From Lake Mead RV Village, we moved to the Las Vegas Motorcoach Resort.  While we didn’t take vacation time per se, we decided to make it a special week and include celebrating our upcoming 8^th wedding anniversary while in town.

LVM Resort is truly a “luxury” resort reserved only for Class A motorhomes like our own.  Individuals own the lots in this resort, and together with the property management, lease their lots if they aren’t using it.  We opted for a “basic” site, which provided a generously-sized site with a wrought iron table and chairs to use.  The beautifully landscaped property with all its palm trees created a feeling of being in a tropical resort.  Our neighbors, owners of lots in the resort, welcomed us warmly. 

We were just twenty minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, but felt much further away from the hubbub in this tranquil setting.  For me, one of the best things about Las Vegas is the incredible selection of restaurants at which you can enjoy a meal.  With many top chefs from around the world showcasing their craft, the hardest thing is picking where to go.  A friend of mine from the wine business offered suggestions of some places to go (both on and off the strip) while we were in town.

From her suggestions, we had a delicious Thai dinner at Lamaii (off the Strip in China town) on our first night in town.  The well-appointed room provided a cozy atmosphere for a flavor-packed dinner.   The food, including Panang Crispy Duck and Drunken Noodles with Steak, was delicious.  Even better was the well-priced and well-curated wine list to go with our meal.

We also celebrated at David Chang’s Momofuku restaurant inside of The Cosmopolitan on the strip.  This restaurant’s original outpost in NYC has been on my bucket list for some years.  And the Five Spice Duck Ssam we ordered didn’t disappoint either of us.  The tableside presentation had us and surrounding tables salivating as the server carved the roasted breast meat from the bones, sliced it, and place it, along with the pre-shredded confit of duck leg, on top of rice so crispy and flavorful that it didn’t seem like rice.  She returned the meaty bones to the kitchen to be deep-fried.  When returned to us, they were extra crispy and packed with flavor.  They served the duck topped with lots of fresh herbs and on the side house-made chive pancakes, fresh bibb lettuce leaves, umami-packed hoisin sauce, spicy kimchi, and an Asian version of chimichurri packed with fresh herbs and ginger.  “Ssam” translates to “wrapped” in Korean.  And Brian and I wrapped, as instructed, different bites of duck and sauce(s) in lettuce and pancakes until we had room only for dessert.  Using a couple of eggs, I made fried rice from our leftovers a couple of nights later, which was a great reminder of a delicious dinner.

We finished our dining experience at Momofuku by sharing a piece of Christina Tosi’s famous birthday cake.  While delicious, it was a bit too sweet for our taste.  The complimentary chocolate birthday cake truffles that they sent us home with were another story.  We both thought these were outstanding!

Since we celebrated our actual anniversary day with 275 fellow Xscapers at a convergence in Casa Grande, Arizona, we are happy to have had a chance to celebrate the occasion on our own.  May the 9^th year of our marriage lead us to many more fun adventures both in dining and exploring the country!