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Vdara Hotel and Spa – Las Vegas

I have loved the CityCenter since I first saw it revealed in real life. I had the opportunity to stay at Aria Resort last year, and this year, I knew Vdara Hotel & Spa was on the top of my list. We were actually at the Bellagio the night before, and we were preparing ourselves for a big walk with our suitcase, but to our excitement, there was a walk way that connected Vdara with Bellagio!

Once we got inside, there was a lovely scent to the hotel, like Aria – but it was a different scent. I convinced I loved the Vdara scent more, until I walked back into Aria afterwards. I liked it so much, I bought a pack of their scented sticks home, and I’m in love with the product! Anyway, that’s quite a diversion, but the check-in staff was phenomenal, and we got checked in early. Once we got to our room, we opened the door to put the suitcase down, and was greeted by a dining table, and with a quick glance, I realized there was a kitchenette! This is fantastic as I’ve been wanting to make tea every night!

The problem with the kitchenette is that it doesn’t come stocked. You’d have to ask them to stock it for you, so I didn’t bother as I was leaving the very next morning. I ended up just buying tea elsewhere. Regardless, the kitchenette has a 2 burner stove top, a garbage compactor – which was actually kind of loud and scary, so I didn’t use it at all. There was also a microwave, a mini fridge and a stocked mini bar! This hotel room has all the bells and whistles if you’re looking for a long term stay!

From the dining area, I ventured into the living space with plenty of seats. The sofas were extremely comfortable, and It looked onto a large flat TV. The view was exceptional as well! In the corner of this space was a little desk area as well. Actually, it’s not in the corner really, it’s in the corner of this area, which is at the divider space that separates the living area from the bedroom.

This divider space was compete with flat screen TV’s on both sides and tons of storage! The desk was spacious, and I loved the fact everything was branded to Vdara so perfectly!

Anyway, on the other side of the divider wall was the bed, and it was a large and comfy bed, perfect for a good nights rest after days of adventure on the strip!

Finally, the bathroom, which was my favourite part! Immediately when I stepped into the bathroom, the space blew my mind! It was complete with a luxurious soaker tub, which had a cart beside it with some towels! What a brilliant idea! The tub was large enough for 2, and it was a fabulous tub!

Behind the tub was a walk in shower, which was walled with glass and tiles. It was a large shower and all the bath amenities was already in the shower so if you forgot to bring your products in – it’s alright!

The actual sink and vanity part of the suite was phenomenal as well! Tonnes of counter space and lots of mirrors! It was spectacular, and I really enjoyed my time staying at Vdara! I also was able to see the Fountains at Bellagio from my suite and I sat on the window ledge watching many shows!

To get a better idea of this wonderful suite, be sure to check out my walk through below! To book your own Vdara experience, be sure to check out Vegas Hotel Casino Deals!

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Samba Brazilian Steakhouse – Mirage Las Vegas

I have never tried a Brazilian Grill before, but I’ve always wanted to. Where else better to try my first experience than in Las Vegas? We went to Samba Brazilian Steakhouse inside the Mirage Hotel and Casino. We were staying at the Mirage this evening, and we were extremely tired as this day was the day we arrived off the plane, and was up for many hours.

We wanted to try the “All You Can Eat”, but we just didn’t have that large of an appetite so we decided that we were going to get individual dishes. Inside that Samba was very fun, and right in the front was an open bbq, which was really exciting. The other tables around were filled with happiness and enthusiast as large skewers of food was arriving to their tables. We weren’t sad we weren’t apart of that, but it sure added to our experience!

Right after we ordered, a salad came to our table, which they called “Samba Salad“, which was as huge plate of lettuce – which they said was bottomless (even though one plate was plenty). The salad was a little over dressed, but was decent. There was quite a few brine olives which added texture and saltiness to the salad. Besides the olives, there was some chick peas in there too, which is really neat starter.

Instead of the typical bread basket that you normally get at the table, we got a basket of crackers, and it was really different. The warm buttery crackers was delicious on it’s own, but there was 2 dips that it came with. One was extremely garlicky, but a yummy roasted garlic sauce and the other was just olive oil sauce. There was a few pieces of bread, but I did enjoy the crackers the most with the garlic dip.

We started off with appetizers, and we decided to order their Beef Empanadas but Brazilian style. I’ve never tried empanadas Brazilian style as normally they’re more Mexican or Latin style. It was really good and looked really nice with a crispy pastry stuffed with tons of beef.

Right before the actual meal came, there was a bunch of sides that came alongside the table as well. We had delicious selection, but the thing that really stuck in my mind was the Fried Sweet Plantains as in the past when I tried plantains, it was actually disgusting and I didn’t finish them. Here, it was still really sweet, but the savoury side of the plantains really balanced out the side. I enjoyed it as it was a nice surprise.

Another side dish it came with was the Farofa Carrots which to be honest, I’m not too sure what it is. It’s kind of glazed carrots, and it’s not roasted. It was kind of sweet, and it was a simple side! Nothing good or bad about it.

Then, a green side dish would be the Creamed Spinach which was pretty good! It was creamy and you definitely got the spinach taste. It wasn’t too heavy so it was one of my favourite side dishes of the bunch.

The last side dish was simple, but needed. It was a bowl of Rice and Black Beans, and the rice helped soaked up some sauces from both the main dishes and it was delicious!

I ordered seafood, as I love seafood – I opted for Grouper which was a delicious fish, perfectly cooked, tender and juicy fish with tomatoes and ancho chili sauce. The portions was large enough, especially with all the sides. The sauce was overly salty, so I added my rice to it. It helped a bit, but it was still too salty. This dish was seriously good, and I would not have gotten this if I did All You Can Eat.

The last item we ordered was the Double Pork Chop with Spiced Apple Chutney and this was delectable! The apple chutney was delicious and beside it, there was some fresh apples. The pork chop was a little bit thin, but cooked really well. The apple chutney that topped the pork chop was the perfect combination for the pork! We really enjoyed this dish!

After this meal, we’re already thinking about other Brazilian places we could go to when we get home! It was such a fantastic experience and the food was so delicious. We would definitely be back if we were looking for lots of food and bbq’d!

Samba on Urbanspoon

Samba Brazilian Steakhouse

3400 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 791-7111

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BLT Burger – Mirage Las Vegas

We arrived into Las Vegas early for one of our trips and we tried to check-in, however, the room they wanted to give to us wasn’t ready, so we decided to grab a quick bite in the hotel. We wandered for a short time before we found BLT Burger where we sat down for lunch.

It’s a cozy and intimate environment, yet casual. It’s a nice place, and the prices are quite reasonable considering we were eating at a famous resort on the Las Vegas strip. However, a cup of coffee seems way to marked up as there was a Starbucks across the way. A cup of coffee was $4, so I would suggest you leave your coffee craving until after you eat! I ordered the BLT Burger as it’s the name of the place – so my expectations was huge!

My burger was huge and delicious, it was a 7oz. Grilled CAB*, Double Smoked Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, and BLT Burger Sauce. I have never tasted a piece of bacon the way the BLT Burger bacon was! It was like a smoked jerky, but it was tender and still juicy! I’m not sure how to explain it, but it was very memorable. I added a piece of cheese onto my BLT, which was the Pepper Jack cheese, and it really elevated the burger to a new level!

The other burger we ordered was the Lamb Tandoori burger and I have no words to describe this delicious contraction! It definitely tasted like lamb, and it was juicy and delicious, with a nice kick. It’s a messy burger, but the best burgers are messy!

Overall, it was a great dining experience, and there were no regrets walking into this restaurant! The service was good, the food was good, and the prices are still considered reasonable, even though a tad on the high side for what it is.

BLT Burger on Urbanspoon

BLT Burger – Mirage

3400 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 792-7888

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Bellagio Tower Resort King

I’ve waited for a lot of years to stay at the luxiourious Bellagio Las Vegas, and we finally decided to stay there – just for 1 night (which I thought was a million times better than none!) We were greeted by friendly staff at the front desk to check us in, and as always, Bellagio was beautifully decorated and this time, it was for the festive holiday season!

When I first got to the room, I was greeted by the grand, and rather spacious foyer area that linked the door, to the room, to the bathroom. Tiled and light, it felt like I was transported to somewhere special – and expensive!

Bellagio Room Foyer

Just off the foyer was the grand bathroom, and I say grand because it’s huge! There’s only 1 bathroom in this suite, but definitely enough counter space and just space in general to spare! Once you turn to the bathroom, you’re greeted by 2 sinks with beautifully tiled marble floors. You can definitely take a while to absorb the beauty of this bathroom!

On the bathroom counter tops are lots of amenities and the scent of the products used are quite fragrant, yet light! It’s the perfect blend that they use, and their products actually feel really nice as well!

Bellagio Las Vegas Bathroom Amenities

My favourite part of this room is the large soaker tub, which is off to one side. It’s large, spacious and just a great way to wind down, or sooth tired achy feet from all the walking!

Last but not least in the bathroom would be the spacious stand up shower with glass walls, making it quite the experience for a shower! The seals were actually really good as no water was let out during the usage. There’s even a little ledge for you to use, but I must say – it’s pretty cold if you want to sit on it!

Now, moving on to the actual room, once you’re in the area, there’s a beautiful counter with a mini bar/fridge, completely stocked up for your convenience! I must say, the products are extremely expensive, as conveniences comes with a heavy price tag! Regardless, I didn’t indulge in anything like that as I didn’t spend too much time in the room.

The king bed was really plush and luxurious. It was very comfortable, and it was firm enough! A fabulous room and stay overall! The room was comfortable for bed, but be warn, crazy alarms do go off in the middle of the night and it’s loud! We timed the alarm, and it went off for 2 minutes before telling us “the cause of the alarm has been identified, and not an emergency” In the event it was, we lost at least 2 minuted to evacuate the building.

As we only stayed here for one night, the next morning, we packed up and made our way to Vdara, where there was a nice walkway to that resort, and I didn’t know it was there! Be aware there are 2 towers at the Bellagio, and they are not connected, but they can tell where you need to be by looking at the design of your key! Watch the walk-through of the room, and be prepared to be blown away!

I booked my Bellagio experience from Las Vegas Hotel Casino deals – be sure to check the site for deals!

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Ping Pang Pong

Yes, I am aware that having Dim Sum in Las Vegas is odd, but we did it! We went to Gold Coast Hotel just off the main strip for Dim Sum at a place called Ping Pang Pong

I’ve got to say, not bad at all for dim sum!! The quality of the Chinese food was really good, and I honestly don’t really remember the price, but I believe it was very reasonable – otherwise, I would either be saying “it’s a GREAT deal!” or “it was SO NOT worth it!”

We started with a bowl of jook or congee – pork with thousand year old egg (Preserved Egg Porridge), which is a very common and popular Chinese rice porridge! It was actually really good, and the texture of the jook was smooth and done quite well!

No matter where I go, I’ve always got my favourites – like Chicken Feet which always seems to be delicious! It’s not exception here, the sauce is really one of my favourites and it was tender!

Also, you really can’t go anywhere without enjoying some Ha Gow – Shrimp Dumpling, and the shrimp was really fresh, sweet and crisp! The dumpling skin was really nice – steamed to perfection!

My parents really like Steamed Pork Balls, so of course they order it! I didn’t mind it here, and it was great!

Steamed Bean Curd Roll

Beef Tendons are one of my favourites when done right. Here, they did this right too! The tendons was infused with flavour and the tendons were soo soft with the “tender” gummyness texture. It was intense and deep, and cooked with the perfect marinade!

This was a weird order, it’s a Shrimp Balls with Crispy Rice, which is like the typical shrimp balls, but they covered it in crispy puffed rice! It added a new dimension of texture to what seems like a simple dim sum! It was a great idea! It worked!

I love any sort of rice crepes, but we ordered 1 order of Beef Rice Crepes, and I honestly thought it wasn’t enough! They actually stuffed their crepes with lots of filling, as some places just put a thin layer of meat in. The actual crepe was really fresh, soft, silky and quite thin!

Overall, this turned out to be a fantastic place for lunch! Everything was so delicious, and the service was excellent. Food constantly came out – which was really easy to over eat! This would be a place I would return to if I wanted a dim sum fix in Las Vegas! Everything was really fresh and you can definitely tell all the dishes were steamed not long before arriving onto the table!

Ping Pang Pong (Gold Coast) on Urbanspoon

Ping Pang Pong – Gold Coast Hotel

4000 W Flamingo Rd
Las Vegas, NV 89103
(702) 367-7111