Before I begin, whenever I review a restaurant, recipe or anything else for that matter, I will not rate it. There will be no "two thumbs up", "four stars", or "smiley faces". I will document, describe, and relate the concept of what the restaurant and chef set out to do. I will tell you the good and/or the bad. Such objectivity will leave it up to our readers. Go out there and try it.......without any bias or built up expectations. Draw up your own conclusions. We all have different tastes. Plus, this gives everyone a chance to share their own experience. As always, if there's a restaurant anyone has recently tried, you are all encouraged to share that as well......making this blog different, interesting, and a whole lotta fun.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino. Las Vegas, NV.
8pm. Resos for a 3 top.
Chef Jose Andres's Spanish flair, tied with his talents of molecular gastronomy, makes him an outstanding chef. He helped pioneer the "tapas" or "small plates" movement here in the United States. A James Beard Award winner, Chef Andres is a constant fixture on the Food Network...mainly Top Chef. His 2005 cookbook, Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America, is a staple for every chef's library. I've had the pleasure of eating at Chef Andres's restaurant, The Bazaar, in Beverly Hills, many times. I couldn't wait to try out his Vegas venture of China Poblano.
China Poblano is a unique blend of Mexican and Chinese cuisines. Nestled in a very busy, very flashy Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino, this restaurant promotes a sense of variety and authenticity to an otherwise stale foreground. At first site, China Poblano looks like any other Chinese Take-Out place scattered along Columbus Ave. on the Upper West Side of New York City.....complete with a neon sign that simply reads "Chinese Food".
The three of us, myself and two very close friends of mine, entered the restaurant and were quite pleasantly surprised. The decor was inviting and welcoming. Warm colors, combined with traditional and nouveau artwork greeted us as we walked in. The main dining room layout boasted a delicate balance of classic restaurant design, along with a gathering of hip and recently trendy commuter tables. My guess is that we just got in right before the second seating; for a Monday at 8pm, the restaurant began to fill up rapidly.
Our waitress was very friendly. Neatly dressed and very at tentative. Her knowledge of the food and the menu made us comfortable of the choices we were about to make. She recommended getting several dishes, since the portion sizes are a little smaller than we would be accustomed to. Exhibiting yet another popular culinary trend of small plates.
The menu was very eclectic.... carefully integrating a fine line of two cuisines the restaurant's concept sought after. A yen to the yang. On one side, Chinese delicacies such as dim sum, noodles and Mongolian beef looked very appetizing. The other side included an amazing array of tacos for every taste imaginable, ceviches, and gazpacho's. This would prove to be very difficult to decide on which direction to take.
We started with the traditional sui mai, a shrimp and pork dim sum stuffed with water chestnuts and mushrooms. The presentation was standard. A bamboo steamer done in a way that every restaurant under the sun does it. But the taste was magnificent. Each dim sum was steamed and beautifully seared. The sauce had just the right amount of savory and sweetness to make us want a little more. Very flavorful....packing a huge punch. All and all, the best dish of the evening.
Our next course, shown below, is China Poblano's signature dish...20 Vegetable Fried Rice.
As the name states, there are 20 different kinds of vegetables in this fried rice. No, I will not name them all. Great presentation. Nice floral aroma. Great texture contrast...with some of the vegetables having more of an "al dente" feel versus the softness of the rice. Seasoning was on point. The overall flavor was very complex. I kept hitting notes of earthiness, such as mushrooms and pea shoots while sweet carrots and radishes crept up and complemented all the other vegetables used within the dish.
Next up was The Ocean's Nest. (pictured)
When a dish is first presented, we see it. Hence, we eat with our eyes first. How a meal looks is just as important as how it should taste. Presentation looked standard...with the prawns taking center stage. The prawns were excellently seasoned. The sauce, however, was very disappointing. Thick and viscous. Flat in flavor and very one dimensional. The sauce had a strong fishy after taste that would compromise your taste buds if you continued. The pan fried noodles had no taste as well.
I wanted to try noodles, so our waitress suggested a noodle in broth dish called Unruly Monk. This consisted of hand cut flat noodles immersed in a mushroom and soy base. Table side service had our food runner crack an egg over the dish so that it would poach nicely in the hot broth. Nice touch.
This dish seemed a little one note in flavor and texture. The broth itself was too acidic.....very over powering. After a while, the acidity would prove to be too overwhelming that I could not finish. Plus, in terms of texture, you had soft noodles, soft mushrooms and a soft egg.
The Scallop Ceviche (above) is something that came with instructions. Our food runner brought it to our table and sprayed some vodka on each scallop from a small squeeze bottle. He then told us the steps to take upon eating this course. Treat it like a shot, using the half lime as a shot glass, shoot the scallop, then squeeze the lime afterwards.
Though the presentation and concept was very clever, the dish was very anti climatic. The limes were seared, giving a nice sweet and smoky flavor to it and, at the same time, providing a crunch that was needed. However, if the main component of the dish were scallops, then the scallops should have shined. They were bland. All these intricate flavors and cooking techniques were coming together....and it just fell flat. A successful dish is seasoning each ingredient. Build layers of flavor that harmonizes with each other while using contrasting flavor and texture profiles that balances and rounds everything out.
Overall, everything was good. There were some items that hit it out of the park. While others were almost there....just needed a little more seasoning and/or tweaking. Some dishes shined more than others. While others fell flat. Each course went out in a timely manner....indicating that the back of the house ran smoothly. China Poblano is the kind of restaurant where you can either spend $20 or $200. So be careful. If you have the means, and want to try something new and unique, China Poblano fits the bill.
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