Tag Archives: Las Vegas

All Posts, Food, Travel

The Mayfair Supper Club in the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas

During my recent trip to Las Vegas, I ate at the Mayfair Supper Club, the new restaurant that recently opened in the Bellagio hotel. The Mayfair Supper Club is a modernized classic American restaurant with entertainment. The CNN Travel site has named it as one of the 20 best new restaurants in the world.

Mayfair Supper Club Entrance
(Picture of the restaurant entrance.)

I like the entrance of the restaurant and all the internal decor. There are two bars, one by the entrance and another one by the main dining area.

The Mayfair Supper Club Bar
(The bar in the main dining room.)

In my opinion, it’s a little bit difficult to describe Mayfair. Their advertising says that they are a supper club. But what does that mean?

Basically, there’s a stage that has different acts going on throughout the night. For example, there was a piano player/singer. And later there was one singer singing while other dancers performed on the stage.  Also, the entertainers were wandering around the dining area and interacting with the dinners. The entertainers act as if Mayfair was a 1930’s style cabaret.

The Mayfair Supper Club Piano Performance
(The piano player/singer in the beginning of the evening.)

In short, Mayfair is a combination of dining and entertainment mixed together. Most fine dining restaurants in the Bellagio hotel close around 10:00pm, but Mayfair serves food until 1:30am.

If you like old school songs such as “Luck Be a Lady” and “At Last”, you’d have a blast at the Mayfair Supper Club restaurant, because those are the types of songs you will hear while you eat there.

If you like Jazz, you’d want to go to Mayfair on Sunday night because there will be Jazz band and singers performing.

To be honest, I was skeptical about the whole concept of the restaurant when I first heard about it. But it worked very well, at least in my opinion. I had a great time eating there with my friends and enjoying the entertainment.

Stay tuned for my future post on the appetizers, entrees, and dessert we had at the restaurant.  The Mayfair Supper Club Lounge
(The lounge and the bar at the front of the restaurant.)

Picture with Friend at the Mayfair Supper Club Restaurant
(Picture with my beautiful friend, Ying.)

All Posts, Food, Travel

Club Lounge at the Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas

During my recent visit to Las Vegas I stayed at the Vdara hotel, which is one of the two properties that has no casino floor in the City Center in Las Vegas. The other hotel property that has no casino is Waldorf Astoria, which formerly known as the Mandarin Oriental.

Like many of the hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, Vdara has its own private lounge for hotel guests. Hotels guests can get lounge access by booking special suites on the property, or by paying an additional daily lounge fee. The private lounge usually offers drinks and light snacks.

The Vdara’s private lounge is called the Club Lounge. It is open daily from 7:00am to 7:00pm, and serves complimentary coffee, tea, soda, and light snacks throughout the day.

The coffee machine at the Club Lounge gives you various choices from Americano coffee to Cappuccino, with fresh milk and syrups. They even offers Chai tea latte, mocha, and hot chocolate.
Vdara Club Lounge Pastry
(These are some of the fresh fruits and pastries served at Vdara’s Club Lounge every day.)

In the morning from 7:00am to 11:00am, the Club Lounge provides selections of self-serve breakfast, fresh fruit, pastries, bread, and donuts.

Vdara Club Lounge Breakfast
(Scrambled eggs, cheese crepes, fresh berries, and caramel macchiato.)

In the afternoon, from 4:00pm to 6:00pm, the Club lounge offers hors d’oeuvres and selected beers, wines and champagne. Other cocktails are available for an additional charge.
Vdara Club Lounge Afternoon Hors d'oeuvres_
(These are some of the hors d’oeuvres I had. The asparagus were so good; I had them everyday during my stay in the Vdara hotel.)

Between 6:00pm to 7:00pm, the Club Lounge offers  desserts. I tried the key lime tart and chocolate mouse cake. They were really delicious.

(These are two of the desserts served at Vdara’s Club Lounge. They were really delicious.)

In my opinion, Vdara’ offers the best-value lounge compared to other hotels’ private lounges I’ve been to. Just the breakfast selections at the Vdara alone covers a full meal. In the hotels on the strip, getting a breakfast meal with coffee would easily cost you at least $30 per person.

The complimentary afternoon hors d’oeuvres with wine is the perfect light happy hour before your dinner.

The next time you stay in Vdara in Las Vegas, consider trying their Club Lounge. Even if you don’t get the complimentary lounge access with the suite you stay in and have to pay for the daily lounge fee, it’s well worth every penny.


(This donut tree is one of my favorite items at the Vdara Club Lounge. It’s served every morning.)

All Posts, Food, Travel

Returning to Joel Robuchon at MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas

The first time I ate at Joel Robuchon, at MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, was ten years ago. My overall dining experience at the restaurant back then was great. In fact, the Joel Robuchon restaurant is on my top five favorite restaurants in Las Vegas.

Read my previous post on the Joel Robunchon restaurant.

Throughout the years, I’ve been going back to Joel Robuchon many times. The food at the restaurant was very delicious; I always ended up overeating.

Other than the exquisite quality of the food, the impeccable service, and the fancy decoration at Joel Robuchon, I love their bread cart and dessert cart. I could just eat them all day.

Returning to JoelRobuchon Bread Cart

(Picture of their bread cart)

Of course, there’s always their famous Le Souffle – Chocolate Hot Souffle. I had so many of their Le Souffle in the past, I even have pictures of them being served on different kind of serving plates over the past decade.
Returning to Joel Robuchon Le Souffle
(Le Souffle – Chocolate Hot Souffle)

From eating at my favorite restaurants in Las Vegas, I noticed that they are constantly trying to reinvent their menu and make changes to stay current. Sometimes, they’d remove food that I happened to love or add new items that I enjoy.

However, one thing I am grateful about Joel Robuchon is that while they update themselves, they still keep providing everything I love about eating at their restaurant. This includes their bread cart and dessert cart. Among all the bread their offer, they still have my favorite ones!

Returning To Joel Robuchon My Bread
(Joel Robuchon’s butter with sea salt and my favorite bread selection.)

Below are the food my friend and I ordered during my recent visit to Joel Robuchon.

Appetizers

Returning To Joel Robuchon - Pumpkin Cream Parisian Gnocchi
(Le Potiron – cream of pmpkin with mimolette cheese and Parisian gnocchi, served with black truffle.)

Returning To Joel Robuchon - Pan Fried Egg with Iberico Ham
(L’OEuf de Poule Miroir – pan fried egg on pearl rice with shaved Iberico Ham, served with black truffle.)

Main Courses
Returning To Joel Robuchon - Black Cod
(Le Black Cod – Caramelized black code in Maiabar pepper sauce with wasabi spinach.)

Returning To Joel Robuchon - Wagyu Rib Eye
(Le Boeuf – Wagyu rib eye with stuffed macaroni and Parmesan.)

I enjoy eating at the Joel Robuchon so much, there are just so many good things about it.

There’s another dessert I ate during this trip. It’s so exquisite. I think it deserves to have its own dedicated blog post, so I’ll write it up later.

If you haven’t been to Joel Robuchon, I hope the pictures in this post are enough to entice you to make the trip. Believe me, it’s totally worth it.

All Posts, Food, Travel

Top Ten Restaurants in Las Vegas

I’ve been going to Las Vegas with different groups of people, such as friends, family, and co-workers in the past years (why I like to go to Vegas). After trying so many restaurants on the strip, I came up with my top ten list of restaurants in Las Vegas. Depending on who I am going with, my top restaurant list might vary. Below is a list ideal for trips to Vegas with anyone who enjoy great dinner.

It is in no particular order. I will go into details in my future posts.

  1. Allegro at Wynn
  2. Bardot Brasserie at Aria
  3. Harvest at Bellagio
  4. Joel Robuchon at MGM Grand
  5. Le Cirque at Bellagio
  6. The Mansion at The Mansion
  7. Michael Mina at Bellagio
  8. Picasso at Bellagio
  9. Sinatra at Encore
  10. SW Steakhouse at Wynn

Las Vegas has way more great restaurants than I could fit into my list. There are three more I would have considered to add to my top ten list, except that they were closed in the past few years, mainly for economic reasons. They are: Restaurant Charlie by Charlie Trotter, David Burke, and Switch. I will explain why I like them later.

LasVegas Restaurant AquaKnox
American Red Snapper from AquaKnox at Venetian
LasVegas Restaurant Allegro at Wynn
Osso Buco D’agnello from Allegro at Wynn
All Posts, Travel

Wynn Salon Suites at the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel

The first time I stayed at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel was in the beginning of 2006, not too long after the resort was opened.

My first stay at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel has forever changed my experience and expectation of the luxury properties on the Strip in Las Vegas! And after going back to the Wynn Las Vegas hotel year after year, the Wynn property is still on my top three favorite hotels list.

The Wynn Las Vegas property has a special Wynn Tower Suites which is separate from the resort’s general guest room tower. And the Tower Suites has its own private drive entrance, registration lobby and access to the exclusive Tower Suites pool.

The first time I stayed at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel, I booked its Tower Suites Tower King Suite. Upon arrival to the Wynn’s Tower Suite front desk, the friendly receptionists welcomed me and offered me a FREE upgrade to the Salon Suites at the Wynn’s Tower Suites. (The Tower King Suites is about 640 square-feet and the Salon Suite is about 1,890 square-feet.) It was a great treat for the beginning of my vacation!

The 1,890 square-foot Wynn Salon Suite has an entry foyer, a private massage room, a separate powder room, a large living room with dining area, and a granite wet bar. The living room and the private bedroom have floor-to-ceiling windows that offer views of the Las Vegas strip. The master bathroom has a glass-enclosed shower, dual sinks, whirlpool deep-soak tub, and walk-in closets.

Wynn Salon Suites Living Room

As a Wynn Tower Suite guest, you get access to the exclusive private Tower Suites pool and daily complimentary breakfast for two at the Tableau restaurant (one of my all-time favorite place for brunch at Las Vegas), and morning coffee and tea service.

That first luxury Salon Suite room experience in 2006 has gotten me hooked on the Wynn Tower Suites. When I go to Las Vegas, I usually stay in one of my four top favorite hotel properties (Wynn / Encore Tower Suites, Bellagio Suites, Aria’s Sky Suites, and Skyloft at the MGM Grand).

If I stay at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel, my top room choice would be the Salon Suites inside of the Tower Suite. A nice thing the Tower Suite staff does to the returning hotel guests is complimentary chocolate with a card placed in the suite.

The Wynn’s Salon Suites is an ideal place when you want a lot of space and some sort of privacy. Once you shut the door, you won’t hear any activities outside of your suite.

The Salon Suites is also a great place to host private parties with friends. Last time I went to Las Vegas with a group of friends, I stayed in the Wynn’s Salon Suites while the rest of my friends stay in other properties of their choice. My Salon Suites became the go-to place after we chilled out by the private Tower Suites pool and ate dinner at our favorite restaurants. As a matter of fact, one of my friends really enjoyed bar-tending for us at the wet bar in my suite.

Wynn Salon Suites Wet Bar

Each of my stays at the Wynn’s Tower Suites was great! All the service staff were very friendly and helpful. The breakfast at the Tableau restaurant was always consistently excellent. And the access to the exclusive private Tower Suites pool was another highlight for each stay.

If you haven’t had the chance to stay at Wynn’s Tower Suites, I highly recommend you give it a try on your next visit to Las Vegas!

Wynn Salon Suites Bedroom
Wynn Salon Suites Master Bathroom
Wynn Salon Suite Head Shot
Wynn Salon Suite Living Room
All Posts, Top Five

5 Things to Try This Month – May 2019

Among all the exciting things I did and am going to do in May, the highlight was a trip to watch Celine Dion’s final show in Las Vegas with my girlfriends and experiment with new gel nail design.

See below for some of the other things I am doing this month.

Gel Nails

After having fun with the purple glitter gel nails last month, I am still in the mood of experiencing more design and colors before I switch back to my favorite red. My latest gel nail design is brightly colored with sequins. The sequins on each finger are arranged from lighter to darker shades.

5Things_May2019_GelNail_

Celine Dion Concert

Celine Dion has been performing her show in Caesar Palace Las Vegas since the year 2003. She is ending her Las Vegas show residency in June 2019. Celine Dion is my favorite music artist and I am very happy that I watched her final show in Las Vegas this month.

5Things_May2019_CelineDionConcert
(An up-and-close picture I took while she was on the stage.)

Beauty Product

Charlotte Tilbury launched a new makeup palette for face and eye. This palette comes with blushes in peachy and pink shades, and contour colors. It can also be used as eye shadows.

5Things_May2019_EyeFacePalette_

Coffee

Nespresso launched a mild and fruity coffee, Esperanza de Colombia. This coffee is part of Nespresso’s Reviving Origins program created to partner with Colombia farmers to improve their infrastructure and agricultural practices.

5Things_May2019_Nespress_

Reading Material

I came across a new book written by Melinda Gates, “The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World”. I’ve always admired both Melinda and Bill Gates and the philanthropic work they do. I am looking forward to read about what Melinda has to say about her personal experience and the inspiring people she encountered in her life.

5Things_May2019_MelindaGatesBook

(The feature picture of this blog post was taken at Caesar Palace, right after I watched Celine Dion’s performance.)

All Posts, Food, Travel

Five of My Favorite Places for Brunch in Vegas

I love Las Vegas. When I am in Vegas I often eat breakfast, which is something I don’t normally do at home. Here are five of my favorite places to eat breakfast in Las Vegas.

1. The Mansion at MGM Grand

The Mansion is a semi-secret, very exclusive invitation-only restaurant. I was offered the chance to eat breakfast at The Mansion when I stayed at the Skylofts at MGM Grand. The Mansion was unbelievable!

2. Tableau at Wynn Hotel

Tableau is a fantastic restaurant at the Wynn hotel. The breakfast menu is incredible and I love some of their unique items including White Chocolate and Orange French Toast.

3. Bardot Brasserie

Bardot Brasserie is a French restaurant, by Michael Mina. Bardot Brasserie opens for brunch only on Saturday and Sunday. Among all the amazing food it offers, the French Toast is a must-have. It’s made with brioche bread and vanilla mascarpone, toped with the almond brittle, and orgeat syrup on the side.

4. Zen Kitchen at Waldorf Astoria

Zen Kitchen at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel was an unexpected surprise. One morning when I was at the Mandarin Oriental I wasn’t feeling like going out and so I ate there and I was pleased. The restaurant was casual but elegant and everything on the breakfast menu was great!

5.  Bouchon at Venetian

The Bouchon at the Venetian was a bit hard to find, at the fourth floor overlooking the pool area. The restaurant is mostly French inspired but the breakfast items are all fantastic!

Fiave Favorite Breakfast Places in VegasFiave Favorite Breakfast Places in Vegas

All Posts, Food, Travel

Spago Restaurant in the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas

While I was on my business trip to a Deep Learning conference in Las Vegas last month I ate at the new Spago restaurant in the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. (The Spago restaurant was in their soft opening when I ate there and they were officially opened on Thursday, June 7.)

The Spago restaurant is owned by the celebrity chef, Wolfgang Puck, who has many restaurants including five Spago restaurants (in Beverly Hills, Istanbul, Las Vegas, Maui, Singapore). The Spago restaurant in Las Vegas used to be at The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, and it’s now re-opened in the Bellagio hotel in June.

The Spago restaurant serves California cuisine, which means it offers fresh ingredients and all-natural meats, and the food is prepared in different cooking styles.

The décor of the new Spago restaurant in the Bellagio is simple and yet has a modernized look and feel. It is located by the Fountains of Bellagio. If you sit at their patio, you will get the close-up view of the fountain show every 30 minutes.

During this Las Vegas trip, I ate at Spago twice; dinner with colleagues on Monday and lunch with a friend on Tuesday. I guess this shows how much I enjoyed their food!

For dinner, my two colleagues and I sat at the patio. We shared Smoked Salmon Pizza, Sweet Corn Agnolotti, Fettuccine with Wild Mushrooms, English Pea Soup, Seared Alaskan Halibut, Grilled Prime New York Steak, and Roasted Colorado Lamb Rack. Each dish was delicious. After a day of work, a couple of Dirty Martinis with Gray Goose Vodka, delicious food, and great company were just what I needed!
Smoked Salmon Pizza
(Smoked Salmon Pizza)

Seared Alaskan Halibut
(Seared Alaskan Halibut)

Roasted Colorado Lamb Rack
(Roasted Colorado Lamb Rack)

The next day, I met a friend for lunch and we went to Spago. The menu for lunch is slightly different than previous night’s dinner, but I was glad that they offered the same Fettuccine with Wild Mushrooms as the previous night. This pasta dish brings out the best flavor of mushrooms, and it has became my new favorite at the Spago restaurant.

Fettuccine with Wild Mushrooms(Fettuccine with Wild Mushrooms)

For lunch at the Spago, my friend and I shared Half-Dozen Kusshi & Beausoliel Oysters, Caesar Salad, Tuna Tartare (served in Sesame-Miso cones), Fettuccine with Wild Mushrooms, and Grilled Double R Ranch Filet Mignon. We also had assorted treats for dessert.

Half-Dozen Kusshi & Beausoliel Oysters

(Half-Dozen Kusshi & Beausoliel Oysters)

Tuna Tartare (served in Sesame-Miso cones

(Tuna Tartare – served in Sesame-Miso cones)

Grilled Double R Ranch Filet Mignon
(Grilled Double R Ranch Filet Mignon)

My overall experience at the Spago restaurant in the Bellagio hotel was great! The service on both visits at the restaurant was equally great. I like the fact that they are open for lunch while most fine dinning restaurants at the Bellagio hotel don’t open until dinner.

Next time you visit the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas and are looking for a place for dinning, I recommend that you try the Spago restaurant!
Desserts at Spago Restaurant
(Desserts)

The featured image of the Spago Restaurant’s patio was from the restaurant’s Web site.)

All Posts, Fashion, Top Five, Travel

5 Things to Try This Month – June 2018

June is the beginning of the Summer season. I am excited for a couple of trips I have lined up for this month.

Business Trip

Las Vegas is one of my favorite getaway places, even during the hot summer season. I will be there on business and I plan to find time to visit my friend who lives there. Las Vegas is a great place to mix business and pleasure and I got a new outfit for the business part.

Shirley Style Business Trip Outfit
Outfit for the Business Trip in Las Vegas

New Restaurant Spago

One of my go-to lunch place at the Bellagio Hotel, Olives, has been closed since the beginning of this year. I am very glad that Wolfgang Puck’s Spago restaurant will be open at where Olives restaurant used to be. During my June trip to Las Vegas, I will definitely check out the new Spago restaurant.


Fettuccine with Wild Mushrooms from the Spago Restaurant

Seattle Great Wheel

After my business trip to Las Vegas I will go to CA to pick up my seven year-old niece and bring her back to Seattle with me. She will be staying with me for three weeks. One of the things I’d like to try with her is to ride on the Seattle Great Wheel. The Seattle Great Wheel is the tallest Ferris wheel (175 feet) on the West Coast of the United States. I hope my niece will get a thrill on the ferris wheel, which is bigger then most of the ferris wheels in CA.

Seattle Great Wheel at Night

Red Gel Nails

After last month’s hot pink gel nail with multi-color glitters, I am ready to go back to my favorite red. This time I have gold glitters and Swarovski crystals over the red gel nails. I also have a gold embroidery stickers over both ring fingers.

Red Gel Nail for June
Red Glitter Gel Nail for June

Father’s Day Afternoon Tea

Since my niece is with us this month, she gets to celebrate Father’s Day with my dad. Along with the usual dining celebration, I put together a afternoon tea in our backyard. The weather on Father’s Day was very nice and it was perfect for our event.

Afternoon Tea by Shirley
Father’s Day Afternoon Tea in our Backyard

All Posts, Beauty, Top Five, Travel

5 Things to Try This Month – September 2017

September is the beginning of the Fall season. Luckily, there are still a few sunny days left before the chilly weather kicks in. Below are five things that I am trying for September.

New Liquid Lip Colors

Rouge Dior Liquid Lip Stain is one of the latest beauty products Dior has launched recently. For someone like me, who loves lip color products from Chanel, Dior,and YSL, it’s hard to resist the temptation of getting my hands on the new Rouge Dior Liquid Lip Stain. Out of the 27 new Rouge Dior Liquid Lip Stain shades, I bought Impulsive Matte, Spicy Metal, Impetuous Satin, and Rock’n’Metal. I guess these should be plenty for me to use in September.

Black Truffle

My friends and I plan a trip to Las Vegas in the beginning of September. One of our favorite restaurants in Las Vegas is “Sinatra” at the Encore Resort. It’s part of our tradition to try their pasta dish with black or white truffles at the Sinatra restaurant. And I expect our upcoming experience will be as great as always.

Making Paella

While I visited Spain in the past January, I really enjoyed eating paella at different local restaurants. I haven’t found many restaurants in Seattle that offer great paella. My goal for this month is to try to make paella. I just bought a paella pan and I am looking forward to trying it.

Embroidered Hat

Embroidered hats have been very popular in the summer. If you haven’t tried one, it’s not too late to do that for September. Usually, it’s hard for me to find a hat that fits me perfectly, but I found one for my September trip to Las Vegas. Embroidered Beach Hat

Bookstore for Fun

Amazon just opened another brick-and-mortar bookstore in Bellevue, Washington. I had the chance to visit it a few weeks ago. I found a new book that I’d like to read for September. The book is “Thinking Fast and Slow”. It’s a book about behavioral sciences and explains the systems that define how we think and respond at every moment of our daily life. I can’t wait to read the book and find out more about the topics.
Think Fast and Slow Book