Soup Salutations (In Praise of Pho)

Thank you for the wonderful article about pho (“Life, Love and Pho,” by Mai Pham, July 16). Having been raised by a Vietnamese mother, I am extremely familiar with that glorious soup of the homeland.

My fondest memories include awakening on a late Saturday morning to my mother’s huge stock pot simmering on the stove, resplendent with charred onions and ginger, beef marrow bones and floating medallions of star anise. My mom would immediately set a bowl in front of me, layering lean wafer-thin slices of beef on rice noodles and slowly pouring over scalding hot broth. While I squeezed lime (I like half a lime), my mother would hover over my shoulder, dosing my bowl with generous squirts of fish sauce. The experience is as close to God we mere mortals can get.

My best friend, an Anglo who during high school frequented my house and ate my mother’s soup, claims pho is ambrosia. On weekends his battle cry of “Pho Tai!” is echoed throughout his apartment complex.

I moved to San Diego two years ago and immediately sought out the noodle shops and was happy to find many. I spent two years as a young child in Little Saigon in Westminster, where there are more shop signs in Vietnamese than English, and love the fact that pho shops and Vietnamese restaurants abound in California.

Thank you for the memorable reading experience. I feel much richer as a result.

KEVIN KLEIN

San Diego

My parents are both “bac ky,” and the historical references that Mai Pham used made me proud to be from the North [Vietnam]. Your article brought some tears to my eyes. Maybe it’s because I have never been back to Vietnam since I was 1.

DAT BUI

La Can~ada Flintridge

What a great blend of food and history in one article.

In Vietnam, I never had a chance to try the local food. They did not let us off the base at Cu Chi in 1967; it was a bit too dangerous. I was disappointed because I had read a lot about Vietnam before arriving.

[Mai Pham’s story] rekindled that curiosity and made me hungry! The next time I see a Vietnamese restaurant, I will stop for a bowl of pho.

BOB PETERS

Torrance