14.09.08: Polenta, and pho

SHE SAYS: I prepared a gorgeous meal of baked fish with herbs, and roast beets with avo, plus the aformentioned polenta with corn kernels - BUT, halfway through the cooking came down with bad tummy cramps and, erm, lots of visits to the loo. Amidst all the turbulence, the polenta was the only thing that even remotely appealed. It did its job as sickie food, s'all I can say. Except: I'm fairy certain this is the result of last nite's Thai terror - apparently food poisoning can manifest in your gut up to 48 hours later in most cases.

HE SAYS: Having indulged in some heavy meals of late I was looking for something a little lighter and I found it at Kim Fung, a little out of the way Chinese place at the end of a dark strip mall and another recommendation (thanks Blair).

Unfortunately I got all flustered and ordered the wrong thing, I was there to sample this thang called PHO, so when asked what I wanted after having just sat down I requested the very first PHO item on the menu, consisting of rare pieces of steak, brisket, tendon and tripe??? I know, I know it sounds disgusting, and the tripe was a white chewy fatty substance and really gross, also the tendon tasted as nice as it sounds - not good. The broth was pretty tasty though and I did my best to navigate the bowl's murky waters, searching and eating everything but the aforementioned nasty bits. I emptied out the accompanying plate of mint, lime, bean sprouts and also green peppers which added a little bit of aromatic wonderfulness to the meal, except the green peppers were extremely hot and having bit into one I proceeded to guzzle down a whole glass of water before fishing out the remaining green devils and throwing them out the pool.

After such a to-do I ended up quite enjoying my first PHO. The meal came to less then the price of an M&S sandwich. So, while I cursed the choice I'd made I marvelled at the value, of the food and also my judgment.