Tag: phoenix az

Escape from toddler vs. Escape the room. Which is harder?

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Ever since we have our daughter, my husband and I have never been away from her for a bit. Either one of us stays with her or both. So last night we decided to escape from her for a couple hours. Don’t get me wrong. We love being with her all the time. But sometime it’s nice to have a couple of hours of kid-free.

So we had my mom took care of our daughter, we ran out of the house, hopped on the car, and headed to Phoenix. So since this is our first kid-free time, we wanted to do something that is for adults only that we used to do before kids.

When we were living in Vietnam before having our daughter, we LOVED all the escape rooms there. Escape room is a team building game that you and a group of friends/family will be locked in a room with all the puzzles and locks. Your mission is to find clues and ways to unlock them and get yourself (and your team) out of the room. It is such a fun activity. Since we have Misa we had never been into one. Now we found one near us in Phoenix, AZ which is PanIQ Escape Room. We knew it is the perfect place for our short kid-free time.

So we call my brother and his friend, and headed to Phoenix, with our tickets booked. We stopped by a boba tea shop to get some drinks. Our little fun time can never be without boba milk tea.

After getting drinks we continued driving to PanIQ.

We arrived PanIQ Escape Room and have our team ready for the game. Our room was the Kidnapped room. The other two are Aliens and Wild West. The room we chose was the hardest one in all 3. So we were super excited.

We had 60 minutes to escape the room. They divided our team into 2, each team went to one door. My husband and I were locked in a cage, waiting for my brother and his friend to come rescue us. We also had to find the keys to unlock ourselves.

It does sounds easy, but it is not easy at all. It is very challenging to find every single clue. Since we had experience playing the game back in Vietnam, we were not so terrified. Or I can say we were a little confident. However, we spent 25 minutes to finish 1/3 of the room, and then time’s up when we were almost out of the room. The staff said we only need about 10 more minutes to make it out of the room.

It was such a great time playing. We had so much fun and lots of laugh. Every time we unlocked a puzzle or lock, it’s the best feeling. It’s actually the first time my brother and his friend playing Escape room, and they are now making a team to come back. My husband and I love this game. We will come back too whenever we have someone taking care of our daughter. It is so good to have our brains working their best for such a fun, satisfying, challenging hour.

PanIQ staffs were so friendly and informative. The room was so challenging which we love. I would highly recommend everyone to give it a try. PanIQ Escape Room is not only in Phoenix, AZ. There are some other locations around the country like in San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, NYC, Washington DC, Atlanta, and Miami. Kids at age 10 or over are welcome, so you could bring your kids for a family fun if they are old enough. Our tickets for 4 were $80 before tax. So it’s not expensive at all. Click here to choose your nearest location and book your tickets.

After the game, my husband and I had to ran home because of grandma could not handle our daughter anymore. She was crying for hours and throwing lots of tantrums (toddler it is). So our little date night ended right there. To compare, I would say Escape Room game is much more easier than escaping from your toddler(s). I can’t wait to be back to PanIQ Escape Room whenever we find time.

Thank you PanIQ Escape Room for sponsoring this blog post. All opinions are my own. We truly love the game and we will come back for sure.

Moving to Phoenix soon and searching for house?

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devour-phoenix

Image Credit: Flickr Courtesy of Lauren Toper

Best Food Finds in Phoenix

More people moved to Maricopa County in 2017 than any other county in the entire nation, the U.S. Census Bureau reported recently. As the largest city in the county, many of those moves were likely to Phoenix. If you’re like so many others considering a move here, you’ve probably searched through homes for sale in Phoenix, AZ, and discovered some rather enticing gems at relatively affordable prices. But before making the leap, you might want to learn more about what else this area has to offer, including its dining scene.

 

Menus here feature everything from authentic Mexican and standard southwestern fare to modern fusion, international cuisine and just about everything in between.

 

For the very best food finds don’t miss these treasures.

Barbecue at Little Miss BBQ

There’s no need to travel hundreds of miles to Texas for mouth-watering barbecue, the state with the greatest number of BBQ eateries, with 2,238 according to a 2015 report. While Texas may be famous for its delectable BBQ dishes, Arizona is home to the highly acclaimed Little Miss BBQ.

 

A hot lunch spot serving BBQ Central Texas style, it’s only open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., or until sold out, Tuesdays through Saturdays. The juicy, tender meat is cooked with pecan wood, Arizona oak using Camelback Smokers, sold by weight and tossed on white bread, topped with jalapenos, pickles and onions. The sandwiches are served with house made potato salad and ranch-style beans, but you’ll want to save room for the smoked pecan pie – heavenly!

CRUjiente

Being so close to the Mexico border, it’s no surprise that Phoenix offers practically an endless number of Mexican restaurants, but of course, some are better than others, like CRUjiente. While you might think a taco is just a taco, Richard Hinojosa takes tacos to a whole new level, with all sorts of interesting, tasty twists. He makes traditional chicken, beef and pork tacos topped with the usual guac and other standard toppings, but he also offers many other unique takes on the taco, like lamb, lobster, octopus and Szechuan beef cheek tacos using beef that’s been braised for 36 hours. He presses his own tortillas using heirloom blue corn mesa and then flavors them with ingredients like dashi, cardamom, poblano, cilantro and Fresno chilis.

Restaurant Progress

Restaurant Progress is one of Phoenix’s newest offerings, with its doors opening in 2017. An instant hit with foodies, it specializes in small plates paired with creatively crafted cocktails that makes it ideal for a date night. The menu changes about every four to six weeks and features dishes like chicken-fried trout, pork belly and soy-cured watermelon. A few of the terms frequently used to describe the experience here among Google reviews include: “truly inspired,” “beautiful, slow food,” “impeccable service” “an instant classic.”

CIBO

Just about every city has a favorite pizza joint, and in Phoenix, that’s CIBO. Located downtown for over a decade, it’s housed in a historic bungalow and features just about every type of gourmet Neapolitan pizza you could ever imagine, with a choice of red or white sauce, along with delectable homemade pasta dishes. The Pomodoro Fresco pie, with mozzarella, basil and grape tomatoes, is considered the very best in the city.