Lotus of Siam

Long famed for introducing Northern-style Thai recipes to American audiences, the standout attraction at this James Beard award-winning Las Vegas destination (once named the best Thai restaurant in America) remains the Garlic Shrimp, a plate piled high with brown sauced jumbo prawns half-separated from their shells right before deep frying. Intensely garlicky and visually disarming, they’ll initially make you wonder why two shrimp are sprouting from the same tail – could these be the products of historic Nevada nuclear testing, which just happens to be memorialized in a museum across the street? Nope: Lotus has found a way to make the oft-discarded shells as edible as potato chips. If only every crustacean could be cooked this way…

Though other dishes photographed well, their execution wasn’t quite as fantastic. Mee Krob, a candied crunchy noodle appetizer, was at once too heavy and uneven on its sweet tamarind sauce; a signature Crispy Duck Penang looked beautiful yet featured pieces of duck so overcooked that their meat couldn’t be discerned from their skin, and a “8/10 spicy” curry sauce that wouldn’t have made anyone from Thailand break a sweat. Khao Soi, a yellow curry noodle dish with pork, tasted good but wasn’t particularly generous with either noodles or meat, and a Thai ceviche appetizer was really just a renamed salad with shredded greens (and super heavy on cilantro), reliant on wonton chips to make the experience more bite-sized.