Mount Buller was my last retreat in Melbourne before getting back to the daily grind. Going right after XL finished work meant that dinner had to come first. Naturally, I was more concerned about being stranded on the way up more than anything else. When I think of comfort food in freezing cold weather, nothing beats a bowl of piping hot Pho. For that we stopped by a suburban Vietnamese place in Preston called Pho Hung.
For starters, a generous serve of rice paper rolls stuffed with pork. Mix your own concoction of Siracha and Sweet Sauce before dipping them in :)!
Pho Hung’s house specialty is mixed tender chicken and beef pho. It was a super generous serve. I like the tender slices of meat paired with the silky smooth noodles. Just chewing the beef followed by a spoonful of warm tasty beef broth made this a rewarding exercise. Whilst it was really yummy, the flavour of the broth was less potent that the ones I have had in Perth. My perception maintains that Perth still has the best Vietnamese Pho in town haha.
The food quality here was good from start to end. A very typical Vietnamese restaurant which stands as a classic rather than a contemporary but still every bit pleasing. Service here is prompt and necessary rather than overwhelming but more importantly, the price here is superbly decent.
Our night drive to Mount Buller was scary and challenging altogether. Endurance is key despite the short drive because unlike driving on a normal road, the path up the mountain was steep and snowy. Put extremely low visibility and tight corners into the equation and one would require a high level of concentration. But when you are up there, the views were every bit rewarding!
The view from our lodge's balcony. Absolutely stunning views.
The last picture from the resort before driving home :)!
WenY
WenY
The photos were taken when I brought Xin Ling here for lunch when Kelvin was away for skiing. We only ordered two Souvlaki and a appetizer consisting of pita and dips but we only managed to finish part of the food we ordered.
This 4 dip combo is probably the best for newbies in this restaurant who does not know which dip to choose from. But from my taste buds I assume that the one with Paprika powder (top right) is the original humus, the pink coloured one has onions in it, the yellow-brownish dip was loaded with garlic and the white creamy coloured one was tatziki, a creamy yoghurt with diced cucumber. All this was to be eaten with the pita bread!
The Greeks answer for the Mamak’s Roti Canai. Not quite there but its in a class of its own.
Miss XinLing’s chicken Souvlaki. We could not finish hers, so we had the remainder for supper as we watched Spain lift the World Cup for the first time ever! So memorable! :D!! Happy!!! And oh, each Souvlaki can feed to not really hungry tummies.
Not your typical Bruschetta as this was oven baked. This somewhat killed the freshness of the tomatoes but fortunately, the melted fetta was a blessing. Overall it was OK although melted fetta + fresh tomatoes would be best! Ahah and it was funny how my housemates thought the base was drizzled with chocolate sauce but was instead something else which I think is the Balsamic Vinegar.
Ribs and Chicken Wing Combo.
This looked like a Carbonara but it was not. Funnily enough that even though it taste and feels like one, it is called a Fettuccini Roma.
We started of with this really large crusty pizza overloaded with cheese and a garlicky after taste! This monster was at least 30 cm in diameter.
Sofia’s offer what they called a Pasta for two which allows you to choose three type of pasta on one large platter. This was my choice called Spaghetti Sofia’s which has prawns, bacons and ooh the ever so delicious scallops! Slurps!!
The Lasagne was the other choice of my companions that night! And we had a serve of gnocchi in the middle! This was by far the cheapest pasta I have ever eaten. And this is even cheaper than the pasta in the university’s ref. And the uni pasta sucks! Always overcooked and never al dente. 
This was the seafood misto that we ordered to share as well. Loaded with crumbled calamari, scallops, prawns and fish, this was the meal you know you had to share. And that went down well with us considering we had a large group of 8 people! For this dish, I felt that it was pretty fresh considering none of it had the foul seafood stench. And it was well fried. I mean you have to consider the price and time taken to serve you right? ehehe. :D!!
Pistachio, water melon, orange, lemon, chocolate and mint all stacked into a humungous tower! Nothing to shout about thought. Freddos on Lygon win flat out.
Table decor
See the froth and get weak on your knees. This is the thickest froth I have ever had in Melbourne. And oh god it was sooo satisfying!! I cannot help but mention how important this layer of froth is in hot drinks. Been to places that serves hot drinks with an almost non-existent layer of froth and that really shows how passionate they are about being a barrister. With no froth, it feels as if the milk came from a microwave. Mart 130 serves the best classic hot chocolate in Melbourne. For me at least! :D!! Even Max Brenner’s creative Malteser copy cat is no match ahah.
My brekkie pick. Corn fritters with crispy bacon streaks serve with drizzles of relish and a serve of sour cream. Hope I got that right. I’ll soon elaborate more about this very fancy looking piece of edible art.
lil girl’s poached eggs on sourdough with avocado mash and crispy bacon with hollandaise sauce. I would have personally chosen this as my favourite after trying all the food we ordered. The eggs felt slightly overcooked as the yolk did not turn out to be as runny as I would have preferred. Bacon streaks were crisp and slightly charred, just the way I like it. And amazingly this platter of eggs, mash, bacon and bread turned out to be a whole lot more filling that I thought it would be. Lil girl was overloaded.
Kelvin’s set was somewhat similar to XL with the exception of the avocado mash and bacon. Instead, Kelvin had chorizos and olives cooked in what looked like an Italian herb tomato sauce. The chorizos were yummy mummy but the olives were.. urgh @.@! No olives thanks :D! 
Ok peeps, this is the supposedly yummy oven baked corn fritters that my good ol buddy Yobi told me about. And really, it is not only him that I’m getting this input from. Bloggers love this dish from Mart 130. The reception for this dish has been particularly impressive on that day as well. I saw most if not all tables of 3 or more having at least 1 of it. But for me unfortunately, I did not see a dish that reflected what I liked. Firstly having said fritters, I was expecting something more airy and crispy. So crispy that I initially thought that an additional set of eggs and bread was needed to make me full. But instead, these were more of corn cakes heavily loaded with flour and corn which equally congested my digestive system. The taste of corn was not lacking in any way which is good for corn lovers. I like corn in a way that is buttered and done up through a grill in any flavour. Nandos is one that I enjoy thoroughly. But this one here just did not make the mark. Maybe next time just a little crispier? I finished last in this breakfast race. :'(
Hot Chocolate with Crunchy Waffle Balls! One of the more delicious drinks at Max Brenner. These crunchy Maltesers wannabe that floats so noticeably on the froth melts in the creamy hot chocolate before settling with a crunch in your mouth! 1 word, lovely!!
Malteser wannabe on macro mode!
Om nom nom nom! Best source of Vitamin C for unhealthy kids. Banana bread, strawberries and banana slices dipped in chocolate. Both dark and milk are good sources of antioxidant. Excuses to enjoy :D!
Marshmallows and banana bread. The banana bread does not taste good by itself though. Its only nice when dipped in chocolate. The spongy marshmallows were the typical off the shelve hypermarket ones.
Fruit bowl!! I think more assortments would be delicious but the standard strawberries and bananas do well too!
The extra serve of strawberries for the baby girl. A definite win. Liked her smile that came with the strawberries hehe.
The interior is simple but felt as if we were in some fancy back lane cafe in Bangkok. Liked the drawings depicting village kids spinning the tops like the classics engaged in a road side battle.
This is one of the best Thai food available. Spicy minced meat with holy basil! Forgot what it is called but oh boy! Its lovely! The only downside with this version at Ying Thai 2 is the spiciness level was nowhere within Kelvin’s region spiciness. It is our fault really. We only asked for mild spiciness.
Xin Ling’s tom yam soup here is every bit as Thai as it should be. From the clarity to the tastiness. Its a blast. Its typically how my uncle Teow Loon would made it from scratch. I know they had Kafir lime leaf, dried chillies, tomatoes, fish sauce I guess? And other extras hehe. Really tasted delicious. Maybe we will go there one more time and have it with extra chilli as Xin Ling confesses to a certain thrill when she is busy gasping for air to cool her burning tongue :)!
This was my Thai red curry with duck meat. I’ve always avoided curries when I go to Thai restaurants but I knew I was in no position to resist when I saw this curry on the menu. My first experience of a beautiful duck curry was on a flight to Bangkok on Silk Air. The roast duck curry I had on the flight was by far the most tantalising meal I have ever had on an flight. Even beating the juicy steak on the Malaysian Airlines night flight to Australia. I was only 12 when I had that curry and this curry was close to replicating that experience. The thick flavoursome curry going nicely with the addition of a rich and aromatic coconut milk. My god. Its taste was totally smack! Even after I was done, Kelvin happily spooned the remains into his mouth. I cannot blame him really. It is after all a wonderful serve of curry. The only downside was the serve of duck meat was a little insufficient. I know I only paid 10 bucks which is far too cheap for a serve of Thai food but I was hoping for a little more meat. ahah