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We had a fabulous meal at this amazing Thai restaurant, which has one of the finest wine lists in the country (prices are unbelievable). Pardon me if I have spelled some of the dishes incorrectly. We started off with Larb, a northern Thai dish of ground lamb, which was fabulous. That was followed by a delicious fish soup called Tom Yum Kai, one of my favorite dishes when I visited Thailand earlier this year. Its got some heat and fiery spice, but that is balanced by zesty acids and lemon grass. We had two seafood salads, a delicious soft-shelled crab salad and, even better, a seafood salad called Yum Woon Serr that was loaded with exotic flavors and wonderful fresh herbs that offered a completely different aromatic display. Our two main courses included an incredible deep-fried lobster in a garlic and pepper sauce that was a tour de force in cooking, and the beef with tamarind sauce, another winning combination.

As for the wines, the late Didier Dagueneau’s 2005 Pouilly Fumé Silex is about as great an example of this wine as one can find. Crushed rock, lemon blossom, quince, and melon notes are all present in this full-bodied yet gorgeously focused, fresh white that is full yet zesty.

We then moved to a trio of 1998 Châteauneuf du Papes, all of which were strutting their stuff. This vintage has been slow to mature, and at age eleven, these wines are just coming into their own. The most evolved was the Pégaü, which exhibited lots of seaweed, pepper, lavender, and kirsch liqueur, a rich, full-bodied mouthfeel, and hints of herbs and meat juices in the mouth. The gorgeous, more modern-styled 1998 Domaine de la Mordorée Reine des Bois Châteauneuf du Pape possesses an inky ruby/purple color as well as sweet notes of blueberries, black raspberries, kirsch, charcoal, pepper, and spice. This beauty will probably be one of the longer-lived wines of the vintage. Lastly, the 1998 Pierre Usseglio Châteauneuf du Pape Mon Aïeul reveals abundant amounts of pepper, lavender, Nori seaweed wrapper, blueberry, black raspberry, and cherry characteristics as well as lovely purity and intensity. Bank, the brilliant sommelier at Lotus of Siam, served us an old vine Grenache, the 2004 El Luborate Espectacle Montsant, that was sensational. Subsequently, I learned that my colleague, Jay Miller, had given this wine a great rating. It was certainly well-deserved as it is a fabulous expression of old vine Grenache.

As I have said many times, one cannot visit Las Vegas without making a detour to Lotus of Siam, a friendly restaurant with brilliant Thai cooking and an exquisite wine list. One can’t say enough about the owners, who are very generous.