Food Adventures in Las Vegas; or How I Found a Lotus in the Desert

I wasn’t looking for it, but it found me.

After I arrived in Las Vegas, my cousin took a long way home to show me some of the city. It was a beautiful day, and I saw the Hofbrauhaus and part of the Strip. We had an incredible lunch at Oceans One. As we headed south towards her home, I saw it: Lotus of Siam. 

During quarantine, I watched Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi on Hulu. She visits cities across the United States and details the immigrant tradition and how it has influenced American foodways. In Episode 9: "The Pad Thai Gamble", she travels to Las Vegas and explores its large Thai community. The last place she went to was the James Beard Award-winning Lotus of Siam. It is praised as the best Thai restaurant in the country specializing in Northern Thai cuisine.

After some begging, my cousin agreed to take me there for lunch as one of our last adventures. As the location nearest to the place I was staying was closed due to COVID restrictions, we went to the original location off of Sahara. From the outside, it was unremarkable. It was a hole-in-the-wall surrounded by Michelin star luxury restaurants, hidden away in a circus of lights.

Once you go in, you see pictures of famous people who have eaten there posing with the owner. The large space includes a bar area and wine room. You can see where they had to tear down walls to expand as they got more successful.  Every corner of this restaurant represents how this once small business grew over the years and thrived. It’s a beautiful thing.

Almost every table was taken when we arrived at noon. Thankfully, we managed to get a two-top close to the front door. Not even ten minutes after we sat down, the waiting area was full.

*Note: If you plan on going there, get a reservation. 

To start, I ordered a Thai tea, and my cousin got a Key Lime cocktail. Immediately, I was overwhelmed. Everything on the menu looked amazing. I felt that if this is the only time I would eat there, I wanted to make sure I ordered the perfect meal. Of course, any combination of dishes there would have constituted the perfect meal. Everyone was so friendly and patient while I was trying to make up my mind. Eventually, we went a bit safe.

I ordered Nam Kao Tod, which is a crispy fried rice dish with pork sausage, cilantro, chilies, and lemongrass. My cousin went with Pork Larb and Vegetable Pad Thai. They asked if we wanted it medium spicy. Usually, when asked that, I like to bring on the heat. Of course, my Tex-Mex medium spicy is completely different from their Thai medium spicy. So, I went with medium spicy.

Everything was perfection. The rice was so flavorful and well-balanced. I had also ordered their Squid Garlic which are squid rings tossed in a pepper sauce and cilantro. They were so tender and spicy. For me, it was one of those dishes I can never get enough of and leaves me kind of sad when it's over. The place exceeded my cousin’s expectations as in her travels, she began judging any Thai place by its larb. Lotus of Siam did not disappoint.

As we began leaving, there he was. Not fifteen feet from where we were sitting, I realized Chef Bourdain was watching over our whole meal.

Anthony Bourdain went there years earlier to film a segment for Parts Unknown. I watched it and was excited to find out he had Nam Kao Tod as well. I tried looking for Khao Soi, their signature coconut curry noodle dish, but couldn’t find it. I realized after I got home that I was looking in the wrong place on the menu. It’s at the back among their specialties. I think that is what I am ordering next time.