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Super Pho, a closer look
Aloha!
2/14/09 - Happy Valentine's Day!
I got off of work at 12am, at the crack of Valentine's Day, and wifey and I celebrated a little night-cap as soon as I got home. She liked the flowers, but who knew that Juicy Couture was a bit high-schoolish? Show's you what I know about fashion. That's why we get gift receipts, guys!
On a completely unrelated matter - betcha don't know where this beach is:
Maybe this shot's a bit easier to recognize for some, but I'm guessing again that most of you out there still don't know where this beach is either, with wifey the beach bunny looking as gorgeous as ever. And I ain't gonna give you a closer shot of the beach bunny! (May kinda look like it, but it's not Diamond Head!)
Actually, this ain't even a beach at all! It's really a sandbar, and no, not the one in Kaneohe! This entire area will be completely underwater in a couple of hours. Yes, there are yet places, not just in Hawaii, but on our own beautiful island of Oahu, itself, where you can still have an entire beach all to yourselves on a bright, sunny day! For all you out there freezing your tails off, just wanted to make you even more miserable and let ya know that this wasn't taken last summer, but right here and now! This is what a full-blown Winter day looks like in the islands!!!
We truly do live in a Tropical Paradise, and the great thing about it is that there are many beaches just as beautiful as this - you just have to know where to look! Shall I tell you where it is? Hmmm... Let me think about it...
Meanwhile, wifey and I ran away from the rising tide and headed out to Kaimuki, to get some pho at a Vietnamese restaurant called Super Pho, located right on Waialae Avenue, between 10th and 11th Avenue's. There's ample parking behind the store, or on the street right in front if you get lucky.
There's about as wide and varied a menu as any Vietnamese restaurant out there, with appetizer rolls of all kinds, salads, Vietnamese sandwiches, rice porridges, fried noodles, soups, vegetarian dishes, Asian-style fondue, bbq meat plates, and soup noodles like pho, vermicelli, and even udon. There are dishes like sour soup with catfish, pounded shrimp, simmered pork, duck meat porridge, pork organs, and crispy-fried moi. There's even shakes of strawberry, durian, and avocado juice, ice creams, and interesting drinks of green beans, club soda eggnog, soybean, and pennywort. Huuuhhh??? Sounds pretty potent to me. Maybe that's why these guys are all smiling, even the dragons:
The inside of the store is reasonably spacious, and there's usually ample room to dine in comfort, this next shot being only about half the entire area. A couple of television's provide a bit of entertainment, but don't expect to see any of your favorite football or baseball teams, as most times, at least during lunch, the owners kids' are sitting right there in the dining room, with Barney, Sponge Bob Square Pants, or worse, yet, those freaky animation cartoons that are just plain wrong. I can't quite put a finger on what makes them so evil and twisted, but I swear, those characters are all possessed. Know which one's I'm talking about?
Wifey and I have come here on many occasions in the past. Back when I had my old camera, I got a shot of a papaya salad we shared that was really delicious, the thinly-julienned slivers of papaya coming cool, crisp, and refreshing, and with just enough extra veggies, sliced duck meat, chopped peanuts, and a sweet/tangy vinaigrette to make it all sing.
On this particularly fine day, however, we didn't get any appetizers or starters at all, which is a bit different for us. We went right into the main courses, which, for wifey, always means a hot bowl of beef pho. But then again, suprise, surprise! She actually went with something a little different, at least, ordering her pho with not only beef, but also with beef tendon. I was hoping she'd be rewarded for trying something new, but alas, this tendon came with some really tough, enedible pieces. Aren't they supposed to be boiled down long enough to almost gelatinize? Oh, well. Here's the bowl, anyway, along with a quick shot of the generous portion of veggie's given alongside:
Wifey loves the pho here, but she's one that usually prefers lighter-tasting meals that concentrate instead on health and freshness, while I, despite loving healthy, fresh meals just as much as the next guy, also savor bold, rich, full-flavored dishes, too. The pho here is just a bit on the light side for me, but unlike a bowl of ramen or udon soup/noodle, both of which are eaten as is, pho comes with the luxury of adding sauces of hot, salty chili's and super-strong hoisin. These extra flavor-booster's can provide as much taste as anyone could possibly need.
As for wifey's beef, she requested it raw so she could cook it in the hot broth without having it overcooked.
As hard as it is not to order pho, I've long since sworn off the stuff anytime I do a Closer Look page. Aaah, it kinda forces me to order new things all the time, which is always a good thing. Today, because lemongrass chicken is one of the most popular of plated dishes in Vietnamese cuisine and I've never done a Closer Look on it (even though I've had it many, many times!), I figured this may as well be the day.
This one was as good as I've had anywhere, with a moist, tender, perfectly-cooked chicken and lots of fresh, crispy onions in a slightly-sweetened lemongrass/chili/fish sauce. One thing I don't understand about this dish is that I can't taste very much of any lemongrass at all, not just here, but at any Vietnamese restaurant! I know what lemongrass tastes like, but unless I'm chewing on a stalk, I can't really taste it! Perhaps it does make a big difference in the over-all taste, but maybe the end result doesn't actually reflect the taste of lemongrass itself?
A small bowl of soup, made from a fish stock, was also part of the order.
Did I say I'd tell you where that beach was? No, actually, I didn't - I said I'd think about it...! And I still haven't made up my mind yet... But in the meantime, I'll leave you with a couple more shots of the same area, especially for the folks throwing salt in their drive-ways and chains on their tires...
Allright, allright, already... Find Paiko Lagoon Bird Sanctuary, and go experience it for yourself! Lucky we live Hawaii!
Take care and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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