View Dining Pick of the Week: Angel’s Fried Rice

Angel’s Fried Rice

3655 S. Durango Drive near Spring Mountain Road, 702-889-0468

Don’t let the tiny size of Angel’s Fried Rice turn you away. The dining room may feature only two cocktail tables, but its menu makes up for the lack of space. Serving a mostly take-out clientele, Angel’s has the ambition to be a major player in the Las Vegas foodie scene. Owner/chef Ben Tang planned to have 15 locations within three years of the current location’s November opening. Tang’s is a curious career path for a successful jewelry businessman in San Francisco. When one of his investments — also a restaurant — lost money, he bought out his partner and spent an additional $20,000 for a month’s worth of cooking lessons from chefs who worked in the Bay Area’s top eateries. In no time, he had his own popular recipes (the secret is infusing the rice with flavors, he said) and 11 locations in San Francisco. He then opened 23 in China. Tang planned to retire to Las Vegas but became bored and opened Angel’s Fried Rice. The menu includes egg rolls, egg fried rice, ham and egg fried rice, hot and spicy chicken fried rice, Mandarin chicken fried rice, orange chicken fried rice, sweet and sour chicken fried rice, honey walnut shrimp fried rice, curry chicken fried rice, curry beef meatball fried rice, curry shrimp fried rice, teriyaki chicken fried rice and shrimp fried rice. The house special fried rice includes shrimp, ham and chicken. Those who like a real kick can order the Kung Pao chicken fried rice. Angel’s Fried Rice is open from noon to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 3 to 9 p.m. Saturday.