Last night Apocalypse.Mom, RedneckWidow, and I headed out for Fubonn and I found myself filled with excited energy. Like a hyper puppy. Really... I'm embarrassed for my friends as there was dancing in the aisles, skipping up and down aisles in search of the ever important soy free "red sauce" and other general obnoxiousness. Good thing I drove as the others may have been tempted to otherwise abandon me.
Of course I'm sure it will happen again. As most of my friends can attest I am easily excited, soon babbling away at such high speeds as to be nearly unintelligible. But I can't help it...
My food geek flag just flies to high it takes me off with it to new heights of embarrassment. Of course in the moment of ultimate geekery when I am practically vibrating with excitement; wanting to see, touch, smell everything all at once I am prone to attacks of utter gooberism. The high point of my night was that I was NOT the first one to offend the locals. That was RedneckWidow, and I'll leave the explanations to her.
We started by packing in the rear lot (shady spot) which is surprisingly large and you'd never notice it from the front of the building. Passed through the large circular archway over the doors and wandered through the complex, a little sadly empty, but still interesting with the variety of businesses housed inside. Lawyers, Realtors, Loan offices, Bubble Tea, Salons, Jewelers, Video shops, Seamstresses, and of course the Massive grocery outlet itself.
Apocalypse.Mom spoke up with the wisdom of eating something before diving into the grocery store as an attempt to prevent massive over spending. RedneckWidow and I agreed and we discussed food options. There is of course a deli within the market, as well as both a Korean BBQ and Pho shop located on the outside of the building.
We opted to try the SokongDong Tofu & BBQ first, one with a grill on your table and where you order an assortment of meats and grill yourself. While things smelled wonderful, a peek at the menu revealed that this is not a "quick bite and run" establishment. For these prices it was a linger and enjoy the company type of place. Not in our budgets for the evening.
Unit #11
SokongDong Tofu & BBQ
Tel: 503-808-9990
Hour: 11am - 10pm
So we tried the Pho Ngon Vietnamese Restaurant
Unit #2
Pho Ngon Vietnamese Restaurant
Tel: 503-775-1373
Hour: 9am - 9pm
Much more in line with what we were looking for. Like an idiot I failed to take pics of our food when it arrived, but it was pretty and very tasty. I believe that Apocalypse.Mom ordered the #44 (none of us remember what it was called just that there was lots of fried fish over a metric TON of vermicelli noodles. And that it was good.). Redneck Widow attempted the Chicken Teriyaki, always a gamble given her allergy to soy. But it worked out. No adverse reaction and she cleaned her plate. Well... Almost.
I opted for the "SUPERBOWL" which was Pho (beef of course) with flank steak, well done brisket, honeycomb tripe, tendon, AND meatballs. Mmmm tasty. Point of note, the main difference between Asian meatballs and the more familiar Western variety is texture. Western meatballs are primarily a coarser grind of meat with a little binding agent to keep them together, while Asian meatballs are more of a hot dog consistency. Which can sometimes lend the sensation of chewing on a bouncy ball if over cooked. But these were quite good!
I failed to take before pics of our meals. I promise I'll get back into practice. I'll also have to improve my plan for getting a camera... Apparently wishing doesn't make it come true. Lamesauce. Any good (and reasonably priced) camera suggestions from the crowd?
The only down side to the dinner was the service. It was a bit... I don't know, very pushy at the beginning. The waitress seemed very exasperated with us when we asked for a minute to figure out our order. I get the impression that this place is used to people ordering before they even sit down. And at the end of the meal we had to get our own to go containers for leftovers and track down someone so we could pay. Very strange. Not a determent from returning, but very strange.
After dinner there was shopping! I gleefully plunged into the market, doing my best to not physically DRAG Apocalypse.Mom and Redneck Widow behind me. I may not have been as successful at this as I hoped. I happily grabbed raisin bread off the shelves, giggled and cooed over the bright snack packages while Apocalypse.Mom got to the serious business of grocery shopping and Redneck Widow plunged on in her quest for the soy-free.
I poked and prodded fresh Lychee for a project of BellaBabe, found some drinks. Some snacks, babbled incessantly about foreign produce.. Thinking back I start to wonder if maybe I was drugged, I was just... everywhere. Like those bouncy balls with all the knobs on the outside? Bouncing erratically from habeneros to duck eggs, from lemon grass to rabbit saddles, snapping random pictures and occasionally tossing things into the cart Redneck Widow was pushing for me.
I clearly recall dancing down an aisle using a shaker of dashi and another of "Umami seasoning" (straight MSG) as maracas to emphasize the beat in my head. It was like a fever and a frenzy of delight. We never found the red sauce. Does anyone know what it's called? The red sauce you get in Chinese restaurants for the dipping? NOT sweet and sour, there was at least a 10 foot long section of aisle dedicated to that.
I took pictures of things I found interesting, odd, or just... I don't even know why I took a photo of the live clams, and one of frozen fish? But I took them and here they are for your... Amusement?
Those are my highlights of the trip, other than that Apocalypse.Mom and I both bought 3 bags worth of items and she spent less than half of what I did. Clearly I have things to learn. Teach me oh wise one!
Please feel free to comment on my insanity. Talk to you all later!
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