FLIP + CHING

Good Deeds

Posted on August 18, 2015 by Ching under Community, Things to Do.

Did I mention that I work with the most amazing and generous people on the planet?

Last week the Customer Relations Center (CRC) collected a ton of school supplies and filled over 125 backpacks for Washington Elementary. It’s the same school we’ve supported for the last few years. Each year we collect more and more school supplies. We had record-breaking participation in our school supply drive this year. Amy really did a great job of getting everyone involved and excited. Everyone was pumped about participating and we some great friendly competition between the various teams which resulted in even more school supplies collected.

Today Amy and a bunch of people from work delivered all the school supplies we’d collected to Washington Elementary. Delivery day coincided with the “dance party” that the QA team was hosting for the CRC so I couldn’t go but I really wanted to be there to see the kids’ smiling faces. Despite not having been there it still feels good to be part of such a thoughtful and caring effort.

I was able to contribute two backpacks full but some of my coworkers contributed three to five to ten times that amount. I probably could have done more but I had already spent over an hour at Walmart. Brian happened to be at his bowling league that evening so he didn’t really miss me.

Although, I did factor in his preferences in picking out the two backpacks. Finding all of the specific school supplies on the list to put inside the backpacks seemed like a scavenger hunt and it took forever. I spent such a long time looking for stuff that I completely forgot where I parked my car afterwards.

Anyway, I’m so impressed with my coworkers. I can’t imagine how much time (and money) they spent at the store to contribute all the school supplies that we collected last week. There’s no two ways about it. My coworkers are the best!

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Churn & Burn

Posted on August 18, 2015 by Ching under Food and Drink, Reviews.

Churn & Burn is probably the best ice cream shop that you’ve never heard of or tried before. That could be for several reasons: their location, which is not really in the best part of town, and it’s not a chain. If you’ve never been though, it’s definitely worth checking out for several reasons: they have a really cool coffee and ice cream concept, they make their own ice cream (which is actually pretty good), they do cool stuff with liquid nitrogen that’s really fun to watch, and they have vintage arcade game tables.

My friend Jeri kept posting about it on Facebook so we finally just had to check it out. Plus, we really had no reason not to. Churn & Burn is technically on our side of town.

They have lots of delicious flavors. Their ice cream kind of reminds me of the ice cream that Marble Slab (in Bradley Fair) serves.

This is that thing they do with liquid nitrogen.

Brian getting ready to play some games.

Incidentally, Jay and Becca actually know the owner. They saw our Facebook post while we were there and decided to pop in since they were in the neighborhood. They used the opportunity to say hello to the owner and visit with me and Brian also. It was great catching up with Jay and Becca. We hadn’t seen these two jet setters in a while.

Anyway, don’t mind the tacky plastic sign. They were on the other end and just recently moved to this end of the strip. Don’t judge a book by its cover, remember? We just learned this. Also, don’t judge a book by its location. This part of town may not be great but this place definitely is, so come check it out.

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The Kamayan Truck

Posted on August 16, 2015 by Ching under Food and Drink.

Have you tried food from the Kamayan truck yet? It’s probably the best food you’ve never tried. I highly recommend checking it out. It’s my new favorite food truck because they serve some of my Filipino foods that I can’t get anywhere else. Here are some pictures of dishes that they offer to whet your appetite.

These are the Asian tacos. Not really Filipino but it usually helps to serve people something familiar. I prefer the pork dishes, though.

Brian and I have tried a few things. I don’t have any pictures of the porchetta because, the day I got them for us, I had to drive across town to Brian’s office and, by the time I got there, I was so starving. Brian was starving too. We were so hungry we just scarfed up the food and, by the time I remembered that I needed a photo, all we had were empty boxes. We ate every bit of it; including the achara, which I love.

Achara is a Filipino food condiment made from pickled green (unripe) papaya. You can see some of it in the photos above. It’s so good. If you’d like to make yourself some, here’s a link to one of the recipes online; or you could save yourself the effort and just buy some from Kamayan. Theirs is really good.

If you want to track the truck down, like their Facebook page to follow them around town just like I do. The best time to try them is for the bigger events like Food Trucks at the Fountain because they save the lechon (pictured above) for special occasions.

Lechon is the best. It’s my favorite thing ever and there aren’t many places you can get it. That’s why I look forward to when I can get it from the Kamayan truck. The skin of the lechon is the best part. You must try it and let me know what you think in the comments.

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Here Come the Mummies

Posted on August 15, 2015 by Ching under Things to Do.

Watched a band that we’ve never seen or heard before last night. Thought it was going to be hokey at first — with the mummy costumes and all — but they were actually very good. We should have known better. Never judge a book by its cover.

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Adventures in Mulvane

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Ching under Things to Do.

After our early supper last Saturday, Brian and I checked out this cute little park next to Luciano’s. Brian and I decided that we will ask for a table on the park side of the restaurant on our next visit.