The James Beard Award-winning pastry chef Dominique Ansel has taken his beloved NYC bakery to Las Vegas. Ansel is particularly famous for cronuts, a hybrid creation of croissants and doughnuts. Along with the signature cronuts, the new bakery opened on October 21st, is filled with many favorites from the chef’s original east coast location, as well as with several new sweet treats, specially developed by Ansel and his team to be exclusive to Las Vegas.

The New Bakery

Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas is the second domestic location for Ansel’s bakery, with the original standing in the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan. The famed pastry chef also has a workshop in NYC and several locations in Hong Kong under the name Dang Wen Li by Dominique Ansel, which is a capsule collection of exclusive sweet treats. After the opening, the first 100 customers to stop at the Las Vegas bakery received a limited-edition gift in honor of the launch. Located adjacent to another famed diner Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill, the new bakery is open from Monday to Thursday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday through Sunday. The bakery also features a retail area and a café-style seating zone for up to 20 guests to enjoy freshly baked cronuts and other creations.

The Special Treats

The pastry chef is offering a range of new creations in his new Las Vegas bakery which includes a collection of delectable pastries named Lucky 7. It contains a French éclair filled with cassis jam, Valrhona Caramelia chocolates, and elderflower mascarpone mousse. A special fortune cookie, made up of a sable Breton base topped with jasmine tea cremeux and lemon curd, with a white chocolate fortune sticking out of the cookie, is also available. The bakery also serves familiar items like pan-au-chocolat and croissants and, of course, the celebrated cronuts.

Cool blue water bodies stretches of barren grey land, and snow-capped mountains, the six lakes of Band-E-Amir looks like a painting come to life. The lakes themselves appear like sparkling jewels shining in the wasteland of Central Afghanistan.

Mineral-Rich Lakes of Band-E-Amir

The lake gets its gorgeous deep blue color from the high mineral composition of the water. You will find natural dams in the area of the lakes. The rainwater that flows from the cracks between the mountain rocks ends up in these dams. The 12m high travertine walls flank the Lake Band-E-Habitat’s shore. The walls surrounding the lakes create a heavenly sight of infinity pools. Have you ever witnessed something like this before?

Also, the small waterfalls, in the outer edge of the walls, created by the over-pouring lakes, are a sight to behold.

The Legend of the Miracle Worker

According to the local folklore, the lakes came into being from miracles performed by Ali, Prophet Mohammed’s son-in-law. The then king of the region was so marveled by the miracles that he decided to convert to Islam. You will find a sanctum built, by the lake, as a tribute to the many miracles that Ali performed.

The Band-E-Amir lakes of Afghanistan are one of the top attractions. The lakes are famous amongst the locals to visit for a daytime picnic as they exude happy and blissful vibes. The sight around the lakes is a bittersweet reminder of the days when Afghanistan was a prime location and a part of hippie’s popular travel route from Istanbul to Northern India.

Band-e-Amir National Park

The first National Park of Afghanistan was built in the periphery of the Band-E-Amir lakes in 2009. While the visitors are still allowed, the road to reach the destination is not in the best condition. The terrain is in bad condition and the facilities at the park are unsatisfactory. So travel wisely and mindfully.