A couple of weeks ago, I decided to treat myself to a looong overdue pedicure. While I was enjoying it, I had the pleasure of sparking a conversation with a beautiful African woman who I assume was in traditional Guinean clothing. She was in a rush because she was supposed to be attending an event at that time, but it was running late.
During the conversation, I learned that she was recently divorced, had a daughter and was a nurse who travels a lot for work. She informed me and the owner of the salon who was doing her nails that she traveled to various Asian countries including Vietnam, the owner’s home country. She began talking about all the places and the cuisine that she had tried. She loved Thai and Vietnamese food, but was not a big fan of Korean food.
As I listened to her, I began to think about all the dinners I had at my favorite Thai restaurant in State College. I agreed with her that Thai food was delicious, but realized that I had no idea what Vietnamese or Korean food looked or tasted like. I was on a mission to find out and a few days later, I bought a Groupon voucher for the nearby Oriental Pearl Restaurant. It took me a couple of weeks to utilize it, but it was definitely worth the wait.
Upon entering, you are quickly enveloped in the dim lighting, which is perfect for a date night. The aromas greet you at the door and you are entertained by the soft sounds of classical music, which was shocking yet very relaxing and soothing.
The girl who waited on us was so pleasant. She was nice and very knowledgeable about the menu. She even stopped me from ordering the Vietnamese rolls after I told her I didn’t eat meat. It has pork in it.
I ordered the vegetarian rolls and the Pho Tam, which has shrimp in it and it was so good. The boyfriend ordered some barbeque rolls and Pho with flank steak and some other meat, which he quickly voiced his like for it. That completely surprised me because the reason it took so long to use my voucher is because he really doesn’t like trying new stuff.
I am all for it and trying this restaurant showed me why it’s nice to switch things up. The food was good and delicious and the portions were huge. I ate dinner and had lunch for two other days. It was delicious and I will be returning in the near future.
