Las Vegas Restaurant Blog

One Restaurant Owner’s Thoughts On Obama’s Healthier Foods Campaign

Allen Wong, general manger of Kung Fu Plaza a Las Vegas Thai Restaurant, has taken a real interest in first lady Michelle Obama’s national campaign to fight childhood obesity. While most of the campaign is geared toward mobilizing public- and private-sector resources to coordinate public information, Wong believes any healthy food campaign ought to occur in the public school system.

“Clark County School District’s student meals are often high in fat, additives, and preservatives,” said Wong. “So far, the only defense various school districts have offered up is that brown bag lunches tend to be less healthy. I don’t understand when less adequate became an acceptable replacement for less than adequate. Make better meals at school and kids won’t pack brown bag lunches.”


As a point of comparison, Wong cites a Feb. 2008 article in Edutopia that compared school lunches in the United States, Russia, and Japan (http://www.edutopia.org/lunch-around-the-world). Americans are eating turkey dogs and tater tots. Russians are eating beef, beet soup, and rye bread. And Japanese students are eating wonton miso soup, spinach and Chinese cabbage, rice, and milk.

“Thai food is the healthiest cuisine on the planet ‘. The ingredients have numerous health benefits, including anti-oxidants and immune-system boosters,” said Wong. “Why aren’t more programs developing affordable menus that bring the best of the world’s foods into cafeterias instead of the worst?”

Thai Tom Yum Shrimp Soup and Thai Chicken Curry

Wong said that while he has an affinity for Thai food, the solution doesn’t have to be Thai cuisine. The National Farm to School Network program is one step in the right direction, even if Wong’s home state is one of only two states that has not made any progress to improve school lunches. The national program is committed to delivering farm fresh foods as opposed to relying on caterers. Forty-three states have operational programs and five more are committed to them.

“I became more aware of the Clark County School District lunch program after a friend of mine mentioned that his child’s school rewards children with candy and other sweets,” said Wong. “When I asked him what they had for lunch, he said the menu read like a fast food restaurant, hamburger and fries, cheese and peperoni pizza, chili-dogs oh-my!”

Wong says he made a joke about how his friend’s children ought to be eating Thai food. Rather than laugh it off, his friend said such a change would be welcomed, adding that Obama’s national campaign to fight childhood obesity should begin by fixing what the government serves children for lunch.

To review and or download a menu consisting of more than 800 authentic Chinese food and Thai food dishes, visit http://www.kungfuplaza.com. Kung Fu Plaza Restaurant delivers food constantly within a limited area throughout Las Vegas and is located at 3505 S. Valley View Blvd., which is just west of the Fashion Show Mall on the Las Vegas Strip. For more information Please call 702-247-4120.

1 R. Stevens

Authentic Chinese And Thai Food Blends Traditions

With the Chinese New Year landing on Feb. 14, Allen Wong, general manger of Kung Fu Plaza, has an interesting idea. He is asking Las Vegas visitors to blend the two traditions.

While The Year of the Tiger is associated with unpredictability and massive change, it also represents power, passion and courage. The same can said about Valentine’s Day, which is historically tied to a priest who performed wedding ceremonies despite the direct outlawing of marriage of young men by Emperor Claudius II who believed single men made better soldiers.

“The qualities associated with entering The Year of the Tiger are all very positive,” said Wong. “While the first day of the Chinese New Year is a time when families visit the oldest member of their families, this could also be an excellent opportunity to introduce new love interests to senior family members.”

On the first day of Chinese New Year, Wong said his restaurant will be recommending chicken dishes, which coincide with the food associated with the Year of the Tiger. However, tradition suggests diners consider vegetable dishes as many people refrain from eating meat on the first day.

“Buddhists, especially, tend to refrain from eating meat on the first day of the new year,” says Wong. “Traditionally, I am told they believe it ensures longevity for them. But there are many traditions, and those traditions are as diverse as Asian peoples.”

Wong, whose parents immigrated to the United States from Thailand in the 1960s, remember celebrating with people of Chinese origin by preparing a banquet to pay respect to their deities. Wong expects many of the other Asian shops near his family’s restaurant will be handing red banners on the outside of their stores. Red symbolizes good luck in the new year. Red is also associated with Valentine’s Day.

“So very often, people feel torn by which traditions to follow in the West,” said Wong. “Maybe they don’t need to make a choice of one or the other, but find a special way to observe both.”

According to Wong, inviting new love interests to a family reunion at an authentic Las Vegas  Chinese food and Las Vegas Thai food restaurant, will lend something to both celebrations. The last time the Chinese New Year fell on Feb. 14 was 1972.

To review a complete menu, visit http://www.kungfuplaza.com.  Kung Fu Plaza delivers within a five-mile radius and is located at 3505 S. Valley View Boulevard, which is just west of the Fashion Show Mall on the Las Vegas Strip. For reservations, call 702-247-4120.

Founded in 1973, Kung Fu Plaza is the oldest and most authentic Chinese and Thai restaurant for dinner Las Vegas. It is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. The average entree is under $10 and most patrons order family style.

According to a Chinese food survey ^[1], three out of five people say that Chinese is their favorite food, easily beating out traditional roasts and Italian cuisine. However, the same survey also found that most Americans cannot distinguish authentic dishes from the creations made to suit Western tastes.

“One of my favorite findings from that same survey is that 64 percent of Americans believe that chop suey is Chinese in origin,” says Allen Wong, general manger of Kung Fu Plaza, an authentic family-owned Las Vegas Chinese Food and Thai Food Restaurant in Las Vegas. “Chop suey is a Chinese-American creation that came about some time in the mid or late 19th century.”

Wong said there is nothing wrong with thinking chop suey has native origins, but he does wish more Americans would experience the authentic flavors of Chinese and Thai cuisine. That is one of the primary reasons his family’s menu, offered at their first generation Chinese and Thai food restaurant in Las Vegas, features almost 800 specialties.

“We try to strike a balance between what Americans think is Chinese or Thai and what Chinese and Thai people know is authentic,” said Wong. “My family has done this since they first immigrated to the United States from Thailand in the 1960s.”

Originally, Kung Fu Plaza opened in 1973 as a Las Vegas Thai restaurant before Americans learned that Thai food was different from Chinese cuisine. According to Wong, that was the reason he decided to call the restaurant Kung Fu, which everybody knew from the hit television show starring David Carradine, in order to distinguish it from Chinese restaurants.

“At the time, we couldn’t tell people that we weren’t a Las Vegas Chinese restaurant because people believed all food cooked in a wok was Chinese,” Wong smiled. “We added more Chinese dishes over the years, but only because patrons would come in and ask for their favorite ‘Chinese’ dishes over and over again.”

Today, Kung Fu Plaza balances a huge menu to cater to both tastes. According to Wong, it allows for Americans to order their favorite meals, but remains authentic enough to be among the top referred restaurants for Asian hotel guests looking for authentic Las Vegas Chinese food and Las Vegas Thai Food.

“Our servers work very hard to help meet people’s expectations. If they ask for our most popular dish, we recommend Mongolian beef,” says Wong. “If they ask for authentic Chinese or Thai food because they are adventurous, we recommend dishes they may have never heard of before.”

To review a complete menu, visit http://www.kungfuplaza.com. Kung Fu Plaza delivers within a three-mile radius and is located at 3505 S. Valley View Boulevard, which is just west of the Fashion Show Mall on the Las Vegas Strip. For reservations, call 702-247-4120.

Founded in 1973, Kung Fu Plaza is the oldest and most authentic Chinese and Thai restaurant in Las Vegas. It is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. The average entree is under $10 and most patrons order family style.

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^[1] AMOY Chinese Foods Survey 2009