Pho for the First Time

This past weekend Topher & I drove to Williamsburg to visit our friends Grant & Laura and their baby daughter Ava (she's gorgeous, with big dark eyes!).

It was a laid-back, relaxing visit. We drove up after work on Friday afternoon; Grant grilled bacon-wrapped steaks and Laura made tossed salad & roasted fingerling potatoes for dinner. We started to watch "Happy-Go-Lucky" but decided about 15 minutes in that we weren't up for it, so we watched Discovery's "Shark Week" instead. On Saturday morning, after a breakfast of sausage & pancakes, we went to the neighborhood pool.

We had planned to eat lunch at the Blue Talon Bistro, but Ava got a little fussy after her swim and needed a nap; so instead we ordered takeout from Saigon Pearl, a Vietnamese place near their house. Which worked out well, because Topher decided that it was high time that I experienced pho (pronounced fuh).

Pho, a cheap and flavorful beef noodle soup, is usually sold from street carts in Vietnam; in the US it's served in large, wide-rimmed bowls. It's not exactly a takeout-friendly dish, so when Topher & Grant brought it home, we realized that it was really "assemble your own" pho.

The pho tai chin that Topher ordered for us came in three containers: a large cup of steaming beef broth; one box of sticky rice noodles, thin sliced beef (both cooked & rare), and scallions & fresh cilantro; and a second box of "toppings," including crunchy bean sprouts, lime wedges, and jalapeno & onion slices. Add contents of box 1 and box 2 to cup A, and voila, yummy pho soup!

At first I was a little wary of the rare beef, but the hot broth cooked it in almost no time. The sticky noodles separated and softened in the broth, too. The soup was a little awkward to eat -- neither chopsticks nor fork/spoon are quite the right utensil for this dish - but after getting past the fact that I was going to have to slurp a little, it was filling and delicious. And the best part: I could add as much cilantro (and as few jalapenos) as I wanted!

After lunch, Topher & I packed up and drove home to Suffolk. Instead of taking the interstate, though, we decided to go the long way via the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry through Surry, VA.

More on Pho:
For more about the history of pho and its significance in Vietnamese culture, check out this article from the SFGate.com: "A Bowl of Pho: Vietnam's treasured beef noodle soup that brings families together." There's a recipe at the end.

Unfortunately, Hampton Roads doesn't have a "little Saigon" like San Francisco, but there are a few places in Tidewater where you can find Vietnamese: Pho 78 (VA Beach near Holland Plaza), Vietnam Garden (VA Beach near Great Neck/Hilltop), and Pho 79 (two locations - VA Beach near Town Center, and Chesapeake near Battlefield Blvd).

If you're not in the mood for pho, the com thit nuong (barbecue pork with rice and tomato/cucumber salad) that Laura ordered from Saigon Pearl looked and smelled delicious.

Note: The pho photo above was found online here.