#ahing

Yesterday, the biffle and I felt compelled to satisfy our respective yearnings for fine Vietnamese cuisine. With the both of us being full-blooded Viets, when the food of your ancestors calls, you best be answering.  

Accompanied by our Caucasian gentleman friend Kyle, we decided to dine at the often-frequented Pho Basil. This underrated, semi-hidden gem serves both Vietnamese and Thai food, allowing you to pre-game your pho with some thai iced tea or chase your pad see ew with some cool avocado shake.  

Kyle's appetite was minor at best on this day, as our Caucasian friend settled simply with just a thai iced tea and a small pho tai. Meanwhile, the biffle went with a bowl of vermicelli and pork, along with splitting a side of chicken wings with yours truly. Both solid choices.

I went with the pièce de résistance (French for "piece of resistance) on the Pho Basil menu: a Large Pho Dac Biet, hold the tripe and tendon please. Steak and flank are enough to satisfy me; I'm easy like that. Just as I began to dive in, it dawned on me how much this bowl of juicy goodness in front of me shared so many similarities with the juicy goodness that is Sarah Hang across from me.

You might be confused so let me explain:

What exactly makes up a scintillating savory bowl of Pho Dac Biet?

1. At the very core of the Pho is the broth, the soup that brings everything together. Many of you might know about the blood, sweat, and tears that is required to make a great-tasting broth, but for those of you who don't, please reference here.  The broth can best be described as having a mildly sweet, but not-in-your-face taste with just the right amount of tang.  Additionally, it must be prepared with the patience of a monk, the OCD meticulousness of one Ahing Vo, the passion of Lady GaGa, and the creativity of Michelangelo. As for Sarah, I cannot say with certainty that I have "tasted" her, but from personal interviews with her many suitors, it has been confirmed she indeed has that sweet, mild, but tangy taste. Sure, her body screams out years of neglect and abuse, but underneath it all lies all the relevant qualities of monk, Ahing, GaGa, and Michelangelo himself.

2. Now onto the more tangible ingredients of the pho: the meats.  As I mentioned before, I enjoy my pho with just steak and lean flank. The steak in pho is unique in that it is served rare but becomes cooked once it is submersed into the blistering broth. Much like Sarah, who from first impression, seems like a raw, incomplete soul, one can tap into her fountain of potential by providing her with the warmth of friendship and affection. After knowing her for a few years now, all I say is well done, sarah. well done.  Now secondly, there is the flank, a deceptive and tricky meat. Sure, it tastes delicious and but it's loaded with fat and really, who's tryna get cholesterol here? Sarah is a delicious creature but have too much and you're in for a rude awakening, my friend.

3. Third, the most prominent ingredient, the noodle. In every bite, there exists a throng of noodles so exquisite, mingling and swirling their little noodle hips, breaking apart and combining again in a fugue of broth and meats so delightful. Sarah has noodle hips.

4. The sauces.  No pho is complete without some squirts and squeezes of the powerful combo of hoisin and sriracha. While the hoisin stabilizes the flavor of the pho broth, the sriracha adds a spicy punch and kick to the eater's discretion. Undoubtedly, Sarah is the sriracha to my hoisin sauce. While Sarah adds spice to your life exactly how you want it - never too much, never too little - I'll be there to add some flavor and make it a little less bland.

5. Finally, everything else.  No pho is complete without the garnishings of some fresh bean sprouts, sexy basil leaves, and squeeze of a tangy lime.  If you know Sarah, you'll know she is the most playful of bean sprouts, a curvaceous and seductive basil leaf, and if you're not careful, she'll squirt you in your eye like the lime wedge she is. 

Well, there you have it.  Sarah Hang is a bowl of Pho Dac Biet.  And might I tell you, she is very Dac Biet.

Hmm, I want some pho.