TravelsinTaste.com recently had the opportunity to chat with its Asian cuisine expert, Executive Chef Jet Tila of Wazuzu, at his Las Vegas restaurant in Wynn's Encore resort. Chef Tila is the mastermind behind the restaurant's Southeast Asian cuisine, which includes dishes from Thailand, Vietnam, China, Korea and Japan. If his name sounds familiar, it's probably because he's not only a great chef, but also a record-breaking one. Among his many accolades, Chef Tila held until 2007 the Guinness Book of World Records' world record for the world's largest stir-fry, weighing in at 1,805 lbs. in 2005! Although we've tried many of the most popular Las Vegas restaurants, we've been yearning to know: What restaurants do locals like best? In search of the little-known neighborhood gems that are located off the Strip, we asked Chef Tila -- known for his fine palate and his ability to find the needle in the culinary haystack -- for recommendations.

Never one to disappoint, when we asked him where he goes for a great lunch or an excellent dinner, Chef Tila gave us the inside scoop on his three "go to" spots -- Antojos DF and Bachi for lunch, and Raku for dinner -- including why to go and what to order.

Antojos DF
3430 E. Tropicana Ave.
(702) 255-3771

Tila: Being from L.A., I have a natural affinity toward Mexican food and culture, but mine goes deeper than my native city to my family tree. When my uncle moved to the U.S. from Thailand, he fell in love with a woman named Dora Lucero and married her almost instantly. Soon there were Thai/Chinese/Mexican cousins running around. My first exposure to real Mexican home cooking came when Aunt Dora would watch and feed us kids.

Soon after moving to Las Vegas, my colleague, Alex Stratta, pointed me to Los Antojos for some excellent Mexican food. I went back to one of my cooks, who is from Mexico, and told him about my meals at Los Antojos, and he mentioned another similarly named restaurant that might be related to it where he eats. I was intrigued! So on his recommendation, I found Antojos DF.