My awesome friend David, who runs Culture of Soccer, wrote an entire essay about my pho eating abilities! I like to think that I’m the kind of person who inspires people to eat and to eat with love till your tummy expands full of bursting love bubbles. Some people invent things, some people save the world - I inspire people to eat! Here’s a picture of Pho Baby that David refers to in his essay about ME!

An Essay About Tricia Wang, The Pho Eating Champion

by Sir Dr. David Keyes, Expert Phoysics Analyst

Tricia Wang is a pho eating champion. Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut may wow us with their hot dog eating abilities, but that’s just speed and quantity. They both lack what Tricia’s eating has in abundance: style.

Tricia knows everyone who works at Pho Ca Dao. And it’s a good thing that she is able to win them over with her unique brand of charm because otherwise they would look at her like the crazy pho lady that she is. It would behoove Pho Ca Dao to put in an alert system notifying its staff of Ms. Wang’s arrival because her pho consumption may require the use of a separate kitchen. More on that in a minute.

First, you should know that Tricia wears a bib when she eats pho. She may be crazy but she keeps her clothes clean.

Second, you should know that Tricia likes to order #18 large with less noodles and meat on the outside. (Oh yeah, she also likes to order spring rolls with shrimp, but who cares really? You ever seen a blog called Fuck Yeah Spring Rolls! Yeah, me neither.) But the really amazing thing is what she does with all the fixings. I don’t know exactly how many plates of basil, bean sprouts, mint, onions, and cilantro she orders, but more than you think can fit in her bowl of pho. Seriously, folks, huge quantities of this stuff. And then she just heaps it into her bowl. Fortunately, the green stuff shrinks in the hot water (which also cooks the meat as she adds it), leaving her room to add more. And more. And more. And more. Did I mention she likes to add a lot of vegetables?

Tricia is not a fast eater. In fact, she’s quite a slow eater. She savors her pho. She searches for new pho puns (it’s getting progressively harder to come up with new ones). She comments on other people’s pho eating prowess. She adds more vegetables. She runs out of vegetables. She asks for more vegetables. She adds more vegetables. And she keeps eating.

Tricia complimented me for the similarly slow pho-eating pace I employ. But soon compliment turned to insult as I committed a huge pho (10 points for me!) pas: I added more vegetables to my bowl than I could eat. Tricia’s level of indignation only rose when I told her that yes, in fact, I was finished and would not be eating the rest of the cilantro I had added to my pho. “Well then why did you take the cilantro?” she asked, annoyance dripping from her tongue. I had no answer.

But things did not end badly. Any pho trip with Tricia has a “happy ending:” Tricia’s pho baby. It’s like watching one of those time lapse videos of plants growing; in the course of a meal, you get to see her stomach expand before your very eyes. By the time her bowl is empty, Tricia has quite the baby bump. Walking to cashier yesterday after our pho adventure, she turned to me, looked down at her belly, and said, “how many months?” Four at least, I’d say.

It’s a good thing that, as Tricia herself puts it, “my stomach is very expandable.” Without that, the pho experience with Tricia Wang would not be what it is today: un-pho-gettable.

PHO lesson for the day: INTENT is the secret of life. You nail that down and everything else is a joyride.

Tricia making HER BOWL (via SOFTSERVEGIRL)

WTP!  NOW THIS IS MY KIND OF RESTAURANT! (via poopoorama)

Pretty PHO (via SOFTSERVEGIRL

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One of my recent visits to PHO CADAO with tricia. Table #14 was the magical table that lifted our spirits and provided obvious support for our overflowing food addiction: PHO!

@ Pho Cadao, 52nd and El Cajon Blvd., San Diego, California

PHO. (via i ❤ shoes.)

pho accoutrements. a little bit of THIS a little bit of that.

ADRIENE’s PHO @ Pho Cadao (via SOFTSERVEGIRL)

Phở, written as pho and pronounced “fuh” by English speakers, is a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup dish. Phở is served as a bowl of white rice noodles in clear beef broth, with thin cuts of beef (steak, fatty flank, lean flank, brisket). Variations featuring tendon, tripe, meatballs, chicken leg, chicken breast, or other chicken organs (heart, liver, etc.) are also available.

The broth is generally made by simmering beef (and sometimes chicken) bones, oxtails, flank steak, charred onion, and spices, taking several hours to prepare. Seasonings include Saigon cinnamon, star anise, charred ginger, cloves, and sometimes black cardamom. The noodles, called bánh phở in Vietnamese, are traditionally cut from wide sheets of fresh rice noodles similar to Chinese Shahe fen, although dried noodles (also called “rice sticks”) may also be used.

The dish is garnished with ingredients such as green onions, white onions, coriander leaves, ngò gai (“saw leaf herb”), mint, Thai basil, lemon or lime, bean sprouts, and chile peppers. The last four items are usually provided on a separate plate, which allows customers to adjust the soup’s flavor as they like. Some sauces such as hoisin sauce, fish sauce, and the Thai hot sauce Sriracha, are popular additions as well. The herb ngò ôm (Limnophila aromatica) is sometimes also added.

Well DONE #18 (via SOFTSERVEGIRL)

I like using wooden chopsticks. they grip better than the plastic ones most restaurants provide. I do feel guilty every time I open a pair - it’s like a tree is being ripped down every time I open up a pack, split them apart at the base and then rub the tips together as some unspoken ritual I hold on to.  It’s the truth. But seriously, I should use the plastic ones and just shut the fuck up.

Pho @ Pho Cadao, san diego, california

ssssoooooooo this isn’t PHO but it’s my homemade SOUP with CILANTRO LOVE strewn all over it. Can we just say OK and pretend it’s PHO?

pho (via woolloomooloo

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If you are ever in Torrance, for some odd reason, Pho Hana seems the place to visit. I think I might have to take a special trip for this bowl of PHO.  Isn’t Disneyland in Torrance?

ARROW >me< WELL DONE (via SOFTSERVEGIRL)

my favorite WELL DONE #18. Pho @ Pho Cadao (where else?).

Dining Table Aerial / Fun with Pho (via hen power)

now this is a serious PHO dining table! I want to know these people!

ARROW RING (via SOFTSERVEGIRL)

picture of a PICTURE-PHO mixed with Arrow Ring LOVE. Who could resist ??  WHO ME, I can’t!!

jin ge is in pure basil love - look at his gaze -  he has made it to the pure amitaba pho-land that even the most aspiring pho lovers cannot reach - come back and take us with you oh pure Basil-Pho Bodhisattva!   We are worthy of your pho!