Pho
I was walking around Hongdae on Thursday, this time in the opposite direction to Macondo since I was a clear two hours early, when I smelt what could only have been rizogalo (rice pudding for the unfortunates) with it's distinct cinnamon scent. Though I couldn't find where the smell was coming from and if I wasn't so hungry I would have searched more.
I had dinner at Pho Hoa, a Vietnamese restaurant chain. Back home, most of my time eating was spent at Flemo for the cheap and great (chicken & tomato rice and) pho for AUS$6.
You'll walk in and someone in your group would know the people or better yet would have family that worked there. You order and the fool that didn't order the pho wishes he had as you've already received your soup and now should wait for him.
As you eat you look around and the usual group of older men is sitting in a corner drinking tea and chatting. You go back to the same restaurant and no matter what time it is they are always there, drinking tea and chatting.
You expect the tables to be too close to each other and you expect someone to wipe your table with a very damp cloth. You expect your mates to dump huge amounts of sprouts into your soup if it's your first time. You expect them to warn you about the chilli (You must have fresh sliced chilli with your pho. Be a man! Do the right thing!) but you put it all in anyway and are temporarily blinded when the soup splashes into your eyes.
In Seoul, none of these things hold true. As with all restaurants I've encountered you are attended to as soon as you step over the threshold. There's the familiar greeting and you are seated, a pot of tea with a slight lemon scent already on it's way to your table. Just as quickly a plate of sprouts, lemon and green chilli is placed before you. They know what you will order regardless of all the other distractions on the menu. Before you've taken in all your surroundings your bowl of steaming cooking pho has arrived.
General rule about pho, if you are waiting longer than five minutes for it something is amiss as it is meant to cook on your table. Besides, they always have a vat of the soup in the kitchen.
You are surprised that the tables are all immaculate and even more surprised that there isn't even a hint of MSG in the soup. The pho has a slightly different taste to that in Sydney as the beef is a different cut and the local ingredients have their own unique flavor. You add the green chili and are relieved they have the same effect as their red cousins.
Between mouthfuls you take a glance at the tables in the courtyard, complete with bamboo plants, and wonder why they are empty. Then you remind yourself that it snowed today while you were grading your students on their speaking assessment.
The restaurant has a pleasant atmosphere, like somewhere you would go for a first date. Comfortable yet not too simple. In Sydney, never take your date to eat pho.
Same yet different.
I had dinner at Pho Hoa, a Vietnamese restaurant chain. Back home, most of my time eating was spent at Flemo for the cheap and great (chicken & tomato rice and) pho for AUS$6.
You'll walk in and someone in your group would know the people or better yet would have family that worked there. You order and the fool that didn't order the pho wishes he had as you've already received your soup and now should wait for him.
As you eat you look around and the usual group of older men is sitting in a corner drinking tea and chatting. You go back to the same restaurant and no matter what time it is they are always there, drinking tea and chatting.
You expect the tables to be too close to each other and you expect someone to wipe your table with a very damp cloth. You expect your mates to dump huge amounts of sprouts into your soup if it's your first time. You expect them to warn you about the chilli (You must have fresh sliced chilli with your pho. Be a man! Do the right thing!) but you put it all in anyway and are temporarily blinded when the soup splashes into your eyes.
In Seoul, none of these things hold true. As with all restaurants I've encountered you are attended to as soon as you step over the threshold. There's the familiar greeting and you are seated, a pot of tea with a slight lemon scent already on it's way to your table. Just as quickly a plate of sprouts, lemon and green chilli is placed before you. They know what you will order regardless of all the other distractions on the menu. Before you've taken in all your surroundings your bowl of steaming cooking pho has arrived.
General rule about pho, if you are waiting longer than five minutes for it something is amiss as it is meant to cook on your table. Besides, they always have a vat of the soup in the kitchen.
You are surprised that the tables are all immaculate and even more surprised that there isn't even a hint of MSG in the soup. The pho has a slightly different taste to that in Sydney as the beef is a different cut and the local ingredients have their own unique flavor. You add the green chili and are relieved they have the same effect as their red cousins.
Between mouthfuls you take a glance at the tables in the courtyard, complete with bamboo plants, and wonder why they are empty. Then you remind yourself that it snowed today while you were grading your students on their speaking assessment.
The restaurant has a pleasant atmosphere, like somewhere you would go for a first date. Comfortable yet not too simple. In Sydney, never take your date to eat pho.
Same yet different.
Labels: pho
posted by georgesilver at Tuesday, December 05, 2006
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