It's always a good sign when you enter a Chinese restaurant and see more Asian faces than white Americans. Generally, that means that the food is authentic Chinese and well-made...a point proven in the case of China Mama in Las Vegas' Chinatown district.
Unlike the Chinese restaurants on the Strip, there's little flash here. The decor is simple and spacious and bright. Awards and features about China Mama cover the wall of the entryway. The smells as you enter are wonderful, and you choose your own table to sit.
Highlights of the meal were the beef roll, rich with cilantro, and the double-cooked pork, executed flawlessly with lots of leeks and green onions and redolent with sesame oil. The fried-egg soup was also excellent, with the perfect touch of fresh tomato to enhance the flavour. There was a spicy soup with chicken and rice noodles as well, also very tasty but only if you like it hot!
Each course was served efficiently and quickly, in family-style servings we dished out ourselves. Our host had barely ordered when the food was already coming out to us. The staff is not exactly friendly but they got everything right.
I don't have a Chinese mother, so China Mama us probably the closest I'll ever get to Chinese food the way mother would have made it.