as i mentioned last week, i was invited by cammy to go to a restaurant opening! a new vietnamese spot opened in mgm national harbor called saigon street. i didn’t really know what i was getting myself into when i said “yes,” i just knew i wanted to spend time with her.
when i got to her house, she and her sister loaned me an áo dài, a traditional vietnamese dress. cammy was so cute – she made sure her sister pulled out a blue one for me, since that’s my favorite color. it was so extremely hot that day, and the dress made me feel it moreso, but it was so stunning that it was completely worth it.
when we got there i was so enamored with the decorations for the restaurant. the lanterns and the perfectly bloomed orchids made my heart melt. (the orchids were real, by the way!) i’m a big fan of colors, so you know i stood there a while to get the perfect shot of the decor.
truly, it would not have been cammy and me if we didn’t take endless selfies. one of my favorite things about spending time with her is that she also likes to take the same picture over and over until we look perfect. i literally don’t know what i’d do without her!
we displayed an amazing amount of self restraint and waited a while before chowing down on some of the treats. the food was magnificent! these little rolls were, for me, a new addiction – i definitely stuffed my face much more than i should have.
after eating for a bit, we went exploring and both of us had never really been around the mgm hotel area. i found this very interesting shoe sculpture with a lion on the front (maybe a dragon?) we had a stare off.
even though it was so hot outside, we did take some time out on the balcony. we were able to enjoy a lion dance performance (which one of my good friends was actually in!) unfortunately because of the huge crowd and the excitement, i wasn’t able to take one good picture. which was such a bummer. well, sometimes life is about experiencing things in person, so maybe you should go out and try to watch one sometime!
the lighting was not amazing, but we found the official event backdrop, and so we had to take a picture! by this point i felt so sticky from the humidity, i was barely able to take any good pictures, but this one turned out pretty nice.
once the ribbon was cut, (i was too far back to see the moment) we got together in our áo dài and took a picture. i learned there’s a specific pose when wearing these, which was really interesting. cammy told me it was to “highlight the curves.” the restaurant owner, chef gene nguyen, is in the center in the bright pink dress. it was a really fun experience!
in the aftermath, there was so much confetti on the floor. i absolutely love confetti, and something about the view made me feel like the memories of the fun had that day would never be forgotten. i really can’t thank cammy enough for letting me tag along for this event – it was a really enchanting experience.
kaffinejo's musings 