Vegas Eats!

My parents and I are Vegas-lovers. We are the typical Asian family from Hawaii that loves to jet off to Vegas. Any chance we get, we're off to Vegas. Yes, we go for the gambling, but also for the good eats! To put it simply, we eat well.

Memorial Day weekend was packed with young people in their 20s wearing barely-there clothing (if you could even call it that), and doing things that should definitely "only stay in Vegas." The weather was beautiful most of the days- it felt like Vegas in Hawaii! Shorts and slippahs in the day and everyone's beet-red sunburn glowed in the night. What a weekend!

There's a mixture of random pictures and restaurant posts in this post...ENJOY! Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend!

Ping Pang Pong- Located in Gold Coast (off the strip), this is where you'll find the best authentic Chinese food in Vegas. Catch the free shuttle on the street side of Bill's Gamblin' Hall. It makes its round from Bill's to Gold Coast to New Orleans. What a deal!

House Soup- usually a beef stock with meat, bones, star anise, squash, orange peel, etc.
So good. Cleanses the palate and nice to start with.

Sea Bass Hot Pot- My parents' favorite. Has all the goods- fish, tofu,
whole cloves of garlic (I love this, but I have to limit myself to only 2 cloves or I'll wreak of garlic for days!),
char siu, mushrooms, bok choy...

Garlic Green Beans- Trust me, this is the only green beans that I eat a lot of. Anything with garlic is a winner!
And there is A LOT of garlic on these babies! A really nice side vegetable dish.

Shrimp Fried Rice- mediocre. Very light tasting.

Sea Bass steamed "Chinese-style" with shoyu, ginger and onions.
You can't go wrong with this combination! The Sea Bass is so tender!

My absolute favorite. There's a lot of tofu on this plate, but I eat most of it.
Fried Tofu with Shrimp.
A very simple dish, but it is light and crispy!

"Sesame Ball" as they call it, but we're Chinese, so come on!
This is Jin Doi, PEOPLE!

Next up: Bellagio Cafe. Not only do they have the best decorations and most colorfully-seasoned Conservatory, but their Cafe is a definite must whether you're craving breakfast/lunch or dinner.

Chihuly's glass ceiling in the Lobby of Bellagio. Gorgeous colors.

The BEST iced-tea

The ice has the iced tea frozen into it, so it never gets watery!

We've always come for their Fruit Bowl. Never disappoints.
Fruit is ALWAYS fresh and sweet.

Perfection.

Mixed Berries Parfait- Huge breakfast parfait. Lots of fruits, granola and a whole bowl of yogurt on the bottom.
I love that their granola has raisins in it for that chewyness!

Mom's Chicken wrap with fries

Dad was craving Meatloaf. It has a mix of veal, beef and turkey.
Mashed Potatoes are like my Grandma's- rich and ultra-buttery.

On a different day, Dad had their Turkey Burger with 'slaw.

On a different day, Mom ordered her favorite, Bellagio Cafe's Cheeseburger. This time she added an over-medium egg!

And me? Well I am absolutely gaga over their Raspberry Brioche French Toast.
It's absolutely DELECTABLE.

Creamy inside with fresh Raspberries topped with powdered sugar...
Does life get any better??

The painting is made out of fresh flowers!

Largest Chocolate Fountain by Jean Philippe @ Bellagio.
This is always a must-see.

Buy some chocolate from the fountain!

Want a crepe??

Monte Carlo's Pool Party

Gelato via Va Bene Caffe in Cosmopolitan

Ready to find the "hidden and unnamed Pizza Place in Cosmopolitan?!"

Step 1: Take Escalator to 3rd floor of Cosmo.

Step 2: Find the pool table.

Step 3: Across from the pool table, there are two restaurants. In between those two restaurants is
a long, dark hallway. Go there!

Super cool record covers on the wall down the hallway!

AND YOU'RE HERE! You've reached the UNNAMED AND HIDDEN PIZZA PLACE!
Small little place, but great NY-style Pizza!

On the wall:
"The Cosmo took me good, but I love the pizza"
"WE LOVE PIE! <3 Mr and Mrs Pie Face"

FINALLY!

Noodle Asia- Located in the Venetian, this is an old time favorite. We come here for a late-night snack of Won Ton Mein. The owners of Ping Pang Pong own this place as well. Authentic Chinese food. Awesome won ton soup.

How can you deny a crispy bed of noodles slathered with gravy?!
Crispy Hong Kong Noodles with chicken and chinese broccoli. 

Asia Noodle's version of Siu Mai- topped with cooked tobiko for an extra boost of salty flavor.

Spring Rolls- mediocre.

A colorful array of candied Apples in Bally.
Downstairs by the Sportsbook.

"M Buffet" or officially named Studio B Buffet at the M Resort and Spa. We had to take a $40 taxi ride here to Henderson, but heard that this buffet is worth it. We have tried and loved the Wynn Buffet, Bellagio Buffet and Aria Buffet, but wanted to try this one. Verdict? I think we'd rather save the 40 bucks and eat at one of the buffets on the strip. Great variety, though. We all had to be rolled out of there! Also, a very classy hotel. If you want to go to Vegas and gamble, but don't want the raunchiness of the strip, this is a nice, clean resort :P

The oxtail soup was DELICIOUS. I want to say almost better than Zippys!
Oxtail was tender and fell off the bone, soup was tasty and there were a lot of other ingredients,
like peanuts, carrots, cilantro etc etc. Made a great stew. Wish there was rice!

This picture doesn't do the amount of crab I ate, justice.
This was the best crab I've had at a buffet in Vegas.
Sweet, succulent, and fresh crab meat.

Gelato and Espresso Bar too!?
Got myself a waffle cone topped with a scoop of Raspberry gelato and Mango gelato!

If you know me, you know I love me some shoes!
Preferably those gold/beige ones with the red footpad in the bottom right ;)

Sushi Samba- Located in Palazzo and recommended by a friend who used to work here! Was surprised to hear this is food created by a mix of cultures- Brazilian, Peruvian and Japanese. With that, you get....SUSHI SAMBA! Verdict? For the amount of food you get and the price you pay, there's a difference. Serving food as Izakaya or Tapas, the dishes are small and meant to be shared. HUH?!

Yellowtail Tacos with a pepper sauce. Yes they are THAT small.
Mom and I shared so we only got one each! Mom liked these, but my favorite is below.

You NEED to try this dish. Wonderful!
My friend recommended the Misoyaki Sea Bass large plate at $29.
But our waiter suggested we get the Misoyaki Sea bass skewers at $16 per 2 skewers because
"more taste from the robata...blah blah blah"
But this dish was SO good that we regretted not getting the large plate. I'm sure we would have received more and paid less. Hmm, oh well, Vegas' motto really is "coulda, shoulda woulda" right??
And I cannot forget to mention- that is CORN to the left. BIG kernels of corn. Each kernel has a very sweet and chewy texture, and doesn't crunch as much as the corn you are used to.
This was incredible.

El Topo Sushi Roll- Baked Salmon, Shiso, a slice of Jalapeno,
and cheese topped with Ahi sauce
and crispy fried onions.
This was MIGHTY hot! Our waiter didn't warn us of the spicyness and we could barely eat it!
He graciously brought us another with sauce on the side and no jalapenos! MUCH BETTER!

Loved the mixed sushi with Pistachio crushed on top.
The yellow/black sauce was also a winner.