RED 8 IN VEGAS

“It’s Britney, bitch.”

A screaming crowd welcomed Britney Spears as she took the stage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.  I’m sure everyone at the concert, including my 5 friends and me, was anxiously awaiting her arrival, after tumultuous events in her personal life kept her on a very long hiatus.  We, her fans, really wanted her to do well and to come back with a vengeance.  The production value of her show was up there; she had glamorous sets, cool costumes and phenomenal dancers (who stole the show, oops).

I left a little disappointed in Britney’s performance because I feel she could’ve put in a little more effort into her dance moves.  If the other dancers whipped their heads to one side, she would just turn her head. Yeah, I get that she needs to conserve energy and her breath to sing, but she lip synced the whole show! It felt as though we were watching a rehearsal.  I didn’t feel the draw.  I didn’t get goose bumps.  And I really wanted her to do well.  If you’re going to prove yourself to the world after a very long hiatus, don’t half-ass it.  That said, I’m still a huge fan.

I’m also a huge fan of the Chinese restaurant, Red 8, in the Wynn Hotel.  It seems that every time we come to Vegas, we always have a huge dim sum brunch before catching our 40 minute flight back to LA.  And after partying at Blush til 4am, the only remedy we found to cure a hangover was a self induced food coma!  We’ve frequented Red 8 the last 3 trips to Vegas, and now that I have a food blog, I’m excited to share with you all the fabulous food we had.

We first ordered noodles and cokes to kickoff what would eventually become a feast.  The noodles I preferred were thin rice noodles in a savory chicken broth with Chinese broccoli and sliced roasted pork sprinkled with chopped green onions. I wanted to dive into my bowl and drown it was so delicious.  We added a spicy red chili sauce and hoisin to give the broth more of a kick.

Next up was the crazy amount of dim sum we ordered for the table…

The scallop dumplings below.  Mixing red vinegar and soy sauce in small dish, with a touch of yellow mustard, made an excellent dipping sauce for the scallop and shrimp dumplings.

The shrimp dumplings.

Followed by pork bao (pork buns).

Then came the main course.  I was, however, starting to get full.  Here we have an assortment of BBQ pork, roasted chicken and duck with a sweet dipping sauce.

Then came the chow fun noodles nestled under a tantalizing mixture of beef, Chinese broccoli, mushrooms and carrots.  The thin flat noodles soaked up the yummy sauce and although I tried hard, I was unable to stop myself from going back for thirds and fourths.

The Kung Pao Chicken has always been a favorite of mine and the tangy and spicy sauce went so well over white rice.  Not that I needed any more carbs to fill my now full stomach!

But that wasn’t about to deter me from trying what was in the last dim sum basket.  The banana leaf package delivered a heavenly end to our meal.  It was as if I were unwrapping a present, not knowing the contents (someone had ordered this while I was too busy devouring my noodles to notice), and still excited to stuff my face with whatever I was about to uncover.


More rice!

With my chopsticks, I discovered there was more to be found inside this oil saturated sticky rice ball.

More pork!  And what seemed to be a sweet potato of sorts.  Of course it was amazing in every non calorie-counting, Sunday Funday, hangover curing way.  If my Japanese cookbooks inspired me to start making more Asian food, then this meal got me hooked.  I will have more Asian recipes to throw your way!

M