Celebrity chef Martin Yan has once again outdone himself with his latest culinary masterpiece—M.Y. Asia at Horseshoe Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. Boasting a delectable menu of Asian-inspired dishes, Yan’s newest venture promises to take diners on a gastronomical adventure like no other. With its elegant décor, exceptional service, and world-class cuisine, M.Y. Asia is poised to become the hottest dining destination in Sin City. From savory soups to succulent seafood, every dish at M.Y. Asia is infused with Yan’s signature blend of flavors and spices, making it a must-try for foodies and gourmands alike.
A Taste of M.Y. Asia by Chef Martin Yan
“If Yan can cook, so can you” is a slogan that’s synonymous with the 90s. Despite the international fame and recognition, Yan maintains a clever and down-to-earth approach to his latest culinary venture. “We want to use this platform to introduce Chinese and Asian cuisine and elevate it to a different level,” he told us. “We maintain the traditional flavor profile, the taste, the color, and the combination of cooking techniques, but it is presented in a way that is much more contemporary and more presentable because nowadays, a lot of people eat with their eyes. They look at it first, and they check it out with their cameras.”
Those familiar with cuisine from all regions of Asia will find various items that are familiar but many with a fun twist. On our menu, we have Adobo, which is a very famous Filipino dish,” Yan said of the menu. “They normally use pork or chicken, and I created a Pork Chicken Adobo with a chicken broth. We use a lot of fresh ingredients like green papaya. We make everything right in front of you. Some people make farm-to-table cuisine; we make farm-to-chopstick.”
Don’t mistake his flavors for fusion cuisine—you’ll still find classic flavors throughout the menu. “Our menu is very, very traditional in terms of the flavor profile, in terms of taste. In Asian cuisine, there are a few attributes that define a good Asian restaurant,” Yan explained. “Color, appearance. Before you eat, if you look at a dish and it looks sloppy, you’ll lose your appetite. But you won’t if the dish looks really colorful, shiny, and has a good aroma. It has to taste authentic, and at the same time, it has to have the right texture. Normally in Western cuisine, you have a piece of protein and then a side dish, but in Chinese or Asian dishes, all the elements are on one dish. It’s visually very appealing. That’s why we try to achieve something very visual. We try to create a dining experience and a memory that they can carry back home.”
M.Y. Asia also highlights Yan’s expert level of showmanship in a unique way. “Our restaurant has a VIP room with a demonstration table that you can pull out,” Yan told us. “There’s a television here; it’s not designed for watching the game; it’s set up so that when I’m not here, if I’m in London or Tokyo, I can pick up my phone and connect to the television and welcome them. When we do cooking demonstrations, they can see it outside. We can livestream it, and the whole country can watch it when I’m cooking at M.Y. Asia. The design is one-of-a-kind. This is theater, not just a restaurant.”
Throughout the decades, Yan’s show Yan Can Cook has reached virtually every corner of the world, and since its inception, Asian cuisine has become more commonplace. “In the old days, food was precious, and people didn’t have the freedom to add things,” he told us. “But nowadays, the chefs are lucky. If you went to a supermarket 50 years ago, any regular supermarket, you wouldn’t find any Asian items. Now, you can go to any local supermarket, and there’s an entire aisle of Asian items. There are over 52,000 Chinese restaurants, and that’s not counting Panda Express. Asian food has become a main staple. Last night we had people from everywhere—Singapore, Ireland, London, the Philippines. They’ve watched the show, so they’ve heard of the restaurant.”
As the first Asian Celebrity Chef to open a restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip, Yan is aware of the responsibility that comes with bringing Asian cuisine to the masses. “If you look at our menu, it’s very small. If you go to a typical Chinese restaurant, there are like 200 items,” he told us. “People don’t know what to order, and it’s overwhelming. It takes too long. So I picked my favorites. About 50% of the menu is Chinese, and the other 50% is from other parts of Asia. We have dishes from all over Southeast Asia. That’s why I called it M.Y. Asia. It’s not Martin’s Asia; it’s MY Asia, your Asia, everybody’s Asia.”
