Lunar New Year celebrations kick off this week, with February 1 ushering in the Year of the Tiger. Those born in the tiger year share traits of bravery, originality and even playfulness—all things present in Hakkasan’s prix fixe new year dinner ($128) at MGM Grand.
You can purchase dishes a la carte from the eight-course menu or commit to the full experience, complete with a cocktail pairing of your choice. Prior to dinner, guests receive wishing ribbons they can write aspirations on and hang along the lattice of the restaurant, a gesture of good fortune for the year to come. Then, the celebration begins.
Our starters ($38) include a pair of crunchy salmon crudo-stuffed sesame cones followed by the xingfu dim sum trio, a vibrant platter of truffle-baked duck puffs, wild mushroom puffs, and orange and black tiger prawn dumplings. Each offering, though flaky and firm on the outside, melts in your mouth, and pairs nicely with the King of Fujian ($21), a fresh cocktail of lychee, Belvedere vodka, passion fruit and lemon juice.
It's at this point we hit an intermission, and a parade of dancers and drummers filter into the restaurant to welcome the stars of prosperity: two large Chinese lions. Lion dances shine as a Las Vegas staple these days, and it's refreshing to watch a room full of people rediscover their magic.
Main dishes arrive next in tandem with tantalizing sides. I smell the mouth-watering aroma of the XO sauce lobster egg fried rice ($28) before I ever see it, and upon my first bite, I'm hooked. Hakkasan's stir fry Wagyu beef ($88) becomes a second favorite, the tangy meat balanced by fresh burdock root and baby courgette. I can't quit reaching for it.
Another standout is the baked chicken ($48), sealed in a thick salt crust like a doughy treasure box. The meat remains tender and not in the least bit oversalted. Shiitake mushrooms also sit inside, slowly marinating, so when you score a bite, they're as juicy as the chicken.
Dessert rounds out the evening with a tiger-striped firecracker and mandarin sorbet ($18) full of creamy orange curd, orange capote and chocolate mousse, capping a true feast. The special new year dinner menu is available through February 6 and again February 9-13.
HAKKASAN MGM Grand, 702-891-7888. Wednesday & Sunday, 5:30-9:45 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, 5:30-10:45 p.m.
