Here I am again, writing about another trip to Las Vegas. It has been a few months since my last trip. This time I stayed at the opposite end of the strip. I was hungry for Chinese food and it was recommended that I check out Wing Lei at the Wynn Hotel and Casino.
As soon as I walked through their doors, I was greeted by the most attentive staff. They were constantly checking on me to make sure I got everything I needed.
The restaurant was beautiful. Rather than the traditional Chinese colors of red and black, they used an uplifting color scheme of gold, ivory, and green.
They had large glass windows that over looked a beautiful garden. Located in the center was a giant gold Chinese dragon statue.
When I sat down at my table, I was greeted with a small cup of “Welcome” tea. It was a lychee black tea. It was cold and very sweet. It was really good and the cup they served it in was an extremely unique shape. It reminded me of a small fish bowl.
I asked my waiter for his recommendation of a cocktail to try. He said that the Pomegranate Martini was one of their most popular. It used Absolut Mandarin vodka, Cointreau, and pomegranate juice.
This cocktail was sweet with just a slight hint of sour. I sipped it slowly because I would have drank it quickly otherwise, that is how smooth it was.
Before all of the starters came out, the waiter brought a little palette cleanser. They called it “compressed” watermelon. It was a slice of watermelon that was extremely juicy. It was sweet, spicy, and salty. It was a unique preparation for a slice of watermelon.
Just as I finished my watermelon my soup came out. I ordered the Tofu Blossom Soup. It was a chicken broth with a few mushrooms, sugar peas, broccoli, and tofu. The presentation was pretty. The chef actually cut the tofu to look like a flower floating in the bowl.
As I ate the soup and cut up that flower, the tofu ended up acting like noodles. The soup had a subtle sweet taste. It was not filling because there was not enough vegetables in the soup itself. It simply made me hungry for more.
The sautéed green beans were spectacular. They used very fresh green beans and cut them up to make them easier to eat. They used a ton of garlic and sea salt when they cooked the beans, but it did not make the beans overly salty. It was just enough for flavor. There was something about the taste that made the beans addicting to eat.
At this point of the meal it was time for another cocktail. This time I got the Sparkling Blossom. It was a blend of Absolut Citron vodka, Pavon orange blossom liqueur, lemon juice, simple syrup, and sparkling wine. Twisted in the glass was a thinly sliced cucumber.
It was a pretty presentation in the glass. This cocktail was even sweeter than the first. It was also refreshing because of all the citrus flavors that were combined together.
For my main dish, I ordered the Cantonese Chow Mein. I got it with chicken. Now because this was Cantonese Chow Mein I expected the noodles to be crispy. That has always been my experience. However, they used a soft noodle. So this ended up being more like a Lo Mein. Please do not misunderstand me, I am not disappointed by this at all. The dish was fantastic.
The taste was amazing and the noodles soaked up all the flavor from the ginger, garlic, and soy sauce that were used. The few vegetables that were mixed in added crunch. The chicken was cut into nice pieces that were tender and moist.
The portion sizes for each thing I ate were just the right size. It prevented me from getting too full. This also left room for dessert.
I ordered the Red bean ice cream. I really enjoy Chinese desserts that use Red Beans. Red beans are very sweet, which is why they are used so frequently in desserts. Having them made into ice cream would be a new experience for me.
The taste of the ice cream was sweet, just like the bean. The texture of the ice cream was slightly gritty, which also resembles the red bean. This is not a creamy ice cream, so if that is what you are looking for then do not get this one. I enjoyed this ice cream because it was different and it balanced out all the salt I had from the chow mein and the green beans.
Now to my surprise, when the check came, the waiter also brought out a little tray of candies for me to enjoy. There were five pieces of candy:
(1) Coconut chocolate truffle
(2) Chocolate covered caramel
(3) A jelly candy
(4) Mini macaron
(5) Mango candy
Each of these candies were the perfect bite size. Two bites and they were done. It was a fun little treat.
My waiter also gave me a little cake that was boxed up for me to take for later. I did eat the little cake the next morning for breakfast. It was like an apricot glazed cake with a cookie on top. It was perfect with a cup of coffee.
This was a very fancy Chinese dinner. It was not a traditional Chinese meal. There were many elements that felt more French to me. The food was extremely enjoyable and I would go back in a heartbeat.
Check out their menu at http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/Dining/FineDining/WingLei
Enjoy!
T
