| rev:text
| - asian fusion? - i hate it.
restaurants like pf changs, cheesecake factory and the like have given the fusion of asian food with any other type of cuisine a bad rap.
the fact that you can get a pork bao at cf and they call it a 'vietnamese taco' makes me throw up in my mouth a little.
you can imagine my hesitation when i heard that poppy den was chef angelo's version of "asian fusion".
the name kind of threw me a bit as well...poppy den? like opium den?
nevertheless, we decided to give it a go.
poppy den is located at tivoli village in summerlin.
park in the parking structure, come up the escalators by leone cafe and poppy den is on the opposite corner.
as we entered the restaurant, we were greeted with 2 friendly smiles and asked immediately if we had a reservation, which we did cuz i'm smart enough to know that you need to make a reservation at a brand new restaurant being opened by a celebrity chef.
after giving my name, the hostess was kind enough to inform us that our friend was already sitting at the bar and that our table would be ready shortly.
after waiting a whole of 90 seconds, just enough time for our friend to pay for his drink, we were seated at a nice booth with a round table, which i must say is very cool!
it must be the asian in me but i feel that round tables are so much better than angular tables.
i'm a huge fan of top chef and in season 7, chef angelo put together some really ambitious dishes that made me wonder "do those flavors really work together!?"
this restaurant is equally as ambitious and while reading the menu, i wondered the same thing.
after my first bite of food here, i remembered how well sweet and savory items blend together, when done right, and how very much my palate enjoys those combinations.
we started with the QUINOA "FRIED RICE" WITH SUN DRIED PINEAPPLE.
wow!
it was slightly sweet and sour from the pineapple but also salty and spicy all at the same time.
phenomenal flavors that worked incredibly well together.
next we had the PUPU PLATTER which was a tower of assorted appetizers.
everything on this tower was amazing but my favorite was definitely the sweet pea soup which was a sweet and savory cold soup.
for my entree, i had the STRIPED BASS WITH EDAMAME PUREE.
if you knew me, you'd know that i'm extremely picky about my fish and the way it's prepared.
i typically like my fish slightly under but still piping hot.
this bass was exactly that!
i would say that my only complaint, if you can even call it that, was that the edamame wasn't really a puree, it was more like a slaw.
when i think puree, i imagine a creamy, hummus-like consistency which this was not at all but it was bursting with flavor and the onion dill sauce made me wanna lick my plate clean!
my hubby had the "GRANDMA'S STYLE" ROASTED CHICKEN which he said was the most tender, flavorful chicken he'd ever had.
so tender, he didn't even need a knife to cut through it.
our friend had the ROASTED DUCK BREAST WITH POPPY HONEY.
this dish was super interesting as it was served with kix cereal.
how fun!
he finished his meal in record time so it must've been delicious.
we shared a couple of desserts:
sake strawberry shortcake - i didn't have any since i don't do alcohol but my husband really enjoyed it and he also doesn't do alcohol!
miso toffee ice cream with potato chips - the ice cream was out of this world.
the addition of housemade potato chips was wild but it worked so well together.
i sometimes find myself at home craving something sweet so i go for some ice cream and soon after i find myself craving something salty so i go for some chips.
why i never considered putting them together is beyond me!
the food was simply amazing.
i absolutely enjoyed the outrageous blending of sweet, sour, savory and spicy.
i've yet to find another restaurant in vegas that combines these flavors in such a seamless manner and chef angelo does it so well.
as for the service...
our server, camille, was awesome!
she was attentive, prompt, knowledgeable and extremely friendly.
she gave us many suggestions and was able to describe all of dishes in detail.
she even invited us to return for some mah jong action in the upstairs bar.
2 of the managers stopped by our table twice during our meal, introduced themselves and made sure we were understanding and enjoying our meal.
we were also greeted by chef angelo's business partner and spoke with him briefly.
we sat 2 tables away from chef rick moonen and saw chef angelo when he came out to greet him.
from the moment we were greeted to the moment we took our last bite, there wasn't a single missed step during this amazing dining experience.
this was definitely one of the best meals i've had in quite some time.
poppy den is a fantastic new addition to our town and i must add that i'm so glad it's not on the strip.
most definitely as good as it gets!
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