First Food Experiences (by Nik)

Pho, our favourite Ottawa Vietnamese soup eaten at its source.

   As my best friend Georges would have put it, after arriving safe and sound we get down to the important things in life, FOOD! Here we are eating our first bowl of pho, pronounced phu or feux (fire in french due to the French history in Vietnam). Check out this important link about it Pho vs Faux...

Our kids were not sure about trying out this delicious soup but they let their adventurous brother be the one to test it out, and, as you can tell he is loving it! Shortly thereafter, the two sisters followed suit and wanted their own bowls. The best part about all this, is that this amazing  breakfast meal cost under 10$ for the five of us (approx. 1.50$ a bowl!)

Our next significant food adventure happened at the mall. Check out the video below!

So after being mesmerized by the production chain of revolving food we sat down to eat... Rule #1: study the locals before you eat or do anything. What not to do: Valerie grabbed a plate of raw meat and started eating it on the spot. At the same time, I grabbed a plate of raw beef and slapped it on a heating element in a hole in front of my eating spot. The locals all started laughing. They then explained to us that the hole with the heating element is to put your bowl of broth in and cook your meats and veggies (like we do back home for a Chinese Fondue...) and then enjoy your tasty meal. Lesson 1 learned! I hope...

Not only do they make amazing food but the Vietnamese people are also incredibly efficient individuals... Yes they are laid back and things happen on their own time, but that being said, they are still ten times mores efficient than the Greeks! (I'll be making a lot of comparisons to Greece because Ho Chi Minh City reminds me a lot of Athens.)  I'll let Val elaborate about why I say they are so much more productive than my ancestors in her next blog about our BLING, BLING apartment! Over and out.