it feels like a soup day

but the soup I wanted is gone! To my dismay, Hi-Tea is closed... for renovations? They certainly don't serve the best pho but they serve a pretty decent soup at a happy price. The service is friendly and the food comes out quickly. And it's just a hop, skip, and jump away from work. Besides, it's not like I can go all the way to Turtle Tower and back just to get the beef and noodle goodness that is pho.

Found out that Perilla on Mission Street - usually known for its garlic noodles and papaya salad - serves a noodle soup with rice vermicelli. Sounds like pho, except that the broth is chicken broth and not beef broth...

that soup is considerably lighter than a real pho.
I like the good amount of meat but I'd appreciate an actual bowl,
like how Hi-Tea packs their soups.

different tastes

This is Five Spice Chicken Noodle Soup... the taste is nowhere near as strong or hearty as Hi'Tea's pho but it is pleasantly garlicky. I really would've liked a more bowl-ish bowl from which to eat the soup but I think the vertical orientation of this container helped keep the soup hot. Still, not worth the $10+ I spent (including tax.) That's a bold number to ask for pho.