Hello, welcome back to Yummy Uncle’s Cuisine and Travel channel. (Las Vegas with Chef Khai)
It’s 6 a.m now.
Today is weekend.
I have some work to do in the "Bright Light City" - Las Vegas.
So I will be taking you around Las Vegas City in Nevada state.
It’s Sunday morning.
The road ahead is quite empty.
This is because the players in Las Vegas ...
usually go on the outskirt on Sunday, instead of coming into the city.
Some of you have asked me whether the US police do speed checks if you drive long distances or not.
Yes they do!
Just like in Vietnam.
Nothing is different.
They usually hide in the groves near the emergency escape ramps.
Ahead of us is the desert.
Las Vegas is in Nevada, and it’s exactly like a fire pan - a true desert.
The current temperature is 100°F.
It starts getting hot now.
Player! Player! Player!
There are also players in Saigon.
I haven’t been back to Vietnam for several years, ...
but when I was in Saigon, the players often went to District 1 to entertain themselves.
This restaurant is called "District One".
Today I have a chance to come and film in this restaurant.
I’m the owner’s acquaintance,...
So if he agrees, I will interview him a bit.
The special thing about this restaurant is that it has brought Pho to the next level.
We normally have beef or chicken Pho,...
But here we also have lobster Pho. Shock!
I’m in the restaurant now.
This restaurant is "District One Kitchen and Bar".
It opens at 11 a.m.
I thought it opened at 11 a.m, so I was waiting outside.
I hung out, sat outside, and had a coffee.
But when I came inside, I still had to wait for 1 hour.
I had to wait because it's crowded here.
(Chef Khai)
This is the bar corner in the District 1 Restaurant.
This is Mr. Khai Vu, the restaurant’s owner.
The restaurant has a very special dish called "lobster Pho".
"It’s my pleasure to see you today.
I’m making content for my Youtube channel.
My videos are mostly about restaurants.
I will give you the link later.” - "Yes. Enjoy!"
-"Mr Khai, how did you get the idea to make lobster Pho?"
-"When I first opened, I wanted to show a new Vietnamese food to customers.
Food that is more modern than normal ones like ..."
- "Beef and Chicken Pho?"
- "Right. Everyone has tried Beef and Chicken Pho.
So I tried new ones. I wanted more people to know about Vietnamese dishes.
- "Why is your restaurant called "District One" ?"
- "Because I was born and raised in District 1."
- "Wow. I see."
- "So when I came here, I still think about Vietnam and those places.
But when I came back to Vietnam, District 1 was like a melting pot.
It’s a place where we ate, did business, and entertained." - "Yes!"
- "I'm also running a restaurant, and I haven’t returned to Vietnam in more than a decade.
Don’t know how Vietnam is now."
- "Let’s come back to Vietnam next year."
- "But I heard people always visit District 1 for entertainment."
We also have District One in Las Vegas."
- "Did you face any difficulties when opening the restaurant?"
- "When I first opened, people didn't know about our vision and how we make food.
After 3 to 6 months, we did a lot of marketing ... (Listening carefully)
and organized events for people to try our food...
and understand our vision.
Then they never stop coming after that." -"Yeah!"
- "The customers here came from everywhere.
There are Vietnamese people, Asian, American, etc.
I want to make food that’s suitable for everyone’s taste, not too complicated." - "Yeah!"
-"Wow! I think it’s successful. I think the restaurant is very successful.
I really hope to have a chance to work with chef Khai Vu tomorrow.
Tomorrow afternoon, let’s make some dish together, ...
for example grilled pork sausage or something."
- "Okay, let’s show some authentic food tomorrow." (I’m going to collaborate with Chef Khai)
I'm also running a restaurant, so maybe I can learn something.
- "Thank you very much, Mr. Khai." - "Yes, thank you!"
I have just talked with Mr. Khai Vu.
He’s chef Khai Vu. He’s very famous in Las Vegas.
His restaurant serves about 200 lobsters (with Pho) every week.
He said that the restaurant often runs out of lobsters on Saturday afternoon.
The restaurant served that many.
The special thing is that he never serves frozen lobsters.
The restaurant always serve fresh lobsters imported from Maine.
Maine is a Northern state of America.
The lobsters are imported on Tuesday, then start being served on Wednesday
(because the restaurant closes on Tuesday).
So they import the lobsters on Tuesday, then open on Wednesday.
They usually run out of lobsters on Saturday or Sunday...
or there are very few left.
His best-selling dish is lobster Pho.
I’ve ordered several dishes to review for you guys.
The appetizer is oxtail fries.
There are fries with oxtails, and an egg on top.
Let’s try the appetizer!
Let’s try the fries first!
Tasty!
These are not imported potatoes. I can tell they're made from fresh potatoes.
So delicious!
Let’s try the oxtails!
Tasty!
The oxtail is very tender.
I think there is some tendon.
It’s really oxtail! It tastes different from meat.
Very tasty!
So Mr. Khai just brought this special dish out as a gift for Yummy Uncle.
He only gave it to people who are close with him.
This dish is always sold out.
You need to check it out yourself.
This dish is always sold out.
Mr.Khai said so.
Look at this giant bowl.
It’s called "The Big Bone Soup".
There're meat, soup, and bone marrow.
Let’s try now!
Mr. Khai brought the food here himself.
I couldn’t film it because he was always busy, and the restaurant was so packed.
Mr. Khai brought the food here himself.
Wow, let's try the soup first!
My first time dining out in District 1.
I've only eaten in the countryside before.
I've rarely visited District 1.
The Pho soup is good!
Let’s try the meat!
This is beef.
Taste good!
It tastes like the oxtail earlier.
Very delicious!
That's what we called District 1’s Pho! No 1!
I feel more luxurious now.
Pho in the countryside is also nice, but it’s standard Pho.
Here it tastes "luxurious"!
It must be expensive beef.
Really tasty! (You should come and try it yourself!)
Mr. Khai has just brought out 2 more dishes.
The main dish is the last one!
so please wait till the end to see how special, pretty and good the lobster Pho is. (Thank you for supporting me)
This is a snail dish.
Escargot dish made by Mr. Khai.
Let’s try!
What kind of snail is this?
I need to check it out.
It’s like steamed snails with lemongrass back in Vietnam.
I see some lemongrass here.
You should use your hands to eat snails.
Pull it out.
Here is the snail. A giant one!
Dip in the sauce.
You can find anything in District 1.
It's fish sauce with ginger.
"Yeah! Thank you!"
So many dishes are coming out!
Soo many food!
So tasty!
People often say that people who visited District 1 are all players.
It was snails dish earlier, now it’s grilled squid dish.
I like the squid tentacles the most, because they are crispy.
Let's try!
Dip it in the sauce!
They sprinkled chili flakes on the squid, so it’s spicy.
Tasty!
Grilled squid tastes really good!
One more!
When going to a concert, you often wait until the end.
Because the organizer often schedules the main singer to sing at the end of the concert.
Main singers rarely sing in the beginning or middle of a show...
because if they sang early, the audiences would leave early too.
Same as the Lucky Draw at a wedding.
Lucky draw is always at the end of the wedding.
If you leave early and win the lucky draw, you won't be able to get the prize.
So let’s watch until the very end to see the most unique and important dish today.
This is lobster Pho.
He's brought out a very hot dish.
I couldn’t even imagine it.
It didn’t look like a bowl at first.
I thought it was a plate. A giant plate!
You see, a big and concave plate.
The decoration is excellent!
There're 2 claws here.
You couldn’t even imagine.
I thought lobster is usually curved, but Mr.Khai's straightened it.
A great idea!
He said the most important thing is…
(He’s been running this restaurant for 8 years)
The most important thing is he wanted to show his vision.
This is something only he knows, no one knows.
He wanted to show his vision through his food.
Let’s try!
It's Pho.
Tasty!
The soup is super nice!
No word can describe its taste.
It’s as good as any other types of Pho.
This is lobster meat.
Does it look tempting?
It’s a fresh lobster!
People usually just eat beef or chicken Pho.
No one eats lobster Pho.
Lobsters are expensive, so they don't normally put it in Pho.
It’s good, absolutely delicious!
Why?
Because lobster is seafood, and this is beef Pho.
He had to reduce the smell of seafood, then mix it well with beef Pho.
That’s the most important thing.
It’s not like cooking Pho, and just putting a lobster in.
Because if seafood smell mixed with Pho smell, it would be really strange.
I dunno how he made this, but it tastes really nice.
Dunnot what to say so just eat!
The most important thing about cooking this dish is...
the harmony between seafood and Pho broth.
And it’s important that the lobster is fresh.
I could feel its tender yet with a firm, luxurious texture.
I can tell when taking a bite.
The price of frozen lobster, and frozen seafood is lower.
Those meat's texture is less firm.
It’s not as firm and fresh as the fresh meat.
You can tell the difference after just one bite.
The Pho here is so good.
The smell is so nice.
He must be putting something special into the broth.
It’s strange.
It's like the smell of butter of something.
The smell is so nice!
Tasty!
I ate all the lobster meat, both claws, and the legs.
Only the head and tail left.
Don’t know why the broth smells so nice.
If you haven’t tried this, come to District One.
I will give you the address in the description.
But remember these important things:
1.Book a table in advance, I’ve warned you.
2.You need to come inside to line up and wait.
I had been waiting for 1 hour when I came here.
I’m an acquaintance so the waiting time was reduced to half an hour.
That’s Lobster Pho.
And now it’s oxtail fried rice.
Look at it! OMG.
Mr. Khai is very talented.
Besides the restaurant here, ...
he also owns 1 more in New York City called "Sai Gon Social".
And you know, Las Vegas and New York are all expensive cities....
but he even has 2 restaurants there.
Amazing!
It’s his traditional job or something.
So talented.
I really admire him!
Vietnamese people are not inferior...
to any other ethnic groups in the world.
Vietnamese people are very talented.
Let’s try oxtail fried rice.
Delicious!
I’ve eaten too much today.
I was thinking fried rice was just fried rice.
It's as good as mother's cooking.
It tastes strange.
Full of flavor! Tasty, really!
This one really surprises me...
because normally fried rice is just so-so. Very common food!
But this one tastes really good.
I haven never had this in my hometown.
They simmer the oxtail until it’s tender.
The taste is just very pleasant.
The bill is out.
Let’s see.
The original lobster Pho is $60.
The sea snail dish is $16.
The oxtail fries dish is $14.
The squid dish is $14.
In total, the bill is $136
I think this price in cities like Las Vegas is very reasonable.
A bowl of Pho in areas like Costco or San Jose costs about $14-15.
Normally, for 2 people, it often cost $30-40 including tips.
There are 4 people in our group, but we couldn’t even finish all of the food.
Too much food. You can’t eat them all.
We had to pack 2 dishes, squid and fried rice, to bring home.
Lots of food and they all taste really nice.
The price is very reasonable in cities like Las Vegas.
If you visit Las Vegas, make sure to come to District One...
to see how good the food that District 1's people make.
I've already left District One restaurant.
I’m going back to my hotel.
It’s Wynn Las Vegas, ...
one of the top hotels in Las Vegas
I will record a video about that hotel for you.
Don’t forget to Like, Share, and Subscribe to my channel...
so I get motivated to do interviews, and make more videos for you!