Dining Guide: Asian
Each week Neon spotlights a different cuisine in the Dining Guide, with Asian restaurants this week. Restaurants are rated on a letter-grade scale, from A to F. 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; $$ = entrees from $10 to $20; $$$ = entrees from $20 to $30; and $$$$ = entrees more than $30.
AMLEE GOURMET
3827 E. Sunset Road; 898-3358
Amlee’s is an old-school kind of place, Chinese-American with the emphasis on American. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, if that’s what you (like a legion of others) are looking for. The chicken chow mein was in the western style, with soft noodles, and the tomato beef had lots of large chunks of bright fresh tomatoes. And the Amlee’s Plate of appetizers was a true blast from the past. (3/22/13 H.K.R.)
Overall: N (for nostalgic)
$$
ARCHI’S THAI KITCHEN, BISTRO AND CAFE
6360 W. Flamingo Road; 880-5550, and 6345 S. Rainbow Blvd. and 9350 W. Sahara Ave.
Signature dishes: Pad Thai, curries.
CATHAY HOUSE
5300 Spring Mountain Road; 876-3838, and at the Palms, 4321 W. Flamingo Road
Signature dishes: dim sum, barbecued pork.
EAST OCEAN DIM SUM & SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
9570 S. Eastern Ave., Henderson; 567-4800
Dim Sum isn’t exactly tough to find in the valley but most of the places that specialize in it are clustered in and around the China Town area, so no wonder Henderson’s East Ocean is packing them in. Well, that’s not just because of geography but also because of the fresh, well-prepared foods such as shrimp wontons, shrimp noodle rolls, char si bao, pork shu mai, chive dumplings, shrimp dumplings and yellow custard buns. And the carts arrived promptly and repeatedly. (4/6/12 H.K.R.)
Overall: A-
$$
HUE THAI
5115 Spring Mountain Road; 221-4841
Signature dishes: banh mi, pho.
I LOVE SUSHI
11041 S. Eastern Ave.; 990-4055
I Love Sushi is a “fusion” sushi restaurant, of the genre that are refining and redefining the art to be more in keeping with American tastes. To that end, there’s a heavy reliance on tuna and salmon, but we’re not complaining. We liked the Joe’s Special, Sex on the Beach, the I Love Sushi Special, the Lisa Hand Roll and the Tornado. And a vanilla mochi for dessert. And there’s teriyaki, teppanyaki and yakisoba, in case sushi’s not your thing. (7/21/11 H.K.R.)
Overall: A
$$
JOYFUL HOUSE
4601 Spring Mountain Road; 889-8881
Signature dishes: braised shark fin, abalone.
KOBE SUSHI BISTRO
6375 S. Rainbow Blvd.; 898-9998
Signature dishes: Monkey Special, Omelet Roll.
KYARA JAPANESE TAPAS
6555 S. Jones Blvd.; 434-8856
Tapas restaurants have been successfully borrowing from other cuisines — including Japanese — for years, and Kyara just takes that a step farther, with a menu that’s primarily (though not exclusively) Japanese in origin. We liked the cheese tempura, asparagus in bacon, butabara (pork belly), poke, peppered tuna, beef tataki and agedashi tofu, and the serene, soothing atmosphere. (10/5/12 H.K.R.)
Overall: A-
$$
LE THAI
523 Fremont St.; 778-0888
Le Thai’s food, if not transcendent, does represent solid preparations of mostly traditional Thai dishes. Our favorite was our dessert, which was a pancake layered with Nutella and topped with a sweet omelet, but we also liked the pork jerky with waterfall sauce, the Three Color Curry and the Thai fried rice. But the best thing about Le Thai is that it’s perfect for downtown, a pleasant funky-artsy spot that morphs as the evening wears on. (7/13/12 H.K.R.)
Overall: A-
$$
LILLY’S THAI & VIETNAMESE
7365 S. Sahara Ave.; 778-7731
Lilly’s may not have as many of the more interesting Vietnamese dishes we’d find in the spots in and around Chinatown but what’s there is well prepared and the price definitely is right. Summer rolls filled with shrimp and crisp vegetables were a fine way to start on a warm evening, and we also chose winners in the Bun Bo Xao Xa (pan-fried beef with rice vermicelli and vegetables), the Xao Bong Cai (stir-fried shrimp and broccoli over steamed rice) and a dessert of sticky rice and green-tea ice cream. (4/5/13 H.K.R.)
Overall: A-
$
NITTAYA’S SECRET KITCHEN
2110 N. Rampart Blvd.; 360-8885
We were off to a good start with the house fruit-infused water (red apple, kiwi, orange and lemon on the evening of our visit), and we liked everything that was to follow, which was the World Famous Spinach Salad, pork and vegetable egg rolls, cilantro steak skewers, grilled mango shrimp, shrimp satay, beef jerky and fried bananas. (1/21/11 H.K.R.)
Overall: A-
$$
NOBU
Hard Rock Hotel, 4455 Paradise Road; 693-5000
Signature dishes: black cod with miso, dessert bento box.
ORCHIDS GARDEN
5485 W. Sahara Ave.; 631-3839
Signature dishes: dim sup, chicken-and-sweet-corn soup.
OYSHI SUSHI
7775 S. Rainbow Blvd.; 646-9744
Signature dishes: Simply Shrimp roll, Red Rock roll.
PIN KAOW
1972 N. Rainbow Blvd.; 638-2746, and 7835 S. Rainbow Blvd. and 9530 S. Eastern Ave.
We did Pin Kaow at lunch, when a bargain price will get you a special that includes soup (an offbeat but tasty cucumber on the day of our visit), egg rolls and wontons, plus entree. We had a Thai beef salad and a pork curry and both were delightful — though no more so than the decor, in which the prodigious use of wood and flowers has helped the restaurant transcend its strip-center location. (11/13/11 H.K.R.)
Overall: B
$
SAM WOO BAR-B-Q
China Town Plaza, 4215 Spring Mountain Road; 368-7628 or 368-7638
Signature dishes: char siu (Chinese barbecued pork), roast duck.
SHABU-SHABU PARADISE
1716 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway, Henderson; 385-4567
Signature dishes: shabu-shabu, edamame.
SUSHI FEVER
5985 W. Sahara Ave.; 838-2927
The notion that Americans’ idea of Japanese food has shifted from “steakhouses” to sushi bars was reinforced at Sushi Fever, whose teppan tables sat cold and unused while the sushi bar and dining room were bustling. And no wonder, with fusion rolls such as the Monkey Roll with its slabs of fried banana topped with crab and special sauce, and Linda’s Special, its spicy crab and avocado wrapped with tuna, salmon and yellowtail and topped with garlic shrimp, raw onion and jalapeno, and served with a truly special sauce. Whew! We also liked the high-value two-item combo, for which we chose shrimp tempura and pork tonkatsu. (3/23/12 H.K.R.)
Overall: B+
$$
SUSHI TWISTER
5666 Boulder Highway; 433-8892
A Boulder Highway strip center across from a weekly-rental hotel may seem an unexpected spot for a fusion-sushi joint, but Sushi Twister’s there and it’s thriving. We’d say that’s on the strength of creative, well-executed rolls like the Sushi Twister, Crispy Vacation, Cowgirl and Magic Mountain, plus a broad selection of nigiri sushi and more. (7/1/11 H.K.R.)
Overall: B+
$$
THAI THAI
10890 S. Eastern Ave.; 837-6575
Finding little-known gems is the best part of this job, and Thai Thai — a little jewel box of a place — is one of them. We loved the truly exemplary fresh rolls, plus the Tom Kha Gai, shrimp and scallop basil, Pumpkin Curry and sweet sticky rice with coconut ice cream. (2/1/13 H.K.R.)
Overall: A
$$
