Las Vegas First Annual Asian Food Festival

Found this place by accident visiting Vegas the food was phenomenal. If I’m ever in Vegas again I would definitely recommend checking this place out

I wasn’t going to say anything since some time has passed, but it’s almost a civic duty to comment on this event in the hope that it will either improve or never be attempted again.
Trouble started right at the gate, when those of us who’d waited in the line for pre-​paid sales were directed to re-​queue in the line for those who still needed to buy tickets. Somewhere on my phone I may still have the video where I’m asking the woman to confirm that we’d just waited in the pre-​paid line and to confirm that she was now telling everyone in the line, one at a time as they reached the front, to go to the back of the other line.
Hint: when your customer takes out her phone, turns it on, says, «I’m going to record you,» then asks you to repeat what you just said, maybe it’s time to turn on the charm a little and not act like the entire line is full of stupid people out to inconvenience you.
Although I’d bought a ticket online, Mike had won a ticket (thanks Unilocal!) and was told he just needed to give his name at the gate. He explained this to the person with the list. They didn’t understand. He explained again. They just let him through without bothering to check the list. They seemed to decide it wasn’t worth the bother.
What am I talking about, saying that trouble started at the gate? It actually started a week or so before that, when I tweeted the organizers to ask which restaurants would be providing Indian food. «It’s going to be a contest!» they cheerfully replied. «We’ll know soon!»
And then they never replied to another tweet again. Ah. One of those businesses that thinks they can put a big Twitter logo on their advertising, probably thinking they’re so social media-​savvy, but then they use it as a one-​way ad channel, oblivious to interaction.
Once inside we were of course greeted with the free slot pulls that only require that you give away your name, address, phone number, and email address. Classy (sarcasm), but common (alas).
We kept our minds open as we skipped the usual «nothing to do with this festival’s theme» row of booths that show up at every festival. We also ignored the carnival rides corralled at the end. It was about noon and we were ready to eat.
Is it a good sign when the «flagship» food booth at an Asian festival is Panda Express? Complete with giant inflatable panda?
A few good (by experience or reputation) eateries were represented in that single row of stalls, but the whole environment was grim: stark white tents against the washed-​out asphalt of a parking lot down the street from the back of the Orleans. The sun beat down.
At food festivals, like at the International Food Festival (at least when it was downtown), I look for a chance to try several different things without spending a lot. I don’t mind if full meals are offered, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect an a la carte emphasis that means you hit up a few stands before sitting down somewhere pleasant with a little of this and that. (At this event you could sit on a chair in front of the stage or at a table under a smallish tent.)
I noticed that most stands only had full-​size combo platters of some description for sale. Prices weren’t bad, but they weren’t so different from the regular menu prices, either. Except here there was the disadvantage of only being able to order what was on the limited festival menu.
After waiting at Mint’s booth a few minutes, we turned to each other and said, «Why?» Why get a combo plate when, for pretty much the same price, we could just actually go to Mint? Or to any of these (few) restaurants? And sit somewhere nice? And have waiter service? And order what we actually want? Why were we about to stand around in a parking lot and eat this food?
I could understand the appeal of this festival if you had cheap/​free tickets *and* a small child who hadn’t had enough of the spinning swings at the other fairs running around the same time, but if you were looking for a way to pleasantly sample a range of Asian fare, it would be 10 times more fun to just wander the aisles at International Market down the road.
We left and went to an old fave down the road for a delicious Indian buffet. When we mentioned that we’d just come from the festival, the manager said that they’d been asked to participate, but it didn’t seem worth the cost. So, that’s how you win the «contest» to get to be one of «three only» representatives for that region’s cuisine in the festival. (As the festival promoters had advertised.)
Skeezy misinformation and misdirection. No ambience. Rude staff. Minimal cultural wares or entertainers. Disorganized gate. Limited food options. Limited variety in Asian cuisine (unless you count the Greek booth?). Pointless «festival.»

I generally enjoyed Las Vegas’ 1^st Annual Asian Food Festival, and judging by the multitudes of people who were present when I was in attendance, it should be a solid financial success for organizers and food vendors. But festival organizers need to undertake much work before the next Asian Food Festival to improve logistics and their organizing of ticket sales on the festival grounds.
Although the Orleans has numerous parking lots surrounding it and festival grounds, it took us over 20 minutes to find a parking place anywhere. At 7:30 p.m. at night, we were in competition with several vehicles that were also swirling through the many lots in search of a precious space. Then, when we reached the festival entrance on foot, a single line of several hundred people (no exaggeration) waiting to be admitted wound around from the controlled entrance. I was supposed to pick up a ticket in my name at Will Call, so Diane got in the ticket line for herself, and I looked for Will Call. But it was not so easily found! And, when I asked festival volunteers and a security guard manning the entrance, none of them knew where Will Call was either, or if there even was such a thing. I was referred to a festival manager, and she, too, appeared to be puzzled. After she sent me on a futile trip to the VIP entrance to see if my ticket was waiting for me there (it wasn’t), and I returned, she finally just handed me a ticket and let me bypass the line and gain entrance.
Meanwhile, other people who had already purchased festival tickets online were made to wait in the same line where people waited to buy tickets. I saw a few who complained to the festival manager be let in at the front of the line. But most persons with tickets in their hands had to patiently wait in the same line as the ticketless. This is not good customer service, logistics, or festival organization on the ground!
Once Diane and I gained entrance to the festival, I watched as delighted children on top of moving mechanical animals moved in a circular pattern on the asphalt surface below them, some with a parent along for the ride. There were horses, a panda, and other beguiling creatures. Older youths were enjoying traditional, often scary carnival rides, and, while I saw very few vendors of retail items, food booths were omnipresent. Here again, substantial lines of persons waited to place food orders in front of most of the booths. But these lines were not as long as I had encountered a few weeks before at the Las Vegas Greek Food Festival. Some of the food vendors had already crossed off dishes that were no longer available, but there still appeared to be an abundance of food that should have been able to assuage the hunger of all festival attendees. I saw Chinese, Filipino, Hawaiian, Indian, Japanese, Korean and Thai food for sale.
I never found the Wor Wonton Soup I was hoping for, or any other soup. But egg rolls and potstickers were being offered at multiple locations, curry was available, and I saw sushi for sale, but it was the prepackaged kind. Diane liked the Shrimp Tempura she purchased at a booth run by Anna’s Garden, and we both were pleased with the Hibachi Beef and Chicken, Chow Mein and Chinese Vegetables that we bought from Hibachi San Tepanyaki Grill & Fresh Sushi’s booth. She had a $ 6 bowl, and I had an $ 8 plate heaping with food. The beef was a little fatty, but it still tasted good, and the food filled me up while we watched excellent entertainment. We saw Frankie Moreno perform, singers A.C.T., and the party band Impulse. Seating was difficult to find but we were able to locate two unused chairs near the stage to sit down on fairly quickly. We then listened to the talented performers for over 1−½ hours, and I thought this alone was worth the $ 7 price of admission. Water was a bit steep at $ 3 a bottle, but the bottles were medium size, and festival prices for food and drink are always higher than at a store. It is just the nature of the beast. The festival crowd was mellow and very diverse in race and ethnicity. All assembled seemed to be having a good time. And, so did I.