Excursion Day: Wat Temple (Wat Mongkolratanram) + 2023 Food Tour: YOUNG, HUNGRY, & CURIOUS | Babushka's Hyde Park | Mixed Wild Life Maxi Dress + Jimmy Choo

Today's post is an excursion and a Food Tour stop. We had a full day. Tampa is home to this beautiful Thai Temple named Wat Mongkolratanram. I have been here before because on Sundays they have a market where you can buy a lot of things, in specific beautiful orchids, but they also serve food (cash only). Coincidentally this was one of my first food posts when I joined Instagram (If not the very first). All of my life I have always loved planning excursions, vacations, and dinners so it was not surprise that I cam here 11 years ago.

Now, one thing I can tell you for sure is that the noodle soup served here is not Pho, a lot of people do think that. This place gets a lot of people coming from all over Florida just to have this soup. Wat Mongkolratanram Temple Tampa now has the menu of what they serve on their website. According to them when I last visited, none of this is gluten free or Celiac safe.

As far as the temple goes, Wat Mongkolratanram temple or as we just call it Wat Temple is open every day to the public. I came here on a weekday. You are expected to dress in a moderate and respectful way btw. You can enter the temple as well and meditate. I find that this place was definitely a hidden gem in Tampa, but now, due to social media more people know about it. When I used to live out in the Riverview/Apollo Beach area I found out about it. Honestly, it isn't even a long drive from South Tampa Anyhow, the area is peaceful and you can simply come here just to look at the Alfafia River and enjoy nature.

I chose this beautiful dress today because it was modest, but the cut and the flow of the dress is so beautiful. It takes me a while to make all these posts so I am not sure if it is still available, but I have provided the link below.

Mixed Wild Life Lenzing Ecovero Viscose Maxi Dress: Farm Rio

Boone small cocktail ring in gold: Kendra Scott

Bracelet: Kendra Scott Abbie Statement in gold

Cuff: Kendra Scott Candace in gold

Earrings: Kendra Scott Danielle

Heels: Jimmy Choo Abel, not recent

2023 Food Tour: YOUNG, HUNGRY, & CURIOUS

1. Bayou Bodega

2. Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill Wesley Chapel

3.Sōl Bistro St. Pete (100% Gluten Free Restaurant ) with Vegan Options

4. Gorkhali Kitchen Tampa (Nepalese Cuisine) Michelin Bib Gourmand Recipient 2023

So, our lunch date is to a restaurant that has been operating in the USF area since 2018. This is a Russian restaurant, Babushkas's and they serve home cooked Russian and Ukrainian cuisine. This is their second location which I think opened around 2019 or 2020. I have been interested in coming here since then, but the menu was very different at first and there wasn't anything that I was sure I could eat being a Celiac.

The good thing is I kept checking and sometime during 2020-2021 they changed the menu and although I don't eat a lot of meat, I love grilled meats and smoked meats and there was a lot of that on the menu. So, I cam here twice once for lunch/brunch and then dinner. The dinner menu is a little different than lunch so I started this post with lunch and there will be additional posts in the future. I do want to note as of May 2023 they did add more new items to their menu which I checked out just a day ago and it is good!

This was a shot obviously, I believe they said they were selling it and donating some of the money to help Ukraine. I can't recall exactly what it was, but I know the blue stuff is Blue Curaçao and the bottom part was some type of cream. I don't do shots, but I said ok since some of the money would be donated.