Two Beloved Chinese Restaurants Close in Summerlin

Chinglish Cantonese Wine Bar, the Boca Park restaurant that paired a collection of some 40 wines with chef Po Fai Lam’s Cantonese cooking, has permanently closed. And the sister restaurant next door, Kosher Chinglish has closed with it.

Kosher Chinglish opened in October of 2020 and Chinglish Cantonese Wine Bar debuted soon after. The fully kosher counterpart prepared meals certified by Va’ad HaKashrus of Las Vegas and offered appetizers like crispy egg rolls, Poh Poh’s chicken dumplings, hot and sour soup, plus a bunch of rice, noodle, and stir-fried dishes available for dining in or takeout.

Next door, the wine bar paired varietals with lettuce wraps of minced duck and shiitake mushrooms, Beijing duck with crispy skin, and boneless beef rib stewed in fragrant yellow curry. The restaurant has a bar for seating, draperies and decor in bold shades of red, black, and mustard, and tables for more than 100 customers.

The family-owned Kosher Chinglish came about during the Jewish mourning period of shiva following the death of Ken Heck’s mother, according to Las Vegas Weekly. Kitty Heck’s parents, Anna Lam and chef Lam, cooked kosher food throughout the ten nights of prayer and remembrance — and tapped into a niche for kosher Chinese food. The Lams later relocated to Las Vegas and opened the sister restaurants, earning a following for Chinglish’s crispy pork belly and the kosher restaurant’s rich and flavorful hot and sour soup.

The two restaurants’s last night of service was on Monday, June 10. The family posted an announcement on the Chinglish Facebook page, stating: “With heavy hearts and deep gratitude, we announce that today marks the final chapter of our journey together.”

But this isn’t the last we’ll see of the Heck and Lam family in Las Vegas. In early 2025, the family will open a modern Asian restaurant, Hot Noods by Chinglish, at the El Cortez as part of the downtown casino’s $20 million property-wide expansion. With any luck, Poh Poh’s hand-folded dumplings filled with chicken, chive, and mushroom will be on the menu.