Las Vegas - 2
After 4 days at the snow it was time to head to LV. Plus if we were to stay longer at the snow we would have had to head to one of the other resorts as 4 days are enough to explore Heavenly.
This weekend is Valentines Day as well a long weekend over here, so LV is CROWDED! which people are saying is abit different to how it usually is, being particularly hard hit by the recession.
We stayed at Planet Hollywood, which i was initially not particularly happy staying at but the hotel is actually really nice. we got upgraded to a junior suit on the 20th floor with views of the Bellagio fountains and Paris next door. Pretty much all the stores have really good sales on so we hit those up and got some more clothes - Ben Sherman has some really nice things! unfortunately the sales didn't extend to the designer stores, so i won't buying this really cool pair of Dolce & Gabanna boots, which were only US$1350 :(
now to one of the most important bits of the vegas visit - the dinner.
the restaurant is in MGM Grand and unlike all other restaurants in the casinos, is hidden behind giant black/glass doors and heavy drapes. The pictures of their website are pretty accurate in terms of how the place looks - black/white marble entrance, leading into a dining room with a giant crystal chandelier hanging low in the middle, purple velvet drapery and beautiful flower arrangements everywhere. in terms of the decor and service, it was amazing. they have about 15-20 tables. i tried unsuccessfully to count the staff, but i reckon there would have been about 20 of them, and this is just the serving staff!
we started off with a glass of champagne, while considering the menu. the "surprise" was black caviar and crab, which was served before the appetizers. To my surprise, I quiet enjoyed - I have never been a big fan of fish eggs of any sort. My appetizer was salmon tartar, which was delicious - beautifully creamy with a hint of dill, however it did seem like something we can make at home. For soup I had chestnut veloute with foire gras and smoked lardoons foam. The soup had a lovely smoky flavour, which was broken up by little bits of crunchy fresh celery. I thought the foire gras will be blended in the soup, which it was not - there are 3 relatively large bits of it at the bottom…….. now, I am someone who likes liver and am also aware of cost (and therefore exclusiveness) of foire gras, however I have to say that that was possibly one of the worst things I have ever tasted! The texture is something I would have to explain in person…….
For a main I had spiny lobster with daikon and nori. This was a very nice combination of French and Japanese cuisines - the lobster was in a creamy buttery sauce and the nori on tip provided a fantastic contrast to the creaminess. The desert was French aloe and passion fruit layered over cheesecake. As you know I am not a desert person, but this was pretty damn good - aloe and passion fruit are a great combination together with the creaminess of the cheesecake and the crunchiness of something I couldn’t work out what it was.
I will let frank tell you abut what he had. Over all, we both decided that if/when Michelin decide to come to Australia, they are going to cream their pants when they see and taste what we have to offer! This place was definitely an experience and in terms of service I don’t think it’s paralleled by anything we have at home but at the end of the day you’re awarded the stars for the food and nothing else and Sydney (just the places I have been to) easily match it. A very good example of this is Forveaux on Forveaux.
That night ended up getting a bit hazy after the restaurant - there were lots of drinks and dancing with some dirty Mexicans involved………
On Sunday mum came to pick us up from the hotel and we’ll stay the rest of the time with them, just chilling out, cooking, going out for more (less expensive) dinners and seeing the shows which they got us tickets for.