Dinner at Night + Market With Chef Kris Yenbamroong
With three bustling locations in the Los Angeles area, Night + Market is a Thai food hotspot. Since its opening at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas last year, those in Las Vegas don't have to brave the long waits (or the drive to California) to enjoy cuisine from Chef Kris Yenbamroong.
"We specialize in Thai drinking food. Quite simply, it's food to facilitate partying with your friends. It's big, bold flavors, it's an extensive menu. It's really simple; it's really about being here and enjoying yourself with friends," Yenbamroong explained.
We attended a private media dinner with Chef to eat our way through the delicious menu of imaginative Thai cuisine and gain some insight into what diners can expect from a dining experience at Night + Market.
Dining Room and Bar (Courtesy Night + Market Las Vegas)
What Diners Can Expect at Night + Market
What is different about your Las Vegas location?
Yenbamroong: We have the biggest, best and most ambitious menu at our Vegas location. It's kind of crazy to think about it like that, it's the baby of the family, but we're able to do so much more here just because of the big team and the environment. There are things that our small Los Angeles restaurants aren't quite able to do.
How would you suggest diners begin their evening at Night + Market?
Yenbamroong: The garlic prawn sashimi—it's Thai sashimi. We have a Thai raw bar here; we have oysters and different offerings on and off. It's the perfect thing to start off with; a little bubbly wine and something from the Thai raw bar.
Three Flavor Whole Fish (Courtesy Night + Market Las Vegas)
What made Virgin Hotels Las Vegas a good match for the Night + Market brand?
Yenbamroong: A couple of things. They approached us in Los Angeles, and one of the things they really talked about was creating a hotel that had a real vibe. That word "vibe" was really important to them, and that's kind of how we've thought about our restaurants as being more than just food and drink; it's a whole vibe. So I kind of felt like they were on the same wavelength as us.
Have you noticed a lot of visitors from Los Angeles coming into your Las Vegas location?
Yenbamroong: Yeah, we're packed every single night in Los Angeles. We have three restaurants in Los Angeles; we're able to have three spots there because we're so busy. We're more surprised by how many people come in that say we didn't know you're in Las Vegas.
Scarlet Prawn Sashimi (Courtesy Night + Market Las Vegas)
What's your favorite new item on the Las Vegas menu?
Yenbamroong: My favorite one for here would probably be like our raw bar. We have our oysters, our prawns. We've done clams, we've done cocktail shrimp, we've done all sorts of different stuff. We might do some sliced fish like Kampachi or Thai sashimi.
That's something that's really specific to this location and something I've always wanted to do. With our three locations in LA, we were never really able to do it.
What is your favorite menu item that you brought over from Los Angeles?
Yenbamroong: My favorite one from Los Angeles is probably the crispy rice salad. It's kind of an iconic Night + Market dish. It's got everything people kind of want in our food.
Crispy Five Spice Pork Belly (Courtesy Night + Market Las Vegas)
