Little Saigon With Hannah

Tonight I had my first ever meet-up with a blog reader! Hannah emailed me after realizing that I work down the street from where she lives and while we originally planned to grab lunch one day, our schedules got mixed up and we ended up grabbing dinner instead.

The spot of choice was Little Saigon in St. Louis’ Central West End area. I’d never been but Hannah suggested it and I am a huge fan of Asian food.

Hannah just graduated and is looking for a job working with a non-profit in either New York City or Boston. She has an impressive resume, so of you guys know of anything, let me know!! We chatted nonstop about running (she runs crazy distances Skinny Runner style), our parents being doctors, and growing up in St. Louis. It’s crazy how much we had in common, but I guess that’s to be expected with two people that love healthy living blogs.

The similarities presented themselves right away when we were brought menus. The meal she recommended was the exact one I had my eye on. Further, we both wanted to split an order of spring rolls to start. When I requested the vegetarian spring rolls the waiter asked, “fried or soft?”

Hannah and I shot each other a quick glance and then said in unison “soft!”.

These were perfectly light and fresh and the dipping sauce was thick and sweet. Note: Hannah is much better at using chopsticks than I am.

For our meals, we both ordered the “Rau Chay Ðau Hu Nau: Tofu, Snow Peas, Taro Stalks, Mushrooms, and Napa Cabbage cooked in Clay Pot and Served with Jasmine or Brown Rice”.

The waiter asked us “jasmine or brown rice?”, and without missing a beat we answered “brown!” Gotta love it.

This big bowl of steamed tofu and vegetables in a lightly salty broth was my heaven – any time someone puts a big bowl of veggies in front of me I’m a happy camper! And Hannah thought to ask for some sriracha because she’s a genius.

I mixed a big spoonful of the brown rice into my bowl and proceeded to devour. My chopstick skills got a little better as I picked up the big chunks of perfectly cooked vegetables. I really enjoyed the dish and would definitely order it again. It’s the type of meal that feels special while still being healthy and light.  We both managed to finish our bowls, which is surprising considering we the amount of talking going on!

As we finished our bowls we realized we were both sweating like pigs! We sat outside because the weather was finally cooling off, but in reality it was probably still 90 degrees. Combine that with a hot dinner and we were starting to drip 🙂

It was so great to meet Hannah and get to try a new restaurant at the same time. I’m sad that I’m moving soon and won’t get to hang out with her much, but with luck she’ll be heading to the East Coast soon too. Thanks, Hannah, for a fun night!

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I have to be up early for a volunteer project tomorrow, so probably won’t do anything big tonight. Except I might go to fro-yo by myself and that’s always a big deal. Have a great night!!

• Bloggers – have you ever met one of your readers before?
  
• Readers – have you ever reached out and set up a meeting with one of your favorite bloggers? Do it!