My daughter and I love Pho and have had some funny experiences on our mission to find the best. From being offered forks to use to eat our soup (we stuck with the chop sticks) to watching well-prepared mamas use tiny food scissors to cut the noodles for their toddlers, we have learned a lot about the art of eating Pho. We have endless ways of making ourselves laugh as we substitute the word "pho" for "for". It felt only fitting to host a Galentine's Day Supper Club with her friends with a pho theme...
"I love you pho real" was a fun way to tie in Valentine's Day and Galentine's Day- and introduce friends to pho who may not have tried it yet. If you are unfamiliar with pho, it is a Vietnamese soup with rice noodles, broth, herbs. You can add a choice of protein like chicken, beef, shrimp, tofu, etc.
To decorate for the dinner, I found the most perfect designs from Susan on Etsy...her shop is called When I Was Your Age. Susan was so kind to send placemats and cups as a gift to us to use for Supper Club.
The red and pink chinoiserie patterns in her shop were the inspiration for the table setting. I wanted it to be casual but really beautiful.
Adding blue and white to create the table centerpiece was an easy decision to pull in Asian accents. Tulips and orchids were the flowers that I chose for the colors and look. And, then I contacted Tara at Bambella Cookies and asked if she could make a set of cookies to match our theme... needless to say, Bambella Cookies made each one an edible work of art!
My daughter and I also hung icicle lights on the dining room walls so give the room a warm glow. It created a nice little ambiance- I think we kept them up long after the party! :)
I set the tables with a plate and a napkin on top- just like the restaurants do when they serve pho. Instead of making the soup, I left it to the professionals and ordered from a Vietnamese restaurant in town called "Just Pho". I had the tables ready so that we could serve it directly to the girls as soon as it arrived at the house. I had the girls choose chicken, beef, or veggie before the party, and my husband picked up the order from the restaurant.
I also ordered several dozen egg rolls- and should have ordered several dozen more. The girls loved the egg rolls! I wasn't even able to get a photo of them before they were gone.
The miniature orchids and the cut tulips came from Trader Joe's. They were perfect for the party!
I took lots and lots of photos of the cookies...they were amazingly detailed and so pretty.
We added helium-filled balloons to the dining room and let them float randomly on the ceiling. It was an easy and really pretty way to add some color to the room.
For drinks, we served water and also offered sparkling Welch's apple cider. I found it in pink and so was happy to have it match the party! I added it to my drink bucket with ice and hung a party garland behind the drink bucket.
I really love the red, pink, green, and blue together. The patterns are so pretty together, too!
Here is a quick picture of the pho that we served. If you would like to try making it yourself, I recommend this pho recipe from Homemade and Yummy.
As usual, I loved taking photos of the cookies. I am always amazed at the precision of Bambella Cookies. That chinoiserie pattern is stunning. The pagodas are gorgeous, and the trees and figures are perfect!
I think an Asian-inspired Galentine's Day is a really fun way to try something new and enjoy food and conversation. I could happily host this theme every month!
"I love you, pho real" is a fun sentiment and a fun party theme! I hope you are inspired to create a Galentine's gathering. I am always happy to answer questions or offer tips! I turned my comments back on after having them off for a long time. You are welcome to leave me a message below in the comments! I would love to hear from you!
Have a great week!
Cheers xo,
Lydia
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