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| - Twist can best be described as an adventure! Chef Pierre Gagnaire has designed an ever changing menu that plays with various textures and tastes.
This was my 1st time at the Mandarin Oriental, and found it to be delightful! The valet was very helpful and directed me to the elevators. Twist is located on the 23rd floor of the hotel (along with the front desk) and offers breathtaking floor to ceiling windows with views of the Las Vegas Strip. My Mom and I dined here for an early Mother's Day and were happy to be seated at a 2-top right next to the window. Our reservations were for 7pm, which allowed us to see the Strip during daylight and as the sun went down and all of the lights came on. It was wonderful!
We did the 3 course tasting menu and each tried to order something different so that we could try a little bit of everything. We also had a wine pairing, which nicely complemented our dishes.
I don't recall the names of all of our dishes, but I will do my best:
Canapes - the first "starter" was a small plate of various items. There was a beet jelly cube, which was my favorite (surprisingly), some sort of Japanese Mackarel, a yellow curry macaron looking thing and then this orange paste that was to be eaten with crunchy bread sticks that were provided. The paste was my least favorite of what we tried. I don't know what the flavor was, but my taste buds weren't a fan. Everything else was delicious. We were also given a small plate that had 2 miniature parmesan biscuits and a lemon cracker type thing. The parmesan biscuit was amazing and warm.
A nice gentleman came around shortly after with the bread selection. I LOVE artisan bread and the choices did not disappoint. I chose the cheddar and bacon roll and a French baguette, while my Mom also had the cheddar and bacon roll, along with a cranberry pecan roll. I like the presentation of the butter on the table and that they give you a choice of both salted or unsalted butter.
1st Course (Starter):
My Mom had the Zennette Bouillon with crab cake. She was surprised when it was a green soup with tons of veggies. It may have been a little bit too earthy for her, but I liked it alot. The coconut added great flavor to the bouillon. The crab cake was also very delicious.
I had the Twist Tartines, which were tremendous! One had gorgonzola and baby tomatoes and the other had chicken. Both were really good.
For this course our wine pairing was a crisp Sauvignon Blanc, which we both enjoyed (although I am usually more of a red drinker).
2nd Course (Entree):
My Mom had the salmon with purple potatoes. The fish was perfectly cooked and had great flavor. Both my Mom and I really enjoyed it - and I am not really a fish eater. The purple potatoes were something we've never had before and we were both surprised at how tasty they were. And they made for a very colorful plate!
I had the peppercorn steak (medium rare). It's tough to screw up a steak, and this one was delicious! I did think it was a bit unevenly cooked - my 1st couple of bites were more on the rare side, while the center was more of a medium temperature, but overall it was very good. I wouldn't suggest this dish to someone who does not like spicy foods or has not ever had black peppercorns. While I enjoyed it, and didn't think it was "spicy," the peppercorns could be considered a bit overpowering. My meat was served over an English pea puree with bacon lardons. The bacon lardons were a nice little treat and added a good salty counterpart to the pea puree.
3rd Course (Dessert):
For dessert there were 2 choices, so we each ordered one of them.
My Mom got the fruit salad with sorbet. Although she would normally order something chocolate, she really loved this dessert. There were various berries, sliced bananas, lychee fruit and 2 different sorbets. There were even crystalized berries that were super sweet. We both enjoyed this dish.
I had the chocolate dessert (I can't recall the name), which was very rich and yet very sweet. It had chocolate ganache inside and on the side, as well as caramel ice cream. I really liked it, as did my Mom.
At the very end they brought out a plate with a selection of random sweets. There were tiny macarons, a strange marshmallow thing and a few others. I wish I could remember all of them!
The service was great - friendly and professional without being stuffy and overbearing. Our waters were never anywhere near empty and our plates were cleared and silverware replaced without ever asking. I like that they serve all of the plates at the same time.
We really enjoyed our experience here and I would definitely recommend it to those who are adventurous and looking to try something different. You would be hard pressed to find anything similar to this in Las Vegas! The restaurant has a great ambiance and you can't beat the view. This would be the perfect place to celebrate a special occasion or take a special someone on a date.
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