The China Grill at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas is not a Chinese food restaurant. As it was explained adamantly by my waiter , it is a global fusion that brings together the flavors of Japan, Thailand, Chinese and American cuisine ( I guess that meant no Pu-Pu platter for two). With our no Chinese food explanation at the fore front of our minds Simone and I set upon the task of looking over the not so Chinese menu. All items on the menu are meant to be eaten family style and shared -much like in China (oops). At the suggestion of our waiter we started our fusion journey with the not Chinese Beef and Scallion Dumplings. The dumplings were soft and pillow like, filled with minced tender beef and chopped scallions and served with a micro green salad on top and of a pool of spicy sauce. Alone, they were bland but eating them in a 5 alarm pool of soy, ginger chili sauce took care of that problem nicely. After downing an entire glass of water to ease the fiery pain , we then decided to choose our entree. \nOur entree choice was the not Japanese Sake Marinated Drunken Chicken, served with a sweet Hoison laced Ponzu sauce and Bok Choy slaw with crispy onions, and for our side a not Chinese Duck Fried Rice. The chicken arrived whole, but already cut for our convenience. It was excellent, the sweet Sake marinade combined with the natural juices of the chicken kept every bite moist and full of intense flavor. The slaw was crunchy and vinegary and was a nice compliment to the dish. The side of duck fried rice was good also. The rice was very lightly fried with sesame and soy but not overwhelming in salt or oil. The shredded duck was rather dry, but the overall flavor of the rice was very good. We finished the entire bird and rice and still had some room for Deep Fried Cheesecake for dessert. Cream Cheese filled fried wontons arrived with a five spice chocolate dipping sauce, assorted fruit and Mango Raspberry puree. The chocolate was rich and spicy with ginger overtones, and the Mango puree was fresh and sweet.. Both were great with the wontons. Overall this was a very good but not great \"fusion\" meal at the Not so China Grill in Mandalay Bay. For the price you can probably find better in Las Vegas. 3 stars
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