Cuisines converge at Xing Asian Bistro in Village Lake Las Vegas
Xing Asian Bistro is just a few cobblestones across the path from a popular Irish pub at The Village Lake Las Vegas. But for chef Jayson Perry, the laughter and energy of the Auld Dubliner seemed to echo from far, far away.
Perry is at the helm of Xing, a quick-service Chinese restaurant that opened in December. It replaced the bygone Black Pepper Grill in the quaint village-themed retail plaza, 8 Strada di Villaggio, that fronts the man-made lake in the Henderson housing community.
But Casino MonteLago, which operates Xing as well as the casino’s dining room, Harry’s (where Perry also is executive chef), quickly learned you can’t out-Panda the Express. Perry was given the nod to “totally revamp and relaunch” Xing with a focus on what he calls “the mingling aspect.”
“I want people to have somewhere where they don’t sit down, eat, get up and leave,” he says. “I want people to have an experience with the restaurant. I want it to have its own aura, its own life.”
Xing is in transition to a new menu, and by May 2 will be fully converted to a tapas format of Asian and Latin fusion. The mingling will be furthered along by the long bar lining one wall and the sangria made in-house to pair with the small plates.
The 35-year-old executive chef was inspired to draw from his own colorful career, which includes playing in rock bands and working for celebrity chef Hubert Keller on his “Secrets of a Chef” cooking show.
“I’m a weird chef,” Perry says. “I’m French trained, Norwegian born and married to a Mexican lady.”
The latter helps explain his “vast background in Latin cuisine,” which sources one corner of a menu that also steers a bit Hawaiian with offerings such as kalbi short ribs. The Asian influence surfaces in bulgogi beef taquitos with a wasabi creme, or chicken wings that replace the usual Buffalo hot sauce with a yakatori marinade and the deep fryer with grilling.
“In Japan, I ate nothing but yakatori chicken skewers the whole time I was there,” he explains.
The majority of the small plates being phased in fall between $7 and $10, maxing out at $17 for miso-glazed salmon. Sides of bok choy and brown or sticky rice are $3.
Specialties: yakatori chicken wings, $9; kung pao chicken tacos with chili sauce and peanuts, $7; jumbo chorizo-fried wontons with Korean barbecue sauce, $9
Salads: Thai beef citrus salad with spinach, oranges, green onion, red pepper, cilantro, carrot and ginger dressing, $11
Information: 568-2407
By MIKE WEATHERFORD
