Archive for "Food and Drink"
The Cheesecake Factory
Posted on June 1, 2014 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Brian and I took advantage of the three-day weekend to do an up-and-back to Kansas City. We were looking for some shoes to take on our upcoming trip. Not much success on the shoe shopping, but at least we got to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. It was a nice day for dining outside.
Here are some pictures of our food.
We shared crab cakes as our starter.
I had the miso salmon. It was delicious!
Brian had the breaded chicken sliders. Had I known he would get three sliders, we probably could have just split his meal. I was glad I got the salmon though, because it was very good. Anyway, we intended to get dessert also but got too full. We may need to remember to skip the appetizer and just share a meal next time. Or maybe just have an appetizer as our meal. The Cheesecake Factory menu is so vast that you just can’t help but order several things. I could eat there everyday for a month and not have to eat the same thing twice. Not that I would because it’s bad for the diet and bad for the wallet, but just saying. Everything I’ve ever had there has been delicious.
I wish we had a location here in Wichita. Perhaps it’s for the best that the closest one is three hours away. Then it won’t be so tempting.
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Candelas on the Bay
Posted on May 11, 2014 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
When in San Diego be sure to take the ferry across the bay to Coronado. There’s a great restaurant there called Candelas on the Bay. There’s an excellent view of San Diego across the bay whether you are dining inside or sitting outside on the patio.
Here are some pictures of food for your enjoyment.
This next one should be no surprise. Everyone knows that I always order crab cakes if they’re available on the menu. LOL.
I really liked Candelas. I’m so glad that Divina and Mike recommended it. The food was pretty good and the view of San Diego is excellent. I could sit out on their patio for hours and just watch the bay while enjoying the beautiful San Diego weather.
I’m adding Candelas on the Bay to the list of places that I’m going to take Brian to when I take him to San Diego next year. I’m thinking I might take him for either Valentine’s Day or his birthday. I haven’t decided yet. He has expressed interest in going and I can’t wait to show him around. Just added one more item to the to-do list. Oowa! Oowa!
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San Diego Seafood
Posted on May 10, 2014 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
My friends Divina and Mike made reservations at the Oceanaire in Gaslamp District on Tuesday night. I remember the Oceanaire when Brian and I were in Orlando last year. The concierge recommended it but we never found the time to go over there. I’m so glad I finally got to try it. Divina says that the restaurant serves the best seafood in San Diego. Not being from around there, I wouldn’t really know. However, I will tell you that the foods I tried were beyond delicious. They were leaps and bounds better than any seafood I’d ever had in Wichita.
Here are some pictures of our dinner.
I got crab cakes because that is the yardstick that I typically use to compare restaurants. If a restaurant serves crab cakes, that is more than likely what I’ll order. I have to say, the crab cakes I had at Oceanaire that night were phenomenal.
Divina got the seafood mixed grill, which offers a little bit of everything. I highly recommend this entrée if you still want your beef with your seafood.
Mike got a red snapper. Not just any red snapper, though. It was a whole one. Fried. And it was bigger than his head. It looked amazing and I bet it tasted just as good.
The three of us shared a creme brulee for dessert. I didn’t get a picture of it though because it was annihilated as soon as it was delivered to the table. Brian would have liked it. It’s a lot like the creme brulee served at Bonefish.
I really liked Oceanaire a lot so I recommended it to my boss for our final dinner in San Diego. She wanted to have some good seafood. Supposedly, the Oceanaire is as good as it gets in San Diego. Oh, and I had read on FourSquare that if you tell them it’s your birthday when you make your reservation they print your name on the menu. My curiosity got the best of me and so I wanted to put this to the test. Ginger didn’t want it to be her birthday so it ended up being mine. LOL.
They did not disappoint! Here’s a closer look.
I asked if I could take my menu with me but they actually gave me a rolled up one that was tied with ribbon. It made me wish that we had an Oceanaire here in town. I’d totally go there every year for my birthday. I wouldn’t go anywhere else. LOL.
If your server asks if you’d ever dined at the Oceanaire before always say no because first-timers get a treat from the chef. Our treat was pan-seared salmon belly. It was delicious! I wish it was on the menu because that’s what I would have ordered.
Here are some pictures of our dinner entrées.
I think Ginger had halibut. I had rockfish topped with the sweetest, freshest, most delicious chunks of crab meat I’d ever tasted.
Mashed potatoes.
Giant asparagus. That’s not really what they’re called on the menu, but these stems were gigantic. I’d never seen asparagus this large before.
The baked Alaska was a birthday perk that I didn’t read about ahead of time. That was an awesome surprise! (Mike really messed up, Divina! In addition to getting your name printed on the menu, you could have gotten free dessert too. LOL.)
This dessert could feed four people easy. The two of us couldn’t finish it.
Another tip is to go during happy hour if you are a fan of oysters.
I feel so lucky and blessed to have had the opportunity to dine at the Oceanaire not once but twice on this San Diego trip. The Oceanaire is so good that I can’t wait to take Brian to their Orlando location when we are there for the 2014 Zumba Instructor Convention in August.
Now we both have something to look forward to!
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Little Saigon Part 2
Posted on May 7, 2014 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Faith and I managed to coerce Brian to go to Little Saigon with us on Friday and he actually liked it. I was amazed myself. LOL.
Faith and I both had the house spring rolls because they are awesome. These are definitely one of the must-have items on the menu.
I ordered the charbroiled pork appetizer which reminds me so much of tocino. They also give you so much of it that Brian and I decided that we will just share an order of it next time and some steamed white rice.
Brian had General Tso’s chicken, which is what he gets everywhere. He is just as predictable as Faith. LOL.
I hope you guys get a chance to check out Little Saigon because it may have the word little in its name but it’s definitely big on flavor. The food we had on Friday was delicious and it was even better the second time around when we ate our leftovers over the weekend.
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Cafe Bel Ami
Posted on April 27, 2014 by Ching under Food and Drink.
I had blood work done after work on Friday. I hate getting blood work done. It’s always really traumatic because they can never find my veins.
Brian was nice and rewarded me with dinner at Cafe Bel Ami after we left the lab. I was really surprised. He’s not usually one to suggest such a place. He’s more of a Chipotle kind of guy. LOL.
The food at Cafe Bel Ami is amazing. I love eating there whenever I can, which is not very often. You’d think I’d be there all the time considering that it’s within walking distance from my work, but it’s more of a leisurely dining experience. When you only have an hour for lunch, it doesn’t work out so great. If you do have time it’s definitely worth checking out. The food is definitely worth the wait.
Brian had the Bel Ami chicken on Friday.
I’m a little piglet. I had the Bel Ami trio which consists of a beef tenderloin, chicken, and shrimp. It’s like their signature surf and turf. I normally have the grilled tilapia when I’m at Cafe Bel Ami but I wanted to try something different.
I’m glad I tried it because everything was delicious. I don’t eat a lot of beef because it’s never prepared the way I like it. This was perfect. You only get three shrimps with the entreé but these were huge. The chicken had excellent flavor. Sometimes I end up regretting deviating from my usual but I was very pleased that I tried something new this time. I think I have a new favorite.
Brian and I shared a slice of cheesecake for dessert. It was just a standard cheesecake but I enjoyed every bite of it. It’s not every day that I get poked with a needle so I felt like I earned my dessert. LOL.
After dinner we stopped by Mr. Diggs, a home furnishings store across from Tracy’s Automotive. I’d been wanting to check that place out for a long time because I always see their sign whenever I’m in a meeting. You can see the building from our conference rooms at work.
It’s a really neat store and definitely worth a look. Their loft showroom is amazing. Their products are not as affordable as other stores but they have many unique pieces that you won’t find anywhere else. And you can get some great ideas from how they’ve grouped and showcased items together.
I wanted to stick around for the Final Friday festivities. It’s been a while since we did an art crawl. We were both really tired though, and we had Sir Roger Moore waiting for us at home. We were set to watch A View to a Kill
We spent the rest of the evening watching our weekly Bond film and relaxing at home. It was the perfect way to end a busy week.
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