Las Vegas Restaurants: Sushisamba; Il Mulino; Aureole; American Fish

I have always thought Las Vegas was like an amusement park for adults.  You've got the scenery which is incredible.  Where else can you see so many "cities" and "world landmarks" on one strip?  Then there's the shopping and dining.  Dining is definitely an experience in Vegas.  Many celebrity chef-restaurants there.  While the celebrity chefs aren't necessarily in the kitchen cooking up your meal, the quality and flavours of the food are absolutely amazing.  We allowed ourselves two extravagant meals here (well, it was only supposed to be one) and two more frugal meals.

Sushisamba at the Palazzo:  We came here for their $6 Happy Hour mojitos and food from the lounge menu.  Remember that you have to be sitting at the bar for these prices.  We ordered yellowtail seviche, spicy tuna roll, vegetable tempura, salmon taquitos, and salt and pepper squid.  They were all delicious!  It's hard to pick a favourite so I will just explain what I liked best about each dish. 

The yellowtail seviche was served with shredded ribbon of celery, and flavours of ginger and soy.  It was quite sour from the citrus, which I love, but the husband doesn't.  He likes yellowtail so he did eat it, though.

The spicy tuna roll was quite standard.  How can you really get too original with that?  What I did notice was that the spicy sauce was dolloped on tip of each roll, rather than being mixed in with the tuna.  My dad told me (and I don't know how true this is) that sushi restaurants will use old tuna for these rolls because the spiciness will kill off bacteria and mask any "old" smells and flavours.  Who knows?  I thought it was good, though!

The vegetable tempura was exactly what you would it to be.  They did serve it the traditional dipping sauce (tasted a bit weak to me) and their original sauce which is yellow and brown and delicious!

Mmmm... the salmon taquitos were just divine!  Minced, spiced raw salmon in a mini shell.  I don't know how else to describe it!  Again, it's raw fish with spice (dad's words floating around in my head) but it was go-od!

The salt and pepper squid was pretty spicy and had a great texture.  The squid pieces were scored and very lightly coated (not beer or buttermilk-battered).  Awesome stuff!

The mojitos were hand made to order.  I was glad it wasn't some pre-mixed concoction that some places serve up for Happy Hour.

I definitely recommend Sushisamba.  Their regular menu looks good too! 

Il Mulino at Forum Shops Caesars was one of our "splurge" meals.  The husband was looking at their menu online and was drooling as he read.  If you know us, you know that we avoid dairy and wheat but for this trip, we had to say "screw it" and deal with the consequences later.

I apologize for not having any photos of my experience here, but the lighting was so dim.  I also didn't want my flash going off every time a plate was brought out.

We were seated promptly (it was early) and nicely.  A quarter wheel of aged Parmesan was brought to our table and a chunk was broken off for each of us.  Nice!  Then plates of salami, fried zucchini, spicy garlic bread and a basket of other bread (fried bread sticks, foccacia, and what looked like baguette), a mussel and bruschetta was brought to our table as "compliments from the chef".  It was all delicious! 

The husband went on to order gnocci in a basil pesto sauce, but I passed on a first course because I was already a bit full from all the chef's compliments.  The gnocci was soft and chewy, like it had just come out of a pot of boiling water.  The husband loved it, and I loved the several bites I had!  For main courses, he had a pounded veal chop topped with an arugula salad, and I had lagostine split and sauteed with a white wine and garlic sauce, with a mound of spinach (that night's special).  The husband was a bit disappointed with his veal, as it was a bit tough.  I thought my lagostine was cooked nicely (not overdone) but very salty.  The spinach was quite salty as well, and I just couldn't finish it.  For the prices we paid, I wish we had both loved our meals.  Perhaps we didn't order the "right" dishes.  The meal was finished off with small glasses of grappa that had been infused with white raisins.  It Mulino must have several delicious dishes but unfortunately we picked the wrong ones. 

Aureole at Mandalay Bay was another "splurge" meal.  I had a much better experience here than I did at Il Mulino.  First of all, I didn't fill up on bread and the chef's compliments before hand (schoolboy error), and they had 2 tasting menus, plus the a la carte menu to choose from. 

I've linked here to the Parallel Menu, which what we ordered.  Two of everything.  The main course was lamb, something I'm not very fond of.  The husband can't believe that I don't like lamb, and thinks I just haven't given it a chance.  Maybe, but I wasn't going to risk not liking the main dish of the Parallel Menu, so they subbed it with beef.  Again, if you me and the husband, you know that we avoid beef as well but if I really didn't want chicken, so beef it was.  Great choice!

For the first course, the husband and I both liked the lobster and papaya salad over the fluke carpaccio.  The sourness of the green papaya, the sweetness of the the grilled pineapple, and the richness of the lobster were perfectly matched.

For the second course, the husband was very impressed with the coriander crusted tuna, and especially with the carrot sponge cake.  I thought the concept was amazing, but I like the richness of the scallop over the braised short rib.

We liked both of our main courses about the same.

The dessert was interesting.  I'm used to desserts from these kinds of menus to be dense, rich chocolate ganache-type things, or creme brulee, or something like that, not grape sorbet!  I loved the baklava.  The refreshing grape sorbet, with the flake baklava and cream was absolutely incredible.  Then they bring a creme brulee (ah, of course!) and some chocolate macarons as the "chef's compliments".  Too much dessert!

Oh, I almost forgot about the wine tower!  There is a glass elevator for guests to enter the restaurant, that is just stacked with wine.  Each time a bottle is ordered, one of the servers is strapped into a harness and up she goes to fetch the bottle of wine.  It was fun to watch!

American Fish by Michael Mina at Aria was another Happy Hour meal... or at least it was supposed to be, but we couldn't make it there in time.  Still, the lounge menu is pretty good.  We ordered the oysters, crab poppers, lobster corn dogs, yellowtail sashimi, fish and chips, and then the husband had the tuna melt and smoked salmon blt.  We liked them all!  These dishes are all very small but since we were eating quite late at night, it was perfect for us.  The tuna melt and salmon blt are literally a bite or 2 each, in case anyone was expecting a full sandwich. 

Their cocktail menu is interesting as well!  They have a focus on old school cocktails and add a bit on each one's history, origin, etc.  If we go back, I would love to go here again during HH for better deals!

Quebec City Restaurant: le Saint-Amour

Restaurant le Saint-Amour is a pretty fancy restaurant by night (Sir Paul McCartney dined there!), but for lunch simpletons like me and the husband can dine for about $20 each. The focus is on creative, innovative cuisine using fresh, local ingredients. Lucky for them (an those who dine there) Quebec is full of wonderful vegetable farms, animal farms, dairy farms and other local terroir. I would love to try the inspiration menu or the discovery menu sometime!

The lunch menu is a 3-course meal, with coffee or tea. I can't remember what the husband started with, but it was red quinoa, with some chopped vegetables. I remember it was a clean tasting dish, perfect to whet the appetite for the richness of the main course!


I started with the aspargus and cheese melt, with candied tomato, and parma ham. This starter was quite rich because of the cheese, but if you love cheese then this would be perfect for you! Even though it was cheesy richness, it felt good to be getting some veggies!


The husband's main meal was veal with a port wine sauce. I can't remember if it came with rice or potatoes... one or the other... The husband made sure to save some bread to mop up some of that beautiful port wine sauce!


For my main, I chose the omelette. It, like the aspargus, came with a layer of melted cheese on it (but it was a different cheese). The eggs were fluffy and light (not dense and overcooked like the ones I make), and had a creaminess to them. It balanced very nicely with the melted cheese.


Now for dessert! I ordered a chocolate cake (with raspberry and mango sauce), and the husband ordered a blueberry creme brulee. I don't think I need to tell you how these tasted. Just look at them!

Quebec City Restaurant: Le Lapin Saute

This review comes over a month late, but I remember this meal as if it were yesterday! We read about this place in our guidebook, and it sounded delicious. I had never really had a piece of rabbit meat before, so I didn't really know what to expect. For those of you who can't bring yourselves to eat cute fluffy animals, there are other items on the menu like burgers and such.

The restaurant itself is very charming. The lovely summer weather allowed us to sit outside where little birds flitted around from tree to tree, and curious squirrels would scurry up and down tree trunks. Even though it's in the middle of a major pedestrian street, with people staring at you while you eat, it does have a "country" feel.
The husband (savoury pie lover that he is) ordered the rabbit pie. It came with a fruit ketchup that he devoured! He doesn't usually like fruit with his meals (like chutneys, etc) but something about that fruit ketchup made the rabbit pie even better!


I ordered the cassoulet. It came with rabbit leg (confit), bacon, and rabbit sausage. The rabbit leg was tender and the meat came away from the bone with a gentle tug of the fork. It kind of tastes like chicken, but is much more flavourful (like dark meat). I could taste more of a gamey-ness in the sausage, but the seasonings made it so hard for me to stop eating it!


We had a pretty boring breakfast that day of fake croissants and costco muffins, so this rich, satisfying lunch was just what we needed! If we are ever lucky enough to return to Quebec City, this restaurant will definitely be our first stop.

Montreal Restaurant: Joe Beef

This famous restaurant was a suggestion from my sister-in-law. She and her new husband (woohoo! Congrats, guys!!) were meeting up with us for a few days in Montreal so we decided to meet for dinner on 2 of the nights. Joe Beef was on night numero un.

As the name states, steaks are the specialty here, but there were several other surf or turf items like lamb, duck, pork, scallops, trout, and lobster just to name a few. Their entire menu is actually written on one of the walls, so if the place is packed, you might feel a bit awkward standing at the board (where several tables are lined up) reading off of the wall. Alternatively, if you are seated at the wall, you might have a bunch of open-mouthed diners staring over your head. Oh, and the menu is in French, but our server didn't seem to mind translating each item to us.

Our table had crispy pig's ear salad, beer cheese dip, and stuffed squid to start. Mains were, trout topped with crab cake mixture, seared scallops topped with pulled pork, gnocci, ribs, and a raw choux pastry, baked with lobster meat. I had the baked choux pastry. It was really, really salty. Tasty, but I could barely finish half of it because of the saltiness.

My favourite part of the meal was this drink! It's a just Caesar but look at all the goodies it comes with! It's pretty much an appetizer in itself!


I don't think I'd go to Joe Beef again. I loved the Caesar and some of the appetizers were delicious, but the mains all seemed too salty. The ribs were apparently delicious but since we don't eat beef, that's doesn't help us much. If you are a steak lover though, I think this could be the place for you!

Also, I don't want to ruin the experience so I won't post a picture of "it" but promise me if you go here, that you'll visit the bathroom?

Nautilus - Fine Dining is Port Douglas, Qld, Australia

The husband and I are not wealthy by any means, but we do like splurge on good food and wine, being the gluttons we are. Anniversary dinners are no exception.

Look at all 'em forks!

As luck would have it, we happened to be (or we meticulously planned to be) in charming Port Douglas for our 2 year anniversary. Before we embarked on our journey, we did a bit of research online for a "nice" restaurant. Harrison's and Nautilus seemed to be the rated "fine dining". In the end, we chose Nautilus, although I can't really remember what the deciding factor was.

The restaurant itself was quite nice. The entrance is up a little dirt path (I wonder how ladies in super high heels do this?) through trees and bushes. The outdoor dining area is under a canopy of tall palm trees. When there's a bit of a breeze, you can hear the leaves rustle, which is a lovely sound!

The setting was beautiful and the servers were nice... I wanted to love this place. I really did, but it just didn't do it for me. The food was beautifully presented and maybe it's just that I can't fully appreciate food and wine pairings yet but this experience wasn't what we were expecting. Maybe the problem is that last 2 restaurants we had a tasting menu with wine pairings DID blow us away... Anyway, it still was a nice place to be with the husband on our 2 year.

Something that took away from the experience was that the servers didn't seem very... knowledgeable. Our waiter (although very nice) told us the wrong course (he'd have a prawn salad in his hand but would tell us it was something different, then apologize profusely). We had some other servers come to present us with the pairing wine but they'd just bring us the glass and say something like, "I have no idea what this is." Um... not cool.

Our server said of one wine, "It's the most exported wine in New Zealand". Like, why would we want to spend marked up restaurant prices for a wine we could buy at our local supermarket? Not impressed by that, either.

Now... for the food! We opted for the 6 course Chefs Tasting Menu:

Duck & Green Ginger Consommé
paired with
Cloudy Bay Pelorus Sparkling (Marlborough)
Verdict: Consomme was very salty, but the mushroom thing on the bread
(sorry, foggy memory) was quite good.

Smoked trout on potato crisps
(sorry, can't remember what it was paired with...)
Verdict: Nice smokey flavour of trout, went well with the salty crispiness of the chips!

Chilled Tiger Prawn Salad
paired with
St Hallett Riesling (Eden Valley)
Verdict: The meatiness of the prawns and the shaved long white things (fennel?) went well together.
I think the dressing was a bit bland, though. Maybe a bit more lime juice?

Pan-seared Scallops with Pork Belly
paired with
Mitolo Jester Sangiovese Rose (McLaren Vale)
Verdict: Rich, creamy and very yummy.

Other than this being an eye fillet and there being a pancetta wafer, I can't remember
what this was. Sorry! It was quite tasty though, so great for beef lovers!

Vanilla Crème Brulee, White chocolate ice-cream & crisp cocoa wafer
paired with
Plantaganet ‘Off the Rack’ Chenin Blanc (Great Southern)
Verdict: Um, how can you go wrong with this?!

I can't say I regret our decision to go here, because the ambiance was very romantic. You can get better food elsewhere, though. We did end up getting better food at a great street-front restaurant called 2 Fish. It didn't have the "anniversary" ambiance, though. Guess you can't have it all...

Tonkatsu

For our second to last lunch in Japan, I decided to indulge the husband (he had, afterall, patiently waited while I spent hours whining that I didn't have a dress for his sister's engagement part, then waited even more patiently while I tried on several dresses and whines that they were the wrong colour, cut, etc. Bless him!) with his favourite food, tonkatsu.


Tonkatsu, is a filet of pork (the cut can vary from fatty to lean), breaded in panko, then deep fried. I usually don't see the big whoop in this dish but if the husand loves it, the husband will get for being such a supportive shopping partner.


(Above: See? Look at all the layers!)

We knew we could find tonkatsu pretty easily as we were at a major station (Yokohama) that had more restaurants that you could shake a stick at. The problem was finding a good tonkatsu restaurant.
(There's even a cheesy one! We both just got plain, though...)

We headed into a department store where a friend had taken us for a meal before. This particular department store had 2-3 floors of restaurants and I remember walkign past a few of them thinking they looked quite good. We consulted the directory and lo and behold, there was a tonkatsu restaurant.

There was something special about this particular tonkatsu restaurant, because they made a special tonkatsu. The used domestic pork, sliced it to a thinness of 0.5mm, stacked 25 layers of pork, breaded it and deep fried it like that! This process apparently keeps the juiceness of the pork. I just took their word for it.

Well, I'm glad I did take their work for it because it really was tender and juicy, with a very crispy "crust" on the outside. It went perfectly with their house sauce, and the crisp bottomless shredded cabbage was very refreshing!

I think the husband was a little divided on this type of pork-preparation. He may have wanted a full piece of pork, not this slices of it. Well, if you do go to Yokohama Station, head over to a department store called "More's" and judge ot for yourself. The restaurant is called "Genkatsu".

Red House Beer & Wine Shoppe

When in Renton... or even if you're not in Renton why not stop off at the Red House Beer & Wine Shoppe? www.redhousebeerandwine.com

The husband took me here for a belated birthday dinner and it was fantastic. Actually, fantastic is an understatement! He went in a day or two before and spoke to the manager about setting up a special dinner for moi. The husband likes to make special occasions even more special but this surprised me; he pre-selected our dinner!

Just for background: We love food, think about it it way too much, eat way too much of it, and basically love pouring over menus and restaurant websites. We could have easily spent an hour looking the menu over trying to combine the shared dishes and entrees, with several glasses of red and white. When he went to the restaurant, he picked out dishes I would like (and he was bang-on) and the manager selected wines that would compliment each dish!

Husband was a bit worried that I would have wanted to eat something else, or be kind of offended like, "what, you don't think I can pick my own food?" but it was perfect.

Red House was pretty empty (it was a Monday night) and we pretty much had the top floor to ourselves.

Here's what we ordered (the manager (who had Monday off) kindly threw in a few extras! :)

House Salad
Pear & Gorgonzola Salad
Roasted beets
Devil Shrimp (spicy!)
Beer glazed mushrooms (delicious!)
Steamed clams (huge portion!)
Grilled pacific salmon
Cioppino

The servings were pretty generous and with the "extras" the manager threw in for us, we were stuffed before the entrees came out. We were able to squeeze in a few bites of salmon and maybe 2 sips of the Cioppino broth before was admitted defeat. We got it all packed to go, along with a dessert sampler, too!

I can say with confidence that everything we ordered except for the salmon and Cioppino were excellent. Because we got the latter 2 items to go, we ended up heating them up the next day for lunch. Needless to say, all the lovely seafood in the Cioppino was slightly overcooked by then. Same goes for the salmon. The both seemed to be seasoned very well (espeically the Cioppino broth which was delicious!). I really hope we can go back again so I can actually have the entrees as they were meant to be.

Oh, we did go back a few days later but just for a snack and a glass of white :) We had the crabcakes (SOOOO good) and pomme frites with truffle oil (also yum).

The wines that stand out are:

New Age (Argentina frizzante Sauvignion blanc - matched really well with the salads)
Jakob Demmer (Germany Reisling - amazing with the crab cakes)

I can't wait to try more stuff here... like the polenta fries... and the paella... Oh, did I mention how reasonable the prices are? The same meal in Seattle would have cost double, easily. Because they are a wine store, you can order a bottle from the store and pay a $5 corkage fee. Same goes with beer except the fee is $1.50.

As if this place weren't awesome enough, they do a wine and food pairing thing on Wednesday nights at 6pm for something like $20. I believe that gets you maybe 3 glasses fo wine and some food. I haven't been yet (I'm only ever in Renton on weekends) but hope I can miss a few days of work to take time off to go there.

Thanks for a wonderful birthday dinner, Red House!