For years, I’ve told non-Vegas friends that the typical path for a chef opening their own place is usually something like this: They come to town to work in a big kitchen in a big-deal Strip property. They rise through the ranks, maybe change jobs two or three times. They become tired of pounding out 500 covers a night, but have fallen in love with Las Vegas. So, they find a backer and open their own place in a neighborhood, putting out Strip-quality cuisine and half to 2/3 the price of The Strip.
Well, here comes Chef Rang Tan to blow up that entire scenario. She had never worked in any restaurant before opening Rang’s Cocina Moderne a little over a year ago.
“I did have a catering business back in the Philippines. I did it for six years. But a restaurant is a totally different animal,” Tan said during an interview on the Food and Loathing podcast.
“We had to learn so much for during our first few months in the business. We’re still learning a lot,” Tan added – referring to herself and husband Benedict.
Set inside a strip mall on W. Charleston near Jones, Rang’s menu is a collection of Italian and Spanish dishes, infused with Asin influences that represent her own mixed heritage.
The dish on Rang’s menu that may the best example of that cultural mashup is Aligue with Garlic Shrimp: angel hair–like pasta prepared in crab fat and olive oil, then topped with garlic shrimp.
“Aligue is crab fat from the Philippines,” said Tan. “They take it from those small ‘crablets’ that are very abundant in the Philippines.”
The dish is also at the heart of a dilemma the Tans are facing after a little more than one year in business.
“We have a lot of locals coming in, regularly, and telling us ‘I like the pasta. We cannot find this anywhere else. Please, please do not ever take this out of the menu.’ So right now, we are trying to strike a balance with putting in new items.”
Rang and Benedict Tan came to Las Vegas after enduring the COVID pandemic at home. Literally, at home.
“We were stuck in the Philippines. The lockdown there was a hard lockdown. You could not go out of your house, you cannot do business, you cannot work. We have three young children, and it went on for like, I think more than a year,” said Rang Tan.
The couple soon discovered that Nevada’s “lockdown” was far more liberal than other states.
“That got us to talking that, you know, let’s take a risk.” And, with that, the family packed up and headed across the Pacific.
Many believe that one of the worst reasons for opening a restaurant is that no one has else has done a certain cuisine in your area. Clearly, skeptics will argue, if the restaurant pros aren’t doing it, there’s a reason, making it unlikely a newcomer to the business would succeed. Rang’s Cocina Moderne proves to be a notable exception to that “rule.”
“When we discussed the menu – what we would put in it – we actually wanted items that people would think is adventurous and would not find anywhere else,” said Tan.
Rang’s Cocina Moderne is at 900 W. Charleston, Suite #11. It’s open Tuesday through Sunday from 5pm to 9pm.
