When you think about Las Vegas’ most acclaimed restaurants, Wing Lei at Wynn Las Vegas probably doesn’t come to mind, but it should. It’s received 5 Diamonds from AAA, 5 Stars from Forbes, and was the first Chinese restaurant in North America to earn a Michelin Star. In 2016, John Curtas named it one of Las Vegas’ “Essential 50” restaurants in Eating Las Vegas. So what took us so long to try it? Well, mostly because it took this long to get a comp. Just kidding. The real reason is we plain overlooked it. We had occasion to try Wing Lei last month and it was fantastic.

5 Stars

A lot goes into becoming a 5-Star restaurant — food quality and service, obviously, but ambience is a big part of it, too. This place has a great feel. For example, since plates are usually shared, every seat has two sets of chopsticks, one for grabbing food from the communal plates and the other for eating it off of yours. That makes so much sense, but the over/under on how many attempts before you forget, or get them mixed up and serve yourself incorrectly, is 2.5. You get the amuse-bouche (free appetizer) to start, mini-pastries you didn’t order for dessert, and a box with cookies to take with you. First-class all the way. You a foodie baller, bro.

Order the Duck

We asked an F&B director we know what to order and he said, “You gotta go with the duck,” as in the Imperial Peking Duck. Same advice from John Curtas in Eating Las Vegas. And before we ordered, our dining partner announced that he’d already ordered it ahead. Yep, the word’s out on the duck. We’ve had Peking duck before, but this one was better. The glistening cooked duck is wheeled out, presented, then carved tableside in a little show of its own. Then the server prepares a few Mandarin crepes (so you get a clue about how you’re supposed to eat them) and leaves the rest to you. This dish is $131.88 and, with some appetizers, it was the only entrée needed for our party of three. Those appetizers included a sampler for $53.88, a mushroom combo for $29.88, and potstickers for $28.88 (8s are lucky in Chinese culture). Beers — Lucky Budha and Yanging China — were $10 each. 

The Verdict

Chalk up Wing Lei as another primo dining experience at the Wynn. This is a first-rate splurge and not an overly expensive one at that. Appetizers are mostly in the $20s, so an app or two and that $130 duck will get you out at around $100 per person. And it can be less: soy sea bass is $53.88, General Tao’s chicken is $41.88, and Cantonese chow mein is $27.88. We didn’t try them, but it’s -300 that they’re excellent. Check it out, and good luck with that chopstick challenge.

The area code and universal identifier of all things Hawaii is also the name of one of Las Vegas’ best new restaurants. The 808 Café, run by Hawaiian transplant Dennis Lin, is located in a nondescript storefront in a strip mall at Flamingo and Buffalo. Don’t be deterred; the major menu includes authentic Hawaiian and Asian dishes served in big portions and nothing is priced above $20.

Hawaiian

We asked a bartender we know from the Islands if she was familiar with 808 and she raved about the selection. Indeed, just about everything associated with Hawaiian cuisine is on this menu—loco moco, mochiko chicken, spam, teriyaki beef, Hawaiian beef stew, Portuguese sausage and eggs. We didn’t go that route, except to try the gau gee (fried wontons), which we’re told aren’t easy to find outside of Hawaii. You get eight for $8.95 and they’re excellent.

Asian

Described as Asian-Fusion, the rest of the menu is a mix that’s primarily Chinese. Well over 100 selections include noodles, rice, pastries, soups, meat, seafood, and vegetables. We had garlic edamame ($4.95), Szechuan dumplings ($6.95), siu mai ($7.95), salt & pepper fish ($14.95), shrimp chow fun ($15.95), and the house special rice ($16.95). Different spices, mustard, and hot sauces accompanied. One of our favorites was the siu mai that comes five to an order and they’re huge, but despite the size, still delicate. The star of the show was the salt & pepper fish. This is a gotta-get. Spice it up however you fancy and eat it there (they’re not as good for take-out).

MRO Deal

Making everything better, we have two Member Rewards offers for 808 Café, both downloadable. One is a modest offer for non-LVA members: 5% off $25 or 10% off $100—a discount of $2.50 to $10+. The second is more substantial and available to LVA members only: an order of the house special rice for $5 when you spend at least $40. That’s an easy spend for two people and it works out to a $12 saving on the dish. It comes with your choice of beef, chicken, pork, or shrimp and is a meal in itself. Take it out and you have a $5 lunch for two.

The Verdict

You’d expect this place to be in the heart of Chinatown, but it’s about five miles farther west up Flamingo. It’s worth the drive for the good food, not to mention the LVA deal. It’s not fancy, but the owner is usually there to make suggestions and the diners tend to talk with one another, likely due to familiarity from frequenting the place.

This is one of those restaurants you’ll have to go back to several times to even begin to dent the menu and we’re sure we’ll come up with other recommendations (our bartender friend raves about the crab Rangoon), but the S&P fish, another entrée, and orders of siu mai and gau gee will get you there for the rice deal. It’s open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (11:30 p.m. Fri. & Sat.).