One of the things I never skimp on is food. I love to eat. One of my dreams is to be able to go around the world just so I can try food from different places. I want to know first hand how different New York Pizza is from Naples'. I want to go to Indonesia and Thailand just to sample the satays. I love hearing about good places to eat from people who's palette's I trust. I like sharing and discovering good food with people that matter to me :)
So while I really don't have the resources to go on a serious food tour, I make it a point that I try new places to eat in, even if it is just in the local mall. Today this wannabe foodie, fat from feasts from the past holidays decided to try out Vietnamese food for a change.
Me and Roxane (my girlfriend) went to Pho Hoa this afternoon. This was my first time eating at this establishment but this was not the first time I had Pho. We picked out Phở Chín, Bò Viên as a "safe" main course (Pho with meatballs and brisket) and we also got Bún Thịt Nướng Chả Giò (a vermicelli salad with grilled pork and veggies).
The Pho itself was good. The broth was tasty and the noodles firm. We probably shouldnt have added lemon juice to the broth as it proved to be a bit distracting. The meatballs were a little weird though. It wasn't bad, but I guess it's an acquired taste.
Now I have to admit I was a bit stumped with the vermicelli salad. Were we supposed to have poured the sweet vinegar in and mixed it from the bowl? We didn't but I have to say that was a good salad. The pork was done just right and the sweet vinegar was a very good compliment. The veggies were crisp and the fried spring roll was a surprise. I'm usually not a fan of fried lumpia but this was light and crunchy and very good. Im specifically coming back for those springrolls in the future.
We also discovered that Vietnamese food can be deceptive. The noodles are light but fill you up quickly. We had small servings for both of the dishes and shared. I was confident that we would be able to finish everything (read: matakaw kami) but we were wrong :p
While eating at Pho Hoa was hardly an "epic culinary adventure" it did open the door for me when it came to Vietnamese cuisine :). If anyone else knows a good Vietnamese place be sure to let me know!
So after trying something new we decided to go to somewhere familiar for dessert. And one of our favorite places for dessert is Red Mango.I love their yogurt :)
Now Red Mango currently has a promotion where for every purchase of a certain amount you get a stamp on a card. Once you fill up the card you get a free ceramic bowl. Now I love Red Mango yogurt and Roxane wants to get the bowl. I see this as a win win.
Thing is, like most promos, there's a catch. To fill in six of the stamps in the card you had to get certain topping combos that were cooked up by the promoters: the guys from Boys Night Out
Now, the toppings that Sam YG and Toni Toni were pretty good. A sensible fruit mix from Sam and a mocchi, almond mango combo for Toni's. Roxane got the Toni's combo today plus graham crackers. We've already gotten Sam's combos in previous visits.
Slick Rick's combination on the other hand was Cap' Crunch and Fruity Pebbles cereal with...mini M&Ms. Now individually, i dont have any problems with the ingredients, but im a fruit and yogurt kinda guy. The combination of the yogurt, the cereal and the candy can only be described as "tastes like diabetes"
:|
I had to add some blueberries to up the tart factor but in hindsight i should've gotten my old standby of sliced bananas. The candy coating of the M&Ms and the Fruity pebbles melted into the yogurt creating a color that I often encounter at the bottom of my paint brush cup. The hard crunch of the cold candy was a jarring contrast to the more pleasant crunch of the cereals. And if you haven't figured it out yet: It was too damn sweet.
Now I guess im exaggerating a bit. Nine-year-olds would probably love the combination.
After that was done, Roxane tallied her stamps on her card and to her glee she was just one stamp away from getting her bowl.
Too bad the last stamp is Slick Rick's.
tl:dr version: Phobac Vermicelli and Spring Rolls GOOD! Slick Rick is a bastard.
he's the guy in yellow in this pic:
photo stolen from here:
http://www.fizzer.ph/blogs/entry/b6a623130313/FOOD-Lets-Have-a-Boys-...and-Girls-Night-out-at-Red-Mango.html
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