One man's Phở is another man's...

So my buddy Al asked me today "what makes you an expert on Phở?". My other pal Ross said "man you have too much time on your hands Phở-real!". Well he didn't say that exactly but he did say that I did have too much time on my hands which is true but I digress.

The question at hand is what "does" make me an expert on Phở?. The answer to that would have to be, "Because I have eaten this stuff all my life MOTHER Phở-CKER!". Well that's what I would say if I were a bad arse MO-Phở.

To answer this question properly however, would require a lot of soul searching but to cut a long story short, I have eaten a lot of bowls of Phở in my lifetime (both good and bad) and have gained much knowledge and experience into what constitutes an awesome bowl of Phở. I would go so far as to say that I am addicted to it.

A few years ago, I was living in Japan and remember my time there being an enjoyable experience overall, however, it was marred by one sad fact, that being that there was no Phở to be found. What I found instead was a poor excuse for Phở, in fact it was so bad that I have banished the taste and memory of it almost completely from my mind and only now relive it as I recount the tale for you (no need to thank me, it's my cross to bear). Who would have thought that a country that makes ramen, soba and udon so well could not make a good bowl of Phở? I know I had the same look of incerudlity on my face also when I came to that realisation!
My addiction for Phở was so great that when I finally did come back to Australia, after pulling an all nighter and singing karaoke for the best of part of the night in Japan and then flying and travelling for around 15 hours, the first thing I did when I landed even before going home was to eat a bowl of Phở.

I also remember the first trip I made to Vietnam. The anticipation and the excitement I felt was palpable. To think, of all the delicious bowls of Phở I would eat and how the experience would be that much greater as I would be eating it amongst my family in its country of origin. To quote William Jonathan Drayton Jr AKA Flavour Flav "Yeah Boy!!"
How dissapointed I was when I finally did eat a bowl though. Even subsequent trips have not been anymore successful. Oh well.

So back to the question again, I may not be an expert but I know my Phở.