A little taste of Macau in Chinatown

Bar offers food and architecture from unique region

Joe Valdes, one of the owners of Little Macau, 3939 W. Spring Mountain Road, stands inside the tavern as workers put the finishing touches on the interior, April 20. Designed with casino employees in mind, the bar is open 24 hours a day. Photos by Marlene Karas/VIEW Little Macau had its opening night April 30. The establishment offers Macanese fusion food, a lounge area with Chinese opium beds, and mosaic wall-hangings made with stones from Macau. Advertisement

Little Macau, designed to pay homage to the real deal, recently opened in Chinatown.

The bar, designed with casino employees in mind, is open 24 hours a day, and features special touches direct from Macau, one of two special administrative regions along with Hong Kong in the People's Republic of China.

The project was undertaken by Jeffrey Fine, owner of Silver Nugget Gaming, and Joe Valdes, president of the gaming company. Paul Steelman of Paul Steelman Design Group is the tavern's architect. Valdes felt Steelman, who worked on the Sands Macao and Venetian Macao, was the logical choice for the undertaking.

The space, which previously housed the Don't Ask bar, was purchased by Silver Nugget Gaming, gutted and completely remodeled to Fine's and Valdes' high standards.

Valdes, who spent time in Macau working on the Venetian Macao with the Vegas Sands Corp., said, "The gaming revenue in Macau has already exceeded that of Las Vegas. There are 2,500 hotel rooms under construction, and we wanted to capitalize on all that curiosity."

"Until recently, the Portuguese have had an influence on the architecture," said project designer Alana Spacil. "More recently, the casinos have been the influence."

Wall art in Little Macau is decorated with volcanic lava stones, which are used to pave Macanese streets. Those same roads are replicated in Little Macau through the use of stained concrete. Three collages to the left of the entryway depict important aspects of Macanese culture, including lion dancers, Macau's casinos and architecture.

"Most of the architecture in Macau is colonial, so we had columns designed for the bar," Valdes explained. "Macau is Vegas on steroids."

The 4,000-square-foot space features reds and browns amidst televisions playing Fashion Television, as it is done in bars in Macau. Those who aren't interested in watching Fashion Television can tune in to sports action or live shots of the Chinese city, according to Valdes.

For patrons who want to snuggle and get to know one another better, Little Macau features a candlelit room in the back, complete with curtains surrounding individual booths. "We used the idea of the traditional Chinese opium beds in the back lounge area and surrounded them with a valence," Spacil said. "We used Chinese red and gold for interior features."

The front bar area is outfitted with hightop bar tables for indulging in the Macanese food that Silver Nugget Gaming has brought to its newest endeavor. Examples of menu items include jerk chicken, Asian wings, Korean short ribs, dumplings and Macau egg tarts.

"The most popular thing in Macau are the Macau egg tarts," Valdes said. "Macau's famous for it. We even imported Macau Beer for Little Macau."

Valdes hopes customers will walk into Little Macau and find authentic touches from the tavern's far away inspiration. As such, the bar is looking to draw casino employees who may have worked in Macau.

"If they come in here, they need to be able to say, 'Oh my God, that's exactly what we have there,' " Valdes said. "We're trying to stay authentic and stay true to Macau."

The bar also features signature drinks with kitschy Macau-related names like the Rockin' Sands, Stanley's Ho and Wynn Lei White Chocotini. Prices for alcoholic libations cost about $10. All prices on the menu are represented in patacas (the currency of Macau) and U.S. dollars. Casino employees are eligible for half-price drinks during certain times of the day, coordinating with day, swing and graveyard shifts.

"I think both Easterners and Westerners will have an appreciation for it," Spacil said.

Little Macau is located at 3939 W. Spring Mountain Road.