Blog #42: China Mama- A Restaurant Review

When I was a child, my parents used to take us out to dinner once a week. In retrospect, considering that we rarely ate fast food, this was the only break from cooking for my mother so it was an almost necessary departure from the kitchen. I’d say that for a few years, at least twice a month, we would end up at Yen Ching, a family favorite, serving up some of the most delicious Chinese food in Fresno in the 80’s. To be fair, I grew up eating very good (American) Chinese food, not the take out that most Americans are accustomed to, so I don’t associate it with being greasy and bad for me (which is a just a bad wrap that it gets due to our American ignorance as to what good Chinese food really is). My favorite dishes at Yen Ching were sizzling rice soup (a light broth with shrimp and vegetables that sizzles and cracks when you put the crispy rice in at the table) and shrimp toast (a dim sum dish made of small triangles of bread brushed with egg and coated with minced shrimp and water chestnuts before frying). I bet you’ve never ordered those from your local Chinese take out, right? 

Well, funny enough, I’d never taken the time to discover a good Chinese restaurant here in Las Vegas and considering that I live in Spring Valley, it was a long overdo endeavor! I decided to go with China Mama, a locals favorite which opened up in 2008 (and happens to be just a hop, skip and a jump away!),  specializing in the cuisine of Shanghai.

Apparently this restaurant has gone through a couple of incarnations, starting out with rave reviews, going under new ownership and losing its allure, to being taken over once again in 2018 by a new owner who restored it to its former glory. Well, I’m glad to have tried it when I did because I thoroughly enjoyed this meal and would highly recommend this establishment to anyone! And, you know that sleepy and lethargic feeling you often get after eating fast food Chinese take out? None of that here…in fact, I could’ve cartwheeled out the door if I wanted to! 

SOUP DUMPLINGS

I first tried these pillowy pockets of goodness back in a swanky restaurant called Buddakan in The Meat Packing District in NYC and I’ve been hooked ever since. Some of the best I’ve ever had were at a restaurant in Chinatown in Yokohama, Japan. Now, I buy them weekly from the frozen section of Trader Joes (quite yummy with a pork or chicken option) to get my fix so you can imagine how happy I was when these dumplings, at an eatery around the corner, came out near perfect. Soup dumplings, (or, xiaolongbao) are a steamed dumpling made with a paper thin wrapper, stuffed with seasoned pork and a hot, flavorful broth. Take care not to burn your tongue when you bite into it with excitement! I often talk about textures and how they can either be incredibly pleasing or a total turn off (peas!!!!) but in this case, all of those opposing textures are an absolute delight. These dumplings were basically the definition of perfection!

KUNG PAO CHICKEN

Might I persuade you to fight your urge to order General Tsao’s, sesame or sweet and sour chicken and try this instead? Kung Pao chicken is a spicy (I ordered it medium and it was the correct amount of spiciness for me), stir fried dish made with chicken, peanuts, vegetables and chilies. This is a classic Sichuan dish hailing from Southwestern China and has Sichuan peppercorns in it. Back to texture for a moment. These flavors are obviously a beautiful blend when it comes to flavor profiles but what makes this dish special is the contrast of the moist cubes of chicken and the crunch of the peanuts! I just love it and peanuts and chicken really do go together! Have you ever tried Thai chicken satay with peanut dipping sauce? Nuts can be quite versatile and can be used in sweet or savory ways. Trust me, you are going to like this one and China Mama has it down pat. 

FRIED BROWN RICE WITH EGG WHITE

Now, I had to try something I’d never had before because that’s the whole point, right? To discover the undiscovered? Well, I’m no Andrew Zimmerman so you won’t find me eating the most adventurous thing on the menu, but I did decide to go with the fried brown rice with egg white rather than the typical white fried rice, packed with eggs, chicken, vegetables and so on. This was a nice, clean, simple dish, and still bursting with flavor! It also had finely chopped pieces of asparagus in it which was a welcome surprise for me (one of my favorite vegetables). It paired beautifully with the chicken and I would highly suggest trying them together! I’m truly making myself hungry just writing about this. It was soft, not too oily and a sizable portion, perfect for sharing (as all Chinese food is made to be). 

My dining partner and I ended up with enough leftovers for both of us to go home with, so we essentially got 4 meals out of these 3 dishes. What a steal! So, I encourage you to get rid of your preconceived notions of what Chinese food is and try this lovely little restaurant where you can find healthy and scrumptious options that won’t leave you feeling like a grease ball. I can’t wait to go back myself. Enjoy and as always, happy eating!! 

China Mama

3420 S Jones Blvd.

Las Vegas, NV 89146

Reservations required