My Problem with Pho

I’m finally able to admit I have a problem controlling myself when it comes to any sort of food from the Orient.

Basically, if it’s eaten with sticks, I’m there. Lately, the soup Vietnamese Pho* has been on my radar, and by on my radar, I mean it’s what I think about before I go to sleep every night and what's on my mind every morning when I wake up.

I have been trekking all the way into the depths of Palos Verdes to get my weekly** pho fix, all the while lamenting that there wasn’t a suitable pho restaurant in Redondo Beach—until I stumbled upon the “” restaurant between Catalina and PCH.

I had two hours to kill while my mom's car was serviced in the shop***. While walking around aimlessly looking for some wifi, I saw a glowing fluorescent sign of a bowl and chop sticks and the word “Pho.” I bolted towards the front door of Happy Veggie like a junkie needing a fix, which wasn't altogether untrue.

The thought of wifi and ogling the internet for a couple hours was quite distant once pho had entered the picture.

The place was pretty quiet for lunch hour. The interior looked as if Saigon had a baby with an IKEA. At the far end of the restaurant was a televion screen playing what appeared to be a Chinese television station dedicated to veganism. It played pictures of butterflies and happy children on a seemingly constant Orwellian loop. Entranced though I was by the bizarre Chinese footage, as soon as the server appeared I ordered the pho without consulting the menu.

The server was surprised, and I like to think, impressed.

As I unleashed bedlam upon the bowl of pho in front of me, I almost wept with joy for two reasons:

1. There was readily available pho in Redondo Beach.
2. It was some fine pho. At the end of the meal, the chef brought out candied lotus seeds to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Had they not come with a toothpick, I would have not known they were meant to be eaten. They were delicious all the same. If you haven’t tried pho, go to Happy Veggie right now. If you have… ditto. Chances are you will find me living under one of the tables.

*I recently found out that it’s pronounced "fuhhhhhh" like the sound you make when you stub your toe in front of a child and want to maintain being a positive influence.

**Daily.

*** Yup, still driving my mom’s car.