Wok in Vegas

Wok is not only in China. It is in Vegas too.

We came from Mike O"Callaghan - Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge in the afternoon as one of our tour destinations. I was not paying attention of the travel time but it was already getting dark when we were back in the hotel. I thought of having dinner at the buffet restaurant inside the hotel and right beside the elevator area to my room. However, the queue to the entrance alone was very long. I wonder how much more to the food counters.

I thought of finding restaurant outside so I got out. I was ready to get lost and find my way back. However, I thought I walked around 200 meters and I was already freaking chilling. My hands were freezing. It was about 6°C. I went back to the hotel.

I wandered around the casino area (yes, my hotel is a casino hotel), and wondered where to eat. Then I saw this. Cafe for dinner? Maybe there is something worth a dinner here, not just coffee or pastries.

In front of the restaurant is this tarpaulin stand featuring what they got round the clock.

It was almost eight in the evening. Fish n' chips? Oh no... But maybe they have something for a good meal and not just snacks. I went on.

Few meters inside is the reception area. Just two in queue. That's cool. I won"t have to wait for long.

On top of the post of the line guide is a reminder for diners to wait to be seated. That explains the receptionist. You can't just go inside and pick your seat.

When it was my turn with the receptionist, I did not have the least of idea of what to order.

I asked what she can recommemd and she asked me back what do I want. That wasn"t much of a help, yeah?

I scanned through the menu and spotted the Noodles and Rice title. Rice! There was only one option for rice which was fried rice. The variation would be on the add-ons. I asked for shrimp. I wondered about fried rice in the US and how my order would be... Let's see.

After few minutes of standing by the reception area, the receptionist led me to a table just near the entrance. To my back was the entrance and to my five o'clock was this painting on the wall. I can't figure what it has to do with a food store. I like it though. I thought the woman on the painting looks so strong.

On the table was their menu book with cover which looked like rough wood.

The signage infront says that the name of the restaurant is STRAT Cafê. However, the introductory part of the book menu says STRAT Cafê and Wok. Wok. Chinese.

A wok (from Cantonese: 鑊) is a versatile round-bottomed cooking pot, originating in China. It is one of the most common cooking utensils in China and similar pans are also found in parts of East, South and Southeast Asia,[1] as well as becoming a popular niche cookware in all the world.

I flipped through the pages and found what I ordered. See? There is only one option for rice. Fried rice.

Aside from the book menu, there were also these ad leaflet desk stand for drinks.

While I was waiting for my order, a lady came to ask for my drinks. I swore she's a Filipina but I held my speculatiom.

I first thought of tea (yeah, tea for dinner) but I instead asked her what options I have. She presented what were there are I picked the lemon ginger.

She came back with a small teapot with hot water, a cup and a sachet. Wait, sachet?

I was expecting the lemon ginger to be something "home-grown" and manually extracted. Apparently, it was an instant version.

The area where I was seated was a bit narrow. However, the whole dining area is wide farther inside which I can see from where I was. There was just this division between where I was and the main dining hall.

"Yang chow?!" I exclaimed in my head when my order was served. Yeah, I travelled to the other side of the world to have yang chow. How could I have been so curious about American fried rice and ended up with a Chinese one? I almost bursted into laughter, alone.

Yangzhou fried rice , Yangchow fried rice, or Yeung Chow fried rice (Traditional Chinese: 揚州炒飯; Simplified Chinese : 扬州炒饭; pinyin (Mandarin): Yángzhōu chǎofàn, Yale (Cantonese): Yèuhngjāu cháaufaahn, Jyutping: joeng4zau1 caau2faan6) is a popular Chinese-style wok fried rice dish in many Chinese restaurants throughout the world. It is commonly sold in the UK as special fried rice and in the US as house fried rice.

Now where are the shrimps? Those were additional four dollars so there can not be just one of it as visible on the serving.

I dug and turned the pile of rice upside down to find the treasure underneath. I found six pieces. For four dollars? The shrimp pieces were small but I do not have a point of comparison in a foreign land so I could not tell if it was fair enough or not.

The serving size was big. Oh well, all the serving sizes that I have seen in the US were big so this should not be a surprise. What surprised me was that I was able to finish them all. That only means it was good.

The crew who served my yang chow was a woman who seem to be in her early sixties. Again, I swore she was a Filipina. She was so busy unlike the one who served my drink.

When she came back to collect my payment, she looked at my receipt and turned her eyes to the money. I got shy to ask how my tip can be divided among her and the one who was serving drinks. She slid everything into her apron and started cleaning the table. She was in a hurry but I couldn't help to ask.

"Ma'am, from where are you?"

"She glanced at me and suddenly her eyes went back to the table that she was cleaning while answering my question

"Philippines. Philippines."

"Sabi ko na nga ba kababayan ko kayo eh!" I was right! You're my fellow countryman!

She looked at me and as fast as before, her eyes went back to the table.

"Yeah, yeah" was all she was just saying. She was obviously not into small talks even with her fellow countryman.

I was not sure if it is prohibited for crew in the restaurant to socialize a bit in the line of duty or if she was beeing so busy so she can cover more tables. I know that restaurant waiters and waitresses in this country hope for tips. So the more table you tend to, the more tips you get.

I did not pursue my initial plan to have a chat with her. I just thanked her and stood up to go.

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Restaurant Information

STRAT Café and Wok

2000 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89104, USA

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Wok in Vegas
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