Friday, Feb. 25, 2000 | 9:08 a.m.
Muriel Stevens' dining column appears Fridays. Her shopping column appears Wednesdays. Reach her at [email protected] or 259-4080.
The celebration that heralded the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dragon, is over, but those fortunate enough to have been invited to Kevin Wu's Chinese New Year banquet at his Royal Star restaurant at the Venetian will not soon forget it.
Royal Star at the Venetian is another exceptional Chinese restaurant from the founders of Royal Star Seafood restaurant in Santa Monica, Calif. With the notable Hong Kong chefs Lum Lai and Law Ka Hung, who established the reputation of the original Royal Star, Wu has put together a team that excels in the culinary specialties of many regions of China. Traditional, of course, but young restaurateur Wu puts his own lighter spin on the classics.
As guests arrived they were greeted by the music of zitherist David Liu from the Cheng-Hsing Art Center in Monterey Park, Calif. Liu is also the founder of the Chinese Zither Orchestra of Los Angeles and the Chinese Zither Research and Learning Center of Los Angeles. The 5-foot-long Chinese zither is a beautiful instrument crafted of wood and embellished with artful designs. It was fascinating to watch Liu as he deftly strummed the zither. The music he played was at times harp-like, at other times typically Chinese. It was lovely to listen to.
When the guests were seated, there was more Chinese entertainment. Energetic lion dancers (including a dear small lion), drummers and flag bearers from the Las Vegas Lohan School of Shaolin, pranced and danced. Directing the merry troupe was Sifu Steven Baugh.
Dinner was a dazzling array of courses. Chinese banquets traditionally begin with cold appetizers. Ours were: a pan-seared tofu skin roll filled with enoki and wood-ear mushrooms; and a steamed, translucent dumpling filled with spot prawns and minced chicken garnished with glazed walnuts -- the minced chicken was spooned into endive leaves instead of the usual lettuce cup, which added additional flavor and made it much easier to eat out of hand.
A stir-fry of geoduck (pronounced gooeyduck) clam included thinly-sliced pieces of the clam that were enhanced with zesty X.O. sauce -- a blend of oil, red chilies, garlic and dried crab, shrimp and scallops.
Presentation of the soup course, winter melon soup, was elegant. Inside a handsome silver replica of a winter melon was the whole soup-filled melon. Each bowl of the savory soup included pieces of the delicate melon and fresh crab. A delicious and memorable soup.
The huge shell of an Australian king crab was the centerpiece of the next course. On the platter, surrounding the brilliant red shell, were wok-tossed pieces of the succulent crab, cooked in the style of Fonton.
And there was more. Dinner continued with Shan Yu beef served over sauteed onions and crisp asparagus spears; a whole fish had been seared and drizzled with a ginger and scallion soy sauce; and finally, an exceptional Cantonese lotus leaf rice with abalone and salted scallop. The flavor of the lotus leaf imparted a delicate flavor and fragrance to the rice without overpowering it. Just the right amount of steaming left each grain light and fluffy inside its wrapping of lotus leaf.
Royal Star prides itself on the quality of its live seafood, all of which come from the live tank in Royal Star's kitchen. It is always filled with live crab, lobster, fish, prawns, shrimp, geoduck and other denizens of the deep.
A warm, sweet Chinese New Year soup and platters of fresh fruit were the perfect ending to the sumptuous meal.
Wu was the perfect host, visiting with each table and answering questions. With him was his delightful father, Chien Hsiing Wu, and his personable brother-in-law, Arthur Snyder, who is the chief financial officer for Royal Star of Nevada Inc. restaurants. Arthur was able to answer all of my questions about the Royal Star architecture and decor, which is smashing, and shared stories about the ancient art of feng shui (pronounced fung shway), which played an important part in the design of the dining room.
As guests departed they each received a gift of a tiny, potted bamboo plant. This "lucky bamboo" was set not in soil, but in pebbles of citrine. According to the legend that came with the plant, "The gem stones not only keep the plant growing healthy, but also increase the magic power of the special stones." Citrine is said to be the lucky stone for gamblers.
Sharing Chinese New Year with the Wu family was a pleasure and an honor.
More Royal Star: Don't miss the dim sum selection served daily at Royal Star, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. The tasty tidbits are prepared in a separate dim sum kitchen by expert dim sum chefs from Hong Kong. Royal Star's har gow, shrimp dumplings, are the plumpest ever. The dim sum menu includes a variety of baked, steamed and dessert dim sum priced from $3.
Dinner is served daily, 5:30-11 p.m. The menu is extensive, service and table appointments are outstanding. Friends who dined recently at Royal Star later told me that the courses chosen for them by General Manager Tom Chan were the best Chinese food they'd ever eaten.
Royal Star is on Restaurant Row, casino level.
Short orders
Oodles of noodles:
Royal Star recently opened NoodleAsia, next to the Venetian's race and sports book. Featured are pan-toasted or wok-tossed noodles, noodles in broth, rice dishes, congee, appetizers and dim sum, all at moderate prices. Hours are 11 a.m-3 a.m.
Mein-A Noodle restaurant has opened at the Rio. The cafe-style restaurant offers a wide array of handmade noodles and combination noodle dishes with beef, chicken, pork, duck and vegetables. Lunch hours are 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; 6-11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 6 p.m.-1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
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