Duc's Vietnamese Christmas

Duc and I have been together about two and half years.  Because I'm from Alabama, and now living in Oregon, I don't go home every holiday.  I've been an official member of this Vietnamese family for a while now.  His aunt asked me on Christmas Eve this year if I knew why she loved me.  "Because I'll try anything?" That's one reason! She told me.  At these big dinners traditional Vietnamese dishes are common. I've had all kinds of food there.  His mother and aunts think its hilarious: "Try this Madison, try this!!"  I give it a good look over and try it.  Chew, swallow, "OK, what was that?" Sometimes I ask beforehand, but I always try it. 

Turkey and ham are not common place at this table.  This year was no different.  Sitting down there was pasta, shrimp skewers, and lamb in front of us.  Duc's mother brought everyone soup and it was delicious! It was take on chicken and dumpling soup with crab meat.  I wasn't feeling 100% this year and that soup was so good!!

That lamb was so good!!  I've still got it on the brain.  I want more!  I think it was just grilled.  I'm not even sure, but it was delicious!

Duc passed me a piece of meat covered in tomato sauce.  I took one bite and it was so chewy that gave it back to him.  He ate the rest of it, and later he said, "I think that may have been beef tongue."  Later His uncle confirmed it that was beef tongue.  It had a good flavor, but it was just the texture I didn't like.  If it were more tender I could have eaten more.

When Duc's mother and aunt found out I was sick, his aunt made me ginger tea with honey and his mother suggested a Vietnamese dessert that was good for your health.  I'm not a huge fan of ginger, but I'll have it every once in a while.  With honey, the ginger tea wasn't too bad and it made my throat feel better.  The dessert was a tapioca and bean pudding type dessert.  I don't think you'll get the scale picture of this dessert from the photo.  It looks weird!! 

  

I had to take a second, close up picture hoping to see the texture better.   That spoon is not resting on the bottom.  The viscosity is so thick that it is resting on the pudding. I don't think it would pour out if you tipped it over.  Or maybe it would, but it would be a pretty gross sight.  The first things you have to overcome when you eat this is the look of it and the way it moves.  It jiggles, yet it's firm and the beans and suspended in it, they don't move.  You have to see this stuff first hand to understand what I'm saying! Enough with the the looks and consistency.  The taste is actually pretty good.  It goes in a bit sweet, then you chew, and the bean flavor comes out. Quite a bit off putting the first few bites but then good later.

The next dessert was a Vietnamese cake made with tapioca flour.  (I had no idea tapioca was so versatile!)  Most cake gets moist in your mouth and sticks to the roof of your mouth.  This cake is a bit more chewy, but the flavor is great and it doesn't stick.  I loved the crunchy crust of this cake! 

The Split

 Although busy and understaffed (the girl who seated us told us there were only two people to run the floor and bar) the atmosphere and food made it well worth the wait. 

The menu was one long page of a few salads, a nice selection of tapas, and a few entrees.  Duc decided on the humus tapas plate, then changed to shrimp, and finally the crab cakes.  You can see a little left of one at the top of the picture. The crab cakes were pretty good, they had a nice amount of crab meat.

He and my friend each had the serrano shrimp penne as an entree, which of course I had to try.  You can see it partially eaten at right of the picture. It had just enough sauce, it wasn't drowned.  And it was a little spicy, just how we like.  There were serrano pepper round slices tossed in that gave it an extra kick. 

I ordered the fish tacos from the tapas menu.  The fish taco weren't bad.  I've had worse.  The fish was breaded and fried, but it came a bit soft.  I wish the fish was either crunchy when fried or grilled.  Thats my only complaint.  Oh, and they had NO HEAT!!! 

For dinner, I ordered the blackened salmon from the entree menu.  The blackened salmon, on the other hand, was delicious! Sandwiched between risotto and veggies, the salmon was cooked nicely. 

The portions seemed small when they first came out.  But after eating, we realized it was just right.  We left satisfied and not stuffed and in pain.  Duc needed a cupcake after.  He has such a sweet tooth.

Native Foods

My first vegan experience came as a shock to me.  Walking into the restaurant I didn't realize it was 100% vegan. Vegan is no meat, no dairy, no eggs, and no cheese.  I am a MEAT EATER!!  What am I doing here?!  The girl that greeted us said it can be overwhelming for first timers.  That's definitely one word for it. The menu is filled with chicken, sausage, and even a bacon cheeseburger!  The menu has little forks next to certain items for us newbies. I had to take small steps, like testing the water before getting in.  I ordered the "chicken" wrap and sweet potatoes fries.  My poor sweet boyfriend, Duc, jumped in the deep end!  Duc went for the Soul Bowl with BBQ "chicken" and regular fries.

I love anything and everything lavender flavored.  Lavender cookies, lavender cupcakes, and I LOVE lavender lemonade.  I was obsessed with it when I lived in Corvallis and could get it around the corner.  When you first drink it, you get the sweetness of lemonade, but its the lavender that lingers after.  So of course I had to have theirs as well.  It was great!  Not as strong as I loved in Corvallis, but with its softer hint, it was great. 

I was amazed by how much I liked this meal!  My"chicken" wrap so good!!  Of course, you cant get chicken from soy products or beans, you can only get chicken from a chicken!  But a chicken substitute for this wrap was just right.  The wrap was filled with greens and this spicy sauce that crept up on you and hit you afterwards.  I loved the spiciness!  I didn't like anything spicy until I met Duc and now I cant get enough! 

Duc didn't have the same experience with his Soul Bowl. After every bite a look came over his face that said, "this is good, but there is no meat so it cant be real food."  A few times he said, "its just so healthy." The BBQ "chicken" didn't have the right texture and he knew it wasn't real chicken so he couldn't enjoy it.  Duc is a rice connoisseur.  And his biggest complaint was that the was overcooked. It was mushy. And the vegetables pieces were very large.  We always try each other's food and I thought his food wasn't bad! 

For dessert, I indulged in the cardamom rose cupcake.  It was yummy.  Extremely sweet!  Make sure to have a glass of water near by.

After dinner we went to the movies and saw Sherlock Holmes 2.  Afterwards, we stopped at a burger stand (near Native Foods), Duc needed real protein.  He ordered the hot dog wrapped in bacon, deep fried and then topped with chili and cheese.

Duc has agreed to go back once a year.  I'm going to convince my friends to try it so that I can go back.