This year, Jon and I implemented a new monthly event- a dinner date somewhere neither of us has been before. January was my month, meaning I got to choose the location and it was my treat. After some deliberation, I decided we should try this Vietnamese place I had heard about over the past few years.
The fact that it is located in a shady, desolate shopping center should have been the first red flag. Now, I love finding a good “hole in the wall” dive, but even the most adventurous should be apprehensive about a restaurant bordering a scuba shop and an Asian nail salon.
We were quick to notice that the décor left a lot to be desired. Maybe black, mirrored panther art on the walls IS authentically Vietnamese? Even if- the huge television in the corner, playing Grey’s Anatomy, seemed to ruin the “authentic” experience.
There were interesting menu items, but when you can get a crab and shrimp dish for $5.50, something just isn’t right. I decided to stick with something simple- fried rice with chicken and vegetables. Jon ordered a noodle dish with crab and shrimp. When our food arrived, I got my rice and Jon got a gianormous bowl of soup and a plate of bean sprouts, garnished with jalapenos. We both stared at it.
“Did you know you were getting soup?”
“Um, I don’t think I did.”
He ran his spoon through his soup and a huge clump of clear noodles emerged, looking a lot like a jellyfish. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen clear noodles, but they’re freaky looking. It is not natural for a noodle to look that way. He battled his clumpy noodles and fake crab while I tried my rice. After five chopstick bites, I decided it wasn’t worth the calories and I stopped eating- thankful it was only costing me $5.00. He tried adding a mysterious barbecue-looking sauce to my rice, hoping it would add some flavor, but stopped after two bites.
In my opinion the meal was a disaster, but we had a great time together making fun of our experience. Now the night is referenced by “Hey… remember that time we went out for Vietnamese and you got those clumpy, clear noodles that looked like jellyfish and then you put barbecue sauce on my rice? Those were good times!”
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2 comments:
sigh. i feel so responsible. there is nothing like a good bowl of pho/vietnamese noodle soup. especially if you're expecting soup.
but i agree with you about the tvs. i've never been in a vietnamese restaurant that didn't have a giant flat screen blasting.
I liked the story, but I couldn't help notice the new design. Way to have your own logo, girl in the letter "q."
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