Big Wong

LVA Review

This restaurant was reviewed in the November 2011 LVA; some of the information contained in the review may no longer be accurate. We weren’t quite sure how to describe the food here until Eating Las Vegas author Max Jacobsen labeled it “Brooklyn Chinese.” That works for us. What’s important is that Big Wong serves good and plentiful food that’s dirt cheap. Our favorite dish here is beef ramen soup. That’s something of an irony, given that Las Vegas’ premier ramen shop, Monta, is located next door. But while Monta may be more authentic, Wong’s comes chock full of stew-beef chunks with green onions and hot oil on the side. “Do you want tendon?” you’ll be asked when you order. Go for it if you’re adventurous—it has the beef flavor but is soft, making it easier for some older diners to digest—or just say no. Other specialties include a version of the soup made with shrimp, chicken (white or dark meat) over seasoned rice, rib-eye over pasta, a mushroom-and-sausage dish that we haven’t tried, but Max heartily recommends, and excellent salt and pepper chicken wings that are as good cold as leftovers as they are piping hot. With rare exceptions (including the beef ramen that’s $5.95), everything is priced at $4.95. Big Wong adds to the culinary reputation of the little strip mall that also houses the great Japanese restaurant Raku and the aforementioned Monta (corner of Decatur and Spring Mtn.). You could spend your whole trip eating in this one location. One warning: For some reason we’ve always detected a slightly funky scent upon walking through the door at Big Wong’s. Don’t let it put you off; in two minutes you don’t even notice it. Hours are 10 am to 11 pm seven days a week.