Las Vegas Restaurant Blog

Authentic Chinese And Thai Restaurant Features Lessor Known Dishes

There are only a small number of customers who venture away from the most commonly ordered Chinese food, and Thai food dishes at Kung Fu Plaza Restaurant in Las Vegas, and most of those patrons are in Las Vegas, visiting from Asian countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Philippines and Japan.

One such receipt that most Americans would consider “off the beaten path” is Kung Fu Plaza Roast Duck. While most citizens are already familiar with Peking Duck, a famous duck dish that originated in Beijing, around 221 to 206 BCE during the imperial era, there is another recipe served daily that has humbler and more ancient origins.

Las Vegas Restaurant Chinese Roast Duck

“The Kung Fu Plaza Roast Duck recipe comes from a small valley in China, where the people still speak Teochew (Chaozhou hua in Mandarin),” said Allen Wong, general manger of Kung Fu Plaza. “Even some of their language retains archaic promotions that have been lost to modern dialects. The cuisine, Chiuchow or Teochew as it is called, relies much less on heavy seasoning and more on the quality of the ingredients, which is why we only purchase Maple Leaf Farm Premium duck.”

According to Wong, while Teochew people later migrated from southern Fujian in China, they settled from areas that were geographically isolated and remote. Many of the Teochew ancestry can be traced back to the Taihang Mountain range of north-central china, he said.

“It’s significant because just like not all Asian people are the same, neither are all Chinese people,” said Wong. “The culture is as rich and diverse as the United States and the cuisine is a varied as you might expect traveling from Boston to Biloxi and Santa Fe to San Francisco.”

Appealing to authentic preference of Asian visitors in Las Vegas, as well as the local Thai, and Chinese Asian population, Kung Fu Plaza maintains a menu that includes almost 800 Chinese food, and Thai food dishes, predominantly from the city of Swatow (Shantou in Mandarin), Guangdong province China and Bangkok, Thailand. The menu at this Las Vegas restaurant , Wong says, represents one of the most expansive Chinese food and Thai food menus in the region.

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 east 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. Every dish on the menu is available for takeout, with catering services provided throughout the Las Vegas valley, including food delivery to the Las Vegas Strip. The average entree is under $10 and most patrons order family style.

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.

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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.

Las Vegas Chinese Food

“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.

^[1] AMOY Chinese Foods Survey 2009