Pho Hao on a Cold Night

Nothing beats kobe beef pho on a cold rainy night.  I think my neighbors agree because our local Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Hao, was packed last Wednesday and every table had bowls of pho on it!

I must say the food in this restaurant has vastly improved from a few years back when we took our family here for soup.  I love the clear soup with the fresh vegetables.  It's not oily and the broth is actually very flavorful now.  I am not surprised that they have more patrons now than they did before, we pass this restaurant a lot when going to the grocery store and it has always been empty, but not anymore!

I think at the very core of a restaurant is good food.  Before you think about your decor or marketing, you must make sure you have food that people will come back in for.  And this is what Pho Hao did.  They concentrated on making their food taste better and have more customers to show for it.

Although I love their simple decor too.  They have very tastefully done paintings of Vietnamese women in their traditional ao dai on the walls.  They have colorful flower arrangements in strategic places, making the once stark-looking ambiance a little more cozy.

I'm glad we have Pho Hao nearby.  It's a great place for a hot bowl of soup on a cold night!  I would recommend it to my pho-loving friends any time.

The Green Tea Ice Cream Petition

Image taken from New Zealand Natural's website

I am a big fan of Starbucks' Green Tea Frappuccino.  I love Todai's Iced Green Tea and their Matcha-flavored ice cream.  (Are you beginning to see the pattern here?) But New Zealand Natural's Green Tea ice cream tops my list of green tea cravings!

My nieces in New Zealand raved about it while we were visiting and my sister-in-law was kind enough to introduce us to the much-talked-about flavor.  New Zealand dairy must be the creamiest I've ever had, add that to Green Tea ice cream and you've got a home run!  Green tea has a subtle flavor that's why I had my misgivings about the ice cream.  In my experience ice cream is supposed to have over the top deliciousness and very rich flavor, but New Zealand Natural's Green Tea brings just enough of that subtly yummy matcha flavor and elevates it with their out-of-this-world cream.  Yes, it was that good!

I heard a rumor that New Zealand Natural ice cream is already available in the US, but imagine my disappointment when I browsed their website and found that my favorite flavor was not listed.  So this is my petition to the powers that be at New Zealand Natural USA, please please please bring your Green Tea ice cream to America (...or if it's already here, please update your website...)!  We promise to consume it with great enthusiasm and be forever grateful.

Sincerely Yours,

Green Tea Ice Cream Crave-r

Come Fly With Me on Virgin Australia

The travel season was at its peak when we flew to New Zealand.  I searched different travel sites, asked different travel agents for quotes and the cheapest rate I could get was offered by Virgin Australia.  So I booked it, 3 adjacent seats with one passenger in need of wheel chair assistance.

From the passenger check-in desk to the airplane lounge, Virgin Australia screamed comfort and luxury.  The ground and flight attendants were very friendly and helpful to my 85-year-old mother-in-law as they assisted her to her seat and to the toilets that were kept clean at all times.  Meal selections were served in a timely manner and were quite delicious.

The in-flight entertainment selection was awesome!  The movie and cd selections kept me entertained for most of the long haul flight.  The seats were properly cushioned and had enough room to be able to stretch my legs under the seat in front.

All in all, I would recommend flying with Virgin Australia to all my friends!  It offered a lot of value for a great price.  I give this airline two thumbs up!  Good job, Mr. Branson.