Emperor’s Garden

If you're not Asian and are trying to figure out if an Asian restaurant is authentic, here are two surefire clues:

The first would be the presence of buses disgorging Asian tourists, which is a common occurrence at China Town Plaza and the surrounding area along Spring Mountain Road. (Yes, it would seem that Asian tourists eating Asian food in Las Vegas is like Western tourists dining at an Outback Steakhouse in Hong Kong, but the flavors of home can be comforting.)

The second would be the fork-slipping routine. Asian restaurants with predominantly Asian clientele -- and we can presume these are places that aren't serving canned chow mein -- generally have simple place settings that include a plate, maybe a soup bowl and spoon and of course a pair of chopsticks. But if you're not Asian, don't be surprised if they slip a fork into your place setting -- surreptitiously, for some reason. The fork has been delivered to me various ways in various places, and at Emperor's Garden it was particularly subtly, our waitress bringing it among the clatter of the tea and cups so that we didn't notice until later.

With the big bus-tour group filing into a private room, it was clear that Emperor's Garden was that desirable hybrid, an authentic Chinese restaurant that's welcoming to Westerners. Which also could translate to authentic if you can handle it, but not too authentic if you can't.

We started with some dishes that you'd find in a Chinese restaurant almost anywhere in the country, but for the most part, these were much better prepared. A "small" bowl of wonton soup ($4.95; large is $8.95) contained some shrimp, which was a surprise (especially because they were nice and fresh) and also lots of fresh spinach and mushrooms along with the requisite bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. The broth was reasonably rich -- the chicken fat was evidence of that -- and the plentiful wontons had delicate wrappers and a ginger-infused pork filling.

A generous serving of eight pan-fried dumplings ($6.95) showed their spots -- that would be crispy spots, here and there as opposed to everywhere, as would be the case with deep-frying -- and served with a heavily gingered soy-based sauce that cut the richness of the filling at the same time it sweetened it.

Barbecued pork ($7.50) came in nice tender slices with lots of hoisin-based sauce, plus some scallions and onions.

Crispy Beef ($12.75) was billed as a house specialty and also as spicy, but it was only just. This was an interesting dish, the strips of beef lightly coated and lightly fried, and the real plus: Tangerine sauce they promised, and tangerine sauce they delivered -- a rare occasion, so no wonder this is a house specialty. There were lots of pieces of tangerine rind in various sizes, for lots of bright, astringent flavor sparks in the dark, slightly peppery sauce.

Chicken with cashew nuts ($8.95) was a rare thing, too, in that it contained as many cashew nuts as it did chunks of chicken. Scallions and mushrooms completed the flavor profile on this one.

The only real disappointment was the Shanghai egg rolls ($2.95). Because the menu also listed vegetable egg rolls, we were hopeful that these would be the nice old-fashioned kind with chunks of pork and shrimp (especially since they'd put shrimp in the wonton soup), but it was not to be. They were crisp, they were hot, they were grease-free and they were served with a sweet-and-sour sauce that was more sour than average and not just sweet glop (which is a good thing), but they were vegetable and only vegetable.

Service was a bit of a mixed bag. Our waitress was efficient at the beginning and runners delivered our food promptly (in the traditional manner, which is to say as they were ready, as opposed to in courses), but as the evening wore on and the bus tour arrived, things started to fall apart. People who appeared to be regulars started to take things into their own hands, one taking her container of steamed rice into the kitchen for a refill, another springing up and running after a server who appeared out of the back, in order to snag her check. We understand the strain a big group puts on a restaurant, but since such groups almost always reserve in advance, there's usually time to put on more staff.

Still, I feel comfortable recommending Emperor's Garden, for its East-meets-West synergy.

And besides, we know we can always get more rice in the kitchen.

Las Vegas Review-Journal reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at 383-0474 or e-mail her at hrinella@reviewjournal.com.