Cuisine-bashing

I really don't like Asian food. By Asian, I don't mean all the food that originates from the continent of Asia, but more precisely, food from anywhere east of India. There are a number of reasons why Asian food fails to tickle my palate, but I think the main reason is that it seems to be highly lacking in my two favorite food groups: bread and cheese.

Chinese food bores me to pieces. I liked sushi the first time I tried it, but now I'd rather eat anything else. I've tried Thai, but it is a solid meh. My boyfriend is Indonesian, and every time I go to a cultural event with him, I starve a little bit inside because almost everything is too spicy.

These predilections of mine make things difficult when eating with others. Sometimes people want to eat at an Asian restaurant, and I am never happy about it. I usually tolerate it for the sake of the team, but there is one Asian food that I will never bother with again. It's pho.

Have you ever eaten pho? If you are anything like me up through last year, you have not. I had never heard of it until I moved to Maryland, but around here, it seems to be everywhere. I lived here for 7 years without ever trying it (and, knowing how I feel about Asian cuisine in general, I didn't feel any urge to do so), but eventually I was dragged along by some coworkers to a new pho restaurant in town.

Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup, and apparently it's pronounced "fuh." Basically it consists of rice noodles in water with some vegetables thrown in. If you are a meat eater, you get meat in it, and maybe you will taste something. But if you're a vegetarian, you might as well drink a bowl of hot water. You might be able to get it with tofu, but tofu has no flavor.

My coworkers go out to get pho at least once every couple of weeks. I never go with them. Instead, I sit in my office feeling lonely. Sometimes I write blog posts deriding the food that has ruined my social life. If I had to pick the single Asian food that I dislike more than any other, it is pho. Pho sure.