ya,the woo got my vote for chinese food.as far as buffet,i agree with k RIO is #1 and for fast food the one and only IN-N-OUT...

 

The only problem about Woo is the parking. It's so crowded. I normally go there for dim sum on Sundays.

Oh...Bellagio, the buffet...love it. (had to say something so we can focus on this thread)

<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by surewin on 02/13/04 12:27 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

The Venetian has a French restaurant called "Pinot Brasserie ". It is EXCELLENT. Its probably the best dinner I've ever had in my entire life. Everything was PERFECT: the food, presentation, service, etc. I noticed there were some French visitors eating there too, so that's a good sign (say what you want about the French, but they do know fine food). Its run by a famous chef from California - Joachim Splichal, who was rated "Best Chef in California" by Food & Beverage magazine and Southern California Restaurant Writers Association

Also, the Mirage has an excellent Japanese restaurant.

2003 G35C, 6MT, DG/G, Aero/Nav/Premium
2002 Corvette Z06, Electron Blue/Black

 

Be careful when recommending chinese food to others. Make sure you know what they like. I find Sam Woo's to be absolutely gawd awful. I grew up in Rosemead and wound up going to a LOT of chinese restaurants in Monterey Park. I can say that I absolutely cannot stand authentic chinese food...not even the gourmet stuff. Yet, I have heard many rave about some of these places.

OTOH, I have heard many say that Yang Chow is the best chinese food they have ever had and I am sure that turns the stomach of those who desire authentic chinese over americanized chinese food.

Garlic = good
Fish oil = barf

 

Hmm... I was thinking of cancelling my reservations at Jasmine, as I was at Caramel last night and wandered by the restaurant. I saw the menu for Jasmine posted, so I checked it out. Fixed menu. Uh oh. Price? Yeah, $140 a plate for chinese food just doesn't fly my flag. They used the word "lobster" on that menu more than I care for one meal, and they even had some FRENCH dishes (????). Crap.

G

2003.5 Black w/ Willow G35
Premium / Sport / Aero / Winter / Navi / Tint

 

Holy.... freaking... sh*t.

We went to Jasmine for their fixed Valentine's Day menu. The food could not have been more amazingly scrutinized over, the wait-staff was simply incredible, and the entire experience was just fantastic. We sat against the very front, overlooking the fountain and watching as it slowly moved in sync to Bocelli singing Con Te Partiro, and... well, it rocked.

I take pride in my ability to pick a good menu... I've eaten if some of the best restaurants in the best cities in the world, and this one ranked easily in the top 5 for its menu, preparation, and service. Though not a strictly "chinese" fare (which I didn't expect anyway, after seeing the menu the other night [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]), it had a hint in every dish. It's too bad that avs007 hated it and had such a bad experience, but this was simply excellent. My parents (one a cordon bleu chef) agreed whole-heartedly. Maybe they changed head chefs?

I don't gush over things that aren't perfect. Anyone that knows me knows I'm a ridonculous food snob, so... consider this a gushing, glowing recommendation for what was on their V-day menu. The menu being:

App: Crystal Crab Claw; Alaskan king crab claw wrapped in diced shrimp and served with a jing jang vinaigrette. This was possibly the freshed crab and shrimp I've had in a while, and was presented beautifully. More of an amuse bouche than an appetizer, it was still DAMN good.

Soup: Seafood Consumme; This consumme featured plump, kind prawns and bay scallops, served steaming in a cocount shell that was husked and carved into a soup bowl. You could scrape down the sides to add more coconut flavor to the soup at your own discretion.

Entrees: Peking Duck Hand Roll: with julienne cucumber and coriander, and home-made crepes. The amount of plum and hoisin sauce was absolutely perfect. In fact, the entire roll was proportioned perfectly, allowing no flavor to overpower another, as is common in restaurant peking or mu shu.

Cantonese Lobster: Shelled and cooked at the table, it was presented on velvet egg white and yee fu noodles. The noodles were like strips of silk, and the sauce gently drizzled over the combination was a bit sweet, which complimented the lobseter perfectly.

Chateaubriand: Again, cooked at the table to your liking, and draped in a rainbow peppercorn sauce. So good. MMmmm. The above two entrees had steamed asparagus between them, which worked well with both the chateaubriand and the lobster.

Dessert: Simply called "From Jean-Phillipe, with Love"; there were two desserts. One of which was a thin chocolate cake, stuffed gently with coffee glace, and topped with a black chocolate lace topping. Obviously skimpy in their use of flour, it just melted once it hit your tonge. Damn it was good. Dessert number two was a caramel tort, which I didn't pay much attention to, because I was busy scarfing down my chocolate [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

The menus were presented elegantly on script paper, tied together with butterfly strings. We were called by name everywhere (I went to the restroom, and the attendant said "How are you enjoying you dinner, Mr.Baumer?" That freaked me out.). Great staff.

Upon leaving we received large red silk boxes with gold emblems that contained a traditional three-piece teacup set each. They also had two containers of Monkey Pick Tea and Jasmine Tea in them.

Conclusion: Great restaurant.

G

2003.5 Black w/ Willow G35
Premium / Sport / Aero / Winter / Navi / Tint

 

Apon re-reading your post, I realized we weren't talking about the same restaurant. I was talking about the chinese restaurant that is physically inside the bellagio. I got tipped off you were talking about a different restaurant when you talked about watching the fountains.

I got confused, because we were actually supposed to eat at the Jasmine, but our plans got screwed up, so we ended up cancelling, and wandered into another chinese restaurant in the Bellagio that came highly recommended (I was there during CES, so it was a bit hectic trying to squeeze so many things in

On a side note, I was surprised at the number of Gs I saw in the various parking structures. And not a one of them had Nevada plates

 

Phew. I was thinking "Man, this is gonna suck" when we were walking to it... almost cancelled my reservation [img]/w3timages/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Definitely glad I didn't do-- you should take wifey to Jasmine and see if she likes it a bit better. If she doesn't, don't tell me [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

G

2003.5 Black w/ Willow G35
Premium / Sport / Aero / Winter / Navi / Tint

 

Drove up there from San Diego on Friday night. Stopped at the Gold Strike in Jean on the way in for dinner.. they had Alaskan Snow Crab at the $9.99 all-you-can-eat buffet. We definately got our money's worth. [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Avoided restaurants all weekend and used the kitchen in our suite. Drove home last night on the I-15 parking lot .. some accident near Baker and then the cops stopped traffic just north of Barstow for about 30 minutes for some criminal investigation. 7-1/2 hours to get home. Blech.

Incidentally, I blew more money playing at the MGM Grand's arcade with my son than I did gambling. Only lost $20 overall to the casinos... definately a good weekend. I can never seem to win first and have the opportunity to quit.. I usually either lose my gambling budget quickly, or nearly lose it all and then win it back to break even.