Mainland

On the evening of Saturday, June 7 we went to Mainland for our first meal in Las Vegas this year.  Mainland is an Asian casual dining restaurant in the new Palazzo Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.  The Palazzo is a tall shiny mustard-brown colored hotel on the southeast corner of Sands Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.  It is just north of the Venetian and south of the Wynn.  The entrance to the parking for the Palazzo is on Sands Avenue.  If you drive south on Las Vegas Boulevard, make a left on Sands avenue and then get into the rightmost lane.  The next right, a drive called “Palazzo”, will go right into the hotel parking.  Things are a bit confusing around there because, west of the Strip, Sands Avenue is called something like Spring Mountain Drive and, north of Sands avenue, Palazzo Drive is called Wynn drive so don’t let the name changes throw you off.  Something else we learned in trying to get to the Palazzo is that Desert Inn Road doesn’t cross Las Vegas Boulevard; it goes underneath it.  From the north, we had to take Sahara Avenue to get to Las Vegas Boulevard.

The Palazzo has at least three levels of underground parking.  There are lighted signs giving the number of available parking on each level and signs giving the number of spots available for each row.  The second level had the most spaces available, but it’s also very easy to miss.  We parked on the third level.  Some spots were reserved for high-efficiency vehicles but we still found a pretty good spot.  Once we ascended the stylish elevators to the casino level we consulted the directory that had no reference to Mainland.  That’s because the directory is only for the Casino level and there’s a level above that, the Shoppes level, where we eventually found the restaurant.

Mainland and a pastry and gelato shop on the Casino level are probably the most casual eateries in the Palazzo.  There are several fancier and more expensive restaurants on the Casino level such as the Grand Lux Café, a chain linked to the cheesecake factory, only fancier; Dos Caminos, a rare high-end Mexican restaurant; Cut, Wolfgang Puck’s high end steakhouse and a branch of the one in West L.A.; and Carnevino, an Italian steakhouse owned by Mario Bartali.  The latter restaurant had a very impressive statue of a bull just inside the entrance.  There were also places such as a French steakhouse near the lobby, a restaurant called Table 10 and at least one other bar on the Shoppes level, and a bar/lounge with live music near the Jersey Boys Theater.  My wife heard that one bar/club at the Palazzo is co-owned by Jay Z.  We didn’t see any celebrities, however, just lots of people dressed to impress.  They were probably there to see the musical Jersey Boys in its eponymous theater.

We found Mainland among the Shoppes after taking the up escalator by the waterfall.  Mainland has very modern décor with the walls and tables all curved.  The tables are large, circular and seem more for communal than separate eating.  Being early evening (between 6 and 7 pm) it wasn’t very crowded.  Along one side is a long counter where diners can watch the staff make their cocktails and milkshakes.  On the napkins and on the wall near the entrance are these iconic renderings of Elvis and Mao Zedong.  Over the speaker system they played jazz music including standards, modern, and Latin jazz.

Mainland’s menu consists of Asian fusion with separate sections for Small Dishes, Noodle Soups, Noodles, and Rice (a smaller section with only four choices).  They serve many different beverages such as tropical juices, shakes, teas, coffees, alcoholic milkshakes, and cocktails.  Our server came by quickly and we ordered our beverages.  In due time they brought my calamansiade and my wife’s toasted marshmallow shake.  The calamansiade was slightly sour but still very good.  They didn’t give free refills with it.  The marshmallow shake was very tall and my wife enjoyed it though it took a while for her to finish.

We told the server our food orders and they brought them very quickly in dishes shaped like isosceles trapezoids.  My Wok-Seared Pork consisted of many small strips of pork on top of mustard greens and crispy noodles and covered in a soybean black pepper sauce.  It also had on top small strips that tasted like fried garlic.  The pork was a bit chewy.  Perhaps that’s how it gets when seared.  The mustard greens tasted slightly bitter and actually complemented the pork, noodles, and sauce well.  The best flavor came from the garlic.  My wife had the Braise Short Rib with rice on the side.  She shared some of it with me because it and her shake amounted to a lot of food.  I actually liked the short rib better than my own entrée.  It was very tender and its lemongrass galangal sauce gave it a citrusy taste.  Red pepper flakes in the sauce gave the short rib some spice and the toasted coconut rice went well it.

Originally we only had chopsticks as utensils but after seeing us struggle, the hostess brought us forks.  We didn’t order a noodle soup because we thought we would compare it to the noodle soups we had at Ajisen Ramen back in March.  We did see the wide, deep bowls of soup ordered by other customers.  It looked like a lot of food.  Maybe we’ll try it next time.

After dinner we explored the Shoppes at the Palazzo.  They comprise some of the first floor, all of the second floor, and will also fill up the yet-to-be-opened third floor.  They mostly consist of high end European clothing and jewelry stores.  The halls are elegantly decorated with black tiles and pillars with the names of the stores on them.  Music such as “Lost Without U” by Robin Thicke plays over the speaker system.  A hall on the south end leads right into the Canal Shoppes of the Venetian that is owned by the same company that owns the Palazzo.  There are some interesting things in the stores such as a large, elaborate colored crystal chandelier in Piazza Sempione.  There’s also a rare bookstore with displays of signed first editions of classics and classic children’s books.

The first floor of the hotel has some impressive features.  In the lobby is a large fountain with statues.  Also in the lobby behind the check-in counter is a very large metal urn or cup.  At the south end between the escalators is a tall, wide waterfall.  The overall effect is one of grandeur that’s not too gaudy, of elegance that’s accessible for anyone to at least window shop.  A modern, casual Asian restaurant may seem out of place but it’s still worth trying.