I have a relative called Tool. (Hey, he gave himself the nickname, not me. I just go with it like a supportive cousin-in-law would.) Tool is married to a cousin whom I like to call The Asian Martha Stewart (TAMS). TAMS can make Tarragon Chicken Sandwiches with herbs from her garden, turn a seed from a two-pound SlimCado into a six-foot plant, and knit delicate baby booties. She’s who I wanna be when I grow up, nevermind that TAMS is only two years older than me.

When Tool is not busy being a tool and TAMS is not doing her domestic-goddess thing, they’re professional wedding photographers. (Do you hate them just a little bit? I do. With a big dosage of love.)

I went to dim sum with Tool the day before my road trip, so he could show me how to take (indoor) food photos. (He’d gifted me with the DSLR camera he first used as a wedding photographer. I was all sorts of excited, of course, and hope that my food photos taken with the DSLR will make y’all cry like his photos have done with brides. Yeah…that doesn’t make sense to me, either.)

One of my first shots with the DSLR. Uh-oh, my focus on the Shrimp Dumplings (Har Gao)  seems to be a bit off.

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This post will have the predictable, a wonder, and a miracle. Um, in that order.

The predictable: Chicken Pad Thai.

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High school is synonymous with many first-time experiences. White-knuckled freeway driving with a driver’s ed instructor who could simultaneously calm and frighten. Getting hair and make-up done at a salon for a formal dance, then having these two rites of teenage-girl passage immortalized with photos because Lord knows we want to see them 20 years later.  And…buying Lumpia in the hallway outside the cafeteria for a fundraiser.

That’s right, Lumpia, the Filipino egg rolls. Because my high school days are long over, I had to order these ones filled with ground pork, celery, carrots, and onions marinated in spices at a sit-down restaurant.

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I felt excited about going to the Chinese Noodle Restaurant as soon as a friend and I decided on the lunch spot. Despite knowing the possibility of receiving less-than-stellar service based on previous visits, my anticipation still built over several days because I was certain the food would be delicious.

Beef Brisket and Sui Gow Noodle Soup, my order.

Are you feeling a little bit of anticipation, too?

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Is it sacrilegious to dine at a Vietnamese restaurant that serves pho and not order it? Especially on a perfect-weather day for the bowl of slippery noodles in steamy broth, one that was rainy and gloomy?

Probably. But because I regularly commit a dining faux pas—I always ask for a fork at Chinese restaurants despite being very proficient in using chopsticks—I’m okay with it. Besides pho, there’s another dish I really like to order at Vietnamese restaurants, which you’ll see.

A cup of pleasantly non-bitter green tea. It offered a similar comfort that a bowl of pho would have.

The ubiquitous fish sauce that accompanies so many Vietnamese dishes.

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