Ken and Kitty Heck opened the Cantonese-style Kosher Chinglish during the COVID pandemic, in September 2020.
Kitty is a Chinese convert to Judaism and her father, Chef Po Fai Lam ran successful Cantonese-style restaurants in Hong Kong, Beijing, and San Francisco. When Ken’s mother died, Kitty’s parents came to visit them in Las Vegas for Shiva and cooked kosher Cantonese-style food for them. Kosher Chinglish was thus born.
In November 2020 I was on a DDF cross-country RV trip hitting up national parks, when our RV ran into some generator problems at Zion National Park. The nearest service center was in Las Vegas, so we detoured there on our way to Death Valley National Park.
Searching for kosher restaurants, we came across the shockingly great reviews for Kosher Chinglish. Could they be real? There was only one way to find out.
So we took a break from our frozen food to try out Chinglish.
Wow!
The 5 of us ordered the menu and polished it off, before ordering the highlights again.
This was not your standard fare greasy chinese food that made you feel ill after eating it. This was something elevated, with flavors I haven’t had before. The beef was incredibly tender, the vegetables were delicious and fresh, and the lemon chicken…oh my.
But was it just because we were in the middle of an RV trip and were enjoying a freshly made meal?
I went back in 2022 on another road trip with a friend and again last year with my grandfather and son on our Spring Training trip.
It was just as good as I remembered it.
And just last week we flew from Denver to Cleveland the long way, for a quick stop in Las Vegas for Chinglish and to try out 2 new airlines.
And it was still out of this world.
Alas, this Sunday, June 9th, will be the restaurant’s final day. While they were busy when conventions were in town, the local community was not able to sustain it. It’s also located 25 minutes off the strip, which makes it tougher for tourists to enjoy.
There arent many outstanding kosher Chinese restaurants any more. Bambu with locations in Boca and North Miami Beach, is excellent, followed by Baltimore’s David Chu and then Boston’s The Kosher Wok. When I have a connection in Newark Airport, I usually get New Kosher Special’s Sesame Chicken Combo with white meat, fried rice, and egg roll, which is delivered free to the airport, though the quality of that dish slipped a lot post-COVID.
London’s Kaifeng has a very different flavor than American Chinese food and is a rare upscale Chinese restaurant. It’s certainly worth checking out if you’re in London.
But only Chinglish made Chinese food good enough that it was worth flying to. I sure hope they can reopen elsewhere or that someone can buy their recipes and open the concept elsewhere.
Poh Poh’s Chicken Dumplings are absurdly delicious:
The Egg Rolls are very unique tasting:
Rafi was a huge fan of the chicken wontons:
I’m a hopeless lemon lover, and the lemon chicken is sheer perfection. Out of this world fried chicken with a tangy and zesty lemon sauce. You can’t get a tastier dish for $23 anywhere else. It doesn’t get better than this!
The Hong Kong Crispy Noodles dish is one of the most unique out there. Eat it quickly and you’ll get crunchy noodles with the chicken, beef, and bok choy. But wait a few minutes and the crunchy noodles become delicious soft noodles from the broth.
Sweet and sour chicken is one of the best versions of this dish I’ve had:
Beef rib with green beans has a truly incredible flavor, with succulent meat that is cooked to perfection:
The green beans are addictive, with fried garlic and scallions that make this an incredible dish:
Yellow curry beef short ribs isn’t what you normally find in a Chinese restaurant, but curry fans will rejoice. Owner Ken Heck said he was ready to propose to his wife after she made this dish:
Scallion beef is loaded with flavor and tender meat:
And eggplant lovers will be obsessed over the excellent eggplant chicken dish:
It’s always sad when excellent kosher restaurants close. But it’s even worse when they’re the best in their food genre. Can someone please find a way to move this place or open a place using their recipes?
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69 Comments On "Goodbye To The Best Kosher Chinese Restaurant On Earth"
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We’ve adopted their blueberries in Sweet and Sour Chicken approach. BDE.
Such a nice touch, though their sauce really makes that dish outstanding.
Chinglish was indeed the best. However when I got dropped off by the Uber I sat in the non kosher chinglish next door until the waitress told me I was in the wrong place. Didn’t like that they had the same name. I’m sure people have actually ate non kosher because of it
There were big signs everywhere, didn’t see them?
שומר פתאים השם
Kosher Chinglish is my favorite restaurant. Really wish they would have, at least, stayed open through the summer so I can have it one more time.
I’m not just sad, I’m literally mad that they had to close.
Yes, I feel like every restaurant should give a month’s notice before closing to let people have a last chance. 😀
One month’s minimum!
For a place that’s out of town, 6 months minimum
I think their biggest chance to high success be in Lakewood. Please come!
Yes please come to Lakewood. Business is booming there
Try Atlanta’s Chai Peking located inside Krogers on Lavista Rd.
Also fresh made with real ingredients non greasy delicious Chinese food.
I have yet to leave the airport in ATL. 😀
I have heard good things, but friends who went to both said there is no comparison between the 2. Really, nothing out there comes even close to Chinglish.
Simply a mistake to not leave the ATL airport. FuegoMundo is unmatched. I’ll always risk missing my flight to enjoy their food (and a Mexican coke).
I’ve been to both. Chinglish head and shoulders above chai peking. Im so sad, we are going to be there in a bit, and we were really looking forward to great chinese.
Yuck! Nothing elevated there! Owner is very.nice
yes Agree this so good pays a trip
This is honestly devastating. My favorite kosher restaurant in Vegas, would go at least twice every time we visited.
Dan you sound desperate!
I’ve never been to this place, but you sure got my appetite going here! Definitely sounds like this place ought to be in a larger Jewish community.
Many in the local community were uncomfortable with the close proximity of the kosher and non-kosher sides of the restaurant and were hesitant to eat there (not saying right or wrong, just sharing the reality of how people viewed it to give some insight). They would likely get much more universal support if they were to open as a stand alone kosher restaurant.
Interesting.
I do wonder why they felt the need to have 2 restaurants. The kosher restaurant was certainly good enough to attract both Jewish and non-Jewish clientele.
Good point! Yes that would have been ideal
I always assumed that a non-Jew would assume that there would be many dishes with pork as it sems to be popular in non-kosher Chinese restaurants, and would be disappointed with a kosher only version.
Im from vegas too. We also did not eat there. To answer your question Dan- It started off as a non kosher restaurant and then opened up a kosher side. Im not saying anything fishy was happening kashrus wise but for the frum community it was too close for comfort. We support the local hechsher and feel comfortable eating at all their institutions, but chinglish was an exception.
I’m a Vegas local too. Those who didn’t support it as a restaurant with 2 separate and distinct kitchens would not support it as a stand alone. They had a masgiach in the kitchen when the restaurant when it was open, if that is not good enough, I don’t know what is.
This is not correct. As a Vegas local, I can tell you that the main issue that prevented people from eating there was the existence of the kosher and non kosher versions in close proximity. History has shown time and again that there is too much room for error (both intentional and unintentional). The “Mashgiach system” is not foolproof. Anyone with a bit of knowledge regarding the ins and outs of the kashrus industry can attest to that. There is a reason why it is virtually impossible to find a similar restaurant setup (kosher and non kosher) with a reputable Hashgacha anywhere else in the world.
I did not eat at K.C., but have eaten at pretty much every other restaurant under the same hashgacha. I certainly would’ve gone if it was stand-alone kosher.
I will definitely keep my eyes open for an update on this post!
The pictures and description have my mouth watering.
Have you ever tried out the Beverly hills Thai?
While it is not Chinese food, It is certainly very good!
It was good but the kosher community in Vegas can’t/ won’t support a restaurant like this. Vegas is also so spread out that a ghost kitchen model doesn’t work either. It’s too hot in the summer and real estate near the strip doesn’t support a kosher model. You can’t sustain a restaurant that loses money 70% of the year.
Is Vegas similar to South Florida, which has an off-season during the summer, or the Catskills which has an off-season during the winter?
How was the kashrus? Sounds odd that there is kosher and non kosher by same owner right next to each other
The kashurus is very reputable, comparable to other certified restaurants in Las Vegas. Zero issue. https://kosherchinglish.com/kosher-chinglish-certification/
No one claimed it wasn’t properly certified. I personally know the mashgiach, a fine fellow. But many were uncomfortable with the setup and did not feel it was appropriate. Again, it was a sensitivity issue (right or wrong), not a halachik issue.
Then, I’d suggest that’s a conversation with the Vaad. The Vaad of LV is very reputable. With that said, if one has a doubt about a single establishment under a certain Vaad, then I’d think the logic should apply to every establishment certified under the Vaad. It would be hypocritical to see that one is okay with one eatery but not another, under the same town’s supervisory hashgacha.
This is not the forum for this, but suffice it to say that the determination was made by those that disagreed, not to make a fuss because of this disagreement in policy. Again, no one claimed it wasn’t kosher, nor did anyone claim that the Vaad was not reliable. (which is why the determination was made). I don’t consider that hypocritical, I consider it a mature outlook on how to deal with disagreements amicably.
Tell them kan tziva is the place to be!
Place certainly had excellent Chinese food. Was my favorite as well.
When I was there a few months back they had stopped using Doordash/Uber Eats so there was no delivery to the strip. I can’t imagine that was a smart move for a restaurant that relies on tourists and business travelers.
Try eden wok in New Rochelle. Mouth watering Chinese food and amazing sushi
Eden Wok is way overrated. I prefer Chopstix in Teaneck.
agree chopstix is very good its a excellent place and fair priced
I had it one time last summer
I had it one time last summer. Did not live up to the hype. It was good but nothing out of this world. Kosher takeout place in Monsey on 59 and saddle River road just as good
I’m literally going to cry. I work in vegas and come every 2 weeks, this is a huge loss
Get a hold of yourself.
On the topic of kosher / non kosher restaurants, beware that SUSHI SAKURA BALTIMORE is now NOT KOSHER as of last week. Unfortunately, there was no signage indicating the change and I didn’t realize until I started eating the food they served to me. GOOD IDEA TO CHECK FOR A CURRENT KASHRUS CERTIFICATE BEFORE SITTING DOWN EVERY TIME.
I’m sorry that happened to you. I don’t live in Baltimore, and I knew that they Sushi Sakura went trief from foodie articles and various Jewish publications
I’m sorry he lives in Baltimore also! That story has two horrible parts!
Tru dat
People seem to like Anju in Cedarhurst
This is terrible. How much more suffering can we endure in this bittereh galus?!
I must concur with the first Vegas Local. If they were to have separated and disassociated with the non-kosher next door restaurant, it would’ve been supported to a much larger extent.
Dan, how did you get free delivery from new kosher special to the airport? Btw Tokyo Hibatchi in Springfield has epic Chinese band you can always send to the airport, it’s 10min away. And if you want good sandwich, Avenue grill and Sushi is 2 doors down from new kosher special, and for dairy there’s a kosher pizza right across the street!!
Can call them or order on the Beyond Menu app.
Years ago Jerusalem Elizabeth and Jerusalem Livingston had the same ownership. That changed a few years ago. J of Eliz has gone downhill, and I feel that they survive off of the JEC catering. J of Livingston remains remarkable, fresh, with generous portions. For Chinese, I always preferred New Kosher over Tokyo Hibachi, by leagues.
with all said above the number 1 with restaurants and spc, with Chinese restaurants that most good kashrut organizations will request that the owners need to be frum jews or at least 51% partner, and for good reason’s, the Chinese store in Elizabeth and in Springfield are non Jewish owners..
In Cleveland in the 90s, we had a Chinese restaurant owned by a non-frum Jew, and the yeshivish crowd wouldn’t eat there.
A frum person bought it and the yeshivish crowd all started eating there. It turned out that the frum person bounced checks to kosher butchers and was serving treif meat. Because he was frum, the vaad wasn’t as careful as they had been beforehand.
Looks can be deceiving.
i get it, but there is lot more stories the other way around, I’m in the food line for many years, you can not trust them thy will sell you for a penny
I was always amazed that they were able to get a Hashgacha…
They had “Kosher Chinglish” next door to (treif) Chinglish.
Same owners.
Same head chef (the owner’s gentile dad).
The Manalapan Chinese restaurant debacle occurred with separate related owners and restaurants that were far away.
Simply amazing they lasted this long.
It’s not just the kosher ching chinglish that’s closing but also the non-kosher side.
Forget Kosher Chinglish! I want to hear about which 2 new airlines you tried out and how it went!?
#friend’s don’t let friends fly spirit /frontier – unless no other flight is available
By far, my favorite restaurant. This place is amazing. It will be missed. Was always busy for dinner. Slow at lunch. Our usual was lunch there, off to the double down and back for dinner! Thank you, Ken!!
Try Chosen Island in 5 Towns!
I feel bad that it is closing. I went out of my way to eat there on Dan’s recommendation. It was good and I would eat there again. Would I give it a 12 on a 1-10 scale as the review seems to do, no.
I can’t believe nobody mentioned Wing Wan yet. Y’all are missing out.
Try Jin Glatt in Passaic
Flying to a city to eat at a restaurant?
Unfortunately Bambu in Florida has really gone down hill your will be shocked next time you try it
Adding my two cents. This is a big loss for the community. I won’t flatter myself to claim that I know why they closed, but in the local newspaper, the kosher side owner, Ken Heck, talked about the difficulty getting chefs and other staff at reasonable salaries. Anyway, it was an excellent restaurant, and they were under strict Chabad supervision. After a few months of operation, they put up a giant sign which said “kosher” in red with an arrow to minimize customer confusion. There were a couple of times I could not get a reservation. Although some of you posted concerns like the proximity to the non-kosher side, but as a local, I can say it was very popular. Given the upscale menu, prices were not too high.
I want to thank the Hecks for doing a great job over the last four years, and I wish them well in their next endeavor. I hope we will see them return to the Las Vegas kosher scene soon.
Come to Lakewood but good luck getting kcl approved!!