Anh and Chi Vietnamese food, Mr. Hot Potato Chips, cheque, crab and roe soup

Anh and Chi upscale hipster Vietnamese restaurant website

It’s Talk Like A Pirate Day 2021 today! I reduced my WordPress Drafts Google document down to 1293 pages from 1417 pages, which took an hour and a half before I had to leave. Lots of birthday lists and overwhelming contents! I went out at 3:50 on a 401 to meet Jon, Harmony, Ayler, Hiero, Beckett, Mom, Dad, and Winnie at Anh and Chi (3388 Main Street), that upscale Vietnamese restaurant in the neighborhood. Jon texted me when I was at 25th to say that he’d made a reservation (I didn’t mention the cost), and when I got to the restaurant, they’d quoted him 35 minutes to wait. I decided to go to Shoppers after texting Jon to let Winnie know, and bought some NEW limited-time Ruffles Double Crunch Hot Wings chips. When I got back across the street, Mom and Dad were there, and gave me $50 and a big cheque in a lucky money red envelope. Hiero greeted us a couple of minutes later with “HAHAHAHA”! I got a notification from Boston Pizza saying that I had ONE WEEK to redeem my free 2021 birthday dessert offer, so maybe I’ll go out to Ironwood again on Wednesday, trying to coordinate with Randy at Royal Bank of course.

We got a table outside with heat lamps, but Beckett noticed the fire inside them and was also afraid of being rained on. I told him to look up at the glass coverings, and said that his hair probably wouldn’t get wet. I think that if I talk to him after he eats, it’ll go better since we talked for a bit about his preschool teacher Miss Carol and making friends at Saint Giles. Actually, he could be a fellow introvert – yay! Ayler threatened me with Steph, the police, and five years’ worth of jail time if I didn’t tell him how I’d vote in tomorrow’s election. I told him that it was private information. and we discussed pipelines and political parties briefly. Steph said that he was a silly boy when I told her. Winnie showed up later WITH AN ENTIRE APPLE PIE from Breka Bakery for me, when I’d literally emailed her to say not to get me anything because student life is tough enough on the budget. I guess it’s because she just got here from Hong Kong! Jon’s crew got me some Golden Duck Singapore Salted Egg Crab seaweed tempura / Lays Beef Noodle Flavor chips / Perfectly Hot Mr. Hot Potato Chips / Lays Grilled Squid Flavor chips. Very interesting, just like the Grandma’s Tomato Soup with roe and crab claw that I ordered!

We talked about Steph coming next week (Mom knows and says she’s happy about it), Mom not talking much at all now and needing help with even the easiest Sudoku puzzles (and thinking she saw Auntie Wing – a hallucination?!), and Mom needing lots of help getting up from being seated. Conversed about Ayler’s Grade 4 Math Made Easy book, Ayler knowing about square roots and ALGEBRA (?!), masks being “encouraged” for Grade 2 and mandated for Grade 4, Jon seeing Wesley Tse at 8:30 tonight at Uncle Abe’s, umbrellas, Nikku’s, and Nathan asking about my friends birthday dinner. Well, I’d have scheduled that for next weekend, but now Steph’s in town. Jon says he’ll organize one big dinner on Sunday night next week, on the 26th. The boys discussed racecats and dragon monster trucks, of course. Since Dad had to take Mom home, I was fine with taking transit home. I only had to wait ten minutes on a Sunday for the 3, and got to Brighouse a couple minutes before the 407 came, getting home at 8:30. Not bad!

I did talk to Nathan about my friends birthday dinner: Birthdays extend until the last wish is given, as Andy Yuen told me in 2004, ALMOST TWO DECADES AGO! Note to self: Next time I’m here at Anh and Chi, I should try the Bún Bò Huế – Spicy Noodle Soup! Sliced beef brisket, Vietnamese ham, pork hock, thick rice vermicelli noodles, onions, cilantro, purple cabbage, and rich and spicy lemongrass broth.

NEW fiery skull and crossbones icon!

NEW fiery skull and crossbones icon, enlarged! I couldn’t pass up the QUIRKY coincidence of Talk Like A Pirate Day, hahaha.

Limited-time Ruffles Double Crunch Hot Wings chips!

Bánh Khot: Crispy Prawn Cakes for my 2021 birthday. Crispy turmeric cakes filled with prawns, coconut milk, and green onions. Served with lettuce, Vietnamese herbs, Mẹ’s Chilli Fish Sauce.

Bún Riêu Cua: Grandma’s Crab Tomato Noodle Soup for my 2021 birthday. Crab meat and roe soufflé, fried tofu, crab claw, fresh tomatoes, green onions, rice vermicelli noodles, pork bone broth, shrimp paste. Served with fresh bean sprouts, mixed greens, Vietnamese herbs, and lime.