imisstony.com

I've continued to be incredibly lazy in Moscow. I went out for a potato and sandwich for lunch and came back for a long nap. I was feeling a little miserable so I decided to take some dough my Uncle Binh sent me and have a great Birthday dinner... albeit by myself, sadly.

I decided that some comfort food was in order so I tracked down a Vietnamese restaurant nearby called Viet Cafe. It was a hip little place with large photos of scenery from Vietnam on the walls, a huge fish tank, and waitresses in traditional Vietnamese clothing (though everyone there was Russian).

To start I had a fresh glass of orange juice followed by fried spring rolls. They weren't bad. I actually missed the taste of nuoc cham. Then I had a bowl of Pho Ga (nowhere near as big as the bowls in California) which was pretty tasty. Very thin slices of chicken in a good broth of green onion, red onion, and cilantro. No sprouts and peppers here. Also, no 'rooster sauce' at these tables. For dessert, the waitress suggested a banana cake that wasn't too bad. It had sesame seeds sprinkled on top which I thought was a nice contrast with the sweet syrup and fruit on top. I finished my meal with a cup of Vietnamese coffee (not nearly enough condensed milk in it for my taste). Overall, a fantastic birthday meal.

My mood hadn't really improved all that much on the walk back to the hostel but I found out there's free wifi here so I've been distracted with uploading photos and videos. Everyone's gone to bed early. I'm still considering a hunt for some nightlife but we'll see.

(I didn't take any photos of the restaurant or the meal but above, there's a picture I snapped of the first McDonald's in Russia at Pushkin Square. It's been remodeled since it opened in 1990. It's by far the fanciest fast food place I've ever been to. There were hundreds of people eating there, too. Apparently it's the busiest Mickey D's on Earth, serving 40,000 people per day! How these girls stay so fit here, I don't know.)

Labels: Food, Russia