No offence, but I feel very sorry for you. The Bellagio does a great job and I've partaken of their best, but it is a far cry from what is available in Hong Kong. Not an order of magnitude worse, but a big enough difference that everyone would agree that Hong Kong is better (but not cheaper). The high-end dining in Hong Kong is extraordinary (maybe the best food on this planet, with only a few restaurants like Carton-Lucas offering competition). Next time you are in HKG try any of the restaurants at the Intercontinental (ex-Regent) or the Peninsula. Paradoxically some dirt-cheap food in Hong Kong is also exceptional (those Kowloon neighbourhood restaurants where you can't spend USD10 for a fabulous meal, though I have no idea what it was that I just ate). I know what you mean about Bellagio, but it just isn't up to the high-end HKG standards.

HKG does have the best food in the world. Both highend and low (even better). But I must say Bellagio did a great job catering to Chinese customers. Their Roast Duck noodle in the NOODLE restaurant is one of the best outside of HKG. (Well, maybe excluding SFO and NYC's Chinatown).

Try Tonoco's on Warm Springs, maybe 3 minutes off Las Vegas Blvd. Ate there last night for the second time, and it was again wonderful.

Meals average $16.00, with salad extra. Their focus is pasta & seafood, with special dishes each night. They offer to prepare the meal to your taste if you wish. Live music (mellow) Fridays & Saturdays.

Decor is nice though a bit spartan. Service is excellent. They asked if we had an entertainment card, and accepted my PHX version. They also gave idine miles last time I was there, as well.

A memorable place for a date, dinner with spouse, etc.

JP

Number_6--with all due respect, I have spent many many days in HKG over a period of many many years and I stand by my statement that Jasmine at the Bellagio is superior to most of my culinary experiences in HKG. I have had superior dim sum in Hkg, great food at the ex-Regent and recently returned from a stay at the Peninsula, where the room service food & service was spectacular. Fook Lam Moon is now a tourist rip-off & wildly over-priced. (I remember when it had one location and was a great local joint). Gaddis is a charicature of western food for western clients. Vong at the Mandarin was good, but will soon be closing its doors. Street food was great, but not as ubiqitious as before. As for your comment "maybe the best food on this planet, with only a few restaurants like Carton-Lucas offering competition"-- I think you are referring to Lucas Carton not "Carton-Lucas". I have had many memorable meals at Lucas Carton in Paris prior to its acquistion by a Japanese group when Joel Robechon still exercised control over the cuisine. Apparently, the Chef still does maintain some control at Lucas Carton, but the restaurant is a mere shadow of its former self, yet, certainly still very beautiful and elegant and its wine cellar (which traverses pathways under the Place de Madeleine) is magnificent. Although, the wine list at Taillevent is as good and more reasonably priced.

I just posted four reviews of meals last week at Rosemary's, Mayflower Cuisinier, Andre's, and Aqua in the Flyertalk Dining section.

Michael Mina will continue to operate Aqua at the Bellagio until the expiration of his 10-year contract. He is no longer affiliated with Aqua San Francisco. He still runs Nob Hill in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand.

QL

--QuietLion--thanks for the info on Michael Mina. Sorry that he'll not be in the SF location. I hope that he has a worthy successor to make the memorable Lobster Pot Pie. Nice to know that his presence will still be felt in Las Vegas.

Check out FT Dining, including:

http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdi...ML/000048.html