Phở me now

So I'm craving for phở despite the heat here in Madrid. Actually, if I were to have a bowl of Phở right now, I'm pretty sure I'd pass out from a heat stroke (and I've been trying very hard to minimize that risk). I googled Vietnamese restaurants in Madrid and came up with a handful of Chinese restaurants, but the reviews don't look very promising. I also can't imagine myself spending 9 euros on 2 eggrolls (9 euros ~ $12-13, depending on the exchange rate, but of course this is a rough estimate).


Steph and I searched for Vietnamese restaurants while we were in Paris. My mom highly suggested that I should check out the 13th district because there's a large Vietnamese population in that area. 


After getting lost and drinking coffee at a cafe so we can use their wifi, we found ourselves in front of this:

Thoughts going through my head: 

• "OMG, finally I can understand what I'm reading!"
• "OMG banh cuon! I love cha!"
• "It smells like Lion Plaza! I AM HOME!"
• "I recognize this song, and it's not one of those top 40 hits like Bruno Mars!"
• (Why are these bullets so far away?!)

"The food of our people!" - Steph

(not gona lie, we were very excited to bust out our Vietnamese)

The menu looked pretty awesome. I thought it was a clever design. I couldn't decide between a good ol' bowl of pho or some banh cuon. Definitely wanted some che (jelly dessert) afterwards, but I was smart enough to wait to see how I felt after my meal.

I was so excited! So full of hope! SO HUNGRY!

but..here's where everything went downhill. I tried to order my food in Vietnamese, but the waitress couldn't understand me. I was confused. I switched to English with some pointing at the menu. Still blank stares. Steph stepped in with her French. Then Steph said, "Cam on" (thank you) and the waitress kinda just gave her a confused look and walked away. 

Then our food came. Unfortunately, we did not take any pictures to show how disappointed we were. The rau (vegetables) were wilted, the broth was bland, the noodles were soggy and falling apart. It just did not taste right no matter how much hoison sauce or lemon I squeezed into my bowl. I feel bad for all the times I put down Pho Me Now (pho delivery service in Berkeley) because that was definitely better than this. 

The Vietnamese music playing in the restaurant just seemed to mock me. I had such high hopes since Trip Advisor highly recommended this place, "best bowl of pho I've ever had!" 

These people need to visit San Jose or the other Little Saigons or Vietnam. Le sigh.

Outside the restaurant were these two gasoline pit stops. Seriously looked like Vietnam to me. 

DURIAN! I love the smell of durian. I could definitely go for a "sau rien" smoothie right about now. My mom makes some pretty good smoothies...

And then the lady told me I can't take pictures in the Asian grocery store. again. le sigh. 

I could just be extremely hungry and homesick. So excuse me if I sound a bit bitter :]