What Lies Beneath

Saturday was the first truly nippy Fall day. So for lunch, I headed over to Runnymede and St. Clair to Pho Son. This Vietnamese restaurant serves your usual beef noodle soup (pho) and other typical dishes. But it was the "blood congee" (chao long) that I was interested in eating.

The $8 bowl came out looking both large and deceptively placid. But it was the content hidden in the soup that was the star. Although the idea of eating organ meat and blood sausage may deter the squeamish, these were delicious. And they didn't really have a strong flavour to turn off a picky eater. For example, there was no liver. The congee was warm and filling. Unlike Chinese congee, it was less gloopy. Though the portion seemed enormous, I didn't really feel overstuffed. In fact, I had room for a couple of fresh rolls ($4).