Big Wong, Las Vegas, NV


Nice friendly restaurant serving decent enough inexpensive Chinese food.

Came here for early lunch/brunch and the restaurant was practically empty. I know… this is Vegas and who the heck would want breakfast 10 in the morning?

Their Beef Ramen is essentially just the typical Chinese beef brisket noodle soup. If you are looking for Japanese ramen you will be very disappointed. You can even ‘substitute’ the ramen with the normal rice noodle. It wasn’t bad. The brisket could be more tender.

The specialty Hai Nan Chicken Rice was reasonably tasty. For those of you not familiar, the rice accompanying this dish is just as, if not more, important than the chicken itself. I found the rice here quite nice. It has right amount of subtle flavors and not overly greasy. The sauce for the chicken was mellow. The flavors could really be stronger. As for the chicken I opt for the bone-in dark meat version which I found likable.

Overall a good place for a quick snack.

Gordon Ramsay BurGr, Las Vegas, NV


This new burger joint at Planet Hollywood is good news for late night snackers. Who could resist getting gourmet burger 1 in the morning after a long day on the strip?

The ‘Gordon Ramsay’ brand doesn’t mean much to me. I have been to far to many restaurants named after celebrity chefs that offers nothing more than just gimmickry over-priced mediocre food. I am happy BurGr isn’t one of those places. The burgers I tried were actually quite good especially the portobello one (Earth Burger). The mushrooms were so juicy and flavorful that it almost rivals a slice of real beef patty.  Buns were nicely toasted with good spongy texture. Rest of the toppings were fresh. The normal beef one I had (Hells’ Kitchen) was good but not exceptional.

Granted the food is still fairly expensive for what is it (~$15 for a burger) but at least the price isn’t too far off from other Vegas restaurants located on prime strip locations.

My major complaint is the upkeep of the restaurant. It is a fairly new establishment but the seats and tables are already look like they have seen better days. The utensils and plates were not dried properly and have very oblivious watermarks on them. Cleanliness could be a bit of a concern for this very busy place.