Sunshine and Pho

A good find!

Saturday was a true gift. We finally had sunshine here. After days upon days upon days of rain, the sun finally showed itself and proved that it was still around. I crave days like that during the winter months. Just a touch of sunshine does a world of good for the mind and body!

We celebrated the sunshine by hitting the road and discovering new places to eat. Once again piling the kids in the car to find some new food adventure proved to be successful. My hubby and I were both craving Pho, a delicious Vietnamese soup that probably could cure just about any ailment through a single inhalation of it's smell. Noodles, beef, bean sprouts, basil, and other additions floating in a bowl of delicious beef broth. So good!

Our usual haunt was not open until noon so my hubby went in search of a new place and what a treasure it turned out to be. We found a restaurant called Pho Da Lat, over on Sandy Boulevard, right next to a busy gas station, that was open and featured Pho and salad rolls. We pulled in, surveyed the scene, and unloaded the gang.

Walking in, while mentally pulling out my checklist labeled "Is this going to be a favorite restaurant?", I begin checking off items on the list. Clean? Check! Delicious smells creeping from the kitchen? Check! Friendly waiter? Check! Menu filled with an assortment of tantalizing dishes? Check! It was going to be good!

We sat down under a beautiful, hand-painted mural and began our food adventure. As soon as we settled in, a steaming hot pot of tea showed up at our table. All the kids decided to try a sip, which made me smile. Little steps like these eventually turn into food favorites for them.

Looking at the menu, debating as to which Pho to choose (sorry to say my hubby couldn't persuade me to have the Pho with tripe and tendons in it. Maybe next time...), we decided on a huge bowl of Pho for us, salad rolls for appetizers, and Kung Pao Chicken for the kids.

As our meal rolled out of the kitchen, we were all delighted. It smelled so good and tasted even better. Happy food noises we heard from everyone around the table. My oldest even declared that this was where she was coming for her birthday. She shared this with our waiter, who was a delight in himself.

When we eat out, we always enjoy when the owners are a part of the service. When this happens, we get a chance to share how much we enjoyed the meal with the people who it means the most to. We also get a chance to talk to someone who is an expert in that field of cooking. Which led us to our next food adventure...

After devouring our meal, chatting with the owner, and discussing how we were wanting to make salad rolls at home (which we are doing tonight), and our inability to find rice paper wrappers, he told us about Hong Phat grocery store around the corner from their restaurant. This was where we could find the rice paper wrappers we have been searching for. Loading the kids back into the van, we started off on part two of our food adventure.

We walked into Hong Phat Asian grocery store and immediately knew we were in the right place. Everywhere we looked were the ingredients that we had been looking for but could not find in our local grocery stores. Ingredients that make the recipes at home special and taste authentic. These are the places my hubby and I usually end up on dates, walking the aisles, and exploring. We are just that way!

We walked the aisles, paused every once in awhile, and commented on what we were seeing. Watching my three kids in the grocery store was priceless because they were as silent as could be, listening. Listening to everyone around them talking because no one was speaking English. At one point, my middle one said, "Shhh...I am listening!"

Walking out of the grocery store, rice paper wrappers in hand, we smiled. The sunshine was still there, our stomachs were full of delicious Pho, and we had just discovered a go-to place for those hard to find ingredients we have been looking for. Here's to another food adventure success!