Dong Ting Chun 洞庭春 @ Las Vegas

You read it right, a Hunan restaurant in Las Vegas. How authentic can it be? Is there a hidden menu for Chinese? Let’s check it out.

The front door was ominous with the neon “Open” sign that one would find at sleazy massage parlours, not that I patronise one before. The only saving grace was the Fantuan 饭团 app to allow delivery orders – something only a Chinese restaurant would do.

Bean Sprouts with Chinese Chives 韭菜炒豆芽

Darling has been in US for too long and was craving for something really simple and can be made anytime at home. When this was served, the smile was priceless.

Offals in Chilli Oil 毛血旺

Upon studying the menu, I was convinced that the chef can make a Mao Xue Wang 毛血旺. This is a Sichuan special made with super hot chilli oil and beef tripes, pork intestines, duck blood jelly, luncheon meat (or what the US friends called SPAM) and bean sprouts. I specifically asked if they had duck blood jelly 鸭血 and to my surprise they did! So of course we had to order this. And I really enjoyed the casserole of goodness.

Fish Fillet in Chilli Hot Oil 水煮鲈鱼

You get to choose two meats – fish, beef or pork intestines – to be cooked in the hot chilli oil. We were not in the mood for beef, and we have already ordered the offals hot pot, so we asked for an all-fish dish. Being a true Chinese restaurant, the variation can be accommodated. In fact, we got an upgrade fish (sea bass) instead of the usual dory fillet.

Fish Fillet in Hot Chilli Oil 水煮鲈鱼 was really spicy, but the fish was so-so. But we still finished everything with the help of steamed white rice.

Hunan-style Stinky Tofu 湖南毛豆腐

I was again surprised that it was even available in Las Vegas. Available for a limited time only, we had to order the Hunan-style Stinky Tofu 湖南毛豆腐. Unlike the ones you get in Taiwan or Hong Kong, these are ugly pieces of black tofu with a pungent taste to match. Like what Chairman Mao (who was a Hunan native) once said, “It smells horrible, but fragrant in the mouth.” And this LV version was decent, and adhered to Chairman’s saying. Darling said no kissing for the rest of the evening.

The boss was chatting while we waited for our Uber, about the waves of Chinese migrations that started with Hokkiens, and this time Hunanese. And how they had difficulty with authentic ingredients so something they had to improvise. Hence, the quality was really had to maintain.

This was a wonderful find in Las Vegas. Forget about those fancy Chinese restaurant franchises that opened in the 5-star casino hotels, this is where the local Chinese eat.

Dong Ting Chun Chinese Restaurant
4850 W Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89103
Tel : +1 702 3877888

Visited Oct 2023