We never thought of having chinese food in Las Vegas until, Juan - barman at Javier's recommended Hakkasan Restaurant and Nightclub at MGM Grand. He told us how amazingly delicious the peking duck at Hakkasan. The best peking duck in town, he claimed. Well.. that's something for us to check out. You know how much we love good peking duck :)
We went to Hakkasan on Thursday evening without a reservation and we could not get a table straight away. So, we had to wait about half an hour at the bar, which is not too bad considering they make good cosmopolitan. And just before we were about to finish our cocktails, a very friendly waitress , Marina, came to inform us that our table is ready. Great!
Bear in mind that the interior of Hakkasan is dark, it's designed to be a club like. It's open yet it feels private and intimate. Though, we could just imagine that after a couple of drinks, some customers here might find the restaurant looks like an endless maze. But no worries, the staff will show you the way.
Without looking at the menu, we made our order straight away, crispy duck salad and selection of dim sum to start with and the famous peking duck with caviar and beef in black pepper sauce to follow with egg fried rice on the side. The peking duck will be presented in two ways, the crispy skin on the pancakes with a dollop of caviar and the meat will be cooked in either spicy sichuan sauce or black bean sauce. We chose the black bean sauce. Yes, that's a lot of food for just three of us! Not to forget a bottle of chardonnay grgich 2010 from napa valley to accompany those dishes. We believe a good food deserves a good wine :)
When the crispy duck salad arrived, we wasted no time get stuck in. Then we realized that we haven't taken any picture for our reader to see. Apologies. But we could tell you how good it was though. The crispy duck was mixed with pea shoots, pomegranate and pine nuts with slightly sweet dressing, that we guessed it's a mixture of sweet soya sauce, sesame oil and maybe a little bit of tamarind. It's a great combination indeed, but we think it would be even better if we add some thinly sliced bird eye chili to give it a kick. And it worked!! Perfect! For you who are not a big fan of fresh chili could replace it with thinly sliced ginger, we think it would do the trick.
As we finished with the salad, piping hot prawn, scallops and pork dimsum served in bamboo basket arrived to our table. The steam brings out the scent of seafood really entice us to devour selection of freshly made dim sum. Yummy!
First round of duck skin on pancakes with a dollop of caviar served. Out of one whole duck we get four plates, with four pieces of pancakes on each. It's like a sandwich of pancake, spring onion, cucumber, crispy duck skin and caviar. Oh that was good!!! The pancake is slightly sweet, contrast the saltiness of the caviar. The duck skin, spring onion and the cucumber balance it all. Divine!!
Okay, first part of the duck done, now we got to the main course. The rest of the duck meat cooked in black bean sauce, beef in black pepper sauce and egg fried rice. Both meat dishes were so delicious. Melting in the mouth and full of flavor. The beef has a little bit more heat due to the black pepper but nothing over the top spicy. If there was a flaw, we would say it would be the fried rice. Taste wise it was perfect, but texture wise, it was dry. We expected the rice to be fluffy and moist.
Time for desserts! Yes, we were already full by the time end of the main courses, but the desserts selections sounds so enticing, we simply could not resist. And it was hard to make our choices. We liked every single dessert available. We finally decided to have the Coconut pudding and Strawberries & Champagne.
The coconut pudding was a star. It's a mix of coconut pearl pudding, lime financier and caramelized spiced pineapple. Sweet, sour, creamy but very light, just the perfect subtle ending to a delectable dinner. For you who prefer refreshing and slight sharpness dessert, should go for the strawberry & champagne. It's simply a beautiful collaboration of fresh strawberries, creamy panna cotta, rhubarb and champagne foam. Delightful!
To sum it all, we are so pleased to have dined at Hakkasan. It has the best quality of asian food and consistency, good standard of service and excellent venue. We could just go back there over and over again. The Hakkasan night club is just next door of the restaurant, hosting famous DJs such as Tiesto, Calvin Harris and many more. What are you waiting for??
Hakkasan Restaurant and Nightclub
MGM Grand Hotel and Casino
3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas - NV 89109
Phone: +1 702 891 7888
Website: www.hakkasan.com
Opening hours: Monday to Wednesday from 5 PM - 11 PM, Thursday to Sunday from 5 PM - 12 PM
No comments:
Post a Comment