Serendipity

Serendipity: the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something else entirely.

My fortune cookie from Mai's today read, "Now is the best time for you to be spontaneous. Serendipity!"

I had considered being spontaneous today, but with all the heavy rains, I decided to come home after lunch instead. Maybe I'll be spontaneous tomorrow in between my dentist and hair appointments, or Thursday after I work out again.

I went out in the rain this morning to work out, then met Billy for lunch. By the time we got to Mai's, it was really pouring down and the thunder and lightning had started. Luckily we got there before the lunch crowd and were able to get a parking spot right in front of the door.

After studying the lunch specials, I finally decided on Garlic Sauteed Shrimp with fried rice, a Vietnamese roll, and chicken soup on the side. The shrimp was good, but not something I'd want often. It was mostly sauce with onion and scallion slices and 6 shrimp. It wasn't as spicy as I thought it would be. The fried rice was really good, different from what you get at a Chinese or Japanese restaurant. It was sweeter and had more seasoning. The soup was also sweet. It was mostly broth with a few pieces of chicken, some rice noodles, and some cilantro. I think next time I'll try something other than the soup; I'm not a fan of cilantro. Of course, I loved the Vietnamese roll.

Billy chose Lemon Grass Beef. He had told me that it didn't have a strong lemon flavor, as the name "lemon grass" indicates, but I was still a little leery of ordering it. He gave me a few bites of it and I loved it! I think I'm going to try that or the lemon grass chicken next time so I can get a better idea of the flavor. Still, the coconut curry chicken dish is hard to beat!

I guess discovering I liked the lemon grass beef was serendipitous after all.