"Welcome to the good life" Tao Vegas April 2009

If you have read my entry with Kate titled "Red meat fix" you will see that we had that meal in the run up to Vegas. An unforgettable 6 days in Las Vegas- both of us here for our first time. As we waited at our United Airways designated gate for the flight- we heard a lady on the tanoy advertising for upgrading to business class as there was a special deal of 2 for 1! A temptation far too hard to resist, we looked at each other and smiled and within a minute we were handing out our credit card details so we could set off on this adventure in style. We couldn't be happier as we sipped champagne, dining with silver cutlery, laid back on our beds and just chilled out for the duration of the flight.


We were staying at Planet Hollywood hotel on the Las Vegas strip. I highly recommend this hotel as its a fun, young, party vibe with a great pool atmosphere, fabulous restaurants, clubs, shopping mall, pink casino and of course a wedding chapel.


We ate at the famous Nobu restaurant which is located in the Hard Rock Hotel, however I decided to write about Tao as this was the most memorable meal.


Tao restaurant and nightclub is a sexy pan Asian bistro inside the gorgeous Venetian hotel, influenced by Hong Kong, Thai, Japanese and Chinese flavours. The original restaurant is in New York City and is a very desirable place to eat. Our hotel concierge had made our reservation and as we entered the restaurant we were welcomed by exotic girls with fake boobs (They are a must in Vegas) dancing in a oval shaped bath full of rose petals and water! You have to see it to believe it.


All glammed up we were shown to our downstairs corner table in view of the enormous 20 foot bronze Buddha statue. We ordered martinis and browsed through the rather large menu. Our aim- sad but true was to try as many different flavours of martinis as we could in Vegas! Passion fruit, lychee, apple, blueberry, cucumber, strawberry, pomegranate and pineapple later we could have a new career as a "martini connoisseur" if there ever was such a thing.


From the large menu we chose spicy lobster roll with shiso and black tobiko, king crab Californian roll, edemame and crispy spicy tuna with avocado and soy paper, satay chicken and duck spring rolls.


The restaurant is mysteriously very low lit with great beats and excellent service. The waitressing staff are so organised like a military operation. They have to be as the restaurant and bar area is so busy. Tao is pricey but definitely worth treating yourself. Top class food down and feeling ready to carry the night on, we headed upstairs into the club for a night of dancing in the same room as Jay Z and that smile we had in the airport lasted the entire trip.

A very memorable holiday with endless laughter and jokes. This really was a taste of the "good life".







http://www.taorestaurant.com/lasvegas/