“Just scallions.”

“No lime.”

“Give me everything.”

These are the varied requests I got while manning the condiment station during ViSA’s spectacular night of Unlimited Pho, Vietnam’s most famous dish.  This God-send alternative to dining hall “Pho noodle bar” took place last Saturday at the Af-Am House. For the most part, the third request was most common.  That is, people who had never tasted Pho before (gasp) were very eager to get the authentic experience.

If you are one of the people who are unfamiliar to Pho, it contains, in addition to the basic rice noodle, sweet/salty/sour broth, and chicken or tofu:

-cilantro

-chopped scallions

-chopped onions

-1-2 slices of lime

-bean sprouts

-hoisin & Sriracha

(Note to self: never write a blog post about Pho late at night.)

During the event, the line snaked the length of the room, with hungry Pho-lovers eagerly lining up multiple times.  These guests came from all over the Yale community: Vietnamese Yalies, students from other AASA cultural groups, non-Asian students, families from the ALIVE program, faculty members, and graduate students (LOTS of grad students) were among the faces of Pho Night.

At one point, the kitchen ran out of Pho noodles and there was quite a wait! But instead of angrily leaving or sitting down, people persisted in standing and waiting. This is a testament to the power of Pho.

All in all, Pho Night was a success and ViSA sincerely thanks everyone who helped make their big event so warm and, well, delicious.

Enjoy the photos below!