We started off with tea and an order of shrimp spring rolls.
We looked over the Pho menu. There were over 25 kinds! What to order? I went for the first one on the list - the house special. Nick went for a rare beef variety.
So those of you who regularly eat Pho will know that it comes in a variety of sizes. We were looking over the list (small, medium, large, extra large) and settled on medium. We said we could always get something else to eat if we were still hungry. Bah, rookies. The medium bowl of soup was massive, which left me wondering who could possibly eat the extra large!
The soup was delicious. The broth was super aromatic and reminded me a bit of Tourtiere. I piled in the fresh bean sprouts and dug in.
While I was eating, I noticed there was something in my soup that was disguised among the rice noodles. I pulled it out, but wasn't completely sure what it was. I took a bite, wasn't crazy about the texture, and put it off to the side. Later, after thinking about it further, I realized was it was. Tripe. I had TRIPE in my bowl and I ate it. Nick tried a bite too, you know, so I wouldn't feel so bad. The look on his face said it all. Tripe is not something I'd eat again.
So your daily lessons on ordering Pho: ask about the sizes; they are much bigger than you'd think, don't drink four or five cups of tea while waiting for your soup (it's just too much liquid) and avoid the house special, they like to sneak things in that you're not expecting.
I have tried Tripe before; odd texture. My friend took me for dim sum, for breakfast, and then called me privileged when I didn't want to try it, so I did... what a mistake. The Pho looks good at least!
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