Archive for "Food and Drink"
Obligatory Food Photos
Posted on March 25, 2012 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
I didn’t take pictures at every meal at the resort, but here are a few food pictures for you. The resort food was okay. Lunches were mainly just burgers and fries. Dinners consisted of several courses because they always served soup first, then salad, followed by your main course, and dessert. There was always some kind of porridge at breakfast. The downside was that there wasn’t a lot of variety. You pretty much had to eat what was available. However, you’re fine as long as you’re not a picky eater. The resort employees were really nice, though. If you make your request known and they had the resources available, they usually made it happen.
My most favorite meal was lunch on Saturday. Everyone except for me, Brian, David, Donna, Viola, and her husband Lee went to Negril on a fishing trip. Our room is the top most level of the main building where the food is prepared. When I walked down on my way to the beach that morning, I smelled the most delicious aroma of curry. I asked what it was and if it was what we were having for lunch. They told me it was chicken curry and I immediately got excited. I love, love, love chicken curry!
Brian and I assumed that’s what we were having for lunch. When we told the others, they didn’t seem so thrilled. Not many people like curry, I guess. I think they were relieved when they found out that Sean was grilling burgers for lunch. On the other hand, I was disappointed because I was really looking forward to having some chicken curry. I think Viola had a grilled cheese sandwich that day. I got a cheeseburger with a side of fries, which were pretty good. The fries were crispy just the way I liked them.
As we sat down at the dining table to enjoy our lunch, we got to talking about these two bowls next to the grill. Someone said that the staff told them that they had set it aside for someone who wanted some chicken curry. I lit up immediately because I knew it was meant for me. Thankfully, I’d only had a bite of my cheeseburger so I wasn’t full yet. I gave my plate of cheeseburger and fries to Brian and ran back to the grill to claim my lunch. They set aside a bowl of seasoned rice and a bowl of chicken curry specially for me. I found out later that they had made the chicken curry for the staff to eat at lunch and they saved me some because they found out how much I loved curry. That really made my day!
I can’t believe that the guests were having burgers and fries and grilled cheese sandwiches, while the staff was eating chicken curry and rice for lunch. I would rather have chicken curry any day! Donna tried a bite of the chicken curry and agreed it was delicious. I was like, “The staff is having chicken curry for lunch today. You all are getting jipped!” LOL.
I was really tempted to ask for whatever the staff was having at each meal after that, but I didn’t want to be a pain. I have to say that the chicken curry and rice I had for lunch that day was the best meal that I had in Jamaica on this last trip. Yes, I liked it even better than the lunch I had at Rick’s Cafe in Negril, which I will tell you more about in my next post. Stay tuned!
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Finally Caught the Flying Stove
Posted on March 11, 2012 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Our FOODIES blog crashed last night, but it was all for the best. Were it not for the blog crashing, I would not have realized that the domain expires this year. See there’s always a silver lining, even when disasters happen. That’s the eternal optimist in me. Anyway, I’ve decided not to renew the domain when it expires in September so I’m going to return to doing all of my food blogging here. Just wanted to give you guys a heads up. All of the old FOODIES blog entries will still be accessible here, so not to worry if you’re looking for that sangria recipe or food picture or restaurant review.
With all that said, let me tell you about our first food truck experience. We’d been trying to catch The Flying Stove since BJ mentioned it on Facebook. However, since the truck moves around to various locations and with our busy work schedules, it’s been quite challenging. Yesterday, I saw a note on Facebook that they were going to be in front of Abode. Brian and I figured this was our chance to try it.
Here’s what the food truck looks like, in case you’re looking for it.
This is a photo of Brian placing our food order.
Jenni, who happened to be downtown at the same time, met us there. She ordered the Korean bulgogi, which is great for someone on a low-carb, high protein diet because they’re basically protein tacos — meat wrapped in lettuce. Holy cow! When she got that thing, it smelled so good! I kind of wish I would have ordered it. However, that feeling subsided after my first bite of the bahn mi.
This thing had such amazing flavor. I’m not a huge fan of bahn mis but, if they all tasted like this one, I would have been converted sooner. It had to be the most delicious bahn mi I’d ever tasted. It had just the right amount of spiciness to it. Brian was actually surprised that I liked it as much as I did because I’m not a big fan of spicy foods. This was just the right combination of sweet and spicy, though. The little kick at the end is perfect.
We wanted to sample as much of the food as we could because we weren’t sure if we’d ever see the food truck again, so we also ordered a couple of turkey sliders. So we both had a turkey slider each and then half of a bahn mi. It’s really too much food for that late at night, but this month is screwed anyway (with the ice cream I ate the other day and all the soda I’ve been drinking and all the eating out) that we figured might as well splurge (notice I didn’t say binge; binge is a bad word).
The turkey sliders were good, but not nearly as good as the bahn mi. So when you finally try The Flying Stove, don’t bother looking at the menu. Just get the bahn mi. It is the best thing that they make, hands down.
Here’s a picture of the menu for those of you who are curious what else they offer. You don’t need it, though. Bahn mi is all you need to know. The Korean bulgogi is probably a close second, but it’s quite messy to eat when you’re not sitting down. The bahn mi is the perfect on the go food.
Here’s a picture of Jenni eating her Korean bulgogi while trying not to make a mess in the car. See what I mean? Anyway, I have a feeling that we will be following The Flying Stove around this summer. LOL!
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Nutella & Go
Posted on December 30, 2011 by Ching under Food and Drink.
I was at Walmart the other day, getting a gift card for my niece Kayla, when I saw these at the check out lane. It took a lot not to buy one. They remind me of Yan Yan
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Falling Off the Wagon Face First
Posted on December 25, 2011 by Ching under Food and Drink.
For the first time since Woodchucks Thursday first started, Brian and I finally took up Amie’s invitation and joined. The main reason we haven’t been able to attend before is that Brian and I don’t like staying out too late on a week night because we both have to work the next day and we like to get to work early.
Most of the Thursday night Zumba crew are West-siders so they don’t have that far to drive; unlike Brian and I, who have to drive 30 minutes to come home. That, and we’re not supposed to be eating out anyway. Brian’s even supposed to limit himself to only one bottle of beer per week.
Since it’s the holidays, and Brian and I didn’t have to go to work the next day, we decided to indulge. We joined Amie, Angela and CJ, and their friend JR at the West side Buffalo Wild Wings. Raymond was there with his family also.
I skipped the Woodchucks in favor of sangria, which was good but not great. It’s not as good as the blackberry sangria at Carrabba’s or even mine. It was good enough that I asked for a second glass, though. LOL.
I also caved and ate an order of buffalo chips and one of Brian’s honey BBQ chicken wings. I was very disappointed that I didn’t have enough self control to resist, but at the same time I’ve been telling myself that it’s the holidays and you’re supposed to indulge. That’s my rationalization, anyway.
Brian and I had so much fun hanging out and visiting with everyone that I think we will go again this coming Thursday.
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Brew Ha-Ha at Flint Hills National
Posted on November 5, 2011 by Ching under Events, Food and Drink.
Brian was out of town so I invited Jan to go with me to the Brew Ha-Ha fundraising event to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters at Flint Hills National Golf Club. We had a lot of fun! Well, I guess I can’t really speak for Jan but I had a great time!
There was a band playing at the clubhouse and the scenery is simply breathtaking.
The folks who live in that community are so fortunate that they have such beautiful surroundings. The landscape is gorgeous everywhere you look. It’s so beautiful, it makes me want to golf. It’s a shame I don’t know how.
The lodges can be rented out so it’s great for golf enthusiasts and non-golfers alike. If you don’t golf, you can still stay there and just enjoy the serene ambiance and nature in general. Perfect for an RNR-type getaway.
This is a picture of one of the rooms. There are several well-appointed rooms to choose from as each lodge can accommodate several guests. The first lodge we went to was the Dower Lodge. Chef Dan Gary of Flint Hills National prepared potato soup and chili for the guests. The beers available at Dower Lodge were Molson Canadian, Moosehead, Labatt Blue and Alexander Keith’s IPA.
Devlin Lodge was across the way. The cuisine there was by Chef Peter Moretti of the Wichita Marriott. We had some delicious crab salad on these shell dishes. I also had some roast pork and a delicious pastry dish. The beers offered there were by the local River City Brewing Company: River City Harvester Wheat Ale, Rock Island Red and Old Town Brown.
We had to hop on the party bus in order to get to the three lodges on the other side of the golf club. Rohde Lodge was our first stop on the other side. We feasted on Mexican cuisine by Chef Chuck Oullette. I just had chips and salsa and this delicious Mexican chicken pasta dish. I skipped the queso and the papas. It would have been so easy to pig out on everything, but I had to be somewhat selective. In keeping with the Mexican theme, the beers offered were bottles of Dos Equis Lager, Dos Equis Amber, Tecate and Pacifico.
We then walked next door to Wilcox Lodge where they had Asian cuisine by Chef Angela Mitchell of PF Chang’s China Bistro. They had chicken lettuce wraps and some spicy breaded shrimp. The beers offered at Wilcox Lodge were O’Fallon Hemp Hop, Green Flash West Coast IPA and Tiger.
Next was 4D Lodge adjacent to Wilcox. This was the best lodge yet because this is where the Kansas firefighters were selling and signing calendars. Ran into several people who I’d met at Holiday Galleria just a few weeks prior. The food at Wilcox Lodge was by Chef Joe Parten of Carrabba’s Italian Grill. This place had the most food and most variety offered, but all I had was the chocolate cake. It’s a shame that I was already full because I really wanted to eat everything they had to offer. I’m actually kind of proud of myself for having some semblance of self-control (or “will control” as Brian calls it because he likes to combine both will power and self-control – LOL). The beers offered at 4D Lodge were Tallgrass Velvet Rooster, Tallgrass Halcyon and Summit Extra Pale Ale.
Back at the clubhouse where they had cookies and coffee at the end of the evening, they also had Shocktop Wheat and Sam Adams Winter Lager. Brian is a huge Sam Adams fan so it was a real shame that he was out of town last night. He would have really enjoyed the evening. I didn’t drink any beer at all. I had a couple of sips of some kind of pinot noir and then drank water the rest of the evening. The only memory I have of the beer are the beer tasting mugs that I got to take home. I took mine home and grabbed an extra one for Brian. Jan and Jim both gave me theirs, and then Jim’s neighbors didn’t want theirs so I got those as well. Jan said I should have gone for eight. =P I have a full set of six, which one of the wonderful golf club employees helped me wrap in newspaper and put in a plastic sack, so I was happy. LOL. I’m way too easy to please.
Besides running into the firefighters, I also ran into Ann and Jeremy who I’d met at Stacy and Jeff’s sushi party earlier this year. I hadn’t seen them since (except on Facebook) so that was really nice. We didn’t get to visit though, because the event was so crowded. I didn’t get to go to the event last year (this is the 5th annual Brew Ha-Ha fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters), but it seemed to be a great turnout. Even though I didn’t drink, I had a blast going from lodge to lodge and sampling all of the delicious dishes offered. I hope I get to go again next year!
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