mandarin oriental eats, las vegas.

we stayed at the mandarin last month on a mini getaway to vegas, and really liked it. the hotel is quiet, compared to the rest of vegas, and overall a more relaxing and refined experience. here are some of the eats we enjoyed.

afternoon tea for two at the salon.

a three tier display was set up next to our loungers. service was excellent.

here are the plain scones. with two fruit jams, butter and cream. their scones were flaky + dense.

savories. great presentation, i enjoyed everything except for the rectangular salty tart.. i don’t like when my sweet + savories are mixed.. the egg was good, and devoured in a spoonful.

sweets. the tart and cake pops were good but basic, my favorite was the chocolate hazelnut in the center, and the coffee cream puff.

bento box breakfast, in room dining.

loved this! a scaled down version of japanese hotel breakfasts.

xx

kagaya.

shabu shabu at its best in little tokyo.

so i finally dined at kagaya. i don’t know what took me sO long to get here, i’ve been missing out. a shabu dinner at kagaya consists of 3 courses of appetizers/small plates/soup, shabu veggie plate, meat of choice, congee or noodles, then dessert. i feel that their pricing is fair for the excellent quality served.

the appetizers/starters are pics complied from 2 separate visits.

some sort of whitefish sashimi with ponzu.

duck meat soup.

lightly fried fish with ponzu.

baked oyster with miso.

i just realized that i don’t have a picture of the veggie plate.. my attention was ALL on the gorgee wagyu. perfection. but i can’t finish an order by myself, its a bit too much for me. for me i think a wagyu shared with 3 diners is the perfect amount. others can finish an entire plate but i like to have some prime beef as well.

the prime beef.

seafood shabu.

for dessert, i was impressed that we had a selection to choose from, and were served “proper” desserts.. not just a scoop of ice cream or mochi ice cream.

this is the green tea mousse cake, overall all their dishes are very well plated.

the banana pie with vanilla ice cream. flaky pastry, delicious.

the apple pie with ice cream. the caramel sauce is sO good, this may be a favorite.

b also ordered the creme brûlée, on a different visit, which was very good as well.

overall the quality of kagaya was excellent. a new fave, better late than never!

 

xx

sakura flower healthy pot @ hualien.

lunch in Hualien. we ordered a lunch set, consisting of a healthy pot and  a few dishes. theres a self serve area, full of greens: they specialize in local organic veggies that you can refill and keep adding to your pot.(not pictured.)

above: some of the ingredients for the pot.

below, the manger came to our table, to do the presentation of a single lotus flower, which opens as it is immersed into the steaming hotpot. this variety of lotus flower is edible, and supposedly good for women’s health.

the process is quite pretty.. a bit gimmicky, but nonetheless still nice. the hotpot was my favorite part of the meal.

hotpot with all veggies and open lotus flower. almost ready to eat.

for meat, we chose to have their recommended hualien pork. the pork was local- and was probably the juiciest pork i’ve had in a hotpot. usually, when sliced pork is boiled, it takes on a chewy consistency. this stayed soft, and was delicious!

great presentation.

some of the cooked dishes that were served with our meal set: a vegetable tofu/egg of sorts.

a stir fry of pineapple, gelatin and tree mushrooms.

braised pork knuckle. (my favorite from their dishes)

healthy and light!

xx

Qi Ming Organic Hotpot.

dinner at qi ming shabu shabu.

their veggies are organic, local and fresh, with farm to table being the restaurant’s concept. price wise, its on the higher end, but for the quality offered, i think its fair.

we started of with cold sake.

the pot: b and i ordered different broth bases- he had the tomato oxtail, and i had the vegetarian vege broth. i like that qi ming has quite a few options.. theres also a kombu, and a chicken broth.

i ordered a mix veggies basket, beef short ribs, and an extra order of frozen tofu. (not pictured) i wish there was more enoki- next time i think i’ll get an extra/side portion because the teeny bit in the basket is just not enough for me. there was a piece of mochi in the basket- which was a nice addition that cooked up chewy and gummy.

the prime beef short rib. tender, and lightly marbled. deLish. their dipping sauces consist of a ponzu, to which i added scallions and garlic. theres also a cardamom paste based sauce, which is a bit heavier, and goes well with the mochi.

cheers!

xx

2 F, #128,Zhongxiao E Rd, Sec 4.  02) 2772-5123

lao jio sour hotpot.

sour cabbage hotpot at “lao jio.”

this place has been packed the few times that i’ve gone.. we needed to book ahead several days in advance- and weekends were pretty much full.

the veggies are homemade “sour preserved”  like kimchee, i think) and is on the heavier flavor/salty side. perfect for my american taste buds.

i like how the accoutrements for making sauces are placed by each table- no getting up from your table to refill. ( i can use up to 3 bowls of sauce.. )

the pot base.. comes with veggies, tofu and some pork.

frozen tofu. my fave.

orders of beef sirlion and short rib. clean + well plated.

we also had clams, enoki mushrooms and chrysanthemum greens.

the pot below has their handmade sichuan meatballs. another must try here. soft + flavorful.

yum yum.

307 FuHsing N. Road.

xx

wei lu: sour cabbage pot

sour cabbage hot pot, for two!

dinner @ wei lu, in tapei. an old school style hotpot restaurant.

this was the “small sized pot” for two. the soup base includes some pork, sour cabbage, and frozen tofu.

the accoutrements: sauce station. i used soy, vinegar, sesame oil, lots of garlic, and scallions + cilantro.

i also made a second sauce, with all of the above, plus the thick sesame sauce. (good with pork)

beef, enoki mushrooms and veggies for the pot- pretty generous portions. and thats b’s glass of sour plum juice. (not for me!)

sO good. the sesame pockets “sao bing”. my favorite carb to eat with sour pot!! ( i don’t usually take rice)

closeup of the pot, with their “gong wan” beef and seafood… “balls” for the lack of a better word.

deLish. great on a rainy day.

nanshan shabu shabu.

nanshan shabu shabu and yakitori.

i love their shabu, because their ponzu sauce is the best. lots of green onion, sweet, sour, tart, with kumquats. it makes all the differance.

beef, plenty of veggies, choice of noodles.

noodles standing in the glass vases below. chewy, and really good cooked at the end the meal, when the broth has all the flavors of the cooked meat + veggies. after boiling, i take the noodles out and add a bit of ponzu and few ladles of soup broth in a small bowl. YUM.

this place is healthy and so good.. i could eat here a couple times a week.

for dessert they usually have 2 different types of puddings. their earl grey flan is my favorite! it’s soft and very fine, melts in your mouth. plus, i lOve bergamot.

 

addy: 台北市大安區安和路2段167號1F   No.16, Sec 2, AnHe St. Da-An District.

 

xxx

hot pot: old sichuan

in chinese, this place is called “old sichuan” it’s ma-la hot pot.

on their sign outside, the english says ” Kingdom of Pa and Shu. Hot and Spcy Tofu with Beef”

a little misleading.. anyhow.

we went with a group of 10 and had 2 of the mixed pots. half ma-la spicy (with tons of duck blood. so good.) and half non spicy.  for the pots, we ordered 2 different kinds of beef, which came in huge portions, enoki mushrooms, 2 green veggies. intestine, fishcake balls, large mushrooms.. i forget what else, but that was what I ate at least!

the pots with the base soups before we started cooking and adding ingredients.

the spicy side was a bit oily/greasy.. mostly spicy oils, but once you cook the beef, it was… FAT.

like i said. HUGE portions of meat. good for big groups.

i’m really starting to enjoy chinese ma-la hot pot… guess this means i’m finally assimilating to taiwan! i used to only love shabu shabu.. X) which i still do of course.

http://www.oldsichuan.com.tw

Orange Shabu Shabu

shabu shabu! the meat quality is good, and the ponzu is just right, sour, and not too salty.

Orange is on the more expensive side.. and they have sets, with a small appetizer, choice of meat, veggies, fruit + dessert.

tomato + onion salad/appetizer.

sirloin shabu

shabu pot with veggies for two.

you can also have rice congee made with the soup base after you are done cooking, for a small fee. which is.. delicious. they make it for you, and boil down the broth so that the congee becomes thick and really flavorful. especially good to try if someone at your table ordered seafood shabu shabu.

xx