I had to pick up my dad this past Saturday after he's been on vacation in Canada for 2 weeks to be with his brothers, sisters, mom, and all our other our relatives. I was anticipating to eat at Phoenix in Chinatown. Because, it's Phoenix and that's where we always go for late nights when it comes to my dad. When he got in my car, and I mentioned Phoenix, his reply was "If you want" (in Cantonese). That's a NO, I don't want that. This is something all girls will understand. I know well enough to go somewhere else.
Without much time spent, he immediately said pho, in Chinatown. It's kind of cute that your parents will always assume that you know nothing where certain places are. "you will make a left here" - "Another left here" - "And it will be on your right where the bank is". It's like.. dude, dad, we've eaten here so many times. But go ahead. I was hungry and my mind wasn't straight anyways. How did I even make it back to LA?
I was hungry. And all I had to keep me through the traffic was a little pouch of corn nuts. I wanted to order everything when I arrived. And since I was with my dad, I felt like it was okay to do so. After all, my dad has the same eating temperament as I do.
My dad, Peter.
Look how happy he is. My dad ordered the rare steak pho with the rare steak on the side. Not a lot of places do this anymore. I'm sure it has a lot to do with health regulations, but if you request it (at any Vietnamese restaurant) I'm sure they will do it for you. The rare steak was perfectly shaved, and extremely tender even if it was already in the soup (I had mine in the soup). My dad used to be a butcher over 15 years ago, so he knows how he wants his meat.
Egg Rolls (duh)
Funny thing about this was I was looking for the 2 pc order. You know, a lot of places has this option, but it wasn't on the menu. My dad immediately said 4 pc is fine. And I, of course, went with what dad said. I love egg rolls fried with rice paper over egg paper. Both is good, but I love the slight chewiness rice paper leaves as it is crunchy on the outside.
My pho. I like to throw in jalapenos, bean sprouts, all the herbs, a lot of lime, and a squirt of sriracha. For my dipping sauce, I like to have sriracha, the hoisin, and the pickled Serrano.
I also couldn't help myself and ordered the 3 colored ice drink. It's basically sweet red bean, mung bean, green jelly, and sweet coconut milk slush on top. Mix together and slurps up!
This is something I grew up drinking as a kid. For some reason, I feel as we get older, we tend to stop consuming things that were common with our meals. I would remember, I would order this every time we have Vietnamese food. And now, I noticed I only drink water with my meals. That or alcohol, but that's a whole different meal we are talking about. I'm sure you get it. Sugar is bad for you. But a little is okay. The 3 color drink here was very mild. I do wished it was sweeter, just because I haven't had this in a long time. Now that I have, I'm scared that this will be the new trend again every time I have Vietnamese food.
After this, I took my dad home and helped him with his luggage. He gaved me some sweet pastries, which I will share with you later. In the mean time, check out Pho Broadway in Chinatown, Los Angeles. They've been here for decades, accepts credit cards and isn't too packed to accommodate if you need to fuel up before having a few drinks. Just saying.
942 N Broadway Ste 102, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Daisy