge Parkway, Henderson; 702-508-2008
Thai restaurants have sprung up all over the valley and many of them are very good, but we’d have a hard time naming any that are better than Naga Thai, which offers a number of offbeat dishes among the old familiars. We thoroughly enjoyed the Golden Cups, Miang Khum, cucumber salad, tom kah, panang curry and garlic-and-black-pepper stir-fry. (11/15/13 H.K.R.)
$$
NAKED FISH’S SUSHI & GRILL
3945 S. Durango Drive; 702-228-8856
Signature dishes: For Sizzle My Nizzle, lobster tempura salad.
NOBU
Hard Rock Hotel, 4455 Paradise Road; 702-693-5000
Signature dishes: black cod with miso, dessert bento box.
THE NOODLE MAN
6870 S. Rainbow Blvd.; 702-823-3333
We’ve got plenty of good noodle places in Las Vegas these days, but not many where you can watch the noodles being made by hand, as you can here. And that human touch shows in the quality of the noodles, in such dishes as sliced pork and mushrooms with knife-cut noodles and Hot Pepper Shredded Chicken Chow Mein, plus pork and leek potstickers and tomato and egg on rice. (8/21/15 H.K.R.)
$
OHJAH JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE
8595 S. Decatur Blvd. (also at 2051 N. Rainbow Blvd., 10144 W. Flamingo Road and in Pahrump); 702-868-9888
The owners of Ohjah Japanese Steakhouse have a stated aim of making Japanese cuisine — especially teppanyaki — more accessible, and it seems they’ve succeeded. We liked Ohjah’s stack-it pricing, and especially liked the onion soup, salad, noodles and vegetables included with the Hibachi Basic Entree, as well as the scallops, shrimp and sukiyaki beef. (5/30/14 H.K.R.)
$$
ORCHIDS GARDEN
5485 W. Sahara Ave.; 702-631-3839
Signature dishes: dim sup, chicken-and-sweet-corn soup.
OYSHI SUSHI
7775 S. Rainbow Blvd.; 702-646-9744
Signature dishes : Simply Shrimp roll, Red Rock roll.
PENN’S THAI HOUSE
724 W. Sunset Road; 702-564-0162
Penn’s Thai House definitely is an exercise in not judging a book by its cover because what’s inside is much better than what’s outside. And what’s inside is well-prepared classic Thai dishes, such as summer rolls, Panang tofu curry, crispy garlic chicken and Thai iced tea. (4/2/15 H.K.R.)
$
PING PANG PONG
Gold Coast, 4000 W. Flamingo Road; 702-367-7111
Signature dishes: dim sum, tea-smoked duck.
RAKU
5030 W. Spring Mountain Road; 702-367-3511
Signature dishes: agedashi tofu, brown-sugar bubbly pudding.
RICE & COMPANY
Luxor, 3900 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 702-262-4852
Rice & Company didn’t offer much in the way of surprises, but sometimes that’s a good thing. We liked the innovative sushi fusion rolls the Wock and Roll and the Candy Cane, and the Blue Crab & Rock Shrimp Roll, though we thought the Garlic Chicken With Vegetables would have benefited from garlic throughout instead of in intermittent cloves. (12/13/13 H.K.R.)
$$$
SAM WOO BAR-B-Q
China Town Plaza, 4215 Spring Mountain Road; 702-368-7628 or 702-368-7638
Signature dishes: char siu (Chinese barbecued pork), roast duck.
SHABU-SHABU PARADISE
1716 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway, Henderson; 702-385-4567
Signature dishes: shabu-shabu, edamame.
SUSHIWA
790 Coronado Center Drive, Henderson; 702-263-5785
Signature dishes: Henderson Roll, Korean Barbecue Roll.
TA TA ASIAN BISTRO
1450 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway, Henderson; 702-565-8900
Signature dishes: Monkey Special Roll, Paradise Roll.
TAO ASIAN BISTRO
The Venetian, 3377 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 702-388-8338
Signature dishes: roasted shishito peppers with yuzu, white tuna sashimi.
THAI THAI
10890 S. Eastern Ave.; 702-837-6575
Finding little-known gems is the best part of this job, and Thai Thai — a little jewel box of a place — is one of them. We loved the truly exemplary fresh rolls, plus the Tom Kha Gai, shrimp and scallop basil, Pumpkin Curry and sweet sticky rice with coconut ice cream. (2/1/13 H.K.R.)
$$
TOKYO BOYS
375 N. Stephanie St., Henderson; 702-834-5578
“Fine Japanese dining” in an old diner-style restaurant is a visual non sequitur, but while Tokyo Boys doesn’t quite achieve the “fine” level, it definitely comes close. We loved the braised pork belly, the housemade gyoza and the Tiger Roll and liked the Banzai roll, and the hybrid interior. (4/18/14 H.K.R.)
$$
WING LEI
Wynn Las Vegas, 3131 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 702-770-7000
Interdepartmental teamwork from the reservationist to our server helped make our dinner at Wing Lei a flawless experience. That was, of course, in no small part because of the excellent food, which included crispy pork belly, Three Cup Sea Bass, Mongolian Beef and walnut semifreddo for dessert. (7/19/13 H.K.R.)
$$$$
ZENSHIN
South Point, 9777 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 702-797-8538
Zenshin — the name of which means “advancement, progression or moving forward” — promises to be “anything but cliche,” and comes through with sushi like the 8 Second Bull Ride roll, filled with snow crab, avocado and tempura asparagus and topped with Wagyu beef and truffle oil. We also liked the Tonkotsu Ramen, the Ahi Poke Tacos, tamago nigiri sushi and a dessert of mini-malasadas. (9/13/13)
$$
