The pigs’ ears I tried, but could not get myself to eat jelly fish.

Normally we eat Dim Sum at Red Eight, but apparently Steve Wynn does not think that the wealthy Chinese population of Vegas can sustain two upscale Dim Sum places both being open at the same time.

I just love Dim Sum. I had not idea whether there would be a huge line or not, so on Christmas day I was there, in line 30 minutes before they opened. There was only one other guy who got in line even close to as early as I did, and he was a real Chinese who lived in California half of the time, and near Macao the other half of the time. His sister thought that it was funnier than you know what, that the guy in the front of the line was not a full blood Chinese.

When we walked in, the place was breath-taking. You were immediately assaulted with textures and colors, an outside garden could be seen through the window, tangerine trees indoors with little red signs hanging from them, and food out the kazoo!

There was a seafood bar with cracked crab, shrimp, oysters and sauces for them. They had Chinese delicacies on that same table such as pigs’ ear and jelly fish.

There were quite a few things that Ursula did not want to try.

Next to the Seafood bar was a Sushi bar with a limited offering of sushi. They had if I remember correctly, tuna, yellow tail, red snapper, octupus, California roll and a few other fish. The selection of sushi was limited, but the quality of the fish was off the hook, literally!

They then had a hot carving station. Over the past months we ate their once over Christmas, and twice for Chinese new years. In fact we went all the way to Vegas on Chinese New Years just to go back to Wing Ley. The carving station was different each time.

Things I remember on the carving station included duck, duck with pancakes and sauce, and my most favorite which was a beef wellington that was done with fish instead of beef. It made me want to cry it was so good!

In the center of the room were steaming covered plates. These contained every type of Chinese food under the stars, most of which I had never seen before. There were amazing combos of anise and vegetables, and fish dishes, pork dishes and so many things I could never describe them all.

The Seafood table also had a few seafood and vegetable salads. One of which was so good that I would drive back there just to eat it if I could tonight!

In the entry room of the restaurant was the dessert room. A bowl of sweet cherries two feet across and two feet deep sat there in the middle of winter. There were bean soups, and a crepe bar on one of the trips. They had those lovely Asian pears that are mostly water, and strange red prickly fruits that looked like lychee’s but were different.

Then on top of all of this was the Dim Sum. The Dim Sum was out of this world. The only complaint was that it was billed as a Dim Sum event, and most of the time you had to wait a long time for a Dim Sum cart to come by, and the selection was limited. The Dim Sum they had were the best I or Ursula had ever had. Some of them were done in gold foil, and others tied in little pouches. They had the care of a loving chef who made them. Ursula who loves the creme buns felt they were about the best food she had ever eaten.

My only other concern is a policy of the Wynn hotel itself. I love restaurants, and I ask lots of questions. When you eat food like this, it is a shame to waste even a bite. The portions are huge, and you want to taste everything. So it was very common amongst us, and other tables that after getting a plate of a certain Dim Sum that there was a bit of left overs.

I asked if we could wrap these up, and they said hotel policy is no. That makes some sense because it is an all you can eat buffet, for around $59.00 per person, and you don’t want people ordering extra just to take it out. On the other hand, the portions were so big that it was hard to avoid it.

The big disagreement I had was what takes place with the food left in the restaurant after the guests are done eating. I was told that the amazing quantity of left over food, which included at least 20 pounds of cherries, and maybe a few hundred pounds of other very, very, very high quality foods including crab, shrimp, and all the other delicacies, would be thrown away. The staff who so lovingly and patiently served us would be unable to get even a taste of this without stealing it.

It also would have been enough food to give a homeless shelter of 100 people one of the greatest meals of their life. So Steve, if you read this please change that policy.

All in all it has been one of the best meals of my life each time I have eaten there, possibly THE best.

The food is varied, very high quality, my favorite type, is lovely, healthy, and served in an exquisite setting.

For $59 I thought it was a bargain!

Will I go back? You bet, every chance I get.

From what the staff told me, they do this for a few weeks between Christmas and New Years, and then another week during Chinese New Years.

If you are in Vegas when Wing Lei does not have Dim Sum, then go to Red Eight!

I.M. Rong

P.S. Wing Lei is tucked in the back by the really fancy rooms so ask someone for directions to find it.