I wanted to do something a little different today and instead of sharing reviews and recipes I want to share some details about ME, in case anyone was wondering who I am! My name is Kimmy Ripley and I am from the city of St. Clair Shores in Michigan. I am very very VERY passionate about food and drink. I try my best to always eat with an open mind and I live for the thrill of trying out new things. This Give It A Whirl Girl food blog was started last June and it such a big joy to share my food and drink experiences with you all!

Today I will be sharing 10 questions and answers on the blog so you can get to know me better! There are going to be a ton of photos in this post so get ready! I know some people who “read” blogs don’t read and just check out the photos, so if you are one of those people you are in luck today!

Me! Kimmy Ripley AKA Give It A Whirl Girl
Me! Kimmy Ripley AKA Give It A Whirl Girl
My hubby and I at Kona Grill for one of my birthdays
My hubby and I at Kona Grill for one of my birthdays
Give It A Whirl Girl with some Enlightened ice cream pop
Give It A Whirl Girl with some Enlightened ice cream pop
Me and my daughter, Chloe Pearl, at the Heidelberg Project
Me and my daughter, Chloe Pearl, at the Heidelberg Project

10 Questions & Answers With GIVE IT A WHIRL GIRL (Kimmy Ripley)


You can also learn more about me in my introductory post!


All About Give It A Whirl Girl – Get To Know Me

1) Favorite food:

This is a tough question. I am not a very picky eater and I consider myself to be a foodie! There are so many foods out there that I absolutely love but if I had to choose one thing, just one thing, it would be…

Sushi! – I love love love sushi but I am also a big fan of things like crab legs or lobster tail because they are such a pricey and super rare treat for me.

My go-to place for sushi is Inyo in Ferndale, MI. We discovered this fantastic Asian fusion restaurant through Groupon. Inyo Ferndale is almost always on Groupon, so if you are local be sure to grab a Groupon for this spectacular Asian restaurant. You can thank me later… wink! wink! Their food is top-notch and we are regulars there.

Sushi at Inyo Ferndale
Sushi at Inyo Ferndale
Sushi at Inyo Ferndale
Sushi at Inyo Ferndale – This sushi roll has 4 different colorful eggs on it
Sushi at Inyo Ferndale
Sushi at Inyo Ferndale
Sushi at Inyo Ferndale
Sushi at Inyo Ferndale
Sushi at Inyo Ferndale
Sushi at Inyo Ferndale
And just for fun! Here is a photo of my daughter, Chloe Pear, with her chicken teriyaki dinner at Inyo Ferndale
And just for fun! Here is a photo of my daughter, Chloe Pearl, with her chicken teriyaki dinner at Inyo Ferndale
Ok guys! I am obsessed with Inyo. Here is a photo of my Walnut Lobster. This was the most recent meal that I ordered
Ok guys! I am obsessed with Inyo. Here is a photo of my Walnut Lobster. This was the most recent meal that I ordered

 

Honorable mention:

Gotta love a big bowl of noodly pho at Minh Chau restaurant (they just changed the name to New Asian Star). Pho is comfort food for me. The broth here at New Asian Star is on-point! The pho that I enjoy ordering has sliced beef, brisket, meatballs, and soft tendon in it. Yeah I said tendon… and it is a weird meat to eat but I do enjoy it here. They also have a pho available with tripe if you are feeling really adventurous.

You can also stop in here for a bubble drink!

Big bowl of yummy pho at Minh Chau (now known as New Asian Star)
Big bowl of yummy pho at Minh Chau (now known as New Asian Star)
Pure comfort food right over here. I love pho at Minh Chau (New Asian Star)!
Pure comfort food right over here. I love pho at Minh Chau (New Asian Star)!

2) Least favorite food:

Oh this is an easy one. I used to eat some funky stuff when I was a little girl… things I could not fathom stomaching now!

Herrings in cream sauce (ew) I used to eat these fishy fishes straight out of the jar.

Giblets and hearts in my stuffing (ew! ew!) My mom always put those nasty things in my Thanksgiving stuffing. NEVER AGAIN

Liverwurst (ew! ew! ew!) All by itself or on some plain white bread. No thank you!

3) Favorite fruit

Want to know about my favorite fruit? This is an easy one to answer for me… dragon fruit, and that is followed by passion fruit, another favorite of mine. I am a HUGE fan of exotic fruits and I love to create exotic smoothie bowls with these fruits. If you are local, you can usually pick up a wide variety of exotic fruits at Nino Salvaggio.

Dragon fruit can have either a white center or pink center. You never know until you slice it!
Dragon fruit can have either a white center or pink center. You never know until you slice it!

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Exotic fruits that I purchased at Nino Salvaggio
Exotic fruits that I purchased at Nino Salvaggio
The exotic fruit smoothie bowl
The exotic fruit smoothie bowl

4) Favorite meals that I have cooked:

Truth be told, and many of you all know, cooking and baking is my #1 passion in life! I love to serve up a delicious dish for my little family of 3

Italian drunken noodle is hands down the family favorite over here in the Give It A Whirl Girl kitchen. You can find the recipe for this delicious dish on my blog. Italian Drunken Noodle features Pappardelle pasta, Italian sausage, and mix of peppers with chardonnay wine.

A big plate of Italian Drunken Noodle and a glass of chardonnay
A big plate of Italian Drunken Noodle and a glass of chardonnay
Italian Drunken Noodle - Give It A Whirl Girl's favorite meal to cook
Italian Drunken Noodle – Give It A Whirl Girl’s favorite meal to cook

Honorable mention:

Gigantic mozzarella stuffed meatballs are a big favorite and I have the recipe for these on my blog. This is the kind of meal that I invite my family over for. This recipe serves up a generous portion of meatballs.

CLICK HERE for my Huge Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs RECIPE!

Huge mozzarella stuffed meatballs simmering in the slow-cooker
Huge mozzarella stuffed meatballs simmering in the slow-cooker
A big plate of mozzarella stuffed meatballs served over spaghetti noodles
A big plate of mozzarella stuffed meatballs served over spaghetti noodles



Pineapples stuffed with a teriyaki chicken is another family fave but it is somewhat complicated and tedious to create. You can find the recipe and learn more about this gluten-free dish on my blog.

Pineapples stuffed with teriyaki chicken are a fabulous summer meal
Pineapples stuffed with teriyaki chicken are a fabulous summer meal

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5) Favorite desserts I have created

I love to bake cakes even though I am not the most talented baker and cake decorator. I created a bubblegum cake and a cotton candy cake. These cakes and cupcakes were a ton of fun to create and even more fun to eat!

Here are some photos of my favorite baking projects:

Bubblegum Gluten-Free Cake - Let's Get The Party Started
Bubblegum Gluten-Free Cake – Let’s Get The Party Started
COTTON CANDY CAKE by GIVE IT A WHIRL GIRL - Gluten-Free - How I Created It
COTTON CANDY CAKE
Paleo Dark Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes
Paleo Dark Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes

Visit DylansCandyBar.com

6) Favorite drink (non-alcoholic):

I don’t know how I can pick one here. I am a self-confessed coffee addict and I am also addicted to my energy drinks (have to have at least one a day!). My favorite energy drinks are by Bang Energy. With flavors like Unicorn and Cotton Candy, how can you resist?


7) Favorite alcoholic drink:

I recently started getting into craft beer and hard ciders. I was always attracted to the labels and packaging. It is so fun and colorful! I grew up my entire life, hating on beer, and saying it tasted like pee. Then one day I went to Hop Cat and I went there with the intention of giving beer a whirl and I ordered a flight with three different craft beers. Guess what? I enjoyed each and every one of them! I was impressed with myself that I gave craft beer a chance. I love craft beer and the entire drink experience with them. I love all of the unique flavors out there… Lucky Charms cereal, etc. etc.!

So sorry for the poor quality photo! I apologize but here is a photo of me with my first craft beer! I gave it a whirl at Hop Cat in Royal Oak, MI
So sorry for the poor quality photo! I apologize but here is a photo of me with my first craft beer! I gave it a whirl at Hop Cat in Royal Oak, MI
First flight of craft beer for me at Hop Cat and I loved each one of them!
First flight of craft beer for me at Hop Cat and I loved each one of them!
A 6-Pack of PB & Jaley craft beer
A 6-Pack of PB & Jaley craft beer
Passion Fruit hard cider
Rekorderling Passion Fruit hard cider  – This was the greatest hard cider I have tried!
An assortment of craft beers... all delicious!
An assortment of craft beers… all delicious!
Cranium Crush - Raspberry Waffle Cone Ale
Cranium Crush – Raspberry Waffle Cone Ale
An assortment of craft beers that I tried out
An assortment of craft beers that I tried out. And we save all of the bottles and cans and display them in our basement.

 

 

8) Favorite candy

Jelly Belly Raspberries & Blackberries are my favorite candy! What is yours?
Jelly Belly Raspberries & Blackberries are my favorite candy! What is yours?

There is no better candy than Jelly Belly’s Raspberries & Blackberries! These berry flavored candies are extremely highly addictive to me and I will kill a bag in just a couple of minutes!


9) Favorite post on the blog

I am nearing 200 published posts on the blog and if I had to choose one favorite post I simply can’t. I am going to declare a tie here. The two posts that were my favorite to do were both local reviews. I would love to visit more places nearby and review them. The local reviews I have done are my top performing posts. Here we go…

Modern Cone Review

and

Kawaii Bubble Tea Review

Modern Cone is an ice cream shop in St. Clair Shores that specializes in creative ice cream concoctions. This is the place to go if you want a unique ice cream concoction that is fun to eat, and very Instagrammable!

Make sure you are following my Facebook page because I will be sharing a Modern Cone gift card giveaway very soon!

Our three desserts at Modern Cone
Our three desserts at Modern Cone
Cereal Killer ice-cream Stacker available at Modern Cone
Cereal Killer ice-cream Stacker available at Modern Cone

Kawaii Bubble Tea is located in Clinton Township, MI and they have some of the best bubble teas (boba) that I have ever tried. They also have a wide variety of macarons available. If you have never ever tried boba you definitely need to check out this place. It is a very fun drink experience.

Kawaii Bubble Tea boba and macarons!
Kawaii Bubble Tea boba and macarons!
Enjoying our boba drinks and macarons at Kawaii Bubble Tea in Clinton Township, MI
Enjoying our boba drinks and macarons at Kawaii Bubble Tea in Clinton Township, MI
What a fun experience for all of us!
Macarons and boba at Kawaii Bubble Tea
Macarons and boba at Kawaii Bubble Tea

Honorable mention:

Tou & Mai is located in Detroit’s midtown area and they offer some very unique desserts. I tried their halo halo (Hello Hello is what they call it). You can read the review on my blog where I spill all the beans about this awesome dessert destination!

Tou & Mai Review

Sweet beans in my ice cream~!

Hello Hello (Halo Halo) at Tou & Mai in Detroit, MI
Hello Hello (Halo Halo) at Tou & Mai in Detroit, MI
Hello Hello (Halo Halo) at Tou & Mai in Detroit, MI
Hello Hello (Halo Halo) at Tou & Mai in Detroit, MI
Hello Hello (Halo Halo) at Tou & Mai in Detroit, MI
My daughter, Chloe Pearl eating Hello Hello (Halo Halo) at Tou & Mai in Detroit, MI

10) Favorite place to grab a sweet treat

This is an easy question to answer. Menchie’s and Orange Leaf are definitely my favorite place to grab a dessert. I am obsessed with frozen yogurt, also known as froyo. You can read my Menchie’s review on the blog.

Want to give Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt a whirl? Grab a Groupon and save on your visit!

Menchie's Frozen Yogurt (Froyo) Build-Your-Own Creation
Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt (Froyo) Build-Your-Own Creation
Edible art!
Menchies Heritage Village in Warren, MI
Menchies Heritage Village in Warren, MI
Menchies Heritage Village in Warren, MI toppings bar
Menchies Heritage Village in Warren, MI toppings bar

 

Final thoughts

I truly hope you enjoyed this post over here at Give It A Whirl Girl. I would love to hear from my readers so leave me a comment here and tell me about your favorite food!

Question Time!

What is your favorite food? Least favorite food? Please share with me. I love to hear from my audience!

Also…

If you have any questions that you would like to ask me, leave a question in the comment box and I will be happy to answer it.

 

Follow Give It A Whirl Girl on social media

 

Give It A Whirl prepping a from-scratch pizza
Give It A Whirl prepping a from-scratch pizza

 

At Tony's I-75 in Birch Run, MI with our gigantic banana split
At Tony’s I-75 in Birch Run, MI with our gigantic banana split

Learn more about this COLOSSAL banana split in my Tony’s I-75 restaurant review

 

Chloe Pearl and I cooking a from-scratch pizza in the Give It A Whirl Girl kitchen
Chloe Pearl and I cooking a from-scratch pizza in the Give It A Whirl Girl kitchen

 

 


Did you enjoy this post? Here are more posts at Give It A Whirl Girl that you might enjoy!


 

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Kawaii Bubble Tea Is The Place You Want To Be – Boba Review in Clinton Township, Michigan

If you have not heard about boba tea yet, why not? It is all the rage these days and I am writing this in hopes of directing you to your new happy place~ Kawaii Bubble Tea in Clinton Township, MI. Upon walking in you are bombarded with an adorable cat on the wall that just screams CUTE! This place is the place you want to be if you want to be adventurous and indulge in a unique drink. Did you know that the word “kawaii” means CUTE in Japanese? This place is off the charts when it comes to the cuteness factor! You will be radiating with happiness once you take that first sip of your boba drink.

Kawaii Bubble Tea is the most perfect place to take your family. The drinks served here are kid-friendly and this little shop is a good alternative to going out for ice-cream. I am suggesting here that you mix things up and try something new! Your child will fall in love with the cute drinks that come in fun flavors. The drinks even come with a cute little face on top to seal the drink in. And because there is boba in there you have to use a thick, fat straw. Children will definitely have a memorable time here and get a kick out of it. My 8-year-old daughter, Chloe, always looks forward to going out for a bubble tea.

Kawaii Bubble Tea in Clinton Township, MI
Kawaii Bubble Tea in Clinton Township, MI
Kawaii Bubble Tea in Clinton Township, MI
Give It A Whirl Girl visits Kawaii Bubble Tea in Clinton Township, MI
Kawaii Bubble Tea in Clinton Township, MI
Kawaii Bubble Tea in Clinton Township, MI offers boba drinks, French macarons, and other Japanese treats

About Kawaii Bubble Tea

Kawaii Bubble Tea is owned by Christa Gowing and she has been the owner here for nearly two years. She started out working at Starbucks and then took a leap of faith and made her dream come true of opening up a bubble tea shop. I had a chance to sit down and chat with Christa about her business and I got nothing but good vibes from her. She was friendly and sweet and I enjoyed chatting with her about her bubble tea shop.

Christa also has her amazing 19-year-old son, Jadon Maloney, who inspired her to open up this unique place. Jadon is the co-owner of the shop. They work together at Kawaii Bubble Tea and he was pretty much the mastermind of the entire concept of this shop, including the name, logo, and color scheme. That is quite the accomplishment for someone who is the age of 19! I am fascinated by this! Christa also had a ton of support from her husband to open up Kawaii Bubble Tea. When you have a fantastic support system your dreams can become a reality.

Boba is a Taiwanese drink concept and has actually been around since the 1980s. It hasn’t achieved popularity in the states until fairly recently. The good word is spreading and more and more people are getting curious about these cute and unusual drinks!

The drinks are available in three sizes (small, medium, or large). The cool thing about this drink shop is how you can create any drink that you desire. There are thousands of possibilities with the different flavor combinations you can come up with.

You can either choose to drink your boba drink inside or take it on-the-go. There are plenty of tables for indoor seating.

The menu board at Kawaii Bubble Tea in Clinton Township, MI
The menu board at Kawaii Bubble Tea in Clinton Township, MI

You might also love:

Japanese Candy & Snacks – Kawaii Gift Guide

 

All about the boba! What is it?

Confused about boba? There are three different types of boba offered. I am also providing the different flavors that each are offered in.

  • Traditional – Sweet and creamy tapioca pearl
  • Popping – Little balls of juice that pop in your mouth (Strawberry, Blueberry, Mango, Peach, Green Apple, Yogurt, Pomegranate, and Lychee )
  • Jelly – These are firm and chewy (Assorted, Mango, Lychee, Passion Fruit, and Strawberry)

The boba all comes in a variety of flavors. There are several options here on deciding what to go with.

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Enjoying a honeydew boba at Kawaii Bubble Tea
Enjoying a honeydew boba at Kawaii Bubble Tea
Enjoying a honeydew boba at Kawaii Bubble Tea In this photo you can see the passionfruit jellies at the bottom. You use a fat straw to suck them up. Fun!
Kawaii Bubble Tea Boba drink (honeydew, with almond milk, green tea, and passionfruit jelly)
Kawaii Bubble Tea Boba drink (honeydew, with almond milk, green tea, and passionfruit jelly)

 

How do I get my boba drink?

That is entirely up to you! The drinks at Kawaii Bubble Tea are completely customizable. You can even adjust the sweetness of your custom drink.

  1. The first step is to pick your flavor. There are several to choose from! So much that it is somewhat overwhelming for a first time visitor. That is why I am writing this post. I want to guide you on losing your boba virginity. View all the flavors HERE.
  2. The second step is to choose tea. There are three teas to choose from. The black tea and green tea have caffeine. The passion tea is caffeine free. Passion tea would be best for the children that visit.
  3. The third step is to choose if you want your tea blended or poured over ice. If you go with the blended option your drink will be like a slushie.
  4. The final step is to choose your boba (as mentioned above there is traditional, popping, and jelly) and the boba also comes in a wide variety of flavors.

Watch the video below to get a sneak peek on how the drink is made. It is put inside a shaker to ensure that the ingredients are well incorporated.

 

Recommendations

I chatted for quite a while with the owner. I wanted to get the inside scoop on her favorite drink. After all, she is the professional here! Christa often goes with a milk tea with honeydew. So I was curious and I ended up going with that as well and I chose the passionfruit jellies as my boba. I was blown away by the delicious flavor of this drink. If you are a fan of honeydew this one will knock your socks off!

Special drinks

Can’t decide on what combination to go with? Kawaii Bubble Tea has a variety of drink concoctions available if you need to be guided in the right direction of a tasty drink. You can view the special drink menu HERE.

Gluten-free and dairy restrictions

If you need to avoid gluten and dairy you are in luck at Kawaii Bubble Tea.

The milk and the fruit teas are gluten-free as well as the boba included with them.

The fruit teas are dairy and lactose-free. If you need a milk substitute they have you covered with a couple of different options: almond milk and soy milk, which is an additional 60-cents.

And guess what? Most of the macarons are also gluten-free. Please inquire about the macarons if you are unsure. Flavors like cookie dough are not gluten-free. I’m telling you, you just have to enjoy a macaron or two or three with the boba. Read more about macarons up next!

Macarons

Need a little bite to eat with your boba drink? Kawaii Bubble Tea also offers some scrumptious little French macarons in a wide variety of flavors! Check out this wide selection that they have available (see below). It is so hard to narrow it down when every single flavor is delectable and delish! Seriously guys and gals, it does not get any better than this combo here~

Boba and macarons together is seriously a match made in heaven.

These two things (boba and macarons) do go hand-in-hand and French macarons really do taste as good as they look.

The macarons available at Kawaii Bubble Tea in Clinton Township, MI

The macarons are not made in the shop but they are created in Chicago by a French pastry chef that overnights them to Kawaii Bubble Tea. We had a chance to sample half a dozen and we were not let down one bit by these. They were, quite honestly, some of the freshest and most flavorful macarons I have ever tried!

  • American Cheesecake
  • Birthday Cake
  • Blueberry
  • Coffee
  • Cookie Dough
  • Cookies N Cream
  • Fruity Pebbles
  • Matcha
  • Nutella
  • Pistachio
  • Raspberry
  • Red Velvet
  • Salted Caramel
  • S’mores
  • Taro
  • Vanilla
  • White Chocolate

We had six macarons to sample. I apologize for there being only four in the photo. Someone must have been hungry! We had the Fruity Pebbles, Cookies & Cream, Birthday Cake, White Chocolate, Cookie Dough, and drumroll please…. TARO!

Since the whole concept of my blog is about trying new things I just had to give taro a whirl because I had no clue what it was. It tasted a lot like vanilla. Taro is an Asian root vegetable that is quite similar to a potato in its starchiness. I was quite surprised by its sweet vanilla-like flavor.

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Asian Snacks

Kawaii Bubble Tea also has a small offering of different Asian snacks that will pair well with your boba drink. They have Pocky, Hi-Chew, Yan Yan, and more.

 

Rewards Program

Rewards programs are a huge incentive and often make me a repeat customer. I love that Kawaii Bubble Tea offers a reward for coming in. Here is how it works:

  • You provide your phone number (this is your account number)
  • Purchase 10 drinks in any size and your 11th drink is free. You earn one star per drink purchase and once you accumulate those ten stars you can redeem your reward.
  • You can also earn stars by purchasing macarons. When you purchase six macarons you earn one star.
Enjoying our boba drinks and macarons at Kawaii Bubble Tea in Clinton Township, MI
Enjoying our boba drinks and macarons at Kawaii Bubble Tea in Clinton Township, MI What a fun experience for all of us!

Insider tips!

Cannot decide on one flavor for your drink or just one boba? You can get 2 for the price of one. Mix and match!

Want to take home some boba and experiment with it? At Kawaii Bubble Tea you can purchase containers of popping pearls boba that are ready to go home. You can get creative with them and add them to adult beverages, add them to ice-cream, or whatever your heart desires.

Still confused?

If you are new to bubble tea the first time visiting a place like this can feel very overwhelming. No need to worry though! The staff at Kawaii Bubble Tea is super friendly and very helpful. They will be there for you if you need them. The staff is just superb!

Gift cards

Looking for the perfect gift for someone in your life? Kawaii Bubble Tea offers e-gift-cards. The starting price for these is $5.00 and that is enough to cover one drink. You can choose from 6 different styles and customize the amount that you would like to send. Physical gift-cards are available in-store. You can view the e-gift-cards HERE.


Question Time! What boba drink will you try at Kawaii Bubble Tea? Leave me a comment and let me know! Also, do you have a favorite flavor of macarons?

 


 

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Kawaii Bubble Tea Location:

43301 Garfield Road, Clinton Township, Michigan 48038, United States

Phone:

(586) 421-5604

Kawaii Bubble Tea Menu:

Kawaii Bubble Tea menu can be found HERE

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