Category Archives: Travel

I like to travel, especially to the cities with great food and unique culture. Among all the great cities I’ve been to, I especially enjoy visiting Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, San Diego, Las Vegas, Taipei, and Shanghai.

This Travel category has a collection of posts on my travel experiences and my favorite hotel properties.

All Posts, Food, Travel

Spring 2016 Trip to Taipei, Taiwan

I recently returned from a two-week Spring trip to Taipei, Taiwan.  It has been over eight years since I visited Taipei.  I was very excited to see friends and family, and to eat all of the delicious food in Taiwan.

The food in Taipei was amazing.  And the time spent with friends and family was priceless.  While I was visiting Taipei, I also attended a family member’s wedding and learned how to make leather goods from scratch in my friend’s leather handbag store.

The weather in Taipei is very different than Seattle.  Taipei is warmer and more humid than Seattle.  For the trip, I packed a lot of short sleeve tops and some True Religion skinny jeans.  In case it gets chilly at night or indoor blasted with AC, I brought some cashmere cardigans with me; they are really light and easy to carry around in my bags.

Overall, my trip to Taipei was a blast.  I enjoyed every moment.  I just wish it could have lasted longer!

All Posts, Fashion, Travel

Manolo Blahnik Chaos Cuff Ankle Sandal in Purple Glitter

Manolo Blahnik has many signature pair of heels. One of them that has often been spotted on many celebrities (i.e. Pop Star, Rhianne) is the Chaos Cuff Ankle Sandal.

Manolo Blahnik’s Chaos Cuff Ankle Sandal comes in various colors (i.e. black, red, and blue) and in various materials (i.e. patent leather, suede, and snakeskin). The design of the stiletto is surprisingly light and comfortable to walk for a short period of time.

For my recent New Year’s Eve trip to Las Vegas I bought a pair of the Manolo Blahnik’s Chaos Cuff Ankle Sandal in purple glitter.  I wore it with an Alice + Olivia’s McKee Sequined Jersey Dress on the New Year’s Eve.  A neutral black sandal normally would work well with an embellished and sparkling dress, but I think the glittering purple Manolo Blahnik Chaos Cuff Sandal works the best for such special occasion!

Manolo Blahnik Chaos Ankle Strap Pump

If you haven’t tried Manolo Blahnik’s Chaos Cuff Sandal, you might want to consider getting it for the upcoming Spring season!

(Below Picture: taken at the Aria Las Vegas Hotel North Entrance Lobby)

All Posts, Fashion, Travel

New Year’s Eve Celebration in Las Vegas

I’ve been to Vegas many times, but never during the New Year’s Eve. To celebrate the New Year’s Eve for 2016, my friend and I went to Vegas! This Vegas trip is unlike most of the trips I’ve had to Vegas. There were no set plans. My friend and I wanted to take it easy and play everything by ear.

Happy New Year!

My friends and I stayed at the Aria Hotel. Aria Hotel is one of my favorite hotels in Las Vegas. (Their Sky Suite is one of my top three choices on the Strip, after Wynn/Encore Tower Suites and Skyloft at MGM Grand.) There are many nice restaurants in the Aria Hotel. I feel like I can eat different cuisines without having to step out of the hotel property. Aria Hotel Lobby Shopping The Vegas Strip was crowded with people around the New Year’s Eve period. Most of the retail stores (such as the ones in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace) were packed every day, especially on New Year’s Eve day. One might wonder why people want to shop during the busiest season after Christmas. The answer is simple, there were sales everywhere. The discounts ranged between 30% to 60%. For example, Salvatore Ferragamo offered a 30% discount, Christian Louboutin offered 40%, and Red Valentino offered 60% discount, etc. It’s hard to say “No” when pretty things are on sale! If you don’t have the actual boutique store in your resident state, you can avoid the tax by asking them to ship to your home. Some retail stores might charge you shipping cost, but most of the time the amount you saved from paying the tax exceeds the shipping charges. Aria Hotel in Las Vegas Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Garden Bellagio is one of my favorite hotels. Their Conservatory & Botanical Garden attracts a lot of people throughout the year. For the 2015 holiday season, Bellagio displayed a Christmas theme with a huge Christmas tree, polar bears, penguins, and snow globes, etc. I noticed the Conservatory & Botanical Garden was more crowded than usual. It was hard to take a picture of the display without running into someone with a selfie stick! Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Garden Eating in the Fancy Restaurants One thing I always look forward to is eating at the nice restaurants in the hotels in Vegas. I know that off the Strip there are many special restaurants that have lower prices, but the experience wouldn’t be the same as in the nice hotels. My all-time top ten restaurants on the Strip include Sinatra at Encore Hotel, Prime Steak and Michael Mina at Bellagio, Joel Robuchon at MGM Grand. A new favorite restaurant is also by Michael Mina, called Bardot Brasserie (French Cuisine), inside of the Aria Hotel. I had dinner there in September 2015 and liked it a lot. It’s the only restaurant that offers brunch in the Aria Hotel, but it only serves brunch on the weekends. In Front of Bardot Brasserie Restaurant On New Year’s Eve, my friends and I had dinner at Hakkasan in the MGM Grand Hotel. We had a multiple course dinner with wine paring. It was a great way to end Year 2015. To sum up, spending the New Year’s Eve in Vegas is fun, even if you are not into gambling or partying. There are plenty of things to do!

All Posts, Food, Travel

The Signature Drink at the Bardot Brasserie by Michael Mina

At a recent trip to Las Vegas, I ate at the Bardot Brasserie restaurant by Michael Mina, at the Aria Hotel.  Before dinner, I tried their signature drink called “And God Created Women”, made with Citadelle St. Germain, Angostura bitters and egg white with the wine-based aperitif, Byrrh.

And God Created Women

(“And God Created Women” Cocktail Drink)

Bardot Brasseri Bar
(Bardot Brasserie Bar)

All Posts, Food, Travel

Stripsteak Restaurant by Michael Mina in Las Vegas

Las Vegas is known mostly for gambling and shows, but the city has some of the best restaurants in the world. On a recent trip to Vegas with my girlfriends, I ate at two well-known steak restaurants in the city. Interestingly, both of these world-class steakhouses were in the Mandalay Bay Hotel.

My friends and I stayed at the Delano Hotel, which is actually a hotel-in-a-hotel inside the Mandalay Bay hotel. There’s also a second hotel-in-a-hotel inside Mandalay Bay, The Four Seasons. The Delano used to be called The Hotel, but the property changed names recently. My guess is that ‘The Hotel’ just wasn’t distinctive enough.

Fish

Anyway, the first steakhouse we ate was Charlie Palmer Steak in the Four Seasons Hotel in Mandalay Bay. The second well-known steakhouse we ate at was Stripsteak by Michael Mina in the main Mandalay Bay hotel restaurant row.

My first impression on walking in was that Stripsteak was a bit more casual and relaxed than a classical steakhouse. Stripsteak was bright and lively and even at 6:00 PM there were a lot of people at the bar.

My girlfriends and I went directly to our table. Our waitress was very perky and personable, and not at all snooty like waiters and waitresses at some fancy steakhouses.

RibEyeAndPotato

My two friends and I all shared our food. The night before we ate steak, and usually one meat meal per trip is enough for us. But for some reason we were still in the mood for steak so we had rib eye steak (again), and Alaskan cod, and Ahi Tuna. But before our main course, instead of the usual bread basket, our waitress brought us the restaurant’s signature French fries — three different kinds with three different dipping sauces. The fries themselves deserve a separate blog post!

The bottom line is that I give Stripsteak by Michael Mina a solid 9 out of 10. Great food, excellent atmosphere, good service, and reasonable prices make Stripsteak one of my highest recommended steakhouses in Las Vegas.

All Posts, Food, Travel

Charlie Palmer Steak Restaurant in Las Vegas

One of the reasons why I like visiting Las Vegas is that the city has some of the best restaurants in the world. On a recent trip to Vegas with my girlfriends, I ate at two well-known steak restaurants in the city. Interestingly, both of these world-class steakhouses were in the same hotel — sort of.

SteakAndFish

My friends and I stayed at the Delano Hotel, which is actually a hotel-in-a-hotel inside the Mandalay Bay hotel. (There’s also a second hotel-in-a-hotel inside Mandalay Bay, The Four Seasons). The Delano used to be called The Hotel, but the property changed names recently. My guess is that ‘The Hotel’ just wasn’t distinctive enough.

Anyway, the first steakhouse we ate at was Charlie Palmer Steak, in the Four Seasons Hotel in Mandalay Bay. My first impression on walking into the restaurant was that it was very traditional. The lighting was very low and the interior decor was dark. My friends and I were a bit early for our dinner reservation so we sat at the medium sized bar (about 16 seats).

SpinachAndPotatos

The bartender was very courteous, and somewhat formal, but not in a bad way. I ordered a glass of red wine. It was very good. My friends ordered white wine and a cosmopolitan. They were good too.

After finishing half of our drinks, we walked over to the hostesses and told them we were ready to be seated. The tables and chairs were very traditional, in keeping with the theme of the restaurant.

My friends and I ordered a rib eye steak, Alaskan halibut, and lamb shanks. We also ordered mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach. We all shared with each other. Everything was delicious as we expected.

Overall, I’d give Charlie Palmer a solid 7.7 on a scale of 1 to 10. Put another way, everything was good but not good enough for me to put Charlie Palmer on my must-return restaurant list. Many best-of lists put Charlie Palmer on their top 10 for steakhouses in Vegas, so if you haven’t tried it, you should at some point.

All Posts, Fashion, Travel

Christian Louboutin Follies Spiked Glitter Pumps

I’ve always been a fan of shoes that have glitter and sparkle. So, a few weeks ago, before my recent trip to Las Vegas, I was browsing the Saks Fifth Avenue Web site and came across the Christian Louboutin Follies Spiked Glitter Pumps. The pumps come in gold and silver.

Right away, I knew I wanted the sparkly, spiky silver pumps! I didn’t hesitate for long and bought them immediately. While I was buying the shoes, I was thinking about which dresses I could pair the shoes with.

A week later I received the shoes and they were everything I expected and more! The glitter perfectly complemented the silver spikes and the signature Louboutin red soles. The spiked glitter pumps are elegant, but can be worn either during the day or evening.

Christian Louboutin Follies Spiked Glitter Pumps in Silver
Christian Louboutin Follies Spiked Glitter Pumps in Silver

A few days later, I brought my new Louboutin pumps to Las Vegas. I was really annoyed when the airline left my luggage in Seattle, but my suitcase and pumps showed up the next morning. I was relieved.

That evening I ate dinner with two of my friends at my favorite restaurant in Las Vegas — Sinatra’s at the Encore hotel. I wore an Alice & Olivia navy blue Clover Fitted Lace Dress and my friends said the shoes and dress went well together.

I’m glad I bought the Christian Louboutin Follies Spiked Glitter Pumps. They’re a great addition to my glittery shoe collection for special occasions.

Christian Louboutin Follies Spiked Glitter Pumps in Silver
Christian Louboutin Follies Spiked Glitter Pumps in Silver

Christian Louboutin Follies Spiked Glitter Pumps – via Saks Fifth Avenue $1,295

All Posts, Food, Travel

The Prime Steakhouse Restaurant at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas

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Las Vegas has incredible restaurants — many are world-class. On a recent trip to Las Vegas, I stayed at the Bellagio Hotel and ate dinner at their Prime Steakhouse restaurant.

The Prime is notable because it faces the large manmade lake in front of the hotel, and while dining you can watch the world famous Fountains of Bellagio water and light show.

I had an early reservation at 5:00 just at opening time. My friend and I had a table for two in a great location to see the water show. Before dinner I had a glass of red wine. It may sound silly, but many Las Vegas restaurants have amazing bread and butter before dinner. I forced myself to only eat a little bit of bread and butter because I knew the serving sizes at Las Vegas restaurants are huge.

My friend and I decided to share. We ordered a 28 oz. bone-in rib eye steak, medium rare, and Chilean sea bass. For side dishes we had Brussel sprouts with bacon and pear, and mashed potatoes.

PrimeDinner
Restaurant server cutting our Bone-in Rib Eye

Everything was amazing as I had expected for a famous restaurant. What surprised me a little bit was how good the Brussel sprouts were — I could have made an entire meal of just them and the mashed potatoes.

Brussels Sprout
Brussels Sprout
Bone-in Rib Eye and Chilean Sea Bass
Bone-in Rib Eye and Chilean Sea Bass

We saw the water show several times during out meal. Even though I’ve seen the Bellagio Fountain Show many times, it was still amazing.

PrimeWaterShow
The view of the Fountains of Bellagio by our window seats.

For dessert, we ordered coconut soufflé, served with chocolate gelato. Just like everything else, dessert was incredibly good.

Coconut Soufflé with Chocolate Gelato

Our total bill was just over $300. Sure, that’s a lot of money, but in my mind the dinner and view and service were well worth the price. If you’re ever in Las Vegas, be sure to consider the Prime Steakhouse at Bellagio.

PrimeInterior
Chandelier inside of the Prime Steakhouse Restaurant
Smashed Potatoes
Smashed Potatoes
Sauces: Peppercorn, Béarnaise, and Soy-rice Wine
Sauces: Peppercorn, Béarnaise, and Soy-rice Wine
All Posts, Holidays, Travel

2015 Chinese New Year’s in Las Vegas

I went to Las Vegas in February 2015 with three of my Chinese friends during the two weeks of Chinese New Year’s celebration. One my friends and I stayed at the Aria Hotel. The other two girls stayed at a different hotel.

I’ve been to Vegas many times, but not too often during Chinese New Year’s. I noticed that most of the nicer Vegas hotels had Chinese themed decor. But other Las Vegas hotels, like the Excalibur and the Luxor, did not have any Chinese themed decorations.

MGM Grand Lobby
MGM Grand Lobby

This fact reinforced the idea that there’s a somewhat clear distinction between the very best hotels in Las Vegas — those that adapt to different seasons — and those non-elite hotels that more or less remain static all throughout the year.

Aria Lobby
Aria Lobby

For example, at the nice Aria and the Wynn hotels, I saw many red lanterns and Chinese dragon decorations. And at the Bellagio, MGM Grand, and Encore resorts, I saw decorations for the ram animal, because this is the Chinese year of the ram.

Aria Special Check-In
Aria Special Check-In
Ram for Chinese New Year
Ram for Chinese New Year

Also, at the Aria (even though I didn’t get to take a photograph), I noticed that the employee name badges they wore had their name in English plus the Chinese characters for the ram animal.

BellagioConservatory

I have no major conclusion, but if you’re going to Las Vegas, in my opinion, it’s worth it to spend a little bit more to stay at a top end hotel (Wynn, Encore, Bellagio, Venetian, Palazzo, and Aria) and get a lot of extras that can make your visit more special.

Bellagio Conservatory Botanical Gardens
Bellagio Conservatory Botanical Gardens
All Posts, Food, Travel

My Dinner at Canlis Seattle Restaurant

Canlis is one of Seattle’s oldest restaurants. It was established in 1950 and has been popular ever since then. Canlis has an elegant but relaxed feel — not really traditional and not really modern. I guess what I’m trying to say is that Canlis is unique, at least for Seattle.

I went there with two of my friends on a Friday, for no special reason other than we all like food. None of us had ever been to Canlis before. My bottom line is that I liked Canlis a lot and I’d go back again for some special occasion.

I had a four course meal that started with scallops, seared with a vegetable presentation. Next, my friends and I shared an order of raw oysters. They were very fresh and tasty. Next came a mixed green salad. It was better than the average mixed green salad but it wasn’t amazing in any way. Then we all shared a pate foie gras. It was excellent and it came with really good toast — some of the best I’ve ever had.

CanlisOysters

CanlisSalad

My main course was duck, which I shared. The duck was whole roasted with a honey glaze. The entire duck was presented at the table, then taken to the back where it was carved and then retuened to our table for serving. I’ve had duck quite a few times, and this was probably the best duck I’ve had. I’ve had good duck at some Chinese restaurants too, but the preparation was so different I can’t really compare the Canlis duck to any of the Chinese duck dishes I’ve had.

CanlisWholeDuck

CanlisPrepared Duck

We finished our evening with coffee and dessert. For dessert I had a vanilla souffle. It was good — maybe the second best souffle I’ve ever had (next to a souffle at Joel Rubicon in Las Vegas).

CanlisSouffle

CanlisChocolate

All in all, I was very happy with my Canlis dinner experience. It was quite pricey, but that was expected and I felt I got good value. If you’re ever in the Seattle area and are in the mood for dinner at an upscale restaurant, consider Canlis.