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| - ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!
I first heard about this place about two years through a former coworker of my wife and fellow Yelper, Eric B. He told us this place makes its own tofu and its Agedashi Tofu is an absolute must. Since then I've been arranging trips to Vegas just to try this place out. Unfortunately, my last two attempts failed because I kept getting sick just few days before my trip. This time I was determined to make it whether I was sick or not. Strangely enough I was still sick but it didn't stop me from enjoying one of the most enjoyable meals of my life.
Everything about this place is unique and well put together. It's an intimate setting with clean, modern decor. It has an upscale look even though it's more of an izakaya style establishment. It's sort of like the Asian version of Animal (in LA). Most of the items are appetizer portions with few full size options. Most of the items my wife and I tried didn't look too complicated but its choice of quality ingredients and perfect cooking technique made each item stand out. Raku even has its own condiments at each table with detailed description of each. Raku's Green Tea Salt, Soy Sauce, Yagenbori Shichimi, and Koregusu were all very unique.
Fuefuki Dai (type of snapper fish) prepared two ways. This was one of the specials for the day. We got one as sashimi and the other portion was grilled. The fish was extremely fresh. I think it was still alive when it was cooked because it was bent when it was served to us. It looked like the fish was fighting for its dear life as it was being cooked. Poor thing. Sad but delicious. Even without adding any seasoning the fish was flavored perfectly in both versions.
Pork Ear. This was great with Raku's Green Tea Salt and Koregusu. The spicy pepper and sake in Koregusu helped balance out the fat from the pork ear. The flavor was quite good with three different textures to keep it interesting.
Foie Gras with Glazed Soy Based Sauce. I'm not a fan of foie gras in general but I still ordered it since I saw several people rave about this dish. It's a great dish if you like the taste and texture of foie gras. It just wasn't my thing. However, it was better than foie gras I had in the past at other places.
Agedashi Tofu. Now this is the dish I came for and it definitely lived up to the expectation. Excellent texture and taste, and the sauce that accompanied the tofu was great as well. I always thought tofu tasted bland and boring but this one proved me wrong. This one had much more depth and flavor.
Butter Sauteed Scallop with Soy Sauce. It was cooked to perfection and even the soy sauce was incredible. I drank some of the leftover soy sauce afterward because it was so good.
Kobe Beef Filet with Wasabi. What a perfect combination. The beef was cooked to perfection because it was super tender and tasty, and the wasabi added just enough heat to balance out the fat. I've had Kobe beef before but none quite like this. The others taste like impostors in comparison to the ones served here.
Juicy Deep Fried Chicken. It was basically like chicken karage but less batter and more chicken. It's called juicy for a reason - IT'S JUICY. This was the most tender/juicy chicken I ever had. The flavor was good just the way it was. It seemed like they soaked the chicken in sake or rice wine vinegar. This actually looked like a full order because the portion was much bigger than other items we tried.
Wagyu Sukiyaki. This was another one of the special items for the day. This was a full size meal, not appetizer portion. The Wagyu beef was absolute heaven. It was so tender and soft even when it was cooked completely. The sukiyaki broth was sweet and salty with added flavors from onion and fragrant green leaves (which I do not know the name of).
The menu is extensive, but what I learned from my first visit, is to stick with any dishes made with house tofu and anything with Kobe or Wagyu beef.
The service seemed inflexible when I called to make a reservation. The person who took my call said we had to finish our meal within two hours and they can only hold the reservation for no more than 15 minutes past our reservation time. However, the actual service during our dinner was friendly and attentive. Someone constantly came by to refill our tea, and everyone was helpful in explaining the menu.
My wife and I had such a positive experience here, we want to make it a tradition to return every year around this time to celebrate our birthdays.
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