10 years and Noddles and Pho

Last week was our 10 year wedding anniversary. Matt always said we'd go back to Nova Scotia for our 10 year anniversary. Well, little did we know Vietnam would be our 10 year trip. I miss Vietnam, all of Vietnam. So as our date this last weekend, we made the drive to Columbus to eat at a Vietnamese Restaurant. My mouth was watering just thinking about it. I took the cooler knowing we wouldn't be able to eat all of the food I was craving. The restaurant is called Halong Bay, and it is across for Polaris Mall for those in the area. We ordered fresh spring rolls. We choose a kind called Bo tai chanh rolls-- a rare tender eye-round beef marinated lime-pinapple and vegetables. Also, as an appitizer, Matt ordered a crispy rice cup --- chopped chicken, shrimp, carrot, onion, mushroom, bell pepper, sesame crispy rice cup. This could have been a meal in itself. We didn't know when we ordered this that we had the crispy rice cracker type things in Vietnam. At that time we ate them with a different dish. Of course, I had to order bowl of Pho. Just like in Vietnam, the bowl was huge. I ate this for two meals later on at home. I ordered a noddle dish, House grilled noodles- grilled marinated beef, pork, and shirmp, eggrolls, mixed vegetables, served with room temperature noodles. I loved this dish. The marinate was so good and the crispy chopped up eggrolls tossed on top was perfect. Matt ordered a chicken dish that came with sticky rice. It was good too, but give me the noodles. I wish we lived closer to Columbus. I could become a regular at Ha Long Bay.

We also found an Asian SuperMarket on Bethel Road. I had my Vietnamese and Korean cookbook in hand. Luckily, this cookbook has pictures of the items needed. I spent a long time in this store and could have spent a lot longer. The prices were very reasonable. I mostly bought staple items. Things that are used in a variety of dishes. Now I need to pick a recipe and practice. I know I have alot to learn. I did think of an idea. Wondered if I could work a few Saturdays at Ha Long Bay for free in turn learning how to cook a few Vietnamese dishes. Maybe, I'll pursue this in a few months. The owner did take down our e-mail address when he learned we adopted from Vietnam. My goal is to learn how to make several dishes by the time the kids know what's going on. That way they won't remember all the practice cooking!