Before last night, I’d never had Vietnamese cuisine other than pho noodles. I met up with a couple of friends (whose initials become the Acronym T.W.A.T.) and headed into “Little Saigon”. It had been a while since I’d last dined in the international district but the Tamarind Tree was by far the best foodie experience I’ve had there.

It’s a hidden jewel in a parking lot surrounded with various markets and stores. I wondered how many people drove by each day, not knowing the treasure that was snuggled in the back corner of the lot. It was a nice spring afternoon, sunny with just a slight breeze and we were early (and lucky) enough to snag a table outside. The smell of spices and herbs danced around me and made my stomach shout loudly in protest… I was hungrier than I had anticipated. The TWAT Team started out with Café s?a (Vietnamese coffee) and I had a Trà Thái Tea. It was heaven to the senses after the past weeks consisting on mostly frozen meals.

The appetizers were mouthwatering concoctions of freshness. First we had chicken skewers with a mango salsa. It was obvious how good it was because only a few sprigs of herbs were left after we were done. Next up, we had prawn spring rolls with a tasty peanut sauce before our main dishes made it to the table. The menu is so extensive that I don’t recall exactly what TWAT ordered. TW had a variety plate with several different things and AT had a DIY dish with steamed rice paper and a large helping of fresh herbs and I had a garlic shrimp dish. We manage to fit a sampling of 4-mini scoops of their homemade ice cream in afterwards. The really amazing part is that our tab only came to $65 (trust me, it was a lot of food)- for three drinks, two apps, three meals and a dessert! I guess it goes without saying that I will certainly be heading back to the Tamarind Tree.

As we were leaving, I confessed that I felt a little guilty having such a fine meal when I knew my love was living on room service. At least I have another nice place to take her once she’s back home. In just a few more days I’ll have my arms around her again and the sun shines brighter with that thought.