Some of my favorite memories center around sharing a bowl of pho with a close friend.
I was first introduced to pho by my Springfield homies. From then on, it became the best comfort food, especially on a rainy day. In college, whenever there was a drizzly day in the Burg, my biffles and I would look at each other with a smile---"pho weather!" and hop over to Saigon Pearl. Saigon Pearl had the best/only pho in Williamsburg (sadly it's closed now apparently because some local mafia got jealous of the business it was taking from them...colonial mafias?! woof).
Our routine was an order of the fresh spring rolls, a bowl of pho and the occasional taro bubble tea. Pho is such an interesting dish to share with people. No two phos are the same. Each person can make it their own. How someone flavors their pho and how they eat it is really a fun personality indicator. One of my biffles always keeps it super simple, sometimes just adding a little bit of lime and Sriracha. A true purist. Another one would add a dash and drop of everything, but nothing in excess. Some would use chopsticks for the noodles, some would just use the spoon to shovel it all in together. I would always be notorious for eyeing the jalepenos and dousing it with anunhealthy admirable amount of Sriracha.
Long pho meals are the best combination of food trolling and good conversation. Pho soup for the soul :)
Today was the epitome of "pho weather" in Budapest. Joyce and I trudged through the cold, gray rainy day, made even more dreary by our ravenous post-run hunger. Now, "pho weather" is a concept that I have only shared with those I am closest to. As we walked home, contemplating what to lunch on, in my mind I knew it was just perfect "pho weather" time. Should I bring it up? Take our friendship to the "pho" level? After deep pondering, I timidly said--"you know what would be perfect now? Pho..." and to my joy, she gave a nod of understanding and agreed. So we ventured off to find some pho.
I was a bit skeptical whether we would be able to find good pho in Budapest, but I was happily proven wrong by Funky Pho---
It had a perfect street food vibe and the pho broth (the true indicator of a good pho) had a wonderful flavor. We sat there until it cleared out basically, savoring our pho and life musings. Another lovely pho memory. I would intermittently think of of my other biffles who I had shared "pho weather" moments with and wished they could also be there for this particular one. As we were leaving, a certain song came on...
One of my closest pho friends/music guru had just gotten me listening to Milky Chance nonstop. The combination of the song and the pho made me super nostalgic and I so wished that all the black hole/time travel shiz could be figured out so I could just teleport her there right then. Distance from those you're close to is always the hardest part about living abroad. But it always makes "reunion pho" that much more special :)
I was first introduced to pho by my Springfield homies. From then on, it became the best comfort food, especially on a rainy day. In college, whenever there was a drizzly day in the Burg, my biffles and I would look at each other with a smile---"pho weather!" and hop over to Saigon Pearl. Saigon Pearl had the best/only pho in Williamsburg (sadly it's closed now apparently because some local mafia got jealous of the business it was taking from them...colonial mafias?! woof).
Our routine was an order of the fresh spring rolls, a bowl of pho and the occasional taro bubble tea. Pho is such an interesting dish to share with people. No two phos are the same. Each person can make it their own. How someone flavors their pho and how they eat it is really a fun personality indicator. One of my biffles always keeps it super simple, sometimes just adding a little bit of lime and Sriracha. A true purist. Another one would add a dash and drop of everything, but nothing in excess. Some would use chopsticks for the noodles, some would just use the spoon to shovel it all in together. I would always be notorious for eyeing the jalepenos and dousing it with an
Long pho meals are the best combination of food trolling and good conversation. Pho soup for the soul :)
Today was the epitome of "pho weather" in Budapest. Joyce and I trudged through the cold, gray rainy day, made even more dreary by our ravenous post-run hunger. Now, "pho weather" is a concept that I have only shared with those I am closest to. As we walked home, contemplating what to lunch on, in my mind I knew it was just perfect "pho weather" time. Should I bring it up? Take our friendship to the "pho" level? After deep pondering, I timidly said--"you know what would be perfect now? Pho..." and to my joy, she gave a nod of understanding and agreed. So we ventured off to find some pho.
I was a bit skeptical whether we would be able to find good pho in Budapest, but I was happily proven wrong by Funky Pho---
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| word. |
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| Delish |
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| "Street art"--notice Moulin Rouge? homage to French colonialism in Vietnam? |
One of my closest pho friends/music guru had just gotten me listening to Milky Chance nonstop. The combination of the song and the pho made me super nostalgic and I so wished that all the black hole/time travel shiz could be figured out so I could just teleport her there right then. Distance from those you're close to is always the hardest part about living abroad. But it always makes "reunion pho" that much more special :)
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