Latest / Vegas Revealed / Las Vegas Preps for Chinese New Year | Ep. 53

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Las Vegas Preps for Chinese New Year | Ep. 53 · Vegas Revealed

• 0:00
  Sean McAllister: Welcome to Vegas Revealed episode 53.
• 0:03
  Dayna Roselli: Well, Chinese New Year is upon us, and Las Vegas always celebrates with displays and special events.
• 0:09
  Dayna Roselli: We hit the strip to get a Chinese lesson from an unexpected source.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: So uh signature one obviously for the holiday.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: Uh if you want to say Happy New Year, you say Sun Lin Phi Lok.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I probably butchered that as far as the dialect, but Sun Lin Phi Lok.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: Sun Lin Fi Lok?
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like Sun Lin Philok.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm the wrong guy to say this, but Sun Lin Phi Lok means means Happy New Year.
• 0:36
  Sean McAllister: They'll know what you're saying.
• 0:37
  Sean McAllister: It's gonna take some practice to master that.
• 0:39
  Sean McAllister: Plus, you won't believe how many fresh cut flowers and plants go into one of the strip's most popular displays.
• 0:47
  Sean McAllister: It's all coming up on Vegas Reveal.
• 1:02
  Dayna Roselli: Welcome to Vegas Revealed episode 53.
• 1:05
  Dayna Roselli: I'm Dana Roselli along with Sean McAllister.
• 1:08
  Dayna Roselli: And I don't know why we always choose to record our podcast when we're feeling a little sluggish, but uh we have good reason today.
• 1:14
  Dayna Roselli: We hit the stirrup, we went to the palazzo and went to Mott 32, and uh we're a little I don't want to say hungover, but slow today.
• 1:23
  Sean McAllister: Well, here's the deal uh there are so few occasions that get us out for night activities around Las Vegas these days.
• 1:33
  Sean McAllister: So uh when we go out, it ends up being an occasion, and then y you just kinda we're not used to it.
• 1:40
  Sean McAllister: We're not used to the rhythm of going out and getting back into the swing of things the next day.
• 1:45
  Dayna Roselli: Exactly.
• 1:45
  Dayna Roselli: And you know, we were taste testing different kinds of drinks last night, and then that, you know, that adds up, but then you know, you stay, you hang.
• 1:51
  Dayna Roselli: We even gambled a little.
• 1:53
  Dayna Roselli: Well, you did.
• 1:53
  Sean McAllister: Yeah.
• 1:54
  Dayna Roselli: You were playing the what was that little shop of horrors slot machine?
• 1:57
  Sean McAllister: slot machine.
• 1:58
  Sean McAllister: It was the first time that I I'd seen that game out on the gaming floor.
• 2:03
  Sean McAllister: So it was a it was, you know, something new and shiny, and it had locked-in wilds, which I love.
• 2:08
  Dayna Roselli: And listen, you cashed out up a dollar twenty-five.
• 2:11
  Dayna Roselli: So proud of you.
• 2:12
  Sean McAllister: It's not a loss.
• 2:13
  Dayna Roselli: It's not a loss.
• 2:15
  Dayna Roselli: I was like, really?
• 2:16
  Dayna Roselli: And then your husband was like, yeah, it's a win.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_05: I was like, all right, well, move on, but I would keep playing.
• 2:22
  Dayna Roselli: Um something we talked about last week uh is the Buffalo Bills, our hometown football team.
• 2:27
  Dayna Roselli: We said we hoped they would win their game because it feels good to see them back in the playoffs, and they did win.
• 2:33
  Sean McAllister: They did, and so now uh they are are facing the Kansas City in the AFC Championship game, and this is the first time, Dana, since 1993 that the Bills have been playing for the AFC Championship.
• 2:50
  Dayna Roselli: It's incredible.
• 2:51
  Dayna Roselli: I graduated high school in 1993, so that's a long time ago.
• 2:56
  Sean McAllister: I mean, there's like a whole generation of people.
• 2:59
  Sean McAllister: I can't even call them kids because at this point they're they're pushing 30.
• 3:03
  Sean McAllister: So there's like a whole generation of people who have never seen the Buffalo Bills be good like this.
• 3:08
  Dayna Roselli: I know.
• 3:08
  Dayna Roselli: It's so true.
• 3:09
  Dayna Roselli: Yeah, and we were telling you about one of our local uh pizza places here in town called Naked City Pizza, and I saw them tweet after the win because they've been putting like tents in their parking lot to spread people out and be able to have them outside to be able to enjoy the game, and they said we're gonna need a bigger tent.
• 3:24
  Sean McAllister: That's a good sign.
• 3:26
  Sean McAllister: It is a good sign that there's uh a loyal fan base of Western New York sports fans out west here in Las Vegas.
• 3:34
  Sean McAllister: So hopefully, uh we're recording this on uh a Friday.
• 3:38
  Sean McAllister: So hopefully during the game on Sunday, the Bills will be victorious against Kansas City, and we'll have uh some more sporting news to celebrate next week here on Vegas Revealed.
• 3:49
  Dayna Roselli: That's right.
• 3:50
  Dayna Roselli: And you know, I did notice uh side note Naked City Pizza did do one of the Bernie memes too.
• 3:54
  Dayna Roselli: You know, Bernie Sanders was the big hit at the inauguration in Washington City.
• 3:59
  Sean McAllister: With his woolen mittens.
• 4:01
  Dayna Roselli: Everyone's putting them everywhere.
• 4:02
  Dayna Roselli: We haven't done it yet, but I kind of feel like, well, maybe we should just move on from that.
• 4:06
  Dayna Roselli: It's kind of getting old.
• 4:07
  Sean McAllister: It is.
• 4:08
  Sean McAllister: I think if you don't do it by a certain time, then you miss the boat.
• 4:10
  Dayna Roselli: Exactly.
• 4:11
  Sean McAllister: And and you're just trying to you're trying too hard after a certain point.
• 4:15
  Dayna Roselli: True.
• 4:16
  Dayna Roselli: But uh one of our biggest uh displays really in Las Vegas on the strip is at the Bellagio.
• 4:22
  Dayna Roselli: The Bellagio Conservatory has incredible displays for every season, and they've recently put up their Chinese New Year's display.
• 4:29
  Sean McAllister: Yeah, they have a whole team of horticulturalists who work uh year round to grow all of these magnificent flowers and plants to incorporate into the into the beautiful and and s I mean jaw-dropping really displays that they construct over there at the conservatory.
• 4:50
  Sean McAllister: And and this year is no different for the Chinese Lunar New Year.
• 4:54
  Dayna Roselli: Yeah, it looks incredible, and we'll post some pictures and videos on our social media if you want to take a look, because I know everyone that can't get here to Las Vegas is missing it.
• 5:02
  Dayna Roselli: Um, but you know, they also sent some statistics over, and I always find it really incredible.
• 5:07
  Dayna Roselli: So if you're wondering what the deal is and what goes into these displays, uh one of the numbers at the top, 62,956 plants and flowers on display throughout the conservatory.
• 5:22
  Dayna Roselli: Oh my god.
• 5:23
  Dayna Roselli: I know 46,024 fresh cut flowers on display.
• 5:27
  Dayna Roselli: Oh jeez.
• 5:28
  Dayna Roselli: And 12,112 blooming plants on display.
• 5:34
  Sean McAllister: That is absolutely like mind-blowing.
• 5:37
  Sean McAllister: It really is.
• 5:38
  Sean McAllister: That's a lot of stuff.
• 5:39
  Dayna Roselli: I mean, 150 kumquat trees.
• 5:42
  Sean McAllister: Oh.
• 5:43
  Dayna Roselli: 11,900 gallons of water.
• 5:45
  Dayna Roselli: It's really incredible.
• 5:47
  Sean McAllister: And and don't forget, Dana, there are two golden oxen involved, too.
• 5:52
  Dayna Roselli: Okay, yeah.
• 5:52
  Dayna Roselli: Very important.
• 5:53
  Dayna Roselli: The year of the ox, right?
• 5:54
  Dayna Roselli: It is, yeah.
• 5:56
  Sean McAllister: But you know, the Chinese New Year really is an important time here in Las Vegas.
• 6:01
  Sean McAllister: It's when we generally would see more than 230,000 visitors from China coming here to Las Vegas to celebrate.
• 6:11
  Sean McAllister: Um I mean there are displays at just about every resort on the Las Vegas Strip.
• 6:17
  Sean McAllister: So it it has become an important time here in Las Vegas to welcome our visitors from China.
• 6:24
  Sean McAllister: That's not gonna be the case this year.
• 6:27
  Dayna Roselli: No, but you know, still, I mean, I must hand it to the resorts and casinos because they are still finding ways and continuing on with tradition.
• 6:36
  Dayna Roselli: And they're not letting, you know, what will or won't happen or what visitors they will or won't get, you know, this year change anything.
• 6:43
  Dayna Roselli: They're still moving ahead and and you know, having special menus and special events, and like we mentioned, the conservatory is all set up and the decorations are up.
• 6:52
  Dayna Roselli: So, you know, we we just keep moving on and you know, hoping that at least the people that are able to drive in and some people fly in, you know, from around the country are able to enjoy it as well.
• 7:02
  Sean McAllister: Yeah, the 15-day celebration still going ahead, not quite the same as uh we would see uh in in previous years, and hopefully it'll pick up again next year.
• 7:14
  Sean McAllister: The the Lunar New Year celebration still happening here in Las Vegas, and one of the uh restaurants that is marking the celebration is Mott 32 over at uh the Venetian and Palazzo.
• 7:26
  Dayna Roselli: Yeah, great restaurant.
• 7:27
  Dayna Roselli: First of all, uh gorgeous inside.
• 7:30
  Dayna Roselli: Stunning, yeah.
• 7:31
  Dayna Roselli: Stunning, stunning.
• 7:32
  Dayna Roselli: I loved the chandelier with the feathers.
• 7:34
  Dayna Roselli: That was my favorite thing.
• 7:35
  Dayna Roselli: And P.S.
• 7:36
  Dayna Roselli: We will also be putting clips and pictures of some of the things that we tried and also some of the decor uh on our social media as well.
• 7:44
  Dayna Roselli: It's at VegasRevealed or at Vegas.reveed on Instagram.
• 7:49
  Dayna Roselli: But um, yeah, just an absolutely gorgeous restaurant.
• 7:51
  Dayna Roselli: It's been around for about two and a half years, and we had a great chat with the general manager of the restaurant to talk everything Mod 32, but also just, you know, Las Vegas and where we're at right now.
• 8:03
  Sean McAllister: Yeah, and we're gonna have that conversation still to come uh here on Vegas Revealed with uh Nathan Greats, the general manager over there at Mott 32.
• 8:14
  Dayna Roselli: And some other news to talk about kind of brings the roller skating world and the boxing world together as one.
• 8:21
  Sean McAllister: Which is kind of an odd combination.
• 8:23
  Dayna Roselli: It is.
• 8:24
  Sean McAllister: I never thought that I would that I would hear that combination.
• 8:27
  Dayna Roselli: Well, I mean, everyone knows who Floyd Mayweather is, you know, around the world, obviously, boxing champion.
• 8:32
  Dayna Roselli: He lives here in Las Vegas, and uh we have a rink here, a roller skating rink called Crystal Palace that has been open for years, very popular among the roller skating community.
• 8:42
  Dayna Roselli: And you know, roller skating has kind of become hip again.
• 8:45
  Dayna Roselli: It's all over.
• 8:48
  Dayna Roselli: Yes, they're playing, you know, uh different songs and roller skating, whether it's in their neighborhood, on the boardwalk, uh, at roller skating rinks, and it's kind of hip and cool again.
• 8:58
  Dayna Roselli: And I noticed Floyd Mayweather was having this roller skating party at his house with a few friends.
• 9:06
  Dayna Roselli: One of them was Quest Love, and they were posting on his Instagram, you know, roller skating around the house.
• 9:13
  Dayna Roselli: Not many people can do that, right?
• 9:14
  Dayna Roselli: But of course we're gonna be able to do it.
• 9:15
  Sean McAllister: Well, if you have a mansion, you can.
• 9:16
  Dayna Roselli: Right.
• 9:17
  Dayna Roselli: So I noticed that, you know, it was probably like a month or so ago.
• 9:20
  Sean McAllister: But now we find out that Floyd is purchasing Crystal Palace, which is it's so funny to me because here in Las Vegas, Crystal Palace has been uh I mean it's a place where people who grew up in Las Vegas, that's where they went.
• 9:35
  Sean McAllister: Crystal Palace was a hot spot starting back in probably the mid-80s and uh up through I don't know, the early 2000s people would go there and have a great time.
• 9:48
  Sean McAllister: People had birthday parties there, people went on dates there, people that was just like part of living here in Las Vegas.
• 9:55
  Dayna Roselli: You know, roller skating was popular, but it kind of has faded away since the whole rollerblading world and you know different kinds of things came about.
• 10:04
  Dayna Roselli: And so, you know, it's difficult to stay afloat, but apparently it's on the market for 4.5 million bucks, and Floyd has said, Hey, I'll buy it.
• 10:12
  Dayna Roselli: I'll I'll buy it.
• 10:13
  Dayna Roselli: I don't want it to close and I want to keep this place open.
• 10:15
  Sean McAllister: Well, and for Floyd, I I think that that's kind of like pocket change, right?
• 10:20
  Sean McAllister: Right?
• 10:20
  Sean McAllister: So he's like, hey, you know what?
• 10:22
  Sean McAllister: He he shows off his his fancy footwork in the ring, and apparently that spans into roller skating too, since as you mentioned, Floyd has showed off his roller skating skills on on Instagram, and now he's got a place to to go and and skate to his heart's content.
• 10:41
  Sean McAllister: But Floyd is no stranger to Crystal Palace.
• 10:45
  Sean McAllister: I think it was back in back in 2009, he I mean he would bring his kids there and roller skate.
• 10:52
  Sean McAllister: So he's been there, he knows Crystal Palace, and now uh he'll know it really well as an owner.
• 10:58
  Dayna Roselli: Yeah, I mean, listen, I'm I'm glad that he did it.
• 11:00
  Dayna Roselli: Keep that place open, and it's a big part of the Las Vegas community.
• 11:03
  Dayna Roselli: So, and if you didn't know, and you usually come to the strip to hang and maybe you vacation, maybe you want to go roller skate off the strip.
• 11:10
  Dayna Roselli: If you didn't know it existed before, now you know.
• 11:12
  Sean McAllister: That's right.
• 11:13
  Sean McAllister: Crystal Palace over there on Boulder Highway.
• 11:15
  Dayna Roselli: Yeah, maybe you'll see Floyd there doing the backwards skate.
• 11:19
  Sean McAllister: Shoot the duck.
• 11:20
  Dayna Roselli: I was a really good roller skater.
• 11:21
  Dayna Roselli: Were you?
• 11:22
  Dayna Roselli: Oh my god.
• 11:22
  Sean McAllister: At United Skates of America back in Rochester.
• 11:26
  Dayna Roselli: Well, wait, remember when um they used to come to the school and they would set up the skates?
• 11:30
  Dayna Roselli: Did they come to your school?
• 11:31
  Sean McAllister: Yes, they did.
• 11:32
  Dayna Roselli: Yes, and then you would do it in the gym.
• 11:34
  Sean McAllister: They had the big wooden racks of brown roller skates with the orange wheels.
• 11:38
  Dayna Roselli: Oh my gosh, such a blast.
• 11:39
  Dayna Roselli: I used to have my back pocket, you know, my comb in my back pocket and roller skating backwards.
• 11:46
  Sean McAllister: And the Sony Walkman on the belt loop.
• 11:48
  Dayna Roselli: Yes, but that's all back now on TikTok.
• 11:51
  Dayna Roselli: So anyway.
• 11:52
  Sean McAllister: Well, and something else that was good to see this week, Dana, was um it was kind of like a a reunion of Las Vegas headliners at the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in Washington, D.C.
• 12:06
  Sean McAllister: this past week.
• 12:07
  Dayna Roselli: Right.
• 12:07
  Dayna Roselli: It was such a conversation between Las Vegans going, you know, hey, I've seen Gaga at Park MGM, and hey, I saw J Lo at Zappos Theater, and wow, I saw Garth Brooks at the Encore, and he performed for the inauguration.
• 12:20
  Dayna Roselli: So it was cool to see them all out there, you know, doing their part.
• 12:24
  Sean McAllister: So the moral of the story is come to Vegas.
• 12:27
  Sean McAllister: This is for all the headliners and entertainers who are out there listening.
• 12:31
  Sean McAllister: Come to Vegas, get a residency, and your next stop will be at a presidential inauguration.
• 12:37
  Dayna Roselli: Oh my gosh.
• 12:37
  Dayna Roselli: Isn't that funny?
• 12:38
  Dayna Roselli: Because it used to be the opposite.
• 12:39
  Dayna Roselli: It was it's come to Vegas and just settle down and end your career.
• 12:43
  Sean McAllister: Right.
• 12:43
  Dayna Roselli: And now it's completely the opposite.
• 12:46
  Sean McAllister: The script has flipped for sure.
• 12:48
  Sean McAllister: Yeah.
• 12:48
  Dayna Roselli: All right.
• 12:48
  Dayna Roselli: Well, stay with us.
• 12:49
  Dayna Roselli: We're going to interview the general manager of Mott 32.
• 12:51
  Dayna Roselli: It's a great conversation coming up right after the break.
• 12:54
  Sean McAllister: Taking a field trip to the strip.
• 12:58
  Dayna Roselli: Quick reminder, thank you for listening to Vegas Revealed.
• 13:02
  Dayna Roselli: Remember, we have many other ways that you can watch, listen, also throw us an email and tell us what you want us to cover, all that good stuff.
• 13:11
  Dayna Roselli: We have a website called Vegas-Revealed.com.
• 13:14
  Sean McAllister: And that's where you can find all of our social media links.
• 13:17
  Sean McAllister: And also remember, in addition to every podcast platform out there, you can listen to our full Vegas Revealed episodes on our Vegas Revealed YouTube channel.
• 13:27
  Dayna Roselli: That's right, a new edition, and they seem to be taking off.
• 13:30
  Dayna Roselli: People are enjoying them, so make sure you check that out.
• 13:32
  Dayna Roselli: We are on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok.
• 13:41
  Dayna Roselli: All right, welcome back to Vegas Revealed.
• 13:44
  Dayna Roselli: We are getting ready to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
• 13:47
  Dayna Roselli: We're super excited.
• 13:48
  Dayna Roselli: Today we are at Mott 32, which is a restaurant inside the Palazzo, which is inside the Venetian.
• 13:54
  Dayna Roselli: It is so nice, isn't it, Sean?
• 13:56
  Sean McAllister: It's nice to break outside and be back down here on the strip again, isn't it?
• 14:00
  Sean McAllister: And we are joined uh by Nathan Grace, GM of Mott 32.
• 14:05
  Sean McAllister: How's it going, man?
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's great.
• 14:06
  unknown: Yeah.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: Good.
• 14:07
  Dayna Roselli: I mean, you were we were just chatting and you were saying, you know, things here have been as busy as they can be.
• 14:13
  Dayna Roselli: You've had steady clientele, and I know you're super thankful for that.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's it's nice to see we've had uh a gradual increase since we were able to reopen and going into the holidays and now Chinese New Year, we're starting to see more familiar faces, some of our regulars coming back, it's been better and better.
• 14:29
  Sean McAllister: Yeah.
• 14:30
  Sean McAllister: And obviously, with the the cuisine that you present here, Chinese New Year is always a big focus for you guys.
• 14:37
  Sean McAllister: But for people who are out of town, or maybe for Las Vegas locals who aren't familiar with Mott 32, kind of give a synopsis of what you're all about here.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_01: So, Mott 32 is a concept that came out of Hong Kong.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um we've had a restaurant there for several years, uh, I think going on seven years.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um we have a restaurant in um Vancouver as well.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um but it's very modern as far as appearance.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um it kind of it's a blend of New York industrialism with a lot of the characteristics of like Chinese culture.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but we want to make it a little bit more approachable for people who are used to the very, I guess, more traditional Chinese dining.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: We're kind of open Chinese dining to uh people, particularly in the Western world, um, in this case.
• 15:22
  Dayna Roselli: Yeah, it's beautiful, and I know you said you said you've been actually at this restaurant since the beginning, you went to Hong Kong and the whole night.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: I went to Hong Kong, yeah.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: I've lived in Vegas for 10 years, but you know, I got uh lucky enough to go out to Hong Kong, asked to do that, and then bring the restaurant back and open it from the ground up.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: So that was about we opened in December of 2018, and uh it's been a huge success.
• 15:41
  Sean McAllister: And as we mentioned, Chinese New Year is coming up.
• 15:45
  Sean McAllister: Uh what are you doing special to to mark the new year this year?
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: So uh Chef's put together kind of a lot of the traditional dishes, and he tends to to kind of bring things out of the woodwork that are very authentic.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, kind of esoteric dishes, sea cucumber, um you know, things that you wouldn't always get necessarily, but they're kind of staples of Chinese cuisine, particularly over the holidays.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um it I mean it's a very it's very much like a family event.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um so so you know, families are gonna come in, they're all very excited.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's about starting out the new year on the right foot.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's about kind of finishing up the winter season and and and spring festival and and starting, you know, the new year going into the summer and on uh being like basically paying forward uh prosperous luck and positive vibes throughout the rest of the year.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_03: And lately, isn't that what everyone wants, right?
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_03: Even has more meaning this year than probably ever before.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I uh I could certainly tell you that I'm sure everybody, everybody who's dining here this year is is looking forward to having a better 2021 than 2020.
• 16:49
  Dayna Roselli: Of course.
• 16:49
  Dayna Roselli: Uh well that's interesting.
• 16:50
  Dayna Roselli: Living and working on the strip and and and being a part of this whole community in Las Vegas for so long.
• 16:56
  Dayna Roselli: I mean, uh a lot of people always used to say to me, Well, why didn't you ever leave Las Vegas once you went there?
• 17:01
  Dayna Roselli: But it's an addicting place to live and work, and the vibe is fun.
• 17:03
  Dayna Roselli: I mean, is it why you stick around?
• 17:05
  Dayna Roselli: I mean, obviously we love to interview people that have been here and are working here and they got the vibe going.
• 17:10
  Dayna Roselli: You got it all going.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_01: Vegas, yeah, Vegas.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody, it's funny because everybody has this bias towards Vegas.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: They think it's just this crazy town that you know never slows down, but the local community here is incredible.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you meet so many diverse people.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you look at me, you wouldn't expect me to be the GM of a Pine Dining Chinese restaurant.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um so it you know, it's unique in that you can kind of jump around.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: I've worked with a lot of chefs and a lot of different concepts.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: You can jump around and get creative, and uh, you know, it's nothing stagnant here.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_01: And the local community is is really, you know, once you get embraced, it's hard to say no to.
• 17:44
  Dayna Roselli: So yeah, and we want everyone to keep coming, coming, coming back to visit us, right?
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and if you're natural in hospitality, this is like my niche, this is what I love to do.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, there's no better place to do it.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: This is the Mecca.
• 17:55
  Sean McAllister: And and before you opened Mott 32 here at the Venetian, did you have experience in Chinese cuisine, or was there a learning curve that kind of went along with opening it?
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_01: That was a very steep curve.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: Very steep curve.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: Especially because you've got to think, uh, I don't speak any Mandarin or Cantonese.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, my entire kitchen.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: Most of them only speak Mandarin and Cantonese, and what English they do know is is very minimal.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: So uh you're constantly like, you know, you're using body language.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: When you're opening a restaurant, there's a lot of moving parts.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's very difficult to communicate when you're your number two is a chef who, you know, from Shanghai, who doesn't, you know, he worked at Wing Le there, I'm sure he had no issues.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: Now working with me here at Ma32, uh, we had a lot of a lot of growing pains.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: But now we do just fine.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: We're all very close.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: But it yeah, it's it's no simple task.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: I worked in French restaurants.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: I knew nothing about Chinese food.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, I was I was probably more of a Thai food enthusiast.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: I really enjoyed Thai food.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I tell you, when you eat that, like I mean I ate at Mott every day for you know, breakfast, lunch, dinner in Hong Kong for two months while I was out there.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um and you just study the food, and you know, there's a lot of there's a lot of crossover, but this is one of the mother mother cuisines for sure.
• 19:12
  Sean McAllister: And I'm sure that it's been a learning process as you've gone along too.
• 19:16
  Sean McAllister: What's the has there been a single thing that's been the most surprising thing to you about Chinese cuisine?
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um I wouldn't say so much about the cuisine um as to kind of the culture associated with it.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: It's you know what I what I didn't recognize, like I knew certain aspects of Chinese food, certainly, but like like when you step into a room like this and you're sort all your guests, or a lot of your guests are Chinese, um you have to understand the nuances of the culture, how quickly, how they like to be greeted, how they like to be served, how quickly they eat.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: There when I came from French Fine Dining, it was courses, it was spacing in between, it was very structured.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_01: With Chinese food, they want the food right away.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: Interesting.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's very communal, it's about getting the family together.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's almost like a ritual in and of itself.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_03: That's really interesting because I'm Italian and we eat fast too.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_03: So now I know.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_03: It's very similar.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, very family style.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of similarities to Italian food.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_03: People are always like, wait, you're done?
• 20:15
  Dayna Roselli: I'm like, yep, that was it.
• 20:18
  Dayna Roselli: I love it.
• 20:19
  Dayna Roselli: Well, what do you uh want to say to people that that might be thinking to come to Vegas from all around the world?
• 20:24
  Dayna Roselli: Obviously, we have people here in town locally and that can drive in and come to Mott, but you know, to kind of let them know, hey, we're open.
• 20:32
  Dayna Roselli: Uh do you recommend obviously reservations, anything they need to do beforehand, prepare themselves?
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, there's a lot of rules right now.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um so you know, unfortunately, at the moment you're only allowed to have four guests to a reservation.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um so you know, we set up our tables as such.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you have to make a reservation in advance.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: So if you are traveling to Vegas, definitely call ahead.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um there's limited seating for some restaurants.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: In our case, we have a very big restaurant, so we can take, you know, uh we can take a lot of covers, or at least we're we're meeting demand without an issue.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: But there's a lot of smaller restaurants if you're going, definitely make reservations in advance.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um and just be mindful of all the you know, I mean, I think Vegas kind of sets the standard with health practices in general.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um we have a very strict um, you know, the Southern Nevada Health Department is very strict with casinos and hotels.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: So I think, you know, if you're traveling around the world, you'll you'll find that Vegas is probably uh the most apt in and maintaining the policies and keeping people safe.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: But make reservations, um don't plan on having huge tables sitting all together.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_05: You know, pretty standard.
• 21:35
  Sean McAllister: Yeah.
• 21:36
  Sean McAllister: So so the the family style, you need to somewhat take the family out of family style for a little bit.
• 21:42
  Sean McAllister: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
• 21:43
  Sean McAllister: Yeah.
• 21:43
  Sean McAllister: Small families were fine.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh larger families, we're gonna split you up.
• 21:47
  Dayna Roselli: Right, yeah, you gotta be split up, but you can still come, you just can't sit at the same table, right?
• 21:51
  Dayna Roselli: People always forget that.
• 21:52
  Dayna Roselli: They think they can't have more than four, and it's like, well, you can, you're just gonna be you know, three of you are gonna be sitting at another table and four will be in another table.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and we'll do our best to put you as close to your family members.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: As possible.
• 22:01
  Dayna Roselli: And we're open, which is an amazing thing.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're getting a lot of people from California right now, and they're just grateful to have a place to eat out.
• 22:07
  Dayna Roselli: Right.
• 22:07
  Dayna Roselli: Yeah.
• 22:08
  Dayna Roselli: And and even keeping, I mean, uh, restaurants come and go.
• 22:11
  Dayna Roselli: And I mean, so it's something when you can stay open and remain open and be successful.
• 22:17
  Dayna Roselli: I I know probably working in hospitality, I'm sure you've probably seen it.
• 22:21
  Dayna Roselli: I mean, you get you guys are a success.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's it's uh, you know, surviving at this point in time is a testament to uh the operators and the quality of the food.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I mean, I can't stress enough to my staff how important it is to get people coming back who are regulars.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: So getting support like that is really critical.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, I mean, y the strong will survive this and like the good restaurants will continue to do well, I think.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um and and hopefully as we get through 2021, it gets better and better.
• 22:49
  Dayna Roselli: And I know this is always hard to ask the GM, but do you have a favorite dish that you recommend or maybe two?
• 22:55
  Dayna Roselli: Oh like what is a must-have here?
• 22:57
  Dayna Roselli: Like, no matter what you've got to have to this, even if it's an appetizer or cocktail, anything.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: This is this is year, what is this?
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_01: This is 2021.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: So this is year, this is year three.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and I eat Chinese food every day.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: So I I'll be honest, I have Chef kind of make me some off-the-menu items.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're listening to this podcast, I would ask for the spicy beef pickle.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's not on the menu.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you wouldn't get it otherwise.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the dim sum's incredible.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: I love the dumplings.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: It depends on if I'm a rush.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's a busy night.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: I'm eating dim sum.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I just pop it in your mouth and then you're back out on the floor.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_01: Good.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_01: Couple bites.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: But uh, you know, uh the M6 is really good.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: I really like that dish.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: I try to eat eat fairly clean here.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: So good.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_01: The the spicy beef pickle?
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_01: Spicy beef pickles incredible.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:40
  Dayna Roselli: I like all of it.
• 23:40
  Dayna Roselli: I like spice, I like beef, and I like pickles.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's it's it's pickled vegetables.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_01: We say pickled, but it's pickled vegetables and and beef.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's a new dish.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I don't know.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_01: They just they make things every once in a while.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, what's that?
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: He says, if you want to try it, I'm like, yeah, great.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: Our chef's wonderful about those things.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_01: He'll always cook for me.
• 23:59
  Sean McAllister: So, Nate, obviously we are in a Chinese establishment.
• 24:04
  Sean McAllister: Um, did you have to learn any Chinese?
• 24:07
  Sean McAllister: Are there any traditional sayings that that we should know?
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, so uh the signature one obviously for the holiday, uh if you want to say happy new year, you say sun lin phi lok.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: And I probably butchered that as far as the dialect, but sun lin phi lok.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_01: Sun lin phi lok?
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_01: Like sun lin phi lok.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_01: Did you not even think?
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_01: I don't even I'm probably the wrong guy to say this, but sun lin phi lok means means happy new year.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_01: They'll know what you're saying.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then and then you gong he fay is like my favorite one to say, and it just basic basically means have a prosperous new year.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_05: Love it.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_05: And that's that's a good that that's the good old standard, right?
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_05: What's the other one?
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_05: Song lin.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_05: Sun lin failok is happy new year.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_01: A gonghei fa choi.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_05: Got it.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: See, you're not attempting to stay that way to somebody who doesn't think you speak Chinese and it'll make them smile for sure.
• 24:58
  Sean McAllister: Okay, good one.
• 24:59
  Sean McAllister: I'll I'll listen back to this recording.
• 25:01
  Sean McAllister: Well, as we do head into the the Chinese New Year, we wish you prosperity.
• 25:06
  Sean McAllister: Thanks so much for your time and thanks for having us in.
• 25:08
  Sean McAllister: Thank you so much.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_05: Thanks, Nate.
• 25:12
  Sean McAllister: All right, it is time for our two tips of the week.
• 25:16
  Sean McAllister: And we have talked about and experienced Las Vegas food tours before here on Vegas Revealed Dana, but uh there's another one to talk about.
• 25:24
  Dayna Roselli: Yeah, Taste Buzz is what it's called.
• 25:27
  Dayna Roselli: It's Taste Buzz Food Tours, and this is one we actually hadn't heard of yet.
• 25:30
  Dayna Roselli: So I was excited to learn about this because we love to support small businesses.
• 25:34
  Dayna Roselli: Yep.
• 25:34
  Dayna Roselli: And this is something when we were thinking like, hey, this will be really great for Valentine's Day, or even if you're just a foodie or you know, anytime really, but when you think about things to do for Valentine's Day coming up, this could be something.
• 25:46
  Dayna Roselli: And it's a food tour that actually takes place.
• 25:48
  Dayna Roselli: There's one in downtown, there's one in the arts district downtown, and then there's another one on the Las Vegas Strip.
• 25:54
  Sean McAllister: Yeah, and these uh food tours really are a great way to experience a variety of restaurants, a variety of food, all within a few hours, and it's all pre-planned for you.
• 26:08
  Sean McAllister: The the bill is all taken care of with the the cost of your food tour.
• 26:13
  Sean McAllister: So it really is such a fun way to hop around and fill your belly at the same time.
• 26:19
  Dayna Roselli: That's right.
• 26:20
  Dayna Roselli: And they do a variety, they have like some top-rated restaurants, and also they tour you around to some Las Vegas culture.
• 26:26
  Dayna Roselli: They also give you some insider tips on your tour, you know, some foodie tips.
• 26:30
  Dayna Roselli: And apparently, I think I was reading too that they even like stop at some food trucks and stuff like that.
• 26:35
  Sean McAllister: That's really cool.
• 26:35
  Sean McAllister: And and you do see some really great sites along the way as you go from restaurant to restaurant, too.
• 26:40
  Dayna Roselli: Yeah, and the and the cool thing is if you sign up and book a tour with them, they do give a portion of the ticket to Three Square, which is our big food bank here in Las Vegas.
• 26:51
  Sean McAllister: Yeah, and every dollar there um I think creates three meals for uh people who are in need of food.
• 26:59
  Sean McAllister: So that really is a a great, uh, a great side contribution to these food tours.
• 27:06
  Sean McAllister: And what is this one called again, Dana?
• 27:08
  Dayna Roselli: So this is TasteBuzz.
• 27:09
  Dayna Roselli: I'm gonna tell you the website because you want to go there and look around.
• 27:11
  Dayna Roselli: They've got great videos, all information about the tours, and let me tell you, it does look really, really fun.
• 27:15
  Dayna Roselli: This is TastebuzzVegas.com.
• 27:18
  Dayna Roselli: That's where you're gonna get more information.
• 27:21
  Dayna Roselli: Check it out and support, you know, some of these uh different kinds of things we have going on while a lot of our shows are shut down.
• 27:28
  Sean McAllister: Yeah, that is really cool.
• 27:29
  Sean McAllister: Um, and uh a separate food tour is actually uh joining forces with Maverick Helicopters.
• 27:36
  Sean McAllister: It's called Savory Bites and Neon Lights.
• 27:39
  Sean McAllister: So you go to a bunch of restaurants, then you hop on a Maverick helicopter and get a tour of the Las Vegas Strip.
• 27:46
  Sean McAllister: And, you know, there are other helicopter packages that take you out to uh Red Rock Canyon and then fly you back up the Las Vegas Strip.
• 27:56
  Sean McAllister: That includes a a champagne toast while you're while you're flying.
• 28:00
  Sean McAllister: That's the neon in nature, and then there are just other flights on uh Maverick Helicopters uh that allow you to take in the neon lights of the Las Vegas Strip at night.
• 28:11
  Sean McAllister: So a helicopter ride is another uh great way to consider spending Valentine's Day.
• 28:18
  Dayna Roselli: That's right, very romantic, and I'm sure you'll score brownie points if you book that one next time.
• 28:22
  Dayna Roselli: Yeah, I bet you will.
• 28:23
  Dayna Roselli: You know, and Maverick Helicopter is one of the best of I think one of the best Instagram sites that I follow.
• 28:30
  Dayna Roselli: If you love Las Vegas pictures, because they always take these great aerial shots and post them on their Instagram, and they are just gorgeous.
• 28:38
  Dayna Roselli: They take some really good ones.
• 28:39
  Sean McAllister: Yeah, and they they do flights out to the Hoover Dam, so over Lake Mead.
• 28:43
  Sean McAllister: They do have a wide variety, so if you are interested in booking a Maverick helicopter tour, you can go to flymaverick.com.
• 28:53
  Sean McAllister: Fly M-A-V-E-R-I-C-K dot com.
• 28:57
  Dayna Roselli: All right.
• 28:58
  Dayna Roselli: Well, that is uh this week's tips.
• 29:00
  Dayna Roselli: You know, as we approach Valentine's Day, we still got a little while, so you have plenty of planning to do.
• 29:05
  Sean McAllister: But you gotta book because this stuff fills up quick.
• 29:08
  Dayna Roselli: It's true, very true.
• 29:09
  Dayna Roselli: And especially with our limited capacity stuff.
• 29:10
  Dayna Roselli: We always gotta book early, book, early, book early.
• 29:12
  Dayna Roselli: We say it over and over again.
• 29:14
  Sean McAllister: And we hope that you book early to join us for our next episode of Vegas Revealed, because we're gonna be back right here again next week.
• 29:22
  Dayna Roselli: That's right.
• 29:23
  Dayna Roselli: And remember, if you want to start a podcast, go to BuzzSprout.com and sign up.
• 29:27
  Dayna Roselli: It's super easy.
• 29:29
  Dayna Roselli: We have a referral code in our listener notes that will get you a$20 Amazon gift card if you sign up.
• 29:34
  Dayna Roselli: So many people have been asking about how to start a podcast lately.
• 29:37
  Dayna Roselli: And let me tell you, BuzzSprout is what we use.
• 29:39
  Dayna Roselli: It's super user friendly.
• 29:42
  Dayna Roselli: You will pick it up in minutes.
• 29:44
  Sean McAllister: So again, thanks for joining us this week, and we'll be back in your ears next time.
• 29:49
  Dayna Roselli: All right, see you then.
• 29:50
  Dayna Roselli: Hear you then.
• 29:51
  Dayna Roselli: Talk to you then.