Hong Kong Cafe - Palazzo

One of the biggest thing I was looking forward to was the delicious food you get in Vegas.  Sadly, that dream was not fulfilled....

At our hotel, we saw Hong Kong Cafe, which is not the same as the one I've been going to here.  We saw the menu online, and it seems to be transporting the non-fancy dishes at a high end hotel.  But there's hope, right?

This is braised E-Fu Noodles (干燒伊麵) with crab meat.  The whole idea of this type of noodles is that it's stir fried and it's dried off after being braised.  Instead, there was tons of 'soup' at the bottom.  The crab meat is leftover of something else, so it's bits and pieces, not real chunks.  Not to mention there weren't a whole lot of taste to it.  I did the faux pas of putting soy sauce on top.  I had to.... feel free to shame me.

Rice Noodle (Cheng Fun) with XO Sauce.  It's actually pretty good, but the XO sauce was a tad spicy, definitely gave it a kick.  I wouldn't have minded if they used plum sauce like they do authentically.

I'd asked for HK styled milk tea.  And that was the last thing that came to the table.  The server apparently delivered my drink to the table in front of us.  But that said, this was watery, not a lot of taste.  And when you add ice to it, it is totally being watered down.  

So, the experience started off negatively.  We waited in line for a table, and the hostess kept allowing people stroll in and out for a table.  Then there were tables there were not cleared, when they can obviously turn it around to seat more customers.  Then, the hostess told us that they were short staffed in the kitchen.  Apparently, front of the house as well.  So, we anticipated food would take a bit, but my drink did not get to our table until we finished eating.  The server guy was nice enough, but he was busting tables and taking orders.  When they have a food runner, why not have that person do some tables, or pour some water.  I'm not sure if it's a union thing, which I've been told that's a thing there, but still....  While we were eating, there were plenty of tables available but no one cleared them, so they can't turn them around.  It was a pity.  

Another thing that's a pity was that their food had good intention but what came out was entirely different.  I recall another Chinese place at another hotel food was so good that I kept going back.  This is totally opposite of that case.  This meal, I felt, was an overpriced untasty meal that I paid for.  Even my friend's Hainanese Styled Chicken Rice dish was not that great either.  You just felt like you wasted calories, especially when both of us where hoping there some resemblance of real Hong Kong food.  

Hong Kong Cafe 

Palazzo

3325 S. Las Vegas Blvd

Las Vegas, NV 89109

702-607-7777

http://www.venetian.com/restaurants/asian/hong-kong-cafe.html