A top Vegas Chinese restaurant quietly opens a new spot
For fans of China Mama, the restaurant has always been hao chi: tasty, delicious, good eats. But now the beloved family of Chinese restaurants has taken hao chi to the top line. The latest spot, the fourth in Las Vegas, is Hao Chi by China Mama.
The restaurant opened quietly in early November on West Charleston Boulevard near South Decatur Boulevard. The space features high ceilings with exposed ductwork, a clean-lined dining room rendered in light wood and pale taupe seating, and interior windows affording views of dumpling makers at work in the kitchen.
The menu (you order from a tablet) leads off with those handmade dumplings: fat potstickers sporting crisp golden bottoms, shengjianbao pan-fried pork buns spattered with sesame seeds, delicate wonton parcels in spicy-numbing Sichuan chili sauce.
A enormous bowl of Vietnamese beef and rice noodle soup comes provisioned with several large bones, their collagen slightly thickening the broth and deepening its rich savory flavor. Spicy braised beef noodle and Sichaun tantan noodle (a sort of spicy ramen) also appear among the soups.
Elsewhere, the menu features a host of what it calls street foods: crisp squid strips, seaweed salad, tempura shrimp, salt and pepper chicken, and more.
No. 5 is on the way
On Friday, a fifth China Mama is planned to open in Palace Station; it’s the first in a casino.
The original China Mama on South Jones Boulevard closed after a fire in March 2023. In May 2023, China Mama Express, a takeout-only location, debuted on South Rainbow Boulevard. About a month later, the sit-down China Mama reopened, moving to Shanghai Plaza in Chinatown, in the same center as ShangHai Taste.
Spring by China Mama, a higher-end restaurant showcasing Chinese pancakes assembled tableside with various fillings and condiments, debuted in May on Paradise Road, in the same center as Ferraro’s Ristorante.
Hao Chi by China Mama is at 5247 W. Charleston Blvd. Visit haochibychinamama.com.
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.
