Beijing Noodle No. 9 strives for authenticity

But these aren’t your average noodles and therein lies the happy surprise of this northern-style Chinese restaurant.

The noodles are hand-tossed daily in the front of the restaurant, literally providing diners with dinner and a show. The noodle-making station — where a chef starts with a two-pound ball of dough and twists, kneads and stretches it into long noodles — attracts many guests, says Jeffrey Frederick, vice president of Caesars’ food and beverage.

Most Westerners are used to Cantonese, or southern-style Chinese food, Fredrick says. And while some of those dishes are represented on the menu, the restaurant serves mostly northern Chinese cuisine.

Caesars wanted an authentic experience for diners so it entered into a partnership with a Beijing restaurant, moved Chef Yu Li from Beijing to Las Vegas and hired a designer known throughout Asia, Fredrick says. Beijing Noodle No. 9 looks and feels much like a contemporary restaurant taken off the streets of Beijing.

The Beijing pancake, soup dumplings and baked barbecue pork pastry are examples of regional dishes.

It’s also more traditional in northern China to eat a dark vinegar with dumplings instead of soy sauce, Fredrick notes.

The restaurant seats 127. Hours are from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and 11 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays.

Specialties: Baked barbecue pork pastry, $8.09; Imperial Seafood soup dumplings, $12.09; Chef Li’s special beef pancake, $9.09; handmade noodles with sliced pork and mushroom, $15.09

Appetizers: Cantonese-style pork and shrimp dumplings, $9.09; preserved duck egg with ginger, $5.09; pickled cabbage, $6.09

Soups: Spring noodles in clear broth, $12.09; seafood hot and sour soup, $10.09 for bowl, $22.09 for pot

Entrees: Braised sea bass in clay pot, $19.09: beef with macadamia nuts, $18.09; stewed spare ribs in clay pot, $15.09

Desserts: Variety of flavored sorbets, all $5.09; shredded turnip pastry, red bean paste bun, banana and pineapple fritter, all $6.09

Information: 731-7731

By SONYA PADGETT