So Much Eating And So Little Running

With the in-laws in town and with the weather a bit crazy every now and then, I haven't been running as much as I would have liked. I'm sure there is a way we can get around it and hopefully we'll get that started next week!

We drove up to Silvan last Saturday to check out the Tesselaar Tulip Festival. AT AUD$22 per entry, I thought it was very steep. I offered for the hubs and I to wait in the car while the in-laws went in but the MIL insisted everyone went in.

Thank goodness we had brought a picnic basket, otherwise we'd have to spend more money on food inside!

I made sure the PILs were right behind me. Heehee!

With rows and rows of brightly coloured tulips, the first one to capture my interest was the 'Queen of the Night'. So dark in colour and looking black at first glance, they are really just a deep shade of maroon.

My other favourite is the Rosalie, which is a pretty shade of purple.

The place was crowded and no one hesitated to pay the entrance fee (except us*). With temperature as high as 27'C, I suppose it was a beautiful day not to be wasted indoors.

*I offered for both the hubs and I to wait in the car while they went in to explore. :D

We spent two hours inside and eventually left the place, only to find ourselves at the National Rhododendron Garden where no entrance fee was required! We didn't manage to walk right to the end of the park as we turned back halfway through. 

The place was equally crowded and its parking area was filled with cars.

(I'm not much of a flower person but I now know what rhododendron and Chinese cedar are!)

Despite protests from the FIL not to stop by for pie, we did find drop by Pie in the Sky anyway. After driving so far, surely we had to stop at tourist traps spots to cross something off the list!

We ordered the Beef Curry, which was dry and lacked the spicy aroma one would expect from curry. It was instead rather salty and its meat wasn't tender. An extremely forgettable choice.

My favourite is definitely the Korma Chicken, and MIL thought it was nice as well. The minute I cut through the pie, its gravy oozed out, making it extremely inviting to dig in. I suspect its filling is almost creamy that makes it a delicious pie. It's a multiple gold award winner!

(I really hope I can try making it one day!)

The Tandoori Chicken pie is also a multiple gold award winner and there is no mistaken in it being a pretty excellent pie. Unfortunately at this moment, I don't remember how it tastes like. :)

If you purchase these pies as take-away, they cost AUD$5.50 each. If you eat in, you'll be charged AUD$6.90 where a small saucer of tomato sauce and a pinch of alfalfa sprouts and shredded carrots (served as a salad) will be served together with your pie.

Take note, peeps!!

Dinner was a bit of a drive all the way to Springvale for the hunt for pho. MIL wanted to try pho and so we went. Unfortunately, we didn't do our research properly and didn't realise that the place we wanted to try closed at 8pm!

We ended up at Pho Dakao Hoang who was still serving customers at 8.30pm. We ordered a bowl of beef pho, grilled pork chop with broken rice and fried spring rolls and pork skewer with vermicelli. 

Broken rice with shredded pork, grilled pork chop, fried egg and pork meatloaf (AUD$9.00) was pretty scrumptious. The grilled pork chop was well marinated with lemongrass and other spices. I didn't realise that it was shredded pork - I thought it was just more shredded daikon with bits of meat!

Fresh slice beef and brisket beef (AUD$9.00) was so-so. The broth was not earth-shatteringly awesome, if I may say, and probably mediocre at its best. The portion of meat was generous, but its beefiness was a bit too strong for me.

Vermicelli with grilled pork and fried spring rolls (AUD$9.00) was probably the most dissatisfying one. The sauce for it was just plain sweet and lacked character - no hint of fish sauce nor chilli. The grilled pork was good, though.

Our tummies were ready to burst by the end of the night!