Oh Yeah, I Have Missed You

Oh Yeah China Bistro is one of those restaurants that really make me want to shout, “Oh, Yeah!” Their food is so good that I can’t even call it Chinese food. Why? Because Chinese food is not what I picture when I imagine myself eating one of their delicious dishes. I picture nirvana and the inevitable food coma.

We don’t live in the Northeast part of Wichita anymore (Thank, heavens! Or we would both weigh 300 pounds.) so we rarely get to eat at Oh Yeah these days. Although, if I could eat there everyday I would. Everything on the menu is delicious, even the meatless options. You gotta try this place.

May 11, 2013 | Posted by Ching under Food and Drink

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The Anchor

We were at the Anchor the other day for a work celebration. I hadn’t been there in a really long time. It used to be one of our favorite places to eat lunch, back when we were still eating out everyday (almost three times a day) and had no regard for our health. LOL. This recent trip reminded me of why I absolutely loved the Anchor. It’s a bar that serves amazing food. There’s not many of those around.

This is a picture of their hummus. It was yummy. Not as good as Bella Luna or MIF Deli of course, but it was quite good.

I believe these are the fish and chips. You can actually get homemade potato chips instead of fries. They’re great at the Anchor also.

This is one of the burgers, but I’m not sure which one it is.

These are the truffle fries, which are almost better than the ones they serve at the Flying Stove. I think what I liked most about them is that they are cut in thin slices and they’re fried to perfection. They are perfectly crispy. Best fries ever!

This is the salmon burger. I don’t know of any other bar in town that serves salmon.

The Anchor also has awesome chicken tenders. Brian and I will usually share the five piece. If we don’t order any drinks Brian and I could usually eat lunch for less than $15. Yet another reason why the Anchor quickly became a favorite of ours when we both started working downtown.

This is what I had — the grilled chicken sandwich with homemade potato chips. If you like potatoes, the Anchor is the place to go. They have regular fries, truffle fries, sweet potato fries, and homemade potato chips. Most places just have fries.

I’m partial to the Anchor’s sweet potato fries because it’s the first place that I got try it. Before the Anchor, I’d never had sweet potato fries before.

Anyway, the Anchor just has great food all the way around. It’s so good that I’m thinking of asking Brian to take me there next time we go out on a date.

May 5, 2013 | Posted by Ching under Food and Drink

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The Monarch in Delano

Brian and I finally got to try the Monarch. I had high hopes for this place because of some of the comments I’d heard from other people. Sadly, it was just so-so. Maybe we just didn’t order the right items from the menu?

Speaking of menu, here’s a glimpse of theirs.

And their signature cocktails are as follows.

I did like the peppadew hummus. It was very good.

I figured that Brian would order the Cuban, but he got the gold rush instead. I guess he wasn’t that hungry.

He said that his sandwich was just okay. He thought he could have made a better grilled cheese sandwich for $8.49. That is a bit steep for grilled cheese. I don’t care what you put in it. Good thing we had a Groupon.

I got the chicken caprese, which was tasty but not great. I did like the homemade potato chips. I prefer those over fries. For a good sandwich downtown, I still prefer Caffe Moderne.

Maybe we really didn’t order the right things? Who knows? All I know is I’ve eaten at places where I’ve loved everything that I’ve tried on the menu. This isn’t one of those places.

May 5, 2013 | Posted by Ching under Food and Drink

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Tsunami: Not as Good as It Used to Be

Tsunami used to be one of our favorite eateries on the East side of town. Over the years, we went less and less frequently for diet and financial reasons. The last blow was moving to the South part of Wichita. It was no longer convenient for us to go.

A recent Groupon offer got to us to return the other day, though. But it wasn’t the place that we remembered. It’s still located in the same strip mall and the menu is still the same, but the feeling is completely different.

The salad roll was okay. It wasn’t as delicious as I remembered.

The fried dumplings were just okay also.

The bottom line is that the quality of the food isn’t what it used to be. You used to be able to taste the love in the carefully prepared dishes no matter what you ordered from the menu. Now the food is just blah.

The people were nice, but I think the restaurant has changed owners. That would explain why the food isn’t the same even though the menu hasn’t changed. The sticky floors on the day of our visit was also an added turn off. The place just seems neglected. I feel sorry for what’s become of one of our old favorites.

May 4, 2013 | Posted by Ching under Food and Drink

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I Earned My Nutella Croissants

We had a busy day on Saturday. Did my stair climb first thing in the morning, made it in time for Spanish class at 9 AM and then taught my Zumba class at 10 AM.

We had our usual post-workout brunch and then I participated in Jenni’s thrift store video blog. After that we went to mom and dad’s for dinner. Mom made menudo and, now that we live less than 15 minutes away, we can just drop on by whenever they have some good grub. LOL.

After dinner we were off to Hideki’s mini Rock Band party. Hideki throws the best parties. His bar is stocked better than most restaurants and he has a full Rock Band setup complete with pro drums, keyboard, and multiple microphones.

These next couple of photos were taken by Meader. He takes the best photos.

We had a blast as always and would have stayed longer if only Brian didn’t have to work this morning. Thanks for a great Rock Band party, Hideki!

April 21, 2013 | Posted by Ching under Events, Food and Drink

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Why I Didn’t Make it the Gym on Thursday Night

I didn’t end up making it to Urban Groove (that’s what Amie’s classes are called now) on Thursday night because we ended up at Thai House. Brian and I had been craving it for a while, but never had the time to go.

On Thursday night, I was supposed to do Boot Camp Express with Darcy. However, I had my fitness assessment appointment with Jodi after work that day. When we were done, we chatted a little about the stair climb that we were doing for the American Lung Association. By the time Brian and I were ready to go, we were too late for Boot Camp Express but too early for my Urban Groove.

Since we had time and we were going to be in that part of town, we decided that we should satisfy our Thai House craving. Brian warned me not to eat too much though because then I would be miserable during class. It had been several months since our last visit and the food was so delicious so I cleaned my plate. I just couldn’t resist. By the time we were finished with dinner I was so stuffed that there was no way I was going to make it through the group exercise class.

Yesterday, when I did the stair climb at Cessna Stadium with Jodi and Sheila, I regretted missing my workout on Thursday. Actually, the stair climb made me regret all of the workouts that I’d missed over the last few months. I totally underestimated the effort it would take. We were going up-down, up-down, up-down. It seemed to never end. I’m glad I did it, though.

My goal for next year is to get Brian to do it with us. Who wants to make a wager?

April 21, 2013 | Posted by Ching under Food and Drink

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A Week of Leftovers

We were expecting more people last Saturday so ended up with lots of leftovers. Brian and I have been trying to finish the rest of it throughout the course of the week.

Leftover Pulled Chicken

Leftover Mexican Rice

Leftover Chocolate Pudding Poke Cake

The best leftover concoction by far was when we made chicken nachos out of our leftover chips and queso. Even after eating leftovers for two days straight, we still had so much left. Good thing Nicole and Jenni came over on Monday night and helped us eat the rest of the food we had left. LOL.

April 10, 2013 | Posted by Ching under Food and Drink

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Happy Birthday to Our Dads

We had fun celebrating both of our dads’ birthdays this weekend.

Jenni ordered a special cake for dad.

Brian also baked a cake so we had two. I had a little bit of both.

Brian’s cake was a chocolate poke cake with chocolate pudding and chocolate Cool Whip frosting. He did a great job!

We like to make crockpot chicken tacos because they’re easy.

We realized that we had a second crockpot so we also made some meat queso.

As always, we had way more food than visitors.

Donna made some Texas trash dip.

I made some Mexican rice. I also made sangria.

Mom brought some lumpia, which is always a hit at parties.

We had a great time watching the WSU vs. Louisville game even though we lost.

It was a beautiful day. The kids had fun playing outside.

Later that evening, we released some sky lanterns into the evening sky.

BTW, these sky lanterns had the worst instructions ever. They didn’t make any sense at all. Good thing we didn’t need them! =P

April 10, 2013 | Posted by Ching under Family, Food and Drink

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The Candle Club

Ever felt like you just stepped out of a time machine into a different era? That’s what going to the Candle Club is like. It reminds me of old downtown Las Vegas.

We aren’t members, but we had the opportunity to dine there last Friday because the Fabulous Fleshtones were playing that night. We got a table right in front of the stage.

We had the lavosh and their spinach and artichoke dip to start. Except we both got really fully on the appetizers and ruined our appetites.

Instead of eating dinner, we just skipped directly to dessert. We got to try a couple of their dessert items: the molten chocolate cake (pictured above) and the crème brûlée (pictured below).

Both were delicious, but I preferred the crème brûlée because the chocolate cake was just too rich. The crème brûlée was perfect. Its consistency reminds me of the ones they serve at Bonefish which Brian loves.

I also got to try a couple of martinis that night: a chocolate martini (pictured above) and a lemon drop martini (not pictured). Both were very good as well. We had a wonderful evening watching the Fabulous Fleshtones perform and celebrating Doug’s retirement. Several people from work even joined us.

Overall, I really like the Candle Club and wouldn’t mind going there again. Of course, we can only go whenever our friends are performing because we’re not members. That’s probably a good thing.

April 8, 2013 | Posted by Ching under Food and Drink

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Walking Dead Season 3 Finale

We had our friends over for The Walking Dead season finale at our house. Brian was all nervous because Chef Jason was coming. LOL. My baby is so funny.

It was the perfect day to play Ladder Golf. We got a couple of rounds in. Becca actually won against Jay and me. Way to go, Becca!

Dinner turned out great. Chef Jason gave the lion stew his seal of approval. Just kidding. We used beef. We don’t want any protestors knocking on our door.

My favorite part of the dinner was the banana pudding that Brian made the day before. Thanks to Jay for requesting it. We hadn’t made it in a while and I’d almost forgotten how much I love it.

Here are some pictures of Brian making dessert.

Here are the ingredients in case you want to make it also.

3-4 bananas (we used 5 this time)
1 large box of instant vanilla pudding
1 package of cream cheese
1 container of whipped cream
2-3 packages of Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies
2 cups of milk

Pour milk into a large bowl. Add pudding. Mix until they’re completely blended. Add the softened package of cream cheese and the whipped cream. Mix until smooth.

Layer the pan with the Chessmen cookies, then add half of the pudding mixture. Add a layer of sliced bananas. Use the remaining half of the pudding mixture on top of the banana layer. Cover the top with another layer of Chessmen cookies. That’s it.

P.S. For best results, make it the night before so that the cookies have time to absorb the moisture and soften a little.

We’ve made several variations of this dessert since the first time we made it. We’ve made it into a pie and we’ve also made it with chocolate pudding. For this last Sunday, we decided to go back to basics. Although, I think next time we’re going to try making it with Nutella. We will invite Chef Jason for that for sure!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend. We did. Thanks to everyone who came and watched Walking Dead with us. Love you guys!