Than Dat at Springvale & Sofia along Burwood Highway

Mr. C surprised me by ordering for me this yum Vietnamese Iced Coffee which was slurpilicious but a tad too sweet!

The last Sunday my sister was here for a visit from Malaysia in the early week of June, we headed to Springvale's Than Dat for lunch. Boy, at 1ish pm, it was rather difficult to find a parking spot. We had to drive several rounds for a fair bit of time and finally found a parking lot near Woolies!

Since my sister, Roofie hadn't had her Vietnamese fix since arriving in Melbourne, we adjourned here. It was Mr. C and my first time, too. We usually patron a different shop near Than Dat (though I didn't really fancy the food I had the two times I was there) but my uncle brought my mother to this one and according to her and my brother, the food was pretty good.

I wasn't expecting much 'cos if you know me, I am not exactly into Vietnamese food. We usually go for Vietnamese back home on my mother's birthday as it is her favourite type of food. But besides that, I rarely, if not, never, ever have Vietnamese food.

And this is tough as Mr. C has a penchant for Vietnamese Spring Rolls and Pho. Being the ever indulgent partner, I usually agree to go with him albeit reluctantly whenever he has cravings for Vietnamese food.

That is why, to my pleasant surprise, I really enjoyed my Beef meat and beef balls Pho and ever since having the one at Than Dat, I am more than okay to have Vietnamese food anytime! Whenever I crave for Koay Teow Tong (flat rice noodle soup), this pho will come to mind!

Mr. C had the spicy soup which was nice BUT not as nice as mine! The spicy soup isn't in the menu, hence, if you crave a little spiciness in yours, make sure to specifically mention that to your waiter/waitress.

Roofie had her broken rice and pork chop... I think it was Pork Chop.

Roofie's MUST-EAT-SPRING-ROLLS that weren't that delicious as the ones she used to have in the past...

Thanh Dat Restaurant

22/268 Springvale Rd

Springvale 3171 VIC

(03) 9540 8389

It was a day of feasting. Ambiance at Than Dat is basic and nothing fancy nor cosy but the food (at least, the Pho we had) is reasonably priced (approximately less than AUD15) and portion is HUGE. Definitely feeling and the awesome tasting soup will render one to finish it!

In the evening, we had another round of feasting at Sofia's along Burwood Highway. Not too sure why my uncle likes to patronise this place as the food isn't exactly up to par with my expectations of Italian food ie Pizzas and Pastas. I reckon it could possible be due to the family atmosphere and the pretty low priced food in relation to the huge portion you get!

Sophia's special pasta... tasted like Marinara spaghetti!

and weird looking green Fetuccini Carbonara was barely passable IMHO.

Sophia Restaurant

299, Burwood Highway,

Burwood

(03) 9803 5299

Portmans Toffee Silk evening business dress

Ooooh I am SO looving this dress right now. Problem is, it costs AUD64.99 plus postage of AUD10 on ebay!! #1 I love Portmans style and #2 I currently dig nude ish colours... and #3 check out the picture with the model, I am in love with her heels!! Where can I get that??

Alas, not everyone can look this glamorous... least of all, me! LOL.

Kooky Pics #442 It will never be the same

Patches, my beloved dog when she was an adorable puppy in 2001... I miss you so.

Kooky Pics #441 When in May...

Kooky Pics #440 Missing you

Kooky Pics #439 Favourite fruits

Sunny Sunday

This weekend has been a pretty eventful weekend. We went car hunting and also did some research and read ups on mobiles and call plans and let me tell you this, it is VERY important to do your homework in ANYTHING and EVERYTHING you do. By doing so, it gives one an advantage, a bargaining tool.

After all, information is power.

And with that said, it helps one to make informed and wiser decisions as opposed to a person who hardly makes an effort or no effort to educate self.

Blurry picture of Southland mall...

The eeeky stains on Mr. C's kind colleague's daughter's car's windscreen that was loaned to us...

It was a good time meeting up with my uni mates for dinner at Glen Waverly, henceforth known as The Glen. I must admit that I had a pleasant evening getting to know them and catching up. I am not super close to them but they have made several attempts to try and meet up with me ever since they knew I moved to Melbourne and for that, I've got to give them brownie points!

It would be lovely to hang out more and go for trips! Only time will tell...

On a different note, no points for guessing where we went for dinner... you guessed it! The newer Grand Tofu that's situated opposite Petaling Street and Papa Roti. Next time, we shall go to Claypot King 'cos I reckon the Hokkien Mee over there is fried better.

Toodles for now.. time to sleep and play with my new phone before that!! Wheee.....

Kooky Pics #438 The horizon

Kooky Pics #437 Outside my window

Dinner at the nieghbour's

It's been awhile since we've had dinner or a meal with just my cousin, Jo whom I have now dubed as JoJo Binks! Why did I name him that? Well, just cause it sounds cute!! Gosh! See what one year of unemployment does to a person's mind? It makes you less smart and more looney.. *hehe*

As Tuaku and Aunt M is out for dinner with their family friends this Friday evening, JoJo Binks decided to have dinner with us and somehow, I managed to get him to cook dinner for Mr. C and I! Genius right? See... brain isn't that useless after all! *snickers*

Anyways, he droved me out to Stud Park's Australia Post and once I was done with my official matter, we headed to Coles. Super happy that my Fly Buys card finally came today! So timely. By the time we were done with our errand and reached home, it was after 5pm. I scurried out to collect firewood for Mr. C ('cos I am such a loving wife ok) before the sky became dark.

Half past five, Mr. C and I went over to 'the neighbours' and JoJo Binks started preparing for dinner. Poor chap started tearing when he diced the onions. Don't we all just hate that when we cut onions up! Should have bought the onion goggles mask I saw ages ago at Harbourtown in Gold Coast!

Chef JoJo Binks was hard at work. It's been awhile since he last cook so we were a little apprehensive about the outcome. Whilst I labouriously assisted by staring and chatting with the chef, Mr. C was being a real guest, relaxing and reading the newspapers. Tsk tsk.

He was busy browsing for potential cars to buy. The last one he had, a 1994 Mitsubishi Gallant gave us a fair bit of headache and he had to sell it off for only 10% of what he bought it for! It might not sound like a smart move but then, he was just too stressed out about the headaches it kept heaping on him. This weekend, we're going car hunting again... hopefully we have a better experience this time.

Caught in action!!

Whilst the chef prepared the food and Mr. C slacking *kidding*, I was exploring my Nex3, snapping everything in sight! Mandarin oranges... mangosteen... waxed bananas! Have you ever heard about an interesting information on the mangosteen?

Look at the bottom of the fruit and you'll see a flower like shape and on this shape, there are several petals. Count how many petals and that means how many pieces of fruit you'll get inside the fruit! Pretty neat right? I always marvel on this intricate fruit and how God really give attention to details despite what we may think.

Love calenders like this that is rampant in Australia!!

Even Mr. C's eyes and lashes have fallen prey to my Nex 3!!

JoJo Binks' skills... looks really well diced!

As the bolognaise sauce was set to simmer, I happily went about taking pictures even stopping by the mirror to click at myself! Sigh... yeah I know. I've been camwhoring a lot more and been such a vain pot. But I really need the practice for my pre-wedding shoots! Why was such a word ever coined? Camwhore sounds so crude and rude! Bleh.. then again, maybe it's just my conservative side screaming at the common use these days of such word, whore.

People say things with nary a thought these days. Everything boils down to how I feel and what I want. If I feel like swearing and speaking my mind, then by all means, I will do just that. To every action, there are consequences. Every word spoken, there are also aftermath.

There is a kiddy song or a saying that goes like this, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me'. I reckon words are equally as hurtful as sticks and stones and the impact may be even more lethal at times.

Cutesie attempt #1

Cutesie attempt #2

Cutesie attempt #3

And Voila!! The food turned out pretty alright despite someone's grumbling and doomsday foretelling that it wouldn't be. Mr. C even wanted second helpings and that is saying a lot as he isn't exactly a fan of spaghetti bolognaise!!

Tried to get JoJo Binks to cook again next week but he scoffed at my gall to even suggest such atrocity. Oh well, at least I tried! =p We'll be having Dominoes tomorrow. Gosh, all this fatty and unhealthy food! Shall be a good girl and exercise this coming week!