Lotus of Siam has been on my radar for a while now. Every trip, it's been on my short-list. But we've never made it there until now thanks to Uber (my Fiance prefers not to drive on vacation).
We tried out Uber for the first time today, and we were picked up by a really nice older gentleman named Dan (nickname). The Uber pickup point at Paris is actually at the shuttle bus area (North gate), though there's no official signage yet.
Dan was very wonderful and even showed us where he lived by. The ride came out to $10.55 (actually $15.55, but we had a promotional code that takes $5 off the first 3 rides). We thanked him with $5 tip. I know, it kind of defeats the whole "cashless" transaction that defines Uber as it's supposedly included. But this is Las Vegas after all. It would feel strange not tipping.
Lotus of Siam doesn't take reservations for lunch so we planned to walk-in around their opening time (11am).
Dan was very wonderful and even showed us where he lived by. The ride came out to $10.55 (actually $15.55, but we had a promotional code that takes $5 off the first 3 rides). We thanked him with $5 tip. I know, it kind of defeats the whole "cashless" transaction that defines Uber as it's supposedly included. But this is Las Vegas after all. It would feel strange not tipping.
Lotus of Siam doesn't take reservations for lunch so we planned to walk-in around their opening time (11am).
Wine Cellar.
As much as I wanted to order wine, it felt a bit too early in the day to drink.
In true Asian fashion, we settled on Pu-erh tea. It's good for digestion right?
In true Asian fashion, we settled on Pu-erh tea. It's good for digestion right?
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#19. Tom Yum Koong Soup (Cup size- $6.95; available in a bowl). We got this in "medium" level of spiciness but it felt like our mouth was burning. Yet, one can't help but want to go back for seconds (it's that good!). It's sweet and sour with lemongrass, lime juice, and mushroom. The shrimp are generously sized, and the cilantro really brings all of the components together. A winner!
Koong Sarong (Prawn in a blanket; $12.95). Wow-- this was fabulous! Super light and crunchy with just the right amount of savory (with the wrapped bacon). Dipping it in the homemade sweet and sour sauce really completes it.
#131- Roasted duck curry ($11.95). This was good but I think I would recommend only if you love Coconut Milk since it's very prominent in the dish aside from the pineapple and bellpeppers.
Drunken Noodles with Prawn ($28.95). I loved the sauce and the noodles. What's even more awesome is that the Prawns are separated from the shell for you. One side is crispy, and the other is juicy.
[PROS]
- Really friendly service.
- Excellent food and large portions (would be great to share in a group).
- Inexpensive wine list. It's not marked up much at all.
- BYOB (Corkage is $25 per bottle up to 2 bottle limit-- only if it's not on their wine list).
- Super prices and a large range of menu items (including their famous "Northern Thai" section).
- You can opt for a level of spiciness that you are comfortable with. Funny though, we ordered all the dishes (except for the Shrimp in a blanket) in "medium," yet the soup was very spicy.
[CONS]
- Remote off-strip location.
- No-frills (but that's okay because the food alone is worth the trip).
- Reservations available only for dinner.
Detailed menu with descriptions (though the prices look outdated so buffer in a few dollars extra per dish).
We really enjoyed our visit to Lotus. Even though it seemed like we didn't order much, we had a lot of food left over. We would love to return with friends or family to try more items. It seems like the kind of place that's more fun with a larger group while doing "family-style" sharing. Even my Fiancé who is not fond of Thai food was won over. That's hard to do.
Towards the conclusion of our meal, we contacted Dan (he told us to see if he was still around the area). To our surprise, he was waiting for us (he later told us he had picked up someone from the restaurant. We did hear a patron talking to "Uber" for a pick-up. But that was around the time he dropped us off, so he must have waited a long while.
On our itinerary today was Downtown, so Dan dropped us off at the Plaza Hotel. The ride itself was $7.58 ($12.58 before discount). For his kindness and trouble, we tipped him $10.
On our itinerary today was Downtown, so Dan dropped us off at the Plaza Hotel. The ride itself was $7.58 ($12.58 before discount). For his kindness and trouble, we tipped him $10.
We usually go to Downtown in the day time (if we can help it as we dislike crowds). We hardly spend any time at DT because we don't care for the barely dressed "performers" that pop up. There's so many that I wish I could have unseen. Though ever since the city passed the new ordinance with the performer zoning regulations, it seems like it really helped to keep it under control.
We roamed Fremont from hotel-to-hotel, and walked through the Golden Nugget to try and sign up for a player's card. We stood in line for about 5 mins and it didn't even move. So we gave up and continued walking through.
We passed by the Grotto inside the Golden Nugget. The restaurant looked pretty inviting. Perhaps we'll try it on a different visit.
As we walked by the Grotto restaurant, my fiancé was enamored with the Golden Nugget pool area with the sharks! For downtown, the GN felt very snazzy and if I had to stay, it would probably be my top choice. Unfortunately, we've established from the very first Fremont visit that Downtown was not for us.
Good bye Las Vegas Club. We've hardly ever met. You will be missed.
My Fiance wanted to bid Las Vegas Club farewell. On a previous trip, we ventured into the casino and said hi to some of the staff that had taken good care of his Grandpa for many, many decades (it was his most favorite place to stay and play). We've never been inside when the hotel was still functioning, but it holds sentimental value due to all the stories we've heard throughout the years. Now that it's been sold to the owners of the D hotel, better things are bound to happen as it was sitting in a very dismal state.
Day time on Fremont Street feels completely different than at night.
We only spent a short while walking Fremont. As my Fiance complained about the toilet paper in the room, we finally found some at ABC! Our main goal in Downtown was really to go to Las Vegas Jerkys (not to be confused with The Beef Jerky Store...more on that on a later post) to load up on snacks and Omiyage (souvenirs).
Las Vegas Jerkys is located on the 3rd floor of the Plaza hotel.
Ooops, I didn't take a picture of the store. So here are photos of our loot box instead.
They do phone orders and ship (not sure about internationally though). We were going to have them ship our purchases to Hawaii (they charge you the same rates USPS charges), but since we bought Cinnamon Bagel chips, we didn't want to chance it being broken. We were actually looking for the card-shaped beef Jerky, but they didn't have any in-stock this time.
Candy from the Jerky store! Root Beer sugar free ($7), Cola Gummies ($5.95)
 Their famous Cinnamon Bagel Chips. So addicting! If you buy the broken ones, it's about $1 less than the ones in the plastic container. But if you plan to ship them, they will be broken anyways. Broken chips ($7.95). Regular Bagel chips ($8.95) |  People from Hawaii love this Lup Chong ($7.75)! There's about 9 pieces. |
After stocking on the Bagel chips, Lup Chong, and candies (and adding about 10 pounds+ worth of things), we rested our feet for a while. Then, we decided to venture onwards to the Stratosphere.
I saw my Fiance dialing his phone. He was calling Dan. I was a bit mad at him because at this point it felt like we were imposing. But Dan was so kind that he swung by to pick us up at the Plaza (we didn't mind waiting since he was actually not close by at all). This ride was only about $4.99 ($9.99 with promo code). So we tipped him $10. When he was dropping us off, he asked how long we were planning on staying. We weren't sure ourselves so we could not give him an answer.
This was our first visit to the Stratosphere. So we signed up for the player's card, then proceeded to slot around a while. No wins. But we did play the really big, 3-reel Big Bang Theory slot ($1; $5 max). We played 4 rounds ($20), with no hits. I can't remember what I played here, but my Fiance moved on to Britney Spears, but she wasn't in the mood to show some love today.
It was around 4pm when we walked through the Stratosphere shops. It felt very strange. All of the shops were deserted. The only places that really stood out was the arcade and the Alpaca store (in a creepy kind of way).
This was the arcade. I guess they were still in "Halloween mode."
Hey look--it's "Made in China" & USDA prime...
Also, what's up with the Chinese theme they have going on? It feels a bit disjointed from the rest of the building.
After getting lost a bit, we found the entrance to Level 107 Lounge. We passed by the security check. The security guard was very nice, but I'm sure he must have been amused with my Fiance's backpack contents:
Yes, I have an unhealthy obsession with Sea Otters. It's the closest I can get to owning a real one. At least one of the 3 gets to come with us on trips usually.
We had our 3 faithful otter companions. Then there was a big bag of Green Tea Kit Kats (the Japanese use it as a good luck charm; but we always leave some for housekeeping along with tip), and the newly acquired Charmin toilet paper rolls from the ABC store earlier. Oh, and some other random things.
Apparently, it's not the strangest bag security has seen in his days. He told us that one time, a real dog popped out of the bag and startled him.
Once we took the elevator up to Level 107, we snagged a really spacious table. But as we were only a group of two, they offered us another (smaller table). It's cool. There were really nice about it. The sun was setting and it's happy hour! (Note, I researched the sunset times prior to our visit, so we had a decent idea of when to come). To start the night off, we ordered the High Fashioned. The early happy hour includes 50% off appetizers, and 2-for-1 cocktail drinks (you have to order 2 of the same drink, and it's brought out together).
The sun actually started setting at 4:30pm on this particular day.
High Fashioned ($15). Made with bourbon, orange and cherries, orange bitters, syrup and soda. Not bad!
[PROS]
- Lovely view. Great place to have a drink and small appetizers.
- We had 2 waitresses due to a shift change. But they were both super nice and friendly.
- We went when there's no DJ yet, so the atmosphere was very relaxing.
- Happy hour daily!
- Nice drinks and pretty good food (though the food gets cold super fast, so you may want to eat it quick, or order one item at a time).
- Free entry to the observation decks above (instead of paying the observation deck entry fee).
- The staff in the elevators are super friendly.
- Check their website before you go, there might be a special going on.
[CONS]
- I wished the lounge was situated right next to the window.
- Off-strip location of the Stratosphere.
[MENU]
Click for bigger file!
Time for drink #2! We picked the Cosmic Cucumber (Cucumber Vodka, triple sec, syrup, lime and cranberry juice). Funny, I somehow envisioned this to be green. It has a piece of starfruit inside too. Refreshing and oh so good!
For the last drink, we asked the waitress to surprise us. Okay...well, kind of. She was hesitant to do so, instead she recommended the Mango Sangria. It was really good and sweet. It's sort of a girly drink, but my Fiance thoroughly enjoyed it. Even our server was surprised at how fast he finished it. I didn't taste much alcohol in it, but it was very good. I would definitely order this again along with the Cosmic Cucumber.
Mango Sangria St-Germain (Brandini Moscato, St-Germain elderflower liqueur, blackberry brandy, mango puree, and champagne).
After drinks and appetizers (~$70 for 3 appetizers and 6 cocktails + $25 tip), we went to the outdoor observation deck above. We figured, it's free when you eat at 107 Lounge--might as well check it out (since the regular adult admission is $18-$20 per person, depending on the time of day).
Pretty views. I can see Luxor and MGM!
If you are adventurous, the Stratosphere offers different thrill rides and activities, but we were not interested. Okay, so we are a bit afraid of heights. That and I did see a good friend of mine bungee jump off of Macau Tower last year (which looks similar to the Stratosphere and holds the Guinness World records for the tallest commercial bungee jump. Though the SkyJump at the Stratosphere is the highest commercial decelerator decent. Apparently there's a difference on the mechanics of both, and the Sky Jump is technically not a Bungee Jump but it gives you a similar effect. If you figure it out, let me know ok? :)
| Level 107 Lounge @ The Stratosphere Hotel. 2000 Las Vegas Blvd S. Las Vegas, NV 89104 702. 380.7711 Daily Early Happy Hour: 4p-7p | 1/2 off appetizers + 2-for-1 cocktails (It has to 2 of the the same cocktails; beer and wine excluded). Daily Late Happy Hour: 10:30p-1a | 1/2 off appetizers 1a-4a | 2-for-1 cocktails |
When it was time to leave, we utilized Uber once again. (Dan had actually messaged us to see if we would need a ride back, but we were still at Stratosphere and he was going to call it an early night. We thanked him on the phone and we hope to run into him again. I'm not sure if it's okay to call him on our next trip though).
The universe likes to play tricks on us. I believe we were long-hauled by the next Uber driver (it came off as un-intentionally). He kept getting lost from the Stratosphere to Paris. He said the GPS led him to the wrong route. He made a turn into the Palazzo self-parking lot, thinking he could drive through it, then had to back-track to the exit. Once we were near Paris, he somehow took the wrong turn to the hotel's loading dock area. Then he had to do a loop all the way back to the Valet. The ride came out to $17.60. I still tipped him $5 since his car was clean.
What do you guys think? Were we long-hauled? Or did I misunderstand the situation?
It's not like this particular driver just moved to Las Vegas either. He talked about having a unit at The Signature way back in early 2001 and had lived in LV for sometime now. But in 2008 when the market crashed, his condo lost a lot in value. He even disclosed how much he was making when he was renting it out (he gets brownie points for being friendly). Are we overanalyzing it?
So...back at Paris, we unload our goodies in the room from the Jerky store from earlier. I went to use the restroom to find it didn't flush. I uncovered the back of the toilet to find this:
The metal chain had separated from the toilet flapper.
My Fiance tried calling housekeeping/ maintenance but was put on hold for a long time. When someone finally picked up, they hung up on him before he could say anything. Second try- he was put on hold, then the phone rang, followed by more holding. After a while, he gave up and decided to go to the front desk. On our way, we ran into the resident Engineer, and found him on the other side of the wing.
We told him our problem, gave him our room number and he assured us he will take care of it (true to his word, it was fixed when we came back later in the night). For the record, he was really nice and helpful. Apparently he was going around the rooms on our floor to repair things. I guess we weren't the only ones to have problems on this night. He had asked if there were any more work orders from his supervisors, but was told there was none. Weird right? Whoever was picking up their maintenance phone lines was really dropping the ball on things.
As we waited for our toilet to be fixed, we walked to Treasure Island.
On our way, we saw a Michael Jackson street performer. He was pretty good. Good enough that my Fiance actually tipped him (rare since he never usually stops or tips street performers).
All the while, I more amused by this other man (who I initially thought was part of the act, but he later tipped the performer too). He was singing and busting out full-on dance moves with the MJ impersonator. He was such a blast to watch. I can't help but smile.
On our way, we saw a Michael Jackson street performer. He was pretty good. Good enough that my Fiance actually tipped him (rare since he never usually stops or tips street performers).
All the while, I more amused by this other man (who I initially thought was part of the act, but he later tipped the performer too). He was singing and busting out full-on dance moves with the MJ impersonator. He was such a blast to watch. I can't help but smile.
The man in the bottom right corner was full-on dancing and singing along.
We had accumulated a bag load of coins at this point (and it was only day 3), and really wanted to lighten up our wallet. Treasure Island has a coin converter machine. They do take a small percentage cut, but I feel it's worth it versus lugging several pounds of coins around.
Afterwards, we stayed and played a bit.
My Fiance found the 777 game which he likes, and played some Video Keno. I discovered a Spin Poker machine (maybe it was 8/5; $1 on max), and was playing there for about 1/2 hour. No wins, but I felt like I got a lot of bang of my $20 bucks. My Fiance had a few small wins ($30-$60). I guess he felt pity on me so he would feed my random slot machines with his TITOs (thanks Hon!).
Though, another first for me was I didn't get drink service here.
Next, we walked over to Palazzo. My fiancé knew someone that works here and wanted to say Hi, but we didn't see them. So we started to return to Paris on foot.
Once we passed by Casino Royale, he needed to try White Castle!
I was not too enthused. I knew I probably wouldn't like it (as much as it was hyped up on Harold & Kumar).
Once we passed by Casino Royale, he needed to try White Castle!
I was not too enthused. I knew I probably wouldn't like it (as much as it was hyped up on Harold & Kumar).
Menu.
My Fiance posing with his White Castle burgers. I think we got combination #1. Personally I didn't care for the texture of the famous burgers. It's a bit mushy for me. (But I guess that's how they originally made it, so kudos on keeping up with the original recipe?)
I remember reading a TripAdvisor review where someone said it was so bad, they gave theirs to the "hungry and homeless" (who is probably not homeless) on the street-- and even they refused to take it.
Do you like White Castle?
After satisfying our curiosity, we returned back to Paris. There were now go-go dancers on the gaming tables. We did see them at Cosmo and Planet Hollywood before (though we thought their dancers were much prettier). These were the only places we've noticed them on the strip.
It was now past 1am. I went back to the room to get ready for bed and to catch up on some zzZZZzzZs. My Fiance went back down to play slots. He had a bit of luck on the following game (it seems whenever we are far part from one another, our luck seems to improve. It's one of our silly gaming superstitions but we have been proven wrong before).
It was now past 1am. I went back to the room to get ready for bed and to catch up on some zzZZZzzZs. My Fiance went back down to play slots. He had a bit of luck on the following game (it seems whenever we are far part from one another, our luck seems to improve. It's one of our silly gaming superstitions but we have been proven wrong before).
Rumble slot at Paris. This was one of 3 wins my Fiance hit on this machine that night. He landed on the bonus several times which gave him extra free spins. Pretty good for playing minimum!
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