Las Vegas Weekly

January 6, 2010 · 1:22 PM

Zine Noodles Dim Sum named one of Top 10 Chinese restaurants in U.S.

By Don Chareunsy

Zine Noodles Dim Sum in the Palazzo.

Photo: Courtesy

By Don Chareunsy, Vegas DeLuxe editor

Chef Simon To and his Zine Noodles Dim Sum in the Palazzo were awarded as one of the Top 10 Chinese restaurants in the U.S. during the 6th Annual Top 100 Chinese Restaurants Awards at the Palazzo last night. Chef To also prepared and oversaw the evening’s eight-course Chinese banquet, which included dried scallops in jade squash, twice-boiled ginseng and quail soup, pigeon and abalone.

The Top 10 restaurants, with three in California and stretching from Hawaii to Connecticut, are: 1) Ching’s Table in New Canaan, Conn. 2) Bo Ling’s in Kansas City, Mo. 3) Wong’s King Seafood Restaurant in Portland, Ore. 4) Mr. K’s Restaurant in New York City 5) Ana Mandara in San Francisco 6) Seafood Village in Honolulu 7) Happy Harbor Restaurant in Rowland Heights, Calif., 8) Chef Chu’s in Los Altos, Calif. 9) Lao Szechuan in Chicago and 10) Zine Noodles Dim Sum.

Photo: TVT

Martin Yan, Mayor Oscar Goodman and Chef Zhuang at the Top 100 Chinese Restaurants Awards at The Rio in 2009.

The owners of Happy Harbor were humbled by the recognition and found out about the award just as it was announced. Along with the evening’s winners, guests included Lee Anne Wong of Bravo’s Top Chef; Master Chef Martin Yan, last year’s Lifetime Achievement Award of Excellence recipient; Sharon Chan, president of the Asian American Journalists Association and Microsoft reporter at The Seattle Times; Dennis and Lorraine Hunt Bono; and Mr. Vegas DeLuxe himself, Robin Leach, who graciously posed for photographs with fans throughout the evening.

Lee Anne, who looking stunning in a black dress and fuchsia wrap, told me that she’s based in New York now and working on opening her first restaurant this year. She also said that Las Vegas holds a dear place in her heart after filming the Bravo reality TV series here. And her most memorable moment last night?

Photo: Sharon Chan

Vegas DeLuxe Editor Don Chareunsy and chef Lee Anne Wong of Top Chef fame.

“I met Robin Leach and posed for a photo with him,” she said. “That was my highlight of the night -- it made my night!” (I sincerely dislike being a part of stories and photographed, but I didn’t snap a photo of Lee Anne alone. So here I am pictured with Lee Anne.)

This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award of Excellence winner is Lawrence C.C. Chu, executive chef and owner of Chef Chu’s (No. 8 on this year’s list) and co-founder of the Asian Chefs Association.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter HERE.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter HERE.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter HERE.

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