Restaurant Review: Chang’s Hong Kong Cuisine
Posted on | July 1, 2009 | No Comments
Several years ago, we were on our way to Chang’s to meet my parents for dim sum, and my car broke down. I remember that day, because it was also a day of record breaking heat. 117 degress, stranded on Decatur. Not fun. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to attempt to go back to Chang’s, but there was a strange fear lurking, that something bad would happen again! Thankfully, I conquered that fear a couple of weeks ago. We got to Chang’s unscathed, and the food was quite good. In fact, I’d put it on par with the dim sum at Ping Pang Pong (although Adam puts it ahead!) Everything we were served was fresh, tasty, and hot. Having been to the famous Empress Garden in downtown LA the previous week, I was impressed with the quality of the food at Chang’s. Maybe Empress Garden has declined a bit in that area, because some of the dumplings contained ‘questionable’ meat. Not so at Chang’s.
Amongst other things, we tried our usual dishes. Several types of baos, shu mai, sticky rice, and matuan (aka sesame balls). The baos were light and fluffy, with well seasoned insides. The shu mai were exceptionally well flavoured. Everything was delicious! The prices were about average for dim sum, and the service was about the same as at most dim sum places; fast, efficient, and a bit rude. We’ll definitely be going back soon!
Cost: $$
Rating:
Tags: Chang's Hong Kong Cuisine > Chang's Hong Kong Cuisine Las Vegas
Restaurant Review: Fleur de Lys
Posted on | June 28, 2009 | No Comments
After meeting Hubert Keller, rooting for him on Top Chef Masters, and dining at Burger Bar, there was only one thing left to do. Fleur de Lys! I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. First, the food:
After a nice selection of breads (the Pretzel bread and Onion Focaccia were my favorites), we had an amuse bouche of Tempura Halibut with mustard seasoned potatoes. A very nice bite!
For our appetizer we chose the Veal and Yukon Gold Potatoe Ravioli, with Braised Root Vegetables and English Pea Emulsion. I have to admit, I didn’t taste much of the veal, but the sauce was quite flavorful, and it was just enough to enjoy without making us too full to eat our entrees!
For my entree I picked the Stout Braised Beef Shortrib with Potato and Root Vegetable Puree. The shortrib was excellent, with a soft, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture. It had a savory sauce which tasted like some type of wine reduction, and was topped with a whole grain mustard to give it a bit of bite. The Potato and Root Vegetable Puree was incredible. The potatoes reminded me very much of Joel Robuchon’s Pommes Puree… smooth, buttery, and something you probably shouldn’t eat more than a few bitefuls of! The root vegetable puree had the same texture, but with a slightly different flavor, of course, and tasted quite good with a bit of the shortrib sauce blended in. Everything on this dish was buttery, decadent, and delicious! Adam opted for the 18 Oz Prime Bone in Rib Eye Steak, which was incredible as well. The meat was tender, and somehow infused throughout with a rich, savory flavor. I’m still stunned over the size of that steak!
For dessert, like seemingly everyone else in the restaurant, we chose the Valrhona Chocolate Banana Cake, with Bailey’s Ice Cream and a Peanut Butter Shake. All three were exceptional. The chocolate cake was extremely chocolatey without being overly sweet, molten inside, with just a very subtle hint of banana. The peanut butter shake had an extremely peanuty flavor, but again, wasn’t overly sweet. And I LOVE Bailey’s, so this ice cream was gone before it had a chance to start to melt. Quite a nice blend of flavors for this dessert dish!
The service, as expected, was top notch. The interior was quite a bit smaller than I thought it would be, which I liked as I appreciate the more intimate feel than some of the more gargantuous restaurants on the strip. The only complaint I might have is that the double’s tables are a bit squished in with each other, probably to make more room for the private booths that cost a bit more. The entire restaurant has a view of the upstairs wine room, and there’s actually a table in there that a group was dining in. That would be a fun, special occasion table! The atmosphere of the restaurant is classy, but hip at the same time. Dark, muted colors, and what I’m assuming was Hubert’s mix of eclectic French/European electronica type music playing. Overall, a great dining experience!
Good luck in the Top Chef Masters finals, Hubert!!!!
Cost: $$$$
Rating:
3950 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89119
www.fleurdelyssf.com
Phone: 702 632-7777
Restaurant Review: Champion Gourmet
Posted on | June 26, 2009 | No Comments
I hadn’t been to a Taiwanese restaurant in years, but after reading that Paul Bartolotta chose Champion Gourmet as one of his five favorite restaurants in Vegas, I had to try it. We went on a Saturday afternoon, and I was a bit saddened that we were the only people in the restaurant! Fortunately another couple showed up halfway through our meal.
Tags: Champion Gourmet > Champion Gourmet Las Vegas
Restaurant Review: Roberto’s Tacos
Posted on | June 15, 2009 | No Comments
Whenever I need a taco fix, I head to Roberto’s. Cheap, fresh, and authentic. What more could you want? These are not your typical fast food tacos. They’re fried and oily, with a crunchy, hard shell. The chicken is a bit more flavorful than the beef, but both are good. I usually get one each of the chicken and beef tacos, plus an order of chips & cheese. Tacos are around $2 each, but if you go at night, you can usually get 3 chicken tacos for 99 cents each. Quite a steal! There’s also quite an assortment of other Mexican dishes; my husband particularly likes the Carne Asada burrito. For me, it’s all about the tacos!
Restaurant Review: Burger Bar
Posted on | June 11, 2009 | No Comments
We’ve been trying to get to some of the more highly rated burger places in town, and of course, Burger Bar was on that list. What I liked about their menu was the choices. Yes, they have custom made burgers, but they also have an incredible variety of choices, including meat types, condiments, cheeses, and pretty much everything in between. After much debating, I decided on a simple Black Angus burger, with cheddar cheese and chipotle aioli. To accompany this, I picked the sweet potatoe fries, and we shared a vanilla malt. The fries were quite good, but the malt wasn’t really exceptional to me, so next time I’d probably skip it.
The burger, however, made up for it. I asked for it medium rare, and got it medium rare. And HOT. Nothing upsets me more than to get a lukewarm, or worse, a cold burger! Or cold fries, for that matter. But everything was fresh, hot, and tasty. The chipotle aioli was a very good, simple but spicy accompaniement. Overall, it added up to one of the best burgers I’ve had. I’d put it up with the burger I had at Umami Burger in Los Angeles a few weeks ago. And no, I’m actually not being biased by the fact that I’m a HUGE Hubert Keller fan! Next time, I’m going to try the buffalo burger…
Cost: $$
Rating:
3950 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89119
Phone: 702 632-9364
Restaurant Review: Pip’s Cucina and Wine Bar
Posted on | May 30, 2009 | No Comments
Pip’s is one of the new restaurants located in the Aliante Station in North Las Vegas. One day we were out there waiting for a movie, and after briefly debating between TGIF and Pips, we (smartly) decided to give it a try. Come to think of it, I can’t even remember why we were contemplating going to TGIF?! Ah well, I’ll just blame it on my husband! For some reason, this restaurant seems out of place at this hotel. I’d expect it at the Red Rock, but not really in North Vegas… not that I’m complaining, since it isn’t very far from us.
Tags: Pip's Cucina and Wine Bar > Pip's Cucina and Wine Bar Las Vegas
Weekend trip to LA- Kogi Tacos and Umami Burgers…
Posted on | May 28, 2009 | No Comments
Kogi Korean BBQ:
I’ve been wanting to get to LA to try a few new places to eat (oh, and visit friends and family, of course!) So memorial day weekend it was. My first stop? Kogi Korean BBQ. Literally a few hours after I arrived in LA, I met up with my BFF Amy, and we headed to the Alibi Room, making sure to get there RIGHT when they opened. As much as I love food, waiting in line for 3-4 hours for the Kogi roach coach did not sound like my idea of fun. Plus, with the combined bad luck of myself and Amy, I knew the chances of us waiting in line that long, only to get to the front and be told “we’re all out of tacos” was pretty high! The Alibi opened at 5:30pm, and we were the second to arrive. The kitchen opened at 6pm, so we staked out seats at the bar, ordered a couple of drinks, plus our food, and chatted while we waited. Not a bad way to pass the time! By 6pm, the tiny bar was packed… and everyone, it seemed, was there for the tacos! Pretty amusing, and a smart move on the Alibi’s part.
Honestly, another reason I didn’t want to do the roach coach chase was because I was afraid the tacos weren’t going to be any good. Anytime there’s this much hype over anything, I fear the worst. But of course, I have to find out for myself. =D
We ordered three tacos each, I opted for the Shortrib, Chicken, and Spicy Pork, and Amy got the Shortrib, Chicken, and Tofu. All of them pretty much had the same seasoning, with that great, garlicky, spicy, and slightly sour flavor. Uh, yeah… Yum! They were definitely much more Korean tasting than I expected. Much like after eating Korean BBQ, I kept smelling it until the next day. But it was SO worth it! These tacos are really, really good!
We also ordered the Shortrib Sliders, which were basically the same meat, but with less of the Kimchee flavouring (probably because there was less greens in the sliders), plus of course bread and a mayo based sauce. The sliders were much less spicy than the tacos, and equally as good.
The fries looked a lot spicier than they actually were. They did have a Korean type seasoning on it, but it was subtle. The fries were cooked really well though, nice and crispy, just how like I like them.
By the time we left, the Alibi was absolutely packed, and I imagine a lot of people had to eat standing up, which would be pretty messy! Do what I did. Get to the Alibi early and wait a bit. Trust me, the food is worth it!
Cost: $
Rating:
12236 Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066
Umami Burger:
The next day, I went to my second food destination, Umami Burger. Again, a small place. We had to wait about a half hour for a table, plus another 20-30 minutes to get our food. But again, it was worth it! These burgers were SO tasty. The meat was on the soft side, incredibly juicy, perfectly pink in the middle, and just bordering on being greasy. I had the Umami Burger, which contained a parmesan ’slice’, seasoned tomato, and shitake mushrooms, and I loved it. The burgers are not huge, rather, they are just the right size. There are 8 to choose from:
We also tried the Sweet Potato salad, which I really liked. The sweet potatoes were very lightly cooked, and mixed with green onions and raw sugar snap peas in a creamy dressing. Very refreshing!
The fries were tasty, but I have to admit, I liked the fries at Kogi’s better. Then again, I’m not a fan of steak fries. The onion rings however, were awesome. They were actually tempura fried onions, so they were light, crispy, and quite good!
850 S La Brea, Los Angeles, CA 90036
www.umamiburger.com
Phone: 323 931-3000
Ok, time to start that diet now….
Tags: Kogi Tacos > Kogi Tacos Los Angeles > Umami Burger > Umami Burger Los Angeles
Restaurant Review: Red Velvet Cafe
Posted on | May 20, 2009 | No Comments
I’d been meaning to try this place for quite some time, and finally went last week. I guess having Swish right next door hasn’t exactly helped! Anyway, a friend and I decided to go to Red Velvet for dinner one night. We’ve both been trying to eat a bit healthier, so I thought it would be a good choice.
2009 Vegas Uncork’d Grand Tasting
Posted on | May 10, 2009 | No Comments
What an incredible night! This was my first time at the Vegas Uncork’d Grand Tasting event, and it’s now officially a ‘must attend every year’ event for me. Not only was the food incredible, I got to meet some of my chef heroes, most of whom were warm, down to earth, and super nice. I’m officially in <3 with Hubert Keller! But the other chefs (especially the Frenchmen!) were unbelievably nice too.
So, after going to see ‘Star Trek’ with Adam the night before, it was my turn to geek out. I took around 80 photos in the 2 1/2 hours that we were there. I apologize for the quality of some of these, but it’s hard to get a good shot when you’ve constantly got a plate, napkin, and wine glass in one hand, purse in arm, and camera in the other hand! Oh, and add to that the mob of over 1,000 people surrounding, bumping into you, and sometimes getting in the way of your photos! Oh well, I did as best I could. I’m not going to put all of the restaurants in here, just what I thought were the highlights. Here we go…
Here’s Bobby Flay in action, with his Smoked Shrimp with Roasted Pineapple, Coconut, and Key Lime Dressing. True to form, the dish had quite a kick to it. Delicious!
Craftsteak had what both Adam and I believe was the best dish at the event. A Beef Shortrib with Creamy Polenta and Ramps. Un-Be-Lievable. The shortrib literally melted in my mouth, and was so incredibly tasty! I think Craftsteak has moved up my wishlist of restaurants to dine at in the near future. Oh, and Tom Colicchio was nice too!
As expected, the line at Joel Robuchon was incredible. But so was the food! Pictured below is Lobster in a Cold Sweet and Sour Turnip Ravioli with Rosemary. The ‘pasta’ was literally super thin slices of turnip. As expected, an amazing dish!
Guy Savoy was incredibly gracious, and his Marinated Lobster, Salad and Gelee of Spring Herbs was impeccable!
Hubert Keller was hard at work making Truffled Onion soup to represent Fleur De Lys, but sweet enough to stop what he was doing and walk around several partitions to take a photo with me. Oh, and both the soup and those Burger Bar mini burgers were quite delicious! The quality of the food, and I think even more importantly, his warm personality, left quite an impression on me!
I realized a split second before taking this shot of Payard Patisserie’s booth, that the man himself was standing right in front of me! Double bonus. I tried his Chocolate Sticky Toffee Pudding, as well as the Strawberry Rhubarb Compote. Both were simply heavenly…
Richard Chen was hard at work too, but very gracious! I’m really glad I got to tell him just how much Adam and I enjoyed his restaurant, Wing Lei. I wonder if some of these chefs were just appreciative to be recognized, because I’d bet many of the patrons at this event didn’t know who some of them were… Oh, and that Smoked Jasmine Tea Duck? Incredible.
I tried the White Gazpacho at Bradley Ogden, which was quite nice. It had shrimp and grapes, of all things, in it!
Somehow I managed to not get a shot of the Salt and Pepper Rock Shrimp from Beijing Noodle #9. Maybe I took the last one! Anyway, it was crispy, perfectly seasoned, and delicious!
The Yellowtail Tiradito at SushiSamba was fresh, tasty, and had a nice kick to it!
This Blue Fin Tuna Slider from Society Cafe was also incredibly fresh, and quite tasty…
I didn’t see Michael Mina there, but his chefs did an exceptional job with this BBQ Pork..
There was also an impressive selection of wines, sake, beer, and liquors. I was quite impressed by a Jokigen sake that I must find now. I went back for seconds of that one, and thought about going back for thirds!
I’m already looking forward to going in 2010!!! =D
Tags: Vegas Uncork'd 2009 > Vegas Uncork'd Grand Tasting 2009
Restaurant Review: Aureole
Posted on | May 7, 2009 | No Comments
A friend of mine was in town, and asked if I wanted to join her at her favorite restaurant here in Vegas, Aureole. I’d never dined there, so of course I was up for dinner, and spending time with a friend. As a bonus, she also happens to know the Executive Chef, Vincent Pouessel. We were seated in the Swan Court, and treated like royalty. She had him choose the dishes for us, and he told us he would keep serving us food until we told him to stop! I thought he was kidding, but over 4 1/2 hours later, I think he finally figured we’d had enough! The sommelier paired the following wines for us:
We started out with plates of 6 amuse’s. I can’t remember the details of all of them, but I believe included were a pancake with creme fraiche and sturgeon caviar; ham and cheese ’sandwich’; biscuit with foie gras; and a crab spring roll. All were quite good.
Next came ahi tuna carpaccio rolls with spicy cucumbers. These reminded me of sushi spicy tuna rolls, minus the rice. Nice, fresh, but just a bit too spicy for me.
This mesclun salad was quite good. The salad contained avocados, and was accomapanied by roasted beets, tomatos, and bocconcini.
Thie seared foiegras was delicious, but so unbelievably rich, I couldn’t handle more than a couple of bites. I hate to waste good quality food, but wow!
This lemon ricotta ravioli was excellent, and nicely paired with rock shrimp and seasoned wilted spinach
The mediterranean sea bass was nicely cooked, with a salty, crispy skin. It was accompanied by artichoke
The green tea smoked duck breast was my favorite dish. I’m not a huge fan of duck, as I usually find it a bit greasy and gamey tasting, but I could eat duck prepared like this every day! It was perfectly seasoned, tender, and delectable. I would order this as an entree. It was served in a crispy roll.
I had pretty much hit my wall by the time this dish came out, which was a shame, because I love a good tenderloin, and this one was excellent. It was cooked perfectly, a bit rare in the middle, and as tender as it could possibly be. Served with asparagus and tomatos, it was nicely seasoned, cooked, and tasted perfect.
Whew! I saw the dessert sampler come out and thought “thank god, the last dish”. Nice (small) portions of a tart with tangerine sorbet, strawberries, and a chocolate mint wafer.
We were tricked! After the dessert ’sampler’, out came four full size desserts.
Tart with tangerine sorbet:
Ice creams including hazelnut, mint chip, and vanilla
Strawberry and rhubarb cheesecake with lemon tart ice cream
Fruit and cream with berry granita
We were also given goodie bags containing a selection of confections. I’m still enjoying those!
I can’t believe I ate all of this food. Granted, by the last few courses, I could only take a bite or two of the dishes presented to me. As much as I love to eat, and appreciate good food, I was stuffed! Afterwards we went to the kitchen to express our gratitude, and take some pictures. Thank you, Vincent for a memorable meal, and many thanks to my friend Sandra for inviting and treating me to a great dinner!
Cost: $$$$
Rating:
Mandalay Bay
3950 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89119
Phone: 702 632-7401
