Wing Lei

This place is worth a visit if you're in Vegas, though my meal got steadily worse as it went on.

Let's start at the beginning. The dining room is absolutely stunning. Service is also top-notch. Near 3 stars. From opening the door to welcome you in as you approach to that glorious, understated and deferential hospitality that the Chinese are known for, you are glad to be here. They are glad you're here. It's a terrific environment.

The meal started off extremely stellar. The crab salad is to die for, with some of the best crab I've ever had. The mango sauce was a bit heavy-handed, but was a great balance. I especially liked the mango underneath, which was macerated perfectly and, while presented whole, was cut into small cubes making it easy to form the perfect bites throughout. So intelligent.

The soup dumpling (which I ordered singly from the tasting menu) was likewise incredible. The jus it was in was enough to make this plate amazing, but the dumpling itself was lovely and the truffle added a lot. A+ dish right here.

The only way to get their famous peking duck is either through the duck tasting menu (which is for at least 2 people), to order an entire peking duck (which would have been wasteful) or by ordering their salad. So the salad it was.

The salad itself was tremendous. Fresh, crisp. perfectly dressed with an uber-appropriate mandarin orange vinaigrette. I could have eaten it all day. The duck slices were a disappointment though. Small and thin. Cold. Given the prices of their other dishes, they should charge more and provide a substantive amount of the duck, which should be the star.

The two mains were really disappointing. The scallop dish, which advertised strong flavors like sausage and mushrooms, delivered weakly. Meek flavor, not much texture throughout. It was pedestrian and deserved so much more. The lo mein was delicious and well done, but they didn't include the chicken in it that I had requested. It would make for a good side dish, but not a main.

All in, I feel like I had a left-of-center experience. Meaning, not the experience that most had. Perhaps the tableside peking duck is a showstopper compared to the duck on the salad. Perhaps I just ordered the few mains that weren't as solid as some of the others. 

I would return here gladly, to experience the extraordinary hospitality and beautiful dining room. But hopefully, my next meal here is more consistent and delicious start to finish.

I will, of course, let you know.