NattoKun : I <3 Food

Shibuya @ The MGM Grand Hotel - Las Vegas

A few weeks ago I returned from my first trip ever to Las Vegas. Yes you read that right, I have never been to Vegas until now. So anywho, what were the few things that my friends and I did in Vegas? Eat, shop, gamble, eat and eat more! Oh and lose money. :o( Before going to Vegas I was told to visit Shibuya @ The MGM Grand Hotel and that I would love it. In fact I was told that it's better than Nobu. Not that it matters since I haven't been to either, but I have heard good things about Nobu. So what did we have and what did I think about it? Let's find out.

My friend ordered the Combination Tempura ($20). I might have had one or two pieces of it. I don't remember and I guess that means it wasn't anything outstanding.



Next up was the Toro Tartare accented with Achiote Oil, Beluga Caviar and Gold Leaf ($24). This was pretty good. I couldn't discern any flavor added by the Achiote oil and apparently Achiote is mainly used to add coloring. The salty Beluga caviar and the very rich toro melded perfectly in my mouth.



Kampachi Sashimi with Fresh Yuzu and Black Truffle Oil ($12) was brought to our table next. The crisp and clean flavor of the Kampachi blended well with the tart Yuzu and the very aromatic black truffle oil. I recommend ordering this if you ever visit Shibuya.



Following the delicious Kampachi was the Australian Kobe Beef Tataki ($22). It came garnished with red onions, lemon Tamari soy, tarragon oil and garlic chips. I have never had a bad order of beef tataki anywhere and this place didn't dissapoint. High quality Kobe beef combined with the tart/salty lemon Tamari soy, garlic chips and the herby tarragon oil are a really good combination that takes plain old beef tataki up a notch.



Following all those "fusion" dishes we ordered some sushi. We ordered a bunch of nigiris along with a Niji Roll ($19.50). The Niji roll is made up of crab meat, avocado wrapped in tuna, yellow tail, salmon, fluke, shrimp and eel. I didn't have any of the roll since I usually don't do "rolls". Yea I know that sounds snobby but when it comes to sushi I am. Or so I have been told. :op



The sushi here was good, but nothing great. Prices of the nigiris ranged from $8-11.50. Not that great of a deal when you later read about the really, really good sushi we had a few days after eating at Shibuya.



To finish off our meal we ordered the Warm Chocolate Cake ($10). The chocolate cake is below the rice tuile and the green tea ice cream. In the foreground you have poached lychee. The chocolate cake was good. The green tea ice cream was ok. It wasn't Dave's green tea ice cream which, if anyone from Shibuya is reading this, they should consider using. I didn't know how the lychee fit in to the dish. I couldn't see eating it with the cake since both are really sweet. I dunno.



Even though the sushi wasn't as good as it could have been, my friends and I enjoyed eating at Shibuya. Check it out if you are ever in Vegas. Just make sure you try their more untraditional menu items.

posted by jupiter @ 9:23 PM 2 comments

JP Serrato Pasta

One of my coworkers often goes to JP Serrato Pasta (JPSP) for lunch. As matter of fact it was with him that I went on my first visit to JP Serrato Pasta. The first time I went I had some lunch special that really didn't impress me. But recently another coworker and I, which both of us happen to love the chicken anchovy olio from Assagios, were talking about chicken anchovy olio and the JPSP regular mentioned that JPSP has chicken anchovy olio for about $7. So it was decided that the next day that we had to have JPSP. My coworker and I both ordered the chicken anchovy olio, because we love it, did I mention we like it a lot?



For y'all that haven't had chicken anchovy olio, it is really a simple dish. You combine pan fried crispy chicken simply seasoned with salt and pepper, with minced garlic and anchovies that have been sautéed in olive oil and linguine. Anywho we both thought that it was missing a little something in the flavor department. Maybe a tad bit more anchovies and garlic. Also I thought my noodles could have been cooked a bit more al dente. But all in all it is a great value. And waaay better than paying about the same amount for some boring plate lunch.

Someone got the seafood pasta, but I only got pictures and no comments on it. Sure looks good though. Yum!

posted by jupiter @ 6:18 PM 1 comments

Moa Mua Tei (R.I.P.)

I think these are the only pictures I have of the late Moa Mua Tei (MMT). This was and is the best all you can eat sushi/tempura restaurant I have been to in Hawaii. Back in the day we used to go to this place almost weekly. Visits to MMT tapered off towards the end when their quality and selection went down as they tried earnestly to make profits. I miss this place.

posted by jupiter @ 7:47 PM 2 comments