Milk Bar - Las Vegas

Since we were at Momofuku, it's sister store Milk Bar is right next door. 

Every time I come here, I'm full for one reason or another, so I still have not been able to try their full on desserts or cakes.

So, the Crack Pie is no longer called that because it has caused a lot of issues.  So, they are now re-named to Milk Bar Pie. 

They have these pre-packaged to-go boxes now.  It is an Oat Cookie Crust as pie crust and basically sugar and butter filling.  If you want to try it yourself, the nice folks at Milk Bar posted the recipe online.   Try that out and let me know what you think.

Milk Bar

inside Cosmopolitan Hotel

3708 S. Las Vegas Blvd

East Tower

Level 2

Las Vegas, NV 89109

702-698-2662

https://milkbarstore.com

Momofuku

Always meant to go to Momofuku in NYC but never made it there.

However, I've now been to the Vegas one, twice. Go figure!

Love that you can seat at the bar and watch them work.  Of course having the triple 8 neon sign is super appropriate for a Casino.

The Yuzu Lemonade is actually pretty darn good.  Not too tart and not too sweet.  The yuzu added some flavors and nothing too zingy.

This round nothing too heavy, just a bit here and there.

To start, we got the pork belly bun.  Holy cow!  Forget the bun, just give me a whole plate of that pork belly.  The meat literally fell apart on its own.  So good.

Here's a mix of Brussels sprouts and Cauliflower mix, it has the bonito flakes, mayo, and the sweet katsu sauce.  Katsu sauce is typically put over the fried food.  But since the veggie is already marinated, it's all nice and mixed up.

This is the Tan Tan noodles.  Typically they're not with meat, this one has beef.  Not too spicy, and has sesame and scallions on there.  The sauce is so good and it is very nicely mix together too.  I wish that they give us more noodles, otherwise, everything else is on spot.

We were sitting at the bar and watch the kitchen prep dishes.  And they enjoy interacting with diners, so it was fun to chat with them and see what they're making.  That said, I don't recall last time when I was here the pricing was so high.  As a matter of fact, I was a tad surprised that we walked right up and was able to get seated and not be given a look for not having a reservation.

Momofuku - Vegas

inside Cosmopolitan

3708 S. Las Vegas Blvd

Level 2, Blvd Tower

Las Vegas, NV 89109

702-698-2663

https://vegas.momofuku.com

Sweet Raku

Went back to Sweet Raku for light lunch and dessert.

They are actually same restaurant group as Raku the Sushi Restaurant which also have just as great reputation.  Maybe on my list next time.   I felt torn that I had enough stomach for one and not the other.  I think the Sushi Restaurant does serve dessert, but not as many variety as Sweet Raku does.

For Iced Tea, I got the Momoko, which is Peach and Vanilla green tea.  Very light and easy going.

Amuse Bouche - Lobster Tomato Soup in a demi cup.

Light salad with potato salad and a bit of vinaigrette.

The entree was the Salmon sandwich with roe and veggies.  The delightful about this sandwich is that the croissant is warmed and toasted.  So not only is it light and fluffy, buttery, and crispy too.  The salmon in the middle is a decent size of fish, also cooked.  So the sandwich really does give you the warm and fuzzy inside.

With the Chef's Special Set dessert, it comes with an Earl Grey Creme Brûlée.  It is actually very small, where you can finish in 3 scoops. But still delightful nonetheless.

Then, the main event came!  I ordered Mars, which comes as a sugar shell.  They lit up a small pour of Hennessy, then when it caught the fire, it gets poured over the sugar shell and melt it.

The presentation is awesome, but once it's melted away, the inside doesn't look as impressive as it was before.  But it tasted very good.  They really don't make dessert in very many places in the States.  

What's inside: yuzu cream with chocolate cream, on top of a hazelnut cookie and it has some crunches in there too. The mix of the flavors together are very nice.  Though, not all of the alcohol got burnt off in the presentation.  It is a nice mix.

So, a few things you need to know.  They only serve set lunches on weekends.  They close on Wednesdays.  I talked to the server, he said that they get a lull after the first 1.5hr.  So, while they don't take reservations, you can catch them 1.5hr after they open on weekends.  If you can, definitely catch a seat at the counter.  You get to see them prepare your dish, and it is really like a show.  Oh, and definitely check out the bathroom, it is not something you see everyday.

Another Las Vegas' tourist spot that I've been meaning to go but never made it is the Neon Museum.  I always thought it is behind the Fremont Experience, turns out it's still a ways off.  We were lucky that they happen to have a Tim Burton 'exhibit' and a Brilliant experience.  

So, I'm a fan of Tim Burton's, and the word 'exhibit' is used loosely because while they have a small bit of his work at the beginning to set you up with how Vegas has inspired him over time.  He also have work intermingled throughout the Boneyard (that's where they have all the old neon signs).  So, it is like a mini scavenger hunt to find them in the mix of things.  There are a few binoculars with small slide shows, couple special signs he had made for the Lost Vegas exhibit.  Which in talking with the staff there, you see how the signs inspire his designs.  Either he take it and add his own twist, or used them as a background of his design.  It's signature enough that you realized is Vegas, but twisted enough to remember it is Tim Burton.

The Brilliant experience is quite unique.  The artist re-arrange these old signs that are no longer functional.  Then created a light show with music and video, to match the signs.  At points of the show, you really feel like the signs lit up like its glory days, which in fact, it was just light projection. The painstaking process they must've gone thru with timing design and story line was just impeccable.  Highly recommend if you have the time to spare.  The Brilliant experience is extra cost and only after sun down.  So, we took a tip from another visitor and that is go during dawn, you get to capture the Boneyard with a little bit of sunlight, and if they light up that's awesome.  But time that well enough for the Brilliant too.  Two birds, one stone.

Sweet Raku

5040 W.Spring Mountain Rd

Suite 3

Las Vegas, NV 89146

702-290-7181

http://raku-sweets.com/sweets/

Neon Museum

770 Las Vegas Blvd North

Last Vegas, NV 89101

702-387-6366

https://www.neonmuseum.org

Peppermill

I've always felt that Peppermill is an icon in Vegas.

It's on the strip, but away from everything at the same time.

There are ample parking at the property, but not sure about the fireside lounge, I didn't see it.

I love the bright colors they have in an otherwise, normal looking restaurant.

At the end of the day, it's just a diner.

So I just ordered something very basic.  3 eggs, bacon, and hash brown.  Since my hash experience was so-so before hand, I had low expectation.  But luckily they delivered.  It is as normal as can be.

Oh it came with a muffin too.  Which of course, I couldn't stomach all that food.  So, took it back instead, which was perfect.

We rented a car and went off Strip.  So, 20 minutes south of Vegas is the Seven Magic Mountain.  It is an art installation that is supposed to be taken down several times but kept getting extended.  They do get taken down for touch ups and such.   Now the exhibition has been extended to 2021.  So, you have plenty of time.  Tips for going there, wear something that will make you pop against all the colors, very super instagrammable here.

Peppermill

2985 Las Vegas Blvd

Las Vegas, NV 

702-735-4177

http://www.peppermilllasvegas.com

Best Friend by Roy Choi

So looking around for interesting food to make reservations for in Vegas. 

Came up on Best Friend, and my travel mate also wanted to try it because the chef was in Jon Favureau's show.  Then I'm glad we both saw the same thing.

The set up is definitely out of sort with the rest of the fancy-ness of the Park MGM.  You walk in, it looks like a convenient store, bodega even.  And one side has the counter that people can sit and it leads to the hostess stand. 

The rest of the space is actually part of the bar.  But because the decor is of the sort of a store, you eye pretty much have to adjust to even see it clearly.  After they led us to the plastic curtains, is the main dining area, which opens up to be huge.

They started you out with some Hawaiian rolls, but they're glazed.

My iced tea came in the Party Red cup.

Got the Banchan Sampler, it's not as fulfilling as I had expected from a K-fusion place.

It has picked daikon, spinach, sprout, pickled cucumber, kimchi, the aforementioned rolls, and broccolini in the middle.   I'm used to potato, eggplant, anchovies... etc.  Definitely was lackluster there.

This is their version of Tteok-bokki (rice cake), which is definitely not the traditional ones.

Once you mix it all up, you see the rice cake mixed with cheese, braised beef and veggie.  It was interesting looking but not bad in taste.

Here's the KBBQ Spicy Pork dish that comes with a bowl of rice.

Sizzling hot plate of pork.  It is very spicy but if you have enough rice, it'll do the trick for me.

For Vegas, sit down meal, the price is about the same.  For K-Fusion, I had more expectation than what I saw.  Taste-wise, it is on point for sure.  I know that he was at the advent of Food Truck movement and been cooking for a long time, which I appreciate.  The dishes seems to be more suitable for a high-end Vegas Chinatown, than on Strip.  Maybe I should've ordered other dishes and see if that makes a difference.  Other than the kitsch part of the entry, the rest is neutral for me.

Best Friend

inside Park MGM

3770 S.Las Vegas Blvd

Las Vegas, NV 89109

702-730-6770

https://parkmgm.mgmresorts.com/en/restaurants/best-friend.html

Le Thai

From the list of foodie we got, besides Lotus of Siam, the second most popular Thai is Le Thai.

Just so happen that we were down at Fremont Street and was looking for food nearby.

Start with a cup of Thai Iced Coffee.  Just one of my favorites.

Our server talked us into the Chicken Skin.  Even thought that's the name, every piece has a decent amount of meat on them.  You dip them into the tamarind sauce, which is addictive.  They're so good that I basically had to clean the plate.

The hostess recommended the Short Rib Fried Rice, and boy that was a good recommendation.  There's decent amount of short rib in every bite.  The egg we got just for kicks, but it is pretty good together with the meat and the fried rice.

Then we got the lunch portion of the Three Colored Curry.  It's so named because it has a mix of red, yellow and green curry and vegetables in the mix.   We asked for Tofu as our protein since we figured we got tons of meat in the meal already.

Had I have more room in my tummy, I would've order a roti, the Mango Sticky Rice, and the Papaya Salad, which all looked great!

Reservation is highly recommended.  They do have decent amount of seating there, but they get busy.    Lucky that Yelp takes reservations and you're welcome to call ahead too.  They do have some outside seating with heat lamp should you want to sit outside.

Le Thai (Downtown)

523 Fremont St

Las Vegas, NV 89101

702-778-0888

http://lethaivegas.com/#welcome

Hash House A-Go-Go

So, under many people's recommendations, we ended up at Hash House A-Go-Go.

I was wondering why it looked so familiar.  That's because the Linq used to be Harrah's, which I've stayed before.  And this would've been to their buffet way back then.

Instead, here's a $15 coffee that I'm super surprised when it arrived.  I just ordered a caramel macchiato.  Turns out if I had added alcohol in it, it would've still be the same price.  Go figure.

As the name goes, Hash House, of course, I have to order some Hash.  I got the Corn Beef Hash.  Well, I was a tad disappointed.  The hash has slices of corn beef instead of chopped or diced.  There are decent amount of potato and other fixin's but it's just seems like it's missing something.

I should've taken the hint our server was giving us ever so subtly.  He kept saying these dishes are public's favorite.  Meaning, they're not his favorite.  And I do believe in server's words.  After all, they are there day in and day out, they know what's good and what's not, right?!

This one he told us several times how it's a definite favorite, and that is the Banana Brown Sugar Pancake.  That's right, just one.  But as you can already tell, it is bigger than the plate itself.

Don't worry, we split everything you see here (except the coffee).  In the pancake, you can definitely see slices of banana the long-way.  And there are brown sugar in the mix, which surprisingly doesn't come across too sweet.  Mind you, that I skipped the syrup, butter and whipped cream.

This place is open 24 hours.  That said, we got there around 10:30a and was seated right away.  The place was already filling up.  By the time 11 rolls around, the waiting line started to build up.  So, as usual, go before the crowd, even for a few minutes, that still get you seated faster than the rest.

Though I was disappointed in the Corn Beef Hash.  I enjoyed the experience, the people watching, the giants pancake and what not.  Plus our server was nice and make sure we're doing alright.  He was also telling us that if we bring the receipt back by 9pm, we get a discount on our second meal.  If you're going to gamble all day, that is not a bad deal for a quick break.

Hash House A Go Go

inside Linq Hotel (formerly Harrah's)

3535 Las Vegas Blvd S

Las Vegas, NV 89109

702-254-4646

https://www.hashhouseagogo.com

Picasso - BellagioPi

So, took a girls trip to Vegas!

As soon as you get off the plane, it is sensory excitement everywhere.

First meal after we landed, already got a beautiful view of the night.

As recommended by my friend Julie.  This is a good find.

They even have plates to match its namesake.

Started out with a Bramble - which is gin, blackberry reduction and lemon juice.  I asked for easy on the gin, and they go easy on the gin, and it came out lovely!

They started out with 2 slices of bread to start.  One is raisin and nut, the other is a baguette.

Here's an amuse bouche: Butternut squash soup with pheasant salmon croquette.  They both are delightful, but together are even better.

First Course: This is Creme of Chestnut (which I've never had before) and it has chunks of braised duck and porcini mushroom.  Very mild and pretty good.

Second Course: Hamachi Crudo, the sauce is a yuzu vinaigrette, which is very delicate with the slices of fish and roe together.  Definitely must get!

Main Course: I got the lamb.  It has mushroom, and a potato-like type tower, and grilled broccolini.  Lamb did not quite impress me.  I guess I could've gotten at least a Medium to test that out.  But it was already late...

So, onto the dessert: Opera Cake.  It has Cappuccino hazelnut ice cream (yum), almond sponge cake and chocolate ganache layers.  DELISH!

While you're paying for your tab, they brought buy some more sweets.  A Truffle, a macaron, cookie, meringue, and a pastille.

On our way out, they gave each of us a box.

It really is a calling card for you to make the next reservation, but inside also has a bar of chocolate that shaped like one of his paintings.

A tip about coming here.  While you can definitely make the reservation online.  For special views like this: all the reservation line.  They want to do what they can to make sure you stay and eat at all of their properties and are willing to go the extra miles and put extra notes for personalized experience.

We got the balcony seated.  At first I was hesitant but the heat lamp was doing such a great job that you feel comfortable having your meal outdoors.  That said, our view was awesome.  We got the front row seat for the Bellagio water fountain.  Which: they have 23 combos and comes on every 15 minutes.  But we also get to see the Eiffel Tower that lights up every hour on the hour.  So, when you do catch them both together, it is pretty magical.

Picasso 

inside Bellagio

(closed Tuesday)

3600 Las Vegas Blvd S

Las Vegas, NV 89109

702-693-8865

https://bellagio.mgmresorts.com/en/restaurants/picasso.html