Las Vegas - much less the Bellagio - would be the very last place I would think of if I was in the mood for jook. But lo and behold, among the five-dollar-sign eateries in the elaborate casino is a semi-reasonably priced noodle house. By no means is this in the same class as Picasso or Le Cirque. It's a place for the rest of us, the ones who forked over a hundred bucks to see Cher across the street at Caesar's Palace and didn't want to sink the rest of our savings on a meal we were too tired to enjoy anyway.
This being Vegas, it's a lot nicer and contemporary than your standard noodle joint. It has rows of jars filled with all sorts of dried noodles set against a lighted wall - lest you make a mistake that this is not a noodle joint. We were served right away at about 9:30 on a Saturday evening, and the waiter was super-attentive. Jamie and I shared an $8 basket of five Shui Mai...pretty good and in need of the mustard sauce to spice them up (see my photo). Jamie went for the $18 plate of Spicy and Sweet Noodles with Chicken - which impressed us with the heft of the poultry pieces (see my photo).
But on my own, I decided to try their Congee Chicken - a smallish bowl with iddy-biddy chicken bits and scallions (see my photo). Not the best jook I ever had but it was nice balm for my then-sore throat. I thought the price was high at $13 - but it did hit the spot at a time when I least expected to have some comfort porridge. We got out of there for a little over fifty bucks, which does seem ridiculous, but hey, this is Vegas. I should be happy I got away with my shirt intact.
FOOD - 4 stars...jook in the land of over-plenty? who da thunk it?
AMBIANCE - 4 stars...such a clean noodle joint
SERVICE - 4 stars...quite attentive and responsive
TOTAL - 4 stars...hey, we all can't afford the like of Michael Mina and Todd English