Please forgive me, for I am about to break a golden rule…

…”what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!”.

This is the promise made by every member of any group that travels to the wonderful city of Las Vegas. But don’t get me wrong, I am not a gossip and I can definitely be trusted with secrets, but how an earth could I not share the wonderful world of Vegas with you?

Having hit (and lost money) in the casino’s and gasped at the daredevil stunts of Absinthe (a must-see show!), the icing on the cake was shaking my booty to J-Lo. Her show was amazing and her figure even better, so I left vowing to live on a diet of air and water, but who was I kidding?!! Just five minutes later, mom, sissy and I were already indulging in a round of G&T’s and a tray of macaroons!

So here I am, another giddy fool totally seduced by the bright lights and big city of Vegas – Las Vegas truly “has me now”! So if you’re planning a trip anytime soon, here’s my list of ‘must see’ places in this truly awesome city…

Koi @ Planet Hollywood

The hubby and I ate at Koi simply because we were tired of walking, it was in our hotel, and we love Japanese food. Hotel Japanese food? A considerably risky move that could be deemed a bigger gamble than betting on the roulette tables in the casino below. So imagine our surprise when we were served with the best Japanese food we’ve eaten outside of Japan – Oishi!

We dined like Emperors on Cucumber Sunomono (pickled cucumber salad), Baked Crab Rolls, Double Tuna Rolls from the specials menu and Grilled Japanese Eggplant cooked in a sweet miso dressing. My mouth literally cries whenever I think about this meal. To make things even better, the service was exemplary and the bill/check was surprisingly low leaving us with more gambling money for the casino – winner, winner, Japanese dinner!

BURGR @ Planet Hollywood

You may wonder why a burger restaurant has made it to my list of ‘go-to’ places. However, this is no normal burger joint, which is apparent by the long line of people that is permanently stationed outside from noon till midnight.

Owned by Gordon Ramsey, this place sure does know how to serve up some great food. The three of us shared the American burger, which was perfectly grilled, a ‘Devil Dawg’ all natural beef hot-dog simmered in hellfire sauce, and a generous portion of the hand-cut truffle parmesan fries, which literally sent my taste buds ‘over the edge’. Gordon Ramsey you did us Brits proud!

M&M’s World

Visiting M&M’s World is like walking into chocolate heaven! Even Mr Grey would be hard pressed to ignite more pleasure in me than these four floors of chocolate seduction. First there’s the huge wall full of colourful and unusual M&M flavours – you’ve just gotta try the Strawberry flavour – choco-licious!!!

Of course, there is a bountiful array of M&M merchandise available and you can have your photo taken with the M&M characters, but my most favourite bit, was the “My M&M’s Machine” which prints your own personalised chocolates right there and then, like a Willy Wonka machine of chocolate magic. So addictive, I could have printed and eaten my day away right there in front of that machine!

Raos @ Caesars Palace

Having served loyal customers for more than 115 years from their New York kitchen, Rao’s decided to bring their authentic southern Italian cuisine to Las Vegas.

And let’s face it, who doesn’t like Italian food?!! Well you won’t be disappointed with the food at Rao’s. While sissy opted for the Pea & Ham Taglioline, and mom the Salsa Alla Marinara, I went for the Lemon Butter Salmon – and it was delizioso! The fish in it’s divine buttery citrus infused sauce absolutely melted in my mouth – nom, nom, nom!

However I truly let myself down here and was far too full from my main and accompanying cocktails to be able to indulge in any of the desserts that pleadingly called out to me as they passed me by to be enjoyed at other tables. Now if that’s not good enough reason to book my next trip, I don’t know what is!

Coca-Cola Store

Even though I am not normally a Coke fan (I must be the only person in the world who doesn’t drink it!) I was totally in awe of the Coca-Cola Store. We bought a flight tray so we could experience the “Tastes of the World” –  a taste of 16 international Coke flavors. It is amazing to see how such a huge global company still has to tend to local taste preferences.

I was rather surprised that the worst flavour came from my beloved neighbours in Italy, their ‘Beverly’ Coke was more shocking than some of the outfits we saw while walking along the strip at night – not good and in very bad taste!

However, the Fanta Melon Frosty from Thailand soon took the nasty taste of Beverly out of my mouth, as well as the fruity Greek Fanta Pineapple – I am a soda convert!

Fountains of Bellagio

Of course, I couldn’t finish this post without mentioning the Fountains of the Bellagio hotel. They are absolutely spectacular and a must-see for anyone visiting this extraordinary city – who could believe that this water-filled performance takes place smack bang in the midst of the hot Nevada desert?!!!

 

Followers in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, or Spain can now buy our favourite kitchen tools and gadgets at the Arugula & Rocket Cookshop on Amazon. Readers in the USA may visit the Tovolo website. 

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