Las Vegas Eats: Lotus of Siam

When I asked for recommendations for off the beaten path restaurants, Lotus of Siam was one that came up.  @Windaddict and I decided to give it a try before our Zappos tour.  The menu at Lotus of Siam is pretty intense, and it can be quite difficult to choose items.  We took recommendations from some blogs, websites, and the waitstaff.  I haven't had a wide plethora of Thai food, and this Thai food is nothing like I had before.  There was a heavy use of sauces, ginger, lime juice, and onion. 

Our first dish was number 36 Yum Nuah (spicy beef salad) with onion, tomato, fresh chili mixed with lime juice on a bed of greens. 

This salad was a little too sauced for my palate, however delicious.  The ginger and onion flavor in this was pretty pronounced.  I would recommend this dish to the ginger lover in your life. 

And another shot of my view.

We also had the number 8 Koong Sarong (prawn in a blanket) - marinated prawn wrapped with bacon and wonton wraps, deep fried, served with a sweet and sour sauce.  This was probably one of my favorite dishes.  The outside was nice and crispy, yet the prawns inside were sweet and succulent.  The tails were nice and crunchy, perfect for munching.  While some people might think that shrimp tails is gross, but I find them to be crispy treats.  Mmm....extra crunchy!

Here's another shot of those crispy tasty prawns. 

The number 14 Nam Kao Tod was amazing - crispy rice mixed with minced sour sausage, green onion, fresh chili, ginger, peanuts, and lime juice.  The rice were crunchy little bits of deliciousness.  I would definitely get this dish again. 

Oh........ so yummy.  It isn't necessarily a pretty dish, but it is a tasty dish.  I thought the rice was so interesting that I didn't pay much attention to anything else on the plate. 

From the North Thai side, Nua Yang Prik Thai Onn is charbroiled beef sauteed with young peppercorn sauce.  I quite liked this dish, and I found the young peppercorns to be very interesting. 

Here's some of the young peppercorn up close.  The peppercorns have a very grassy almost herbal flavor.  These would be really fantastic in a pasta.  Too bad these aren't easy to find.  In fact, I'm not sure where to get young peppercorn. 

Fried banana and coconut served with sweet, sticky rice and topped with a coconut ice cream and peanuts was our dessert.  I'm a huge fan of coconut and bananas.  These were probably the best wrapped fried banana dessert I've had.  The shell was incredibly light, and the sticky rice added a comfort food component to the dish. 

We visited Lotus of Siam on our final day in Vegas for the lunch buffet ($10 or so).  Our a la carte lunch was about $75, and it was a fabulous experience.  The lunch buffet (photo below) is quite a bit different from a la carte meal, but quite enjoyable in its own right.  You'll be able to sample tempura vegetables, egg rolls, soups, and a variety of noodle dishes.  Whether or not you're looking for a filling lunch or a dining experience, Lotus of Siam is a great place to visit.