 Day 1, Friday- 5/22/15 There's nothing like starting the trip with a (surprised) Limo ride and champagne. Okay, so it's the "J Roget Brut" so not fancy but still drinkable. My fiance thought I was lost (or senile) because I made him hike over to the very end of baggage claim when we didn't have any checked luggage. Alonso from Presidential Limo was patiently waiting for us (I didn't get his voice mail that he had arrived early till way after the fact). Even though we had used up quite a bit of time already, he accommodated us and made a stop at the LV sign. It took us 4 visits to Las Vegas to finally see the sign in person. |
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There's now crosswalks on both sides and plentiful parking.
Welcome to Fabulous LV Nevada sign...so...we finally meet after all this time.
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Interesting mannequins dressed in flowers. Though their expressions kind of scare me.
| After early check-in at the Palazzo (~ 10 am) and unloading our things in the room, we hunted for food at Bouchon (Venetian; Venezia Tower -10f). I have heard so much wonderful things about it but haven't had a chance to try it until now. I thought it would be perfect to take my Fiance there and (secretly) show him that not all French food will leave him hungry. The food was very good and service was very attentive and friendly. My Fiance really liked it, but thought his hash was missing a side (like tater tots or hash browns). I took a bite from his plate and was pleasantly surprised (I generally can't eat lamb because I can't get past the gamey taste, but his hash was actually good). After the meal, we experienced the 4.8- magnitude earthquake. Very interesting feeling for sure. At first we thought they had added a new function to the water fountain outside that shakes the ground every now and then. Nope. We spoke to our server regarding it and he told us it was the first time he's ever witnessed one in 30 years of living in LV (I don't know how true that is, maybe on the LV strip?). |
|  His win made me see that you don't always have to play max to hit something.
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 | After cashing out, we headed over to the Bellagio to look at their new Conservatory Display (we didn't care much for this "Under the Sea" theme at all). We preferred the Thanksgiving or Chinese New Year one. |
| Does the "B" have some sort of secret pact with Sands to time their displays with similarly strange looking mannequins? Surely there must be more than one mannequin store in Nevada. |  |
At least the fish display was kind of cool.
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I think the Sand version of Bellagio is probably one of the more interesting things here this time around.
To save time, we picked up our KA tickets at the "O" Box office for the following day. We have not wandered towards this area before since "O" Cirque du Soleil wasn't high on our list.
We stumbled into Richard MacDonald's Bronze Gallery since it was adjacent to the box office. Very stunning and free (to look) but if you want to take one of his pieces home with you-- better bring the check book ($30k-$100k+).
 It's off to the Aria for some slots before dinner. "I Love Lucy" but apparently she doesn't love me the same way. Maybe that's why it's still at the entrance of Aria (since late last year). |
| I tried a bunch of random slots and the only one I could really remember playing was the Ringling Brother's Barnum & Bailey which gave me a small bonus and was amusing. It's safe to say one of my newest hobbies include Hit-and-Runs at slots (I know a lot of you are probably shaking your head at this point). Finally, Top Dollar was showing me some mercy. Sad to say but it was my only decent hit of the day -- at least it almost covered dinner. Looking back, I wished I had up the bet as I landed on the 1000 credit offer (that's what I remembered anyways). Oh well, can't win at everything. At this point, I made my Fiance walk towards the other end of the casino in search of slots to play (I haven't told him where we were going for dinner). As he continued playing, I excused myself to the restroom (which I did use so not a complete lie...), then walked over to Blossom to check-in and was assured that the surprised cake I had arranged was safely delivered. So back to Fiance, then off to Blossom! |
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| Blossom was a great way to end the day. I can see why there's so many positive reviews online. The food is very tasty -- but what sets them apart is the super attentive service. This seems like a contradiction because most Chinese restaurants in the US are about turning tables as fast as they can, without much emphasis on the service. They seated us in a lovely (semi-private booth; it looked like the only one in the restaurant) and we had a leisurely paced dinner (I think we spent over 2+ hours). It was a very calming atmosphere that was conducive to conversation. I almost forgot the casino was nearby. Our server Daniel (in picture) was so wonderful and funny (thank goodness he stopped us from ordering more food because we had a lot left over). Everyone from the hostesses to the other supporting servers were so friendly. We were constantly checked on by so many staff that I lost count. I picked Blossom because my Fiance loves duck and they carved it table side (by our talented server). For the Peking Duck, you can choose between having it served in buns or wraps (which we opted for since it was lighter); with the remaining duck re-plated separately. The duck was crispy on the outside, moist on the inside with minimal fat. It transported me back to when I had the authentic version in Beijing last year. |
For the curious or those wanting a taste of home, Blossom has off-menu (secret) items that they can make for you by request (they can even source rare Chinese ingredients if you give them advance notice and if you are willing to open up your wallet wide). One item in particular that really caught my eye was the "Hong Kong style Typhoon Lobster (made with Main Lobster)." I don't recall if I ever had it in HK before since I used to live there as a child, but wow was it great! I highly recommend it if you love deep fried Lobster served without sauce and with lots of garlic.
Mid-way through dinner, we were so stuffed. But the real surprise of the day was coming.
Daniel and Danny unveiled the birthday cake made by the talented Las Vegas Custom Cakes (LVCC). I believe Daniel added on the candle himself. They even went out of their way to help us perform surgery on the little guy (and didn't even charge us cake cutting fee).
Mid-way through dinner, we were so stuffed. But the real surprise of the day was coming.
Daniel and Danny unveiled the birthday cake made by the talented Las Vegas Custom Cakes (LVCC). I believe Daniel added on the candle himself. They even went out of their way to help us perform surgery on the little guy (and didn't even charge us cake cutting fee).
I was actually stunned to see how awesome and massive the cake was in person. It was more than 3x+ times the reference measurements I was given even though they were aware it was just for the two of us. I've seen their impressive portfolio, but nothing beats seeing it in person (Joe from LVCC is wonderful to work with and made planning the surprise really fast and hassle-free via e-mail...10 stars!)
Initially, I was really struggling to pick out which cake company to use, since Las Vegas has so many talented ones. But what it really came down to was LVCC's neat fondant work and fast responses (less than an hour each time).
I wasn't picky on the flavors. I did tell them his favorite was the Dobash and just wanted something comparable (they actually told me they will see what they could do and asked if I wanted the Hawaiian-style Dobash). While it wasn't a Dobash (according to my Fiance as I don't know the difference), I did appreciate them trying to accommodate me (even with delivery as I had to change it from hotel to restaurant).
Regardless, we appreciated how great it turned out, both look and taste-wise, so we will definitely be using them again on future trips. In the words of my Fiance "...so, should I be giving them a call for your birthday?" Ah yes, we (ok...he) already had plans to go to LV again later this year "near" my birthday (how convenient of a reason).
Initially, I was really struggling to pick out which cake company to use, since Las Vegas has so many talented ones. But what it really came down to was LVCC's neat fondant work and fast responses (less than an hour each time).
I wasn't picky on the flavors. I did tell them his favorite was the Dobash and just wanted something comparable (they actually told me they will see what they could do and asked if I wanted the Hawaiian-style Dobash). While it wasn't a Dobash (according to my Fiance as I don't know the difference), I did appreciate them trying to accommodate me (even with delivery as I had to change it from hotel to restaurant).
Regardless, we appreciated how great it turned out, both look and taste-wise, so we will definitely be using them again on future trips. In the words of my Fiance "...so, should I be giving them a call for your birthday?" Ah yes, we (ok...he) already had plans to go to LV again later this year "near" my birthday (how convenient of a reason).
 |  The best part was the cake was moist and delicious! |
| Alas, over-stuffed at this point, it was time to go. We had asked Daniel and the staff to take some cake to share with their colleagues but it didn't seem like they did (as there was no way we could finish it). He wrapped up everything nicely for us (including the cake, which didn't have a box so they had to do some handy DIY work). After settling the bill ($315; $242 before tips) and babying the heavy cake in hand, we headed back to Palazzo via Taxi. My Fiance mentioned the driver took the really long route but I guess I was too full and tired at this point to care. |  |
Shortly after, he crashed after returning to the room, and I enjoyed my mid-night snack alone.
Parting gift (for the ladies?) with Taiwanese Pineapple Cake and Tea Sachet.
Overall, we really enjoyed Blossom and was really impressed with the service. We will definitely return to try out their other menu items. Before this, my Fiance always equated Chinese food as inexpensive and saw no reason to overpay. But even he said it was worth every penny (...not that he had to pay).
Blossom does offer the usual suspects such as Mapo Tofu, Mongolian Beef, Walnut Prawns, or Kung Pao Chicken
if the more unusual items aren't your taste.
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