Haute Event: Luckyrice Brings Its Inaugural Asian Night Market to Cosmopolitan

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas hosted the sold out inaugural Luckyrice Vegas Night Market presented by Bombay SapphireÒ and Condé Nast Traveler, an offshoot of the annual New York festival that gives voice to Asian cultures through the lens of food and drink on Saturday night at the Boulevard Pool.

This was the first time the Luckyrice festival was held outside of New York. From 8 to 11 p.m., more than 20 chefs from top culinary hotspots were on hand to showcase their best, most innovative Asian cuisine.

The event included acclaimed chefs like Luckyrice Culinary Council members Susur Lee (Top Chef Master/Lee, Toronto), Pichet Ong (Qi, New York) and Angelo Sosa (Top Chef All-Stars/Social Eatz, New York). Lee created his succulent rack of lamb Thailandaise, one of the night’s show stopping dishes. Ong served olive oil torrejas with strawberries and maldon salt, while Sosa delivered a delicate sashimi of fluke with bone marrow and parmesan reggiano.

Paul Qui, the recent Top Chef Texas winner and owner of Uchi in Austin, was also on hand dishing up his sunchoke dashi with summer vegetables and uni bottarga.

Representing his restaurant Slanted Door from San Francisco was famed chef Charles Phan, who kept a lengthy line of culinary enthusiasts with his garlic beef rolls, Thai basil and house made sriracha.

Some of The Cosmopolitan’s own chefs participated in the Night Market as well. David Myers (Comme Ça) stepped outside his usual French stylings with the amadai no hana-age, a deep fried tilefish with pickled lotus and charred tomato and sudachi vinaigrette. Shirley Chung (China Poblano by José Andrés) delivered a few options, including her red braised pork belly street sandwich, rou jia mo. Anthony Meidenbauer (Holsteins) and Gerald Chin (Wicked Spoon) also represented the property by tapping into the night’s Asian flare.

Other local chefs from Las Vegas included Saipin Chutima (Lotus of Siam), Colin Fukunaga and Robert “Mags” Magsalin (Fukuburger), Takashi Segawa (Monta) and Mitsuo Endo (Raku).

Accompanying the wide array of food were cocktails featuring Bombay Sapphire East created by seasoned mixologists including The Cosmopolitan’s Mariena Mercer (Chandelier Bar), Chris Hopkins (Vesper) and Jerry Vargas (Bond).

Click on the photos below to enlarge.

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