Review – Morimoto Restaurant Las Vegas

I want to preface this with the disclaimer that I have had a crush on Chef Morimoto Masaharu for literal decades, ever since I first saw the badly-dubbed transport of the original Japanese Iron Chef show. I mean, a handsome man in kimono who makes delicious food? How could I not?

So of course, when my boyfriend took me to Las Vegas last month I knew I wanted to finally get the chance to eat at one of the Morimoto restaurants, even though I knew realistically there was no way he would actually be there.

The restaurant is in the Marketplace area below the MGM Grand, and we stayed in the MGM Signature which is connected via a walkway to the Marketplace, which made it incredibly convenient and comfortable to get to, but if you’re staying in a different property be prepared for a bit of a walk.

First impressions on the atmosphere – the hostesses were incredibly attentive and friendly, and one even helped an older gentleman find the way back to his hotel room despite him not having been a patron at the restaurant. The décor is a lovely blend of Japanese clean lines and more ornate Chinese elements. It works without feeling ill-informed or like some kind of “oh all Asian things are the same” mish-mash. The bar and lounge is opulent in reds an golds and feels more Chinese (and also more like what you’d expect inside a casino) whereas the main dining room with the teppan area is all black wood and clean lines and has a much more modern Japanese vibe to it.

I asked if I could snap a photo of both the dining room and the sushi bar and they were kind enough to oblige me. I didn’t take more as I didn’t want to disturb the other diners. I also really liked the clear chopsticks and snapped a quick photo of our place settings.

I will say that this place was noisy. This is no fault of the restaurant itself though, it’s simply what happens when you place a restaurant inside a casino. One table nearby in particular were clearly having a very fun time and the quiet that settled after they left was palpable. We went on a Monday night and it was still awkward to have an intimate conversation, so I can only imagine what it would be like on a Friday or Saturday. This didn’t particularly diminish the experience for me but it is something to note if you’re looking for a quiet date night.

Once we were settled our attentive but not overbearing waiter asked if we wanted drinks. I started with a cocktail called a Geisha’s Secret, that was listed as containing Kai lychee vodka, shōchū, Calpico, and pomegranate juice. When I got to the bottom I found what I assume to be the geisha’s “secret”, an actual whole lychee! I was delighted because I love lychee. Keith went the safe route and ordered a beer; a Tokyo Black porter which had this delightful little Sumōtori butt on the can. I followed up with a Morimoto-tini for my meal, which is vodka and sake. I’ve never been one for gin so this twist on a vodka martini was perfect. I avoided eating the cucumber garnish though, as to not inadvertently kill my dining companion (more on this in a moment). This was a much cleaner and more subtle cocktail, and suited the sushi much better than the first one would have.

Of course, the most important part of a restaurant is the food, right? So how was it? Undeniably fantastic. We started with an order of gyoza and then decided to go with the chef’s choice sushi plate. The gyoza were flavourful and the perfect balance of soft and crispy, and the fish was the freshest I’ve ever had in a landlocked state. Keith is allergic to cucumber and avocado which can make rolled maki a challenge, but they were very accommodating and gave us a selection that was safe to eat (and yes this is why I ignored the garnish in my cocktail) while remaining utterly delicious. The hamachi nigiri with scallion and lemon zest alone was a revelation. I could have eaten an entire plate of those alone!

However, that one single plate of sushi alone was one hundred and sixty dollars. I realise they’re highly trained chefs using very fresh and clean ingredients, and we certainly didn’t leave feeling hungry or wanting more, but that still works out to roughly six dollars per piece of sushi.

Dessert was a delicious toasty pot of genmaicha and a spectacle of a dessert, a brownie with marshmallow creme topped with a chocolate dome that was melted at the table. It didn’t feel particularly Japanese but in retrospect they do a lot of incredibly elegant western-style pastries now so who am I to judge? It was rich and indulgent without being overwhelming, but I am very glad we decided to split one dessert. Eating this alone would have been a challenge!

I managed to get a video of part of the fantastic dessert spectacle, but missed the actual opening of the dome. I was too distracted by chocolate and fire.

The inside had a delicious pillowy marshmallow crème and a brownie bottom. It was a fabulous way to end the meal! 

All that being said, was this worth it? It was a fresh, delicious, once-in-a-lifetime meal with my favourite person in the world and as an experience it was definitely worthwhile. If you’re in Las Vegas and are looking for a memorable meal, by all means go for it. However, if we’re quantifying things solely on the food itself, I honestly feel like as long as you live close to a coast or in a large city, you could get sushi just as fresh and delicious for a more reasonable price.

Of course, I did have to dress up for this, right? Had this not been travel-within-travel (flying from Montreal to southern California and then driving from there to Vegas) I may have been tempted to wear a kimono but I knew it wasn’t realistic, especially with the shoulder injury I am dealing with. Instead I chose to wear this black dress with very kimono-influenced kiku designs I got at Wal-Mart, of all places! The dress was originally much too short for my gargantuan frame (for those of you unaware, I am 5’10” and change, or 179cm tall and built a bit like a retired linebacker gone soft – yes that is a normal sized door behind me) but my dear friend @taylor_goodacre managed to insert a black panel around the waist that was reminiscent of an obi. A pink faux-leather obi-style belt and my moonblossom earrings fit perfectly and added just the right finishing touch to the outfit.

If you do plan to go and want to dress up (either in Japanese-inspired western clothing like this or full-on kimono) just remember that while the restaurant itself is lovely and elegant it is inside a casino food hall which means people in various states of dress from resort casual to formal will be wandering in and out. So if you’re the type of person who feels self-conscious when over-dressed, that is something to think about. I am a ridiculous peacock of a human being so I was fine with it, but it’s worth bearing in mind.

Gardens of Light 2019

I don’t know if it’s the changing seasons or the general state of the world or what, but my motivation for new content hasn’t been fantastic lately. Also, I’m still unreasonably enamoured of the last outfit I put on the mannequin and don’t want to change it yet.

However, I don’t want to leave you guys hanging for too long! And I’ve been sitting on these photos trying to decide if they were relevant enough to share for a year. A year! I’m such a trash panda sometimes. That said, I figured I may as well get off my butt and share.

Every year, the Montreal Botanical Gardens holds a lantern festival called Gardens of Light. The reason I was hesitant to share this initially is that the bulk of the lanterns are in the Chinese Pavilion, and I try to avoid encouraging that “all far-east Asian cultures are analogous” mentality. But there are also displays in the Japanese Garden, as well as exhibits of Japanese items inside the smaller Japanese pavilion. Also they’re just beautiful lanterns and we all need some beauty right now.

Last year, I was lucky enough to finally meet Elsa of Elsa Eats after knowing her online for nearly fifteen years now. She and her sister were in town for a short period of time, so we hit up a food truck gathering, then the lantern festival, and then drinks and snacks over at Le Blossom Bar. We all had a lovely time, and one day when I find myself on her side of the pond we can do this again.

And without further ado, the photos! First up, of course, the lanterns.

The Lanterns

Japanese Pavilion

Blossom Bar

Harajuku Fashion Show at Otakuthon 2019

Photos courtesy of Buddy Photography

Last weekend I had the amazing privilege of styling the kimono segment in the Harajuku Fashion Show at Otakuthon, a local anime and Japanese culture convention. The main focus on the show was modern and funky Japanese street styles, so I wanted to make sure a variety of modern fashions using kimono were featured.

By the end of it, I was a hideously sweaty exhausted mess but man, seeing all these beautiful ladies together was incredibly rewarding! The models all did such an incredible job, and I love how cohesive the outfits all look together! For some fantastic individual shots by Buddy Photography and Phunkey, as well as details about each outfit, please read on.

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Montreal Kimono Club September Meet-Up

Yesterday, a group of local kimono collectors got together for a casual meet-up to celebrate the end of Summer. We started in a quiet little park near my place, then to Le Petit Tokebi, a combined Korean and Japanese restaurant, for dinner. We finished up at Ca Lem, an ice cream place I love to bits because they make vegan options like sorbet and coconut milk ice cream so I can eat there and not die. I’m a big fan of not dying.

The timing of our event was perfect. Thursday and Friday were incredibly windy and rainy, to the point that nearby areas were under a tornado watch! Today is cold and damp. Yesterday, somehow, the kimono gods graced us with beautiful sun and just enough of a breeze for kimono to be comfortable. We really lucked out.

I wore my new-ish teal komon from Kimonomachi. I really love having kimono that fit me so well. Eventually I will buy a third one of these, when I have some money to spare. My initial plan was a red nagoya obi  but I realised that would have been nearly the same as the last time I wore it. I then remembered I have this cream-and-red hakata obi with asanoha that’s an absolute perfect match for the kimono! I went with fairly plain accessories otherwise, since the kimono is so bold already.

(before anyone asks – yes these two group shots were composited in Photoshop. We had nobody to capture all of us together so I cobbled together two photos)

One of the things I love about these meet-ups is the wide variety kimono and kitsuke. It’s so fun to see everyone express their personalities and personal sense of style. Kimono is so great for that – for garments that are essentially all the same shape, there’s so much that can be conveyed through colour, fabric, and motif.

Dinner was lovely too. The place was really sweet and quiet with a great atmosphere, and the staff all seemed really pleased by our outfits. There were also these adorable miniatures behind our table, and you know I had to grab some photos!

By the time dinner was done, it was cooling down a fair bit but that sure wasn’t going to stop us from getting our ice cream! I’ll be so sad at the end of September when Ca Lem closes for winter 🙁

It was a really great day, I had lots of fun with friends both familiar and new, and I can’t wait for our next meet-up!

Items used in this coordination

YATAI MTL! at the Marche Des Possibles – 2018

As much fun as last year’s YATAI! Japanese street food festival was, I have to admit that it was a little disorganised and definitely had room to grow. Thankfully, this year they took everything they learned from last year and it was so much more amazing! There was plenty of varied and delicious food, fun music, a yukata booth provided by Kimono Yuki, and even a giant daruma art project. There were several workshops over the course of the weekend, including one about tea, one about sake, and some origami. I didn’t participate in any, but it was definitely a nice addition to the concept. It’s amazing to see events like this grow and evolve!

Of course, it was an excellent opportunity for me to wear this new wide yukata I have, and I managed to drag my friends along too! I’ve known Sophie and Dave for eons, and they’re some of my best friends, but somehow I’d never had the opportunity to dress them until now. It was super fun. I kept things very comfy-casual since neither of them has worn yukata before, and we all wore comfortable shoes because the event is in a park with lots of roots and uneven terrain.

As fun as dressing up was, the main draw of the festival was the food. There were lots of amazing options, but in the end I went for a Japanese-style hot dog, yakisoba (noodles), korokke (potato croquette), and karaage (fried chicken). Dave also bought me some grilled corn on the cob, which I happily bit into before realising it had butter on it. I’m inconveniently but not fatally allergic to dairy, so nothing disastrous happened but I did have to stop eating it, alas! Everything I did eat was absolutely delicious, but the karaage was definitely my favourite. So juicy and crispy! And of course, dango for dessert! We also ended up swinging by Ca Lem, a place near my house on the way home that’s got lots of vegan ice cream options. I got a strawberry sorbet and it was the perfect finishing touch to the evening.

We also noticed while waiting in one of the lines that Sophie’s outfit was a perfect match to the cute little girl on their sign. so I convinced her to strike a pose. And of course, no yukata outing would be complete without stupid photos of me eating. We also tried to get a photo of my hair because I really liked how it turned out. The photo’s not great but at least my brain surgery scar looks cool, right?!

The whole day was great fun, and it’s so wonderful to see events like this grow and flourish in Montreal! Next year will be even better, I’m sure. And there’s several other fun things coming up, like the Matsuri Japon and Asian Night Market, and I’m hoping to hit up one or both of them. Maybe I’ll drag some friends along for those too. 🙂

Diane’s Outfit

Sophie’s Outfit

Dave’s Outfit