Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/138830
T he Guide THIS ISSUE THE VERY BEST OF devour: italian imbibe: mojitos excite: concerts a long-awaited debut THE MICHELIN-STARRED HAKKASAN EXPANDS INTO NIGHTLIFE WITH THE OPENING OF ITS NO-NEED-TO-LEAVE MEGA-VENUE AT MGM GRAND. BY MURAT OZTASKIN PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIK KABIK T he world-renowned Hakkasan has finally arrived in Vegas, but it's brought much more than its celebrated cuisine. Teaming up with Angel Management Group, which convinced the brand to bypass the South of France and open its first club here, Hakkasan has created a massive, 80,000-square-foot space that offers everything for the perfect progressional night out. At the culinary helm is International Executive Chef Ho Chee Boon, who won Hakkasan New York a Michelin star in its first eight months and came to Las Vegas after opening the restaurant's San Francisco outpost last December. The expansive menu, with 15 items unique to Vegas, showcases the range of his modern Cantonese cuisine, from the luxurious—two dishes feature whole abalone, a rare delicacy—to Hakkasan classics, such as crispy duck salad and roasted silver cod with Champagne and Chinese honey. "The presentation is so fantastic," says AMG CEO Neil Moffitt, "that you can't help if your chopsticks find their way to someone else's entrée." The main dining area of the MGM Grand hot spot is partitioned into smaller rooms and nooks by an elaborate structure of latticed woodwork, known as "the cage," allowing guests to enjoy intimate dining spaces while preserving the restaurant's bustling atmosphere. As the night progresses, guests can move up to the third floor, which houses the Ling Ling Club and the more-intimate Ling Ling Lounge. Above that: a two-level main nightclub, enveloped floor-to-ceiling with LED screens and home to Hakkasan's world-class roster of resident DJs, including Tiësto and deadmau5. "I have been going to Hakkasan with my family regularly for years," Moffitt says. "I always felt that the ambience and creativity, the very DNA of the brand, lent itself to something more than just a restaurant." MGM Grand, 702-891-3838; hakkasanlv.com V VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 113 113_V_Guide_Opener_Sum13.indd 113 6/17/13 10:15 AM