I Tasted Phat Pho's Vietnamese Food and I Find It Delicious

It's time for an evening dinner. Rather than go to my usual "sweet spots"--I tried out Phat Pho of the Abaca Group. I got to taste what might be called "revolutionary food" because Vietnam is under a Communist regime. Well, Abaca Group is founded by is owned by Jason Hyatt and his Chinese wife Anna whom he met in Hong Kong. I tried eating Vietnamese spring rolls and Vietnamese steamed egg. I tried the Vietnamese Pho which is their soup.

I was craving some meat and I tried the ever-popular Pho special. It contains some shaved beef, braised beef, meatballs, and some tendon. It takes around 5-10 minutes to prepare to ensure that the soup is well-prepared. The noodles are a different variety from what I get from Chinese restaurants. Condiments are added so the customer can flavor the soup according to their preference. I guess one can say it's served without much seasoning. Adding condiments such as vinegar, chili paste, chili flakes, and pepper is needed. It's pretty much like how South Korean soups are served bland and the customers add in the flavors according to their own personal preference.

I ordered a small serving but I'd say it was quite heavy. It was a very filling meal. I added some siracha, lemon, and vinegar, and you may request pepper flakes and chili flakes. Those would help add the preference of the customer. As a soup person, I usually prefer to have my soup served without much seasoning and I would flavor it according to my preference. I enjoyed almost every bit of the beef pieces served with this delicious pho.

I ordered the Vietnamese rainbow shaved ice. Cal it Vietnamese halo-halo if you want. It had some leche flan which didn't taste much different from the leche flan prepared in the Philippines. The halo-halo contained some pandan flavor. Is that some peanut flakes on top? I think this is the Che Ba Mau or the Vietnamese three-color dessert. I heard the Japanese introduced shaved ice to the Philippines during the Japanese occupation. Vietnam probably got the idea later after the Second World War and maybe during the reign of Ho Chi Minh. Maybe, this was a dish that was introduced during the Doi Moi reforms. I can't be certain about that.

Just eating at Phat Pho might've opened new opportunities for me. I could say that I might want to try their barbecues next. Food can be rather expensive but justified by the price. I paid around PHP 700.00 (round off) but the price was worth it. I'm willing to recommend this because the price is right.

The Irony the Philippines Starts the Christmas Season in September BUT Many Filipinos Love Last-Minute Christmas Shopping

Uproxx As Christmas is just around the corner--I feel more stress coming in! It doesn't help when people try to use the late Andy Williams' "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" to try and skip the problem. It's already known that most Filipinos love to start Christmas in September . However, the irony is that Filipinos start Christmas early but do their Christmas shopping late. If they began the Christmas Season early, shouldn't they think about what to do before December strikes? Two years ago, I wrote a post discussing last-minute Christmas shopping . Many Filipinos tend to do last-minute Christmas shopping. They had all of November (when the Christmas sale usually begins) but why do the Christmas shopping in December ? One of the things I blame is the one-day paycheck lifestyle (see here ). It can be observed that many Filipinos never learn to prioritize more important things . One can get their stars when they see their paychecks. However, the...

Is Christmas Toxic Positivity a Cause or an Effect of the Philippines' Lack of Progress?

Lessandra When it's Christmas, it's so easy to think of the song of the late Andy Williams, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". The music itself reeks of toxic positivity, whether one likes it or not. It's a shame, really, because December 20 was also the anniversary of Asia's Titanic, the sinking of the Doña Paz ! We live in a society that somehow never learns from its mistakes, like a person who's stuck in gambling debt, is still hoping to get rich gambling . Despite all that, Christmas toxic positivity still abounds in the Philippines. We still have a lot of ongoing bad habits, such as starting Christmas in September and then doing last-minute Christmas shopping during the week of Christmas. That's why every time I drive on the road on Christmas, I tend to shout, "Isn't it any wonder why the Philippines never improves?" The term Noche Buena has evolved over time . For some, it's simply the Christmas dinner. However, so...

Christmas Toxic Positivity May Be Your Biggest Holiday Financial Killer

Christmas is just around the corner, isn't it? It's easy to tell me, "Stop being a Scrooge! Lighten up! It's Christmas!" Some people can't tell the difference between positivity and when positivity becomes toxic . If you think about it, toxic positivity is defined as: ...the belief that people should maintain a positive mindset no matter how dire or difficult a situation is. While there are benefits to being optimistic and engaging in positive thinking, toxic positivity rejects all difficult emotions in favor of a cheerful and often falsely positive façade . Every time I talk about Christmas foolishness (read here ), it's always pointed out that I love being negative. Honestly, there are times I'd rather be negative than to be overly positive. I always talk about mentioning the silly notions that my countrymen have like, "If the situation is bitter, just add sugar (read here )." In Cebuano, it's said, "Kung pait, butangi lang ug asu...

Can Anti-FDI Proponents Prove Their Claim That Economic Liberalization Will Just Benefit the Filipino Oligarchs?

The same old narration has been made over and over again . I'd dare say that the narration out the Facebook pages of the likes of Atty. Teddy Casiño, Atty. Neri Colmenares, Kabataan Partylist, League of Filipino Students, Migrante International, IBON Foundation, etc. are more or less the same. It's already a broken record based on the facts that they've been refuted. I've read the book From Third World to First . I guess Migrante International hates that book because Singapore is often associated with the execution of Flor Contemplacion, at least on their watch. What they're doing is nothing more than still hating Japan, Germany, and Italy because of the Second World War. I'm not surprised at another lie that's often repeated--economic liberalization (or 100% FDI shares ownership) will only benefit the oligarchs . I guess it'll be easy to nail on me because I'm not a summa cum laude and Rep. Raoul Abellar Manuel is and he's a graduate of the Uni...

It's UTTER IGNORANCE to Say that the Philippines Needs to Self-Industrialize First Before Allowing FDIs to Own 100% Equity

It's often said by idiots on Facebook that allowing FDIs to own 100% of their shares is just going to leave the Philippines with nothing. I don't know how long I can keep my patience with such fools. To explain it, FDIs get rich based on net profits after taxes (read here ). FDIs will still end up paying VAT and income taxes if they want to continue investing in the Philippines. It's like if you want to continue doing business in the commercial space--you need to pay the rental fee to your lessor. The idea of 100% FDI ownership should be spelled out as, "Allowing FDIs to own 100% of their shares." They wouldn't need to find a Filipino partner before they can do business in the Philippines. They may not be allowed to own land but they can operate without a Filipino partner. The even bigger stupidity is when FDIs are required to split 60-40 of the partnership. Meaning, that they must split 60% of the net income after taxes with the local Filipino partner. That...

Business & Economics Perspective Blogger

Search This Blog