Over a leisurely lunch of pho with a side of fresh spring rolls and a pot of lotus tea yesterday, I indulged in a spot of people-watching. Subject in point was a soft-spoken Caucasian male who arrived when I was three quarters done with the pho.
He ordered quickly, evidently famished. The spring rolls arrived first, followed by iced tea, then a piping hot bowl of chicken pho. He dug into the spring rolls, munching on them furiously as he stirred the noodles to cool it down. In between bites, he'd carefully fish out the garnishes - chopped chilli, lemon grass, bits of spring onion, and the seeds of the five pieces of lime he squeezed in.
Before I was done with my bowl of pho, he'd started on his. Then I noticed he was just armed with a spoon and wondered how he'd pick up the noodles. For a while, all he did was drink the soup and eat the chicken pieces (while looking very morose).
Finally, he picked up his chopsticks. By this time I had given up all pretence being occupied with what's left of my food and was most avidly watching out of the corner of my eye. He held the chopsticks so awkwardly that there was no chance he'd be able to pick anything up. I was very tempted to impart proper chopstick skills but y'know, social decorum and all, so I continued to observe his clumsy attempts to pick noodles up.
It was only when he stabbed the chopsticks into the now dry-ish pile of noodles, pushed it onto his spoon, and shoveled it into his mouth that I realised this whole time he had been very strategic about eating his pho. Was so amused and impressed that I couldn't stop a grin from breaking out and pretend it was due to a text I just received.
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