Treasuring the Asian delights of California (not my friends)

Today I am past the an-employee-who-just-started dearth of work period, and things really beginning to hum along. I have a great team of people to work with and great projects, too. I feel really lucky.

I've also begun to appreciate the finer part of California life: good asian food. Yesterday we went to a huge Chinese grocery store where they served everything on the planet that is Chinese. The catch is you have to either speak Chinese (lucky me, I was with pal Grace who is Taiwanese and fluent) or be really forceful. Case in point: I ended up with some one else's lunch, which was a little greasier and meatier than I had ordered. It is a screaming deal, tho, for $5.45 I can get enough to last me for about three meals. Today we went and got some "pho" (pictured above), which is Vietnamese soup with beef or whatever you want in it. For those of you who enjoy condiments, this is the perfect dish because you add siracha (spiciness), basil + onion, etc. (fragrance) and this brown sauce (sweetness) as you like. Pho me, pho is comfort food. Yum.