B-Day Dinner #1

B-day for one of Chef P’s former servers, K, hosted by his partner B. Also found out one of K’s current co-workers, N, also her b-day last night.

The place.

Sign

Kinda in an out of the way strip mall. Decent parking. Four and a half stars on Yelp.

First time for The Cat and The Mouse. Other guests seem to be “regulars”. We defer to their favorites.

Starters.

Chicken Salad

 

Spring Rolls

 

Summer Rolls

The pho soup was highly recommended. Being that The Cat has a less than enthusiastic preference to beef in general but still wanted to try the soup (beef based), she went with the not so red meat selection. Was that confusing?

Tendon and Tripe Pho

The Mouse, on another recommendation by the “regulars” ordered …

Oxtail Soup

Vietnamese style, very good, Meat almost falling off the bone. Different from the olde skool local kine with lots of peanuts, star anise, and mustard cabbage, but still tasty.

On the menu, the soup comes with rice, but the regulars suggested noodles, thought the noodles would be in the soup, but it was served separately.

In more Oxtail broth

Mmm! One full and contented mouse (cat too).

Just when we thought the foodfest was ending, out comes dessert.

Tapioca with Taro

Not bad, not too sweet, a bit heavy in the tummy tho’.

And since there were four people with January birthdays …

Cake!

Not four layers, but close enough. 🙂

So, H-B to K, N, P, and ???!

Oh, and an update on the pork belly.

Miso/Sake Braised Pork Belly

Refrigerated overnight to let the flavors soak in. It’s gonna be good. except package The Cat picked was a little on the lean side. Oh well, we will have to wait and see.

I did make up two snack sized bento boxes for the smoked meat vendors today. Last week they discounted our purchase. Just a little show of appreciation. Ancient grains, sesame oil turnip, and the pork belly (forgot to take a picture of the bento).

Heading out to a wine bar for B-day dinner #2, it’s Chef P’s turn.

Enjoy. Eat well.

The Mouse

 

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