Pho

One of my most favorite foods has got to be pho.  The first time I had pho was maybe 5 or 6 years ago.  Of course I'd always seen the pho restaurants but just didn't have a clue what the were serving there.  

Luckily someone took me out for pho.  The restaurant we went to was a tiny little place in La Habra, California.  I remember that it just smelled fantastic when we went in.  She knew what to order and how to then eat the ordered items.  Thanks goodness!

We had spring rolls and fried rolls to start with.  There are these tiny little bowls on the table, this is for mixing your dipping sauces and you can start up with the appetizers, although these both came with their own sauce.  The spring rolls were pretty straight forward, just dip and bite.  So delicious with all the fresh herb flavor.  But the fried rolls were to be wrapped in a lettuce leaf along with assorted other vegetables and then dipped in to the sauce.  I'd never have known what to do with the 'salad' on the plate.

And then for the highlight, the main attraction - PHO!  My first pho was vegetarian.  And oh my gosh soo soo good!  The bowl of broth contains some vegetables, the tofu and pho noodles.  On the side there is a plate with bean sprouts, thai basil, cilantro, mint, peppers, lime - to name a few items.  The 'salad' items are to be added to the pho - to taste, of course.  Then there are the hot sauces and bean sauce that can be added to the soup.  So you then eat this wonderful steaming bowl with chop sticks and a porcelain spoon.  The trick is get some stuff on the spoon with some broth and eat that.  Also, dip the larger chunks in the soup  in to the sauce on the tiny plates.  It's definitely a taste sensation.

Since then I've not passed up an opportunity to have pho.  My last bowl in a restaurant was at Saigon Moon in Basel.  Should you be in town, definitely visit!

It's a little tough now for me to get pho, so I make it myself.  Well, something that is supposed to be like pho anyhow.  I think it's the best thing around!  Recipe will follow.