One of my all time favorite restaurants Raku in Las Vegas just recently launched a new place. However, this time we're not looking for savory items such as Aburiya Raku's fresh off the sea sashimi, grilled Kobe beef tendon, and signature homemade tofu. Instead, it's an elegant place decorated with white marble counter tops and filled with sugary aromas.
It might be hard to find this newly opened store especially there's no signage hanging on the rooftop. You'll just have to look for a big silver spoon located in the same plaza as Raku, between Spring Mountain Rd and South Decatur Blvd.
I've been longing to try Sweets Raku ever since receiving their email about the grand opening not long ago. The reason mostly due to my trust about the quality food and dining experiences received every time while eating at Raku. The occasional special dessert such as brown sugar bean curd tasted so good that I can still remember the exact look and flavors even years till now. I did write about Raku back in 2009 but bear with me, my writing and photography skills were pretty awful back then (even till now). However, just note that I rarely give out a 9-point rating but Raku is one of the few that absolutely deserves such high regards. That gives you an idea why I'm so excited about Sweets Raku.
A wall of water and wine bottles draws the line between the Chinatown scene and the artfully crafted dining environment -
Wall decor -
The dining area can be divided into two parts: the counter seating -
The L-shaped counter area can sit about 13 people -
And the table area -
Dining set -
I was wondering why do they put a hand towel for customers since it's a rare practice for dessert place. The first thought crossed my mind was that the place is owned by Japanese, perhaps it's more polite and tidy to provide customers hand towels as being courteous and considerate. Soon after we placed our orders, I learned the true reason behind the whole towel mystery. You'll see.
Drinks menu (coffee, tea, and soft drinks) -
Wine menu and some wine pairing suggestions for dessert course -
Beers are also available upon request -
As my boy friend Mr. K said: "I'm trying to preserve my last manliness while finding myself eating cute and girly desserts with you."
Prix fixe menu -
$19 for amuse, choice of dessert, and petit four. A la carte is also available for $12.
Mr. K and his clumsy fingers broke the menu ring, oops! -
Once placing the orders, our waitress brought over this fun raspberry sauce holder over and poured a little pile on the plate -
And she said calmly: Please eat the menu with the sauce.
What!??
That's a surprise. No wonder there's a hand towel for each customer, and that's why the menu ring got broken off easily because it was made out of sugar, not because of Mr. K's clumsiness!
So we became sheep and cows.
The waitress must be enjoying this part every time when requesting customers to eat the menu.
The taste of the paper is rather bland, but it did slowly melt into your mouth and oozes together with the raspberry sauce. I prefer eating the menu with a little piece of broken menu ring, it adds more texture and stronger sugary taste (that just sounds so wrong).
My green tea: Tokio -
"Green tea delicately flavored with sweet berries. Fresh and sweet taste."
Note that there's no refill for hot tea. However, the waitress will provide you with some icy cold water in Riedel-like O glasses if needed.
Amuse -
Mango sorbet with mint jelly. Very refreshing. The mint tones down the sourness from the sorbet, truly opens up my appetite (but I've always got room for dessert).
While waiting for my cake -
Playing with sugar -
If you're not coming in a big group of people, I highly suggest taking the bar seats. You get to see so many "behind the scene" actions here. Checking out how the dessert was made and decorated.
This one looks so good -
I think it's called "Apollo" with main components of chocolate and raspberry mousse. I shall order that next time!
Mine is coming up! -
"Marriage" -
"Strawberry and banana."
Underneath the fluffy sponge cake is banana cream. Even the ice cream-liked pink sphere is raspberry flavored sponge cake. All the components are light and "feathery"-like, a truly Japanese dessert style. I would recommend "Marriage" to people who prefer less sweet and lighter style treats.
Another sugar art up close, the sugar leaf on my cake -
"Veil" -
"Stuffed custard pie."
Extremely flaky pie crust with buttery aroma. The purple mousse on the bottom is made of raspberry and blue berry. Also on the very bottom is assorted fruit compote. The bird nest shaped sugar resembles the veil, just press it down and devour with the creamy filling together.
Personally, I like the "Veil" better than the "Marriage," but it's just my own preference of liking desserts with a crunchier, meatier bite.
Our waitress was hoping us to order the "Ringo" - the apple pie, but we ended up ordering the two from above. So she brought over this sugar apple that comes with the Ringo. It's too cute and she really wants me to take a picture of the apple!-
The apple is hollow. Supposedly there's a hole on the bottom and the chef will fill up the apple with flavored cream. Not sure you eat it by cracking up the apple or melting it from above.
Petit four -
Instead of serving four individual sweet bites, here the chef combines all four and integrated them into another plate of dessert as our last menu item - raisins, raspberry marshmallows, mango marshmallows, and comforting mini molten cake. The mango perfectly opens up my palate in the beginning and sums up the dessert course here towards the end.
It's definitely worth $19 for such a carefully crafted dessert course. The atmosphere was relaxing, the servers were wonderful, and the desserts were aromatic. You can truly feel the delicate works put into a dish. In addition, like most Japanese style sweet treats, you won't get that sticky sickness or sugar high feelings even after finishing couple plates of cakes and mousses.
I'll be back for more.
Cindy's Rating: 7
Sweets Raku
5040 West Spring Mountain Road, Suite 3
Las Vegas, NV 89146
(702) 290-7181
Hours: Monday through Saturday 3 p.m. - 11 p.m.
*Currently Sweets Raku does not take reservations
*Located in the same plaza as Raku Japanese Charcoal Grill
*Official website for Raku Japanese Charcoal Grill
Vegas here I come again!
Usually I would pick a restaurant or two to try out while visiting Vegas. However, this time I was there for a wedding, and most of the dinner plans have already been set by the wedding party. Knowing that I'll be stuffed with tons of food and perhaps busy socializing with friends and families most of the nights, an elegant and relaxing English afternoon tea became my top choice instantly.
Tea Lounge is only available from 2 p.m. - 5 p.m. daily. Usually it's not crowded at all but a reservation is still recommended. I requested window seat and was very pleased that they saved a big sofa section for just a party of two.
Tea Lounge is located on the 23rd floor next to the lobby, where hotel guests check in and all that miscellaneous stuff. Take a look at the first picture. There's an array of clear windows in the mid section, that's where the Tea Lounge is.
Clear view of Veer Towers from our sofa area -
Too bad it's just for "afternoon" tea because the view will be even more amazing at night -
Other seating sections -
Beautiful carpet -
Only few tables here, which is great. That means I can finally get away with all the hassles and just enjoying my cup of tea here - in peace.
Classic English afternoon tea $36/person -
You get to choose one of Tea Lounge's freshly brewed loose leaf teas for this basic set. On top of that are the classic three tier small bite items, scones, and assorted pastries. If you want to kick it up a notch, there's also Veuve Clicquot afternoon tea that comes with a glass of champagne for $56/person. Well, if one glass is not enough, Tea lounge do offer a tea set for two people, plus one whole bottle of champagne for $185.
One of the many tea selections -
Osmanthus oolong (iced) -
No extra charge for refills.
Organic lychee green -
Tea Lounge also has offer some interesting tea cocktails such as royal tea (Absolut Mandarin, chilled osmanthus oolong tea, etc) and kiwi-green tea fizz (ginger simple syrup, Veev acai liqueur, etc).
Here it comes! I was like a little girl very excited to see my desserts showed up in three tiers. That means after finishing one plate, I've got two more to go. That illusion of endless sweet treats made me very content.
Some people follow the rules while having English high tea, which is savory items - scones - sweets. Well, I was exhausted from all the driving and you know...family affairs..So just put away the rules and dig in! Hurry and grab whichever one you crave the most before it's gone!
First/very bottom layer for savory items -
"Smoked salmon and cucumber with watercress spread,
Egg salad and chives on brioche,
Curried chicken salad sandwich,
Black forest ham sandwich."
Second/middle layer for Tea Lounge signature scones. Served with imported Devonshire clotted cream and Chef Gianni's house made marmalades and jams.
The scones are amazingly good. Buttery and flaky. Add a little bit of clotted cream and some raspberry jam, it's like heaven! I can eat this super high calories thing every day without feeling a tiny bit sense of guilt. It's just too good to pass.
Third /top layer for sweet items -
Spicy cheese cake,
Nougat,
Purple macaron with bubble gum filling,
Pistachio cake,
Chocolate truffle.
Very cinnamony cheesecake -
Every single item was made with such great attention to details. However, after having my first bite of the scones, I can be careless for those pretty looking things. I even wished that they can fill all my tiers with scones. Oh, and that clotted cream.
If you don't hae time to breath in the amazing views nor munching on delicious treats at Tea Lounge while visiting Vegas, see if you can to go some of the scones. I'm not sure if the hotel lets you do that, otherwise people might start pouring in just for the scones.
Cindy's rating: 8
(mostly for the attentive service and ambience. However, if solely for the scones, I would definitely put up a 9 or even 10 for the score)
Mandarin Oriental Tea Lounge (City Center)
3752 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89158
(702) 590-8888
(888) 881-9367
http://www.mandarinoriental.com/lasvegas/fine-dining/tea-lounge/
Hours:
10 a.m. - 10 p.m., Sunday extends to 11 p.m.
*However afternoon tea only available from 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Similar post:
Mandarin Oriental's Amore Patisserie
Spring break!!! Weeeeeeeeeee!!
After weeks of draining school projects and my Canon G9 incident,
Oh did I even mention that my laptop got infected by rogue malware the night before my birthday???
. . . . . . . Truely a series of unfortunate events. . . . . . . . . . .
Luckily, my spring break just started!
As a little reward for me............Vegas baby! Here I come!
I did some research before the trip and found out about this dessert place called Amore Patisserie located in Mandarin Oriental hotel inside City Center,
City Center?
Well, that's the newest addition to our all time glamorous Las Vegas Boulevard,
You can find out more information here.
I also took some pictures with my new Canon T1i, take a look~
City Ceter during day time-
At night-
Inside out-
Very beautiful and modern place,
Vegas has once again transformed itself in front of our eyes.
So back to the patisserie place,
I've heard good things and saw 5 star reviews about it,
No way I'll let this one go during my visit in Vegas!
Amore's main entrance facing Las Vegas Boulevard-
Inside the patisserie (front view)-
Inside the patisserie (side view)-
I wanted to go to the front and start shooting close up pictures of the cakes,
But as usual, I got intimidated...
Kinda scary to just get up there, holding a pretty good size camera and start shooting,
Especially while people behind you still trying to order their sweet treats...
So I ended up taking pictures of what I ordered instead,
Hazelnut gelato-
This is DA BOMB that kept me craving for it even till now!
So chocolaty and so nutty,
If you ever had Godiva's hazelnut truffles,
This dessert tastes similar to that, but in a gelato form.
I didn't even ask to try it before I order this flavor and happily, it didn't let me down!
Highly recommended.
Strawberry shortbread cake-
Frankly speaking I'm not a strawberry fan,
But I figured since I ordered hazelnut gelato,
Better to have something that is not as strong in flavor, like this strawberry shortbread cake instead of other chocolate cakes.
Surprisingly, I am still thinking about the crumbles in between these milky creams,
It was so good that I couldn't believe I'm actually craving for a strawberry dessert!
Ice tea and complimentary pistachio biscotti-
They used passion fruit flavored ice cubes, which adds a natural lemon-like taste to the tea,
It gradually got more sourish as the ice cubes melt though,
The biscotti was good with my hazelnut gelato, yum!
Footnote,
The lady was very polite and helpful while I was ordering my sweet treats,
Plus one-point for the service!
I heard that the hotel also has a tea lounge, it'll be on my have-to-try list next time I visit Vegas!
Cindy's Rating: 8
Amore Patisserie
(Inside City Center - Mandarin Oriental)
3752 Las Vegas Boulevard
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 590-8888
http://www.mandarinoriental.com/lasvegas/dining/amore_patisserie/
