What the Pho? {Pho 54 Mandalay Bay Review}

To begin with, a note on pronunciation. The word pho may look to Westerners like it should be pronounced 'foe' but the reality is much more exciting. You get to pretend you are just about to say the swear word! I know! You do have to stop yourself before the 'ck' bit though or that is terribly rude. This Youtube soundbite is helpful too.

Ahhh Pho, my favourite Asian soup of all with its lean, just cooked meat, lashings of rice noodle (gluten free my friends) and delicately spicy, oh-so-fragrant broth. I have mentioned the lovely affordable Fitzroy dining option of Mandalay Bay before but felt they deserved some pretty pictures.

These are a few of my fa-vour-ite things {Melbourne}

When I work in the the Queen Vic markets I often end up becoming the tourist information centre as well. This is in due to the corner location of the wine shop and the fact that we are actively offering wine tasting and so are pretty approachable. I love it when people ask for suggestions of what they should eat/drink/see in Melbourne so I thought I'd share some of my favourites here (warning that it is fairly North-centric)


Carlton Gardens
I used to walk through these gardens almost everyday. It is a beautiful oasis right on the edge of the city. Filled to the brim with possums it can be quite freaky at night as they all stop and watch you as you walk past. There is a fabulous water fountain on the edge of the gardens in front of the old exhibition building. A lovely park for a picnic.

 A close-up reveals that this little fella doesn't enjoy having water spat on his willy by a turtle.