Las Vegas Weekly

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.