Restaurants in a casino really do a lot to define the property. The last casino built from scratch, The Cosmopolitan, is a great example of that. The dining options reflect the customers they want to attract. Everything from Starbucks to Beauty & Essex has a purpose and exists for a certain customer.
Lucky Dragon is a heavily Asian themed casino and hotel. The dining options reflect that more than any another segment of the casino and hotel. All four restaurants inside the casino serve exclusively Asian cuisine. This is unique but speaks loud and clear as to who their desired customer is.
There are two restaurants on the first floor of the casino – Bao Now and Dragon Alley. Not coincidentally, these are the two restaurants I visited at the casino at Lucky Dragon.
龙巷 Dragon’s Alley
Dragon’s Alley is modeled after Asian night markets such as Ghost Street in Beijing. The Jewel Kitchen is Las Vegas’ only show kitchen that extends out onto the casino floor.
The inside of Dragon’s Alley feels like a cafeteria. There are different stations for different types of food. You get rice or noodles when you first enter then dim sum before you pass the carving stations. You make a slight turn and choose from soup and seafood. Of course, you can order whatever you want.
In a strange twist, there’s no menu. so you have no idea what anything costs unless you ask. When you walk to the cashier you finally find out how much your meal costs. The dishes are between $5 and $10 each. I had lunch and dinner at Dragon’s Alley and paid $11 and $10 respectively.
Lunch was an order of (3) dim sum ($5) and a Sapporo ($6) beer. For dinner, I had a bowl of pork ($5) and a bowl of noodles ($5). My Dragon Club loyalty club card got me 5% off each meal. I’m not sure if these prices are typical for the cuisine but it’s rare to find a $10 meal of this quality in a casino nowadays.
The casual environment, blazing wifi speed, and fairly priced food makes Dragon’s Alley a great option for a working lunch. I’m pretty confident I’ll return, even if I’m not staying at the hotel or gambling. That’s not something I say for most casino restaurants in Las Vegas.
包饺店 BAO NOW
Bao Now is a 24-hour quick serve food stand on the casino floor. The food is all served to go but there are a few tables to eat right outside. There were even people bringing their food to the bar. Not a bad idea to throw $20 in the video poker machines and get a complimentary beverage while chowing down on some dim sum.
If you want to eat breakfast at Lucky Dragon, you can choose from dim sum, soup, rice, noodles and congee at Bao Now. There is no restaurant that serves a traditional American breakfast. You can drink tea or Vietnamese coffee if you need a morning jolt to start your day. The Vietnamese coffee was as good as I’ve had before. The iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk is delicious but very sweet. I actually grabbed a cup of black American coffee at Pagoda Bar to balance the flavor. Together both cups gave all the zoom I could want for the day.
The lack of a traditional breakfast really threw me for a loop. There wasn’t even a bagel or snackable something to hold me over until lunch. I hopped in my car and drove over the freeway to an excellent breakfast place call Coffee Pub at 2800 W Sahara Ave. For reference, it’s in the same plaza as In N Out burger on Sahara. If you need a traditional American breakfast to start your day while staying at Lucky Dragon you can quickly walk across the Vegas Strip to Northside Cafe at SLS Las Vegas.
珍之味 Pearl Ocean | 鳳凰臺 Phoenix
The other dining options at Lucky Dragon are on the second floor of the casino. Pearl Ocean serves lunch and dinner daily. I’m told this restaurant has the best dim sum at the casino but didn’t get a chance to try them. The most popular feature at this restaurant seems to be the live seafood room. You can select live exotic seafood that is flown in daily.
Phoenix is the fine dining restaurant at Lucky Dragon and only open for dinner. The restaurant is very exclusive with only 60 seats and a private balcony. This restaurant offers rare dishes that I’ve never heard of like Kurobuta pork, deer tendon, and abalone. Phoenix has a menu of cutting-edge culinary trends found throughout modern China.
As you can tell from the use of a fork for my noodles above, Asian dining is not my area of expertise. I enjoyed the two meals that I had at Lucky Dragon and will be returning for lunch and/or dinner. The afternoon and evening options are great.
More Lucky Dragon :
First 10 Impressions of Lucky Dragon Las Vegas
Everything You Want To Know About The Casino At Lucky Dragon Las Vegas
Hotel Review | Lucky Dragon Las Vegas
