Archive for "Food and Drink"
Downtown Cocoa Dolce
Posted on November 11, 2019 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Have you been to the new Cocoa Dolce downtown yet? If not, put it on your list. The place is amazing! My friend Chris and I walked over there a few weeks ago to check it out. Here are some pics.
Something I didn’t realize is that Cocoa Dolce not only has amazing truffles, they also have amazing cheesecakes. Their hot cocoa comes in various flavors and is perfect for the cold weather. I highly recommend checking this place out specially if you work or live downtown or near the area.
Here’s the details:
Downtown ICT Cocoa Dolce
235 N St Francis
Wichita, KS 67202
PH: (316) 854-3121
info@cocoadolce.com
Store Hours:
Monday to Thursday: 7 am – 7 pm
Friday and Saturday: 7 am – 9 pm
Sunday: 12 pm – 7 pm
This is the third Cocoa Dolce location in Wichita. The other two locations are at Bradley Fair (East Wichita) and New Market Square (West Wichita).
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Kung Fu Tea
Posted on October 1, 2019 by Ching under Food and Drink.
I found a new boba tea place and it’s actually close to our house! My friend Michael from pickleball recommended it when he found out that I liked boba tea.
I went to check it out a couple of weeks ago because I had a referral promo from Michael for downloading their app.
The place is not huge but the location is perfect.
I haven’t been back since the first time because I always forget that it’s there but it is so convenient. It’s just south of Harry on Rock Road so I can actually hit it on my way home from VASA. If only I can remember that it’s there. Perhaps now that I’ve blogged about it, I’ll be able to remember better. LOL.
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Molino’s Taqueria
Posted on September 10, 2019 by Ching under Food and Drink.
We are so behind the times when it comes to new restaurants in town. So many have opened that we haven’t even tried it. Molino’s Taqueria is one that’s been around for some time but we haven’t gotten around to checking it out until recently.
Brian got a burrito with some chips and queso.
I had some street tacos and a side of elote. It is a taqueria after all.
My tacos were delicious but Brian was not impressed. He is a diehard Qdoba fan. He thought the burrito was good but he felt they were a little skimpy on the fillings.
As for me, I really liked the idea of making my own street tacos. I got to decide what meats, cheeses, and other ingredients went in. That was all great until I realized that I had no idea what things go well together. When I go to Qdoba or Uno Mas or District Taqueria, I usually select something from their menu and make slight modifications (like no onions or jalapenos, etc.). Having to create a street taco from scratch is a lot trickier, specially if you are clueless about what flavors go well together like I am.
Of course, the concept is a lot like Chipotle. You decide what goes in your burrito, bowl, or taco so, ultimately, if it’s crappy it’s entirely your fault. LOL. However, since you are selecting the things that you like best, you can’t really go wrong. While I can’t go wrong, the downside for me is that it will take several visits to get it just right. Then again, maybe that’s the idea.
I feel like it’s so much easier to just pick something from the menu. Deciding everything that I want in my taco takes so much more time and effort when all you want to do is just eat already. LOL.
Also, their elote, though quite tasty, was not as good as the elote at Uno Mas. I think Uno Mas is still my favorite place to get tacos, hands down.
I did really enjoy my cucumber lemonade drink. It was yummy and refreshing. I would go just for that! But also the food was decent and the price was right. I thought you got excellent value for your money.
Bottom line, Brian isn’t a fan. I thought it was just okay. Good value for your money, though. We may or may not be back but at least we’ve finally crossed it off our list. Until next time. GNG.
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Pickleball Outing
Posted on September 7, 2019 by Ching under Food and Drink, Hobbies.
All of my Zumba classes ended up being canceled on the weekend of the cancer crawl, so I went from being super busy on Sunday to being super available. I checked with my friends/coworkers visiting from Topeka if they wanted to do brunch before heading back but they already ate at their hotel. Next, I checked with my pickleball friends to see if people were playing anywhere.
As luck would have it, Bill and Trixie already planned to visit Jeanie in El Dorado. Michael and I decided to tag along. It was my first official pickleball road trip and it was a ton of fun!
From left: Bill, Jeanie, Michael, and Trixie.
Jeanie is our pickleball friend we were visiting who lives in El Dorado. Bill, Trixie, and I carpooled over to the El Dorado Activity Center where they play from 2-5 PM on Sundays. It was great to be able to carpool because it made the hour-long trip go so much faster. We had great conversations on the way there and back.
We were famished after playing for three hours so we decided to grab dinner together. Jeanie recommended Fiesta Mexicana Cantina in downtown El Dorado.
Here are some food pics…
The food was portions were generous, prices reasonable, and food delicious! This is another one of those restaurants that I can wait to go revisit with Brian.
While we were there, we ran into a local couple who we played with that afternoon so we all ended up dining together. We had a lovely time eating and visiting.
I don’t know when I’ll be able to play with the fun El Dorado group again because I normally teach Zumba on Sundays until 3 PM but I really appreciated having a free Sunday. I’m glad I took advantage of the opportunity to check out their open play. Everyone was super nice and welcoming.
For now, I’m back to my normal Sunday schedule:
- 10:30 AM Aqua Zumba at South YMCA
- 12:00 PM Aqua Zumba at North YMCA (on hold during the month of September due to pool remodel — will resume again in October)
- 2:00 PM Zumba at Andover YMCA
I don’t foresee myself making it back to El Dorado on a typical Sunday but I do hope to squeeze in some pickleball play at either Seneca Park or Chicken N Pickle on some Sundays (barring any staff meetings at the Y or VASA, which are typically on Sunday afternoon/evening).
I am so grateful I get to indulge in my favorite pastimes and making new friends along the way. Until next time. GNG.
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Anniversary Grub
Posted on September 2, 2019 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Brian and I spent the eve of our 17th wedding anniversary at the movies. We went to see Hobbs and Shaw. I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
I also enjoyed watching Brian eat his flatbread pizza which they conveniently forgot to slice for him. Always wanting to do things the hard way, Brian didn’t go back for a knife and slice the pizza. He just picked the whole thing up and started eating it.
On the day of our actual anniversary, we didn’t have any major plans. I still had to teach my regular Saturday morning Aqua Zumba and Zumba classes. So after my last class, we had lunch at Wichita Brewing Co — one of our most favorite places to eat pizza — and then stopped by Edgemoor Park to see how the Hot as Hades Pickleball Tournament was going.
I had a couple of raspberry arnies, my favorite drink at WBC, so I was a bit woozy. LOL. I think being dehydrated from my workouts didn’t help matters any.
After staying at the park for a bit, we went home to get cleaned up for our anniversary dinner in Netwon. I wanted to take Brian to the Italian restaurant that I discovered when I went to Newton with the Zumba girls on 4th of July.
Before dinner we made a side trip to Buhler to look at sunflowers. Unfortunately, the sunflowers hadn’t bloomed yet so we didn’t actually get to see any sunflowers that night. On the plus side, at least we know where the farm is now.
Dinner that night was at Genova Italian Restaurant in Newton. I’m just realizing it now but Brian wore his olive green Wicked Brew shirt earlier that day and then also his olive green, short-sleeved Express button down shirt that night. You’d like olive green was his favorite color. He does have a lot of army green, camo stuff.
Here are some pictures of our food. Pictured above is the delicious bread that they serve. It’s my absolute favorite thing about Genova. It is so good with the oil and vinegar they serve along with it. The best part is that it’s pretty much “all you can eat” when it comes to their bread. They give you as much as you want and they even give you fresh ones to take home if you ask.
Brian had the meat ravioli which he said was very good. I had the chicken parmigiana with spaghetti.
We shared a slice of tiramisu for dessert. It was yummy!
We didn’t do anything too spectacular this year for our anniversary because 17 isn’t really one of the milestone ones. Besides, we celebrate our marriage everyday that we’re together. And, realistically speaking, we had two big trips this year already (Costa Rica and ZINCON) and we have another one coming up so we were both totally fine with not having an anniversary getaway.
However, it’s been at least a couple of months since our last couples massage so I think we’re about due for one of those. Anyway, this month has been a blast… Actually, this life has been a blast. I feel super blessed that I get to share it with someone as wonderful, thoughtful, caring, and kind as Brian. I look forward to everyday that we get to spend together.
Until next time. GNG.
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