Georgi, the youngest, with eyes crossed loudly, quickly slurped down the last drop from her straw, easily beating Lily and me. The issue didn't rear its ugly head until 15 minutes after leaving the restaurant as we were approaching a busy intersection with a stop light, Georgi grumbled "dad, my tummy hurts," followed by two burps, one long and deep, the other short and shallow - I fumbled to roll down her window from the front seat, just in time for her to poke her head out of the window, notice cars next to us, then with eyes bulging, frantically searching for a less embarrassing locale, retreat back inside the car to unload every last bit of our lunch, including 32 ounces of Thai Tea, all over my back seat. When I say it looked like a crime scene, I'm not exaggerating. As mentioned, this was not one of my proudest moments as an adult, father, or even human being; and since that infamous day, Georgi has sworn off Thai food, and Thai Tea - and honestly, who could blame her.
I was snapped out of my sad recollection as the server dropped off an order of Summer Rolls, stratified with red pork, rice, carrots, lettuce, green onions, and cilantro next to a pair of peanut and rice wine vinegar based dipping sauces. Then came my large bowl of Tom Yum Miso Ramen, teeming with red and black specks, thick noodles, shrimp, pork, crab, egg, cilantro, and briny fishcake. I twirled the noodles around my chopsticks, slurping and sucking everything in sight; it was divine, but I could only eat a quarter of the bowl. Still, I was in love with the ramen at Thai Taste.