Now Open: 8 new restaurants in Chinatown

Restaurants on the Strip play a huge part in making Las Vegas a dining destination. But places off the Strip also contribute significantly to our culinary culture, even as these places are sometimes overlooked.

This is the first article in an ongoing series featuring restaurants that have opened in the past few months in neighborhoods across the city, but not on the Strip. We begin with Chinatown.

BabyStacks Cafe, 3508 S. Wynn Road, babystackscafe.com

This homegrown breakfast spot opened its first Vegas location in 2010, eventually growing to six restaurants. No. 7 in Chinatown, like its siblings, offers nearly two dozen pancake flavors (including signature red velvet), plus crêpes, waffles, omelettes and skillets, Benedicts, and specialties like Portuguese fried rice and kalbi ribs and eggs.

Want a salad or a burger? BabyStacks has those, too.

Chu on This, 4049 W. Spring Mountain Road, 702-202-2182

Pastels and cutesy cat images (think: a feline smiling behind a jumble of menu items) populate this storefront. Chu on This serves its namesake chu (organic milk ice cream with churros), and boong (organic milk ice cream or other fillings in a fish-shaped waffle).

Churros served alone come in several flavors, and corn dogs are some of the most creative in town, covered in fried ramen or hash browns, then striped with sauces (to name just two).

Fugetsu Okonomiyaki Izakaya, 5600 W. Spring Mountain Road, Suite A, fugetsu-lasvegas.com

Okonomiyaki, the Japanese pancake griddled with mix-ins and toppings, is a staple in the country, with batters and ingredients varying by region. Okonomiyaki roughly translates as “have it your way from the grill.”

Pork, seafood, salmon and unagi okonomiyaki are prepared with egg, red ginger, crunchy cabbage and tempura, and house sauce. Modanyaki versions griddle in some yakisoba noodles. The menu also features appetizers and starters, kushikatsu deep-fried skewers, takoyaki filled balls, sashimi, snarls of yakisoba noodles, grilled dishes and hot stone rice bowls.

Moxie Ultra Lounge, 4258 W. Spring Mountain Road, moxieultralounge.com

Moxie combines a cocktail bar, restaurant and hookah lounge on the second floor, above 85 C Bakery, in Shanghai Plaza. Among the specialty cocktails, rum flavored with dragonfruit distinguishes the Tiger Lily. Suntori Japanese whisky anchors a New Fashioned. Bracing li hing mui powder (sweet, salty, sour) joins pear vodka for a Li-Hing Pear Drop.

From the food menu, folks can graze dishes like edamame, green onion pancakes with spicy ponzu, slices of longanisa Filipino sweet sausage, and crisp duck fried rice tossed with quail eggs and sweet soy sauce. Cheesecake bites are made with ube purple yam, an ingredient of the moment.

Napal Baji BBQ, 5865 W. Spring Mountain Road, Suite 145, napalbajibbq.com

This all-you-can-enjoy spot ranks among the newest Korean barbecues in town. The menu is partitioned into A, B and C versions. The A offers the fewest choices for soups, appetizers and barbecue proteins. The B provides more selections, and the C version delivers the most choice (including 30 protein options). There’s also a lunch menu with set choices.

Napal Baji means “flared plants,” the name an affectionate nod toward the popularity of the trousers back in the day.

Sushi Time, 4215 W. Spring Mountain Road, sushitime.vegas

Sushi Time features all-you-can-enjoy sushi, with lunch, all-day and late-night dining in its Chinatown Plaza space. The menu runs to long rolls (classic, baked, deep-fried, vegetarian, specialty and so on), nigiri, small plates (gyoza, egg rolls, spicy green beans), daily specials, and soups and salads.

Sweet Mong, 5980 W. Spring Mountain Road, Suite 6C, sweetmonglv.com

The restaurant sports a cheery feel: chairs popping in lemon yellow, walls this side of robin’s egg blue, big windows ushering in sunlight. Bingsoo (Korean shave ice with toppings) leads the menu.

The Mango Tango Bingsoo is especially striking, a golden heap of shave ice, a diced mango half, mango gelatin pearls, mango honey syrup and Pop Rocks candy. A sister version features whole mango slices draped around the shave ice, plus toppings.

Sweet crêpes might be stuffed with banana Nutella, brûlée custard, or red beans, mochi and matcha cream. Savory crêpes might be rolled around lox or prosciutto with truffle aïoli. Croffles (croissant waffles) take on several sweet fillings. Beverages? Coffees, teas, lattes, matcha and hot chocolate have folks covered.

Tora Katsu & Curry, 5808 W. Spring Mountain Road, Suite 108, torakatsuandcurry.com

A potted Japanese maple, Japanese wind sockets strung from a pipe, ornamental panels (lanterns, sumo wrestlers, a woman in traditional dress), and a frieze of stylized chrysanthemums (a symbol of Japan) provide a colorful counterpoint to the exposed ductwork in the dining room of Tora Katsu & Curry.

Katsu dishes range from cheese, seafood and pork styles to pizza, chicken, beef and menchi (ground meat cutlet) versions. Curries are provisioned with vegetables, grilled shrimp, chicken, pork, thinly sliced beef or stewed beef. The menu also includes a host of katsu combined with udon or soba noodles.

Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ItsJLW on Twitter.