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China Mama
The new China Mama, a boxy, freestanding place with lime-green walls and garish red light fixtures that resemble Slinkys (if they had been made out of Lucite), does the best xiao loong bao in Vegas, and maybe anywhere between here and New York City.
There is a slew of other dishes you’ll want to experience at this noodle and dumpling house, which belongs to a Taiwanese family. I love beef roll, P29, a creation that resembles a wrap one might get at the local Subway. It couldn’t be more different, of course.
China Mama’s beef roll starts with a warm Chinese wheat-flour pancake, as thin as a crepe and wickedly crunchy around the edges. It’s rolled up with thinly sliced beef and a touch of cilantro, but that lingering sensation on the palate is from sesame oil, which adds fragrance and pungency.
The classic green onion pancake, P28, looks like a Frisbee, a multi-layered crepe filled with shards of onion that is oily enough to leave a slick residue on the fingers. It’s a must.
5 Comments So Far
The steamed juicy pork buns are outstanding, as is the jellyfish salad. I have yet to have anything that was not fresh and delicious here. The service is great, and the staff is helpful and friendly
Posted by: ssinderella on 3/22/09 at 2:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We were welcomed by our waitress and seated in a booth. I had several notes culled from yelp, the chow hound board and the above review, but solicited the waitress' input. We were fortunate because our waitress spoke excellent English while the couple at an adjoining table had difficulty communicating with their waitress. We ended up sharing orders of P28 -- green onion pancake, P 23- steamed juicy pork buns, H96 - eggplant in garlic spicy sauce plus rice and tea. Everything was delicious, but the pork buns were a revelation.
Posted by: westie on 5/7/09 at 3:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
My boyfriend took me to China Mama after hearing a great review from a food critic several months ago. Since then we've eaten at China Mama more times than any other restaurants in town. And whenever we go there, we are greeted and served warmly by the owner and all of the servers. The food is fantastic. My personal favorite is the combination fried rice (a meal by itself), braised beef stew, and the sizzling rice seafood soup, while my boyfriend couldn't go without ordering their famous juicy dumplings and beef roll. And you know it's authentic when there are much more Asians than Caucasians eating there. I often call to order my fried rice during weeks when I'm too busy at work - it takes me 10 minutes to pick it up and back. Shhh. My man does not like it that I go there without him.
Posted by: rgarde326 on 4/14/10 at 1:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I have been searching for great Chinese food in the valley and finally found it! The steamed pork buns were incredible, the scallion cake was delicious, and the cold noodles (vegetarian noodles on appetizer menu) were the best I've had since leaving the northeast 7 years ago. Best of all was the crispy chicken in sichuan sauce. This place would fit right in with NYC or San Fran Chinatowns!
Posted by: njsteve123 on 8/16/10 at 5:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We shared orders of shrimp with special hot chili sauce and chicken prepared with three special sauce and basil. The shrimp were served with the heads on, but the biggest problem was they had been mishandled and were mealy. We fared better with the chicken dish. 2 Forks out of a possible 5.
Posted by: westie on 10/24/10 at 11:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
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