The lovely Kim of FlotsamTide asked me recently if I'd ever experience her national cuisine, aka, Vietnamese food. While I remember a superb restaurant from my youth which introduced me to such wonders as spring rolls in delicate rice paper wraps, my most recent experience was not quite so that. I told her about a place my family and I went to in California when we were there about a year ago and she insisted I share with you all.
Thing is we were in Cali for a memorial service so we were all kinda bummed. We needed to eat though and we'd found ourselves in a vastly Vietnamese neighborhood, which I insisted we take advantage of.
We randomly stumbled into a large and empty neon-lit situation way past their busy hours and started trying to make sense of the menu.
We randomly stumbled into a large and empty neon-lit situation way past their busy hours and started trying to make sense of the menu.
When we were ordering, Mom asked the guy what meats they had for the pho or whatever it's called and he was like, "Sure we have pork, beef, chicken, fish."
Except with his accent it sounded like, "Po, bee, cheekeh, fee" and at his speed it sounded like, "Pobeecheekehfee."
He saw Mom staring at him and didn't even wait for her to go 'Hu?' but just started repeating himself all over again slowly. So what he actually said was "Shoo, we ha pobeecheekefee, po... bee... cheekeh... feeee...."
Well me and my nerdy inability to stop myself correcting pronunciations and my English teacher's need to make sure everyone understands each other all the time... my head just exploded right there.
Later on in the meal, Mom didn't want her food and she told the guy she wanted to order something else, something, like... my sister held up her bowl "Like this? Mom, like this?"
Yeah, everyone around the table was saying, yeah like that!
The guy was like, "Yeah ok."
He grabs my sister's bowl and plops in in my mom's place and plops my mom's bowl in front of my sister.
And was like 'Ok!' and wanders off.
Except with his accent it sounded like, "Po, bee, cheekeh, fee" and at his speed it sounded like, "Pobeecheekehfee."
He saw Mom staring at him and didn't even wait for her to go 'Hu?' but just started repeating himself all over again slowly. So what he actually said was "Shoo, we ha pobeecheekefee, po... bee... cheekeh... feeee...."Well me and my nerdy inability to stop myself correcting pronunciations and my English teacher's need to make sure everyone understands each other all the time... my head just exploded right there.
Later on in the meal, Mom didn't want her food and she told the guy she wanted to order something else, something, like... my sister held up her bowl "Like this? Mom, like this?"
Yeah, everyone around the table was saying, yeah like that!
The guy was like, "Yeah ok."
He grabs my sister's bowl and plops in in my mom's place and plops my mom's bowl in front of my sister. And was like 'Ok!' and wanders off.
We were all sitting there in stunned silence trying so so so hard not to explode into laughter for the rest of the meal.
And that was my experience with some ghetto-ass Vietnamese food. If you ever go to Kim's house, you should expect it to be just like that.
Here's a cuff that's not done.
And that was my experience with some ghetto-ass Vietnamese food. If you ever go to Kim's house, you should expect it to be just like that.
Here's a cuff that's not done.
I don't know what the hell I'm trying to do with this thing.
Finally, here's a piece I reworked for a buyer. Original--->
After I jazzed it with cunks from some unloved jewelry:
Oxidized the settings, look at that gleam.
One final thing, someone asked me about setting things in prongs. I'm a cheaty-cheat so here's where I describe my quick-n-dirty system.
11 comments:
funny story! i like how you entwine it with the photos. all yummy!
you funny!
What's a "cunk"?
What's a "cunk"???
Ok first off.. I am dying with laughter, and I think my head just "exploded" trying to keep it together rereading this story, and then seeing all your beautiful jewelry! Man it was like two portions of my brain were equally vying for concentration, ...the verbal and the visual. Love still what you did with those mother of pearl hoops, and gah the gradient ombre effect is wonderful on those hoops, with the czech beads... squeeee... those bird earrings... beautiful. Lastly if any of you ladies ever makes it out to my neck of the woods, you are welcome to be a guest at my table, but I can't promise that the entertainment will be as epic as fanci's story. <3
This is sooo funny...The no-nonsense attitude of the waiter is remarcable :)) A man to my heart.
the prongs...that's exactly how i thought you made them!! a leeeetle bit closer to being able to read your mind MWHAHAHAHHA ;)
the seashell hoop earrings are my favorite of the bunch. so nice!
OMG. You and your family are a sit-com waiting to happen. The first time I had Vietnamese food was in this big resturant upstairs from a supermarket in Richmond (where the Viet community is) - people all had to sit on long tables and everything was realllllly dirty, and this old lady behind the counter was shouting orders to everyone 'OKAY YOU SIT DERE- ONE LUNCH FOR YOU' and then she'd yell the order in Vietnamese to the frenzied kitchen out the back (who kept fighting), and I sat down next to a STRANGER OMG SOCIAL PHOBIA AHOY and thought 'why the hell do my mates love this place?' and then the food came, and lo- Heaven spoke. And since then it is my favourite kind of food forever.
Jewelry is coronary inducing as usual. Oh these golden whites n shit, I'm so into them at the moment and I consider it offensive that you're doing it better than me. So...yeah. Don't stop though- I'll get through it.
The Jesus on that last one reminds me of this meme:
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/sudden-clarity-clarence
hahahaha. Love the story (as well as your jewelry)! I'll probably think of pobeecheekahfee every time I walk into a Vietnamese restaurant FOREVER from now on. I live in multi-cultural Hawaii, where heavy accents are common. I wouldn't have it any other way. To me, they're add flavor to life, and it'd be so boring without them. No need subscribe to brain training websites. Just go to Chinatown and concentrate on deciphering accents.
HA,HA,HA!!
I remember my sister and I, we used to go to a Chinese restaurant in Brazil and for all the times, as soon as we arrive and even before make ourselves comfortable in the chair the Chinese waiter asked:
_ Rolinbolin?
this is his abbreviation for "rolinho bolinho"or Spring rolls..
Loved reading this post and also went back and read about the prongs and that whole bit about Fanci's line of DIY at the craft stores. Now that was some funny shit. Vietnamese is hands down THE best cuisine! I make at home and have my fav local joints. I don't have a funny accent though.
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