this little life of mine

Yesterday two of my co-workers and I went to Chow restaurant for lunch. We were originally going to Shin's for sushi, but Chow is right next door (1009 Monterey St., downtown SLO), and we haven't tried it yet. We'd actually read some negative reviews on a website about the prices being too high and the portions being too small, so we were hesitant about going there for lunch. However, a gentleman we work with dines at Chow often and RAVES about it every time, so we thought, what the heck, we'll try it.

The interior is beautifully designed and the wait staff were all very nice and friendly and accommodating.

We each chose something different. One of us had the Stir Fried Marinated Flat Iron Steak with housemade egg noodles and seasonal veggies (which consisted of sugar snap peas, broccoli, green onions and asparagus):

... another had the special, which was a Green Curry with Seafood, including shrimp, tilapia and salmon with rice:

... and I had the Stir Fried Shrimp and Bacon with housemade wonton noodles and sugar snap peas:

We were also given a trio of chili sauces ranging from very mild (on the left) to very spicy (on the right). I tried the very mild one and really loved it! I ended up using quite a bit on my dish:

 

We all agreed our meals were delicious (in fact, Green Curry Girl is STILL going on about how perfectly delicious and perfectly spicy her meal was!) and the price was so-so/okay for a lunch (around $10. to $12. each, which is a bit higher than average, but it IS a pretty fancy place, so I guess it's to be expected). Another plus: we were served very quickly! Since we only have an hour for lunch and need part of that time to get back tot he office, getting our food right away meant we were able to really enjoy our food!

Now, I don't know if the people who gave poor reviews on the website just went on an off-day, don't get the whole "fusion" concept, or whatever, but I would recommend giving Chow another shot - or trying it for the first time. It's worth it, imho!

   

The Gondola Ride at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.

   

Here are some contestants from the Miss Universe Pageant which is being held at the Mandalay Bay hotel later this month. I'm not sure what countries these girls represent, but I did hear a group of Chinese tourists cheering as one girl went by in front of this group, so apparently Miss China was in the house!

   

During our dinner at the Haufbrauhaus in Vegas, we were entertained by a great band, hilarious (but annoying drunk frat boys), and waitresses who enjoyed giving spankings! This gentleman, the "German Fabio" (as we called him), was all decked out in authentic lederhosen and played the cowbells, the accordion and the pan flute!

   

   

   

Today I went to the Shark Reef exhibit at the Mandalay Bay hotel here in Vegas. It was okay, but not as awesome as I expected.  It was dark, so not many of my pictures came out, and the sharks were too fast for me to get any good shots of them. And there werer dozens of screaming, yelling, running, crying children which made the whole experience not quite as serene as I had expected.  

I also went to the Bodies exhibit at the Luxor hotel. THAT was very interesting! Photography was not allowed, so I don't have any pictures, but you probably wouldn't want to see pictures of preserved human bodies and/or body parts anyway!

   

 
I played a few penny slots today. And lost. Good thing I wasn't playing dollar slots! I also browsed the shops at the Venetian and the Paris/Bally Promenade. Didn't buy anything, just looked. Thankfully I wore comfy shoes today!

   

   

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week comes from page 65 of The Iron King by Julie Kagawa:

My door opened, and the sound of wings fluttered into my room. I didn't want to look and pulled the covers tighter around me, willing the nightmare to end.