Hong Kong Seafood Garden

In the shadows of the Strip on Spring Mountain Road lies another part of Vegas very few people see: Chinatown.  I bet you didn't know about it.  It's a bit of a dicey place with Asian business and restaurants lie next.  Many of the places here are considered to be dives.  But they are certainly worth looking for.  Here, you can get a large variety of Asian food at reasonable prices.

On the first and last nights in Vegas, I went to this restaurant which, according to its name, should have some great seafood.  Well, that's true but there is a whole lot more to the menu.  So here are some of the highlights of my two visits here.

Pork and Vegetable Soup

At the start of every meal, a complementary bowl of soup is served.  It's the same for every table.  This is made with pork neck bones, dried bok choy, carrots, and ginger.  It's a clash of savory, bitter, and umami tastes.  The pork bones have plenty of meat which is falling off the bones.  

Razor Clams

I have never seen these clams this big before.  They are nearly the length of my hand.  These clams usually contain lots of sand, but these were well cleaned.  They are simply steamed and served with minced garlic and soy sauce.

Clay Pot Rice with Frog and Chinese Sausage

One kind of dish that I have seen a lot of out West is rice cooked in a clay pot.  This version contains frog meat, Chinese sausage and bacon, and shiitake mushrooms.  The waiter removes these ingredients and mixes the rice prior to serving.  The frog literally tastes like chicken.  The only difference is that the taste goes away almost instantly.

Surf Clams

Here is some more great seafood.  These surf clams are steamed, then sliced and served with glass noodles on the shell.  It's just 3 clams sliced 6 times and placed on both shells.  It's not always available, so you must check on the day or order in advance.

Spot Prawns

This is the last of the West Coast seafood that I have had.  And it's quite spectacular.  Being $33/pound, my family decides to sample just 3 large ones out of a tank at the side of the dining room.  The flesh is very sweet and briny like the ocean they once swam in.  I think they should have laid off the garlic here.  It masks the flavor of the prawns too much.

Old Water Duck

No seafood here, but a great dish nevertheless.  The duck is cooked in soy sauce called "old water."  This kind of dish originates in the Chaozhou region of Guangdong Province.  The kind of food is more rustic and not as colorful as mainline Cantonese cuisine.  Like the seafood dishes above, the ingredients speak for themselves.  In this case, it's all about the duck with some soy sauce.

This place is also open late.  And by that I mean from 11am-6am.  Yes, they are open until the crack of dawn.  So this would the perfect place for a late night snack.  I never stayed here past 9, so I don't know what kind of people would go there.  I do know that they have late night specials, which means even better value.

Hong Kong Seafood Garden
4300 W Spring Mountain Road
Unit 103, 104, 105
Las Vegas, NV 89102