Pho usually comes with only broth, noodles, onion, and protein in the bowl; the rest of the concoction is up to the consumer, who is provided an array of flavor and texture components: a bottle each of sriracha and Hoisin sauce, jalapeno slices, bean sprouts, chili paste, lime wedges for juice, and Thai basil.
Sometime after that first visit, I learned that basil can be rooted from stems and cuttings. Armed with this knowledge, I tried a one-time experiment: use the extra basil stems from my pho trip to grow a full plant. I gently smuggled out my bounty on the next trip, wrapped in a paper napkin. Upon return to the office, I set it upright in a cup of water and brought it home that night.
A couple days later, to my amazement, my stem had tiny roots starting to appear. I waited a day or two before planting it in dirt. Once I did, it had classic transplant shock, but bounced back a little while later.
Since then, I’ve made smuggling out basil cuttings my pho ritual. It’s not always a success. Some restaurants pre-chop the basil for you, leaving no large-enough stem to work from. Others just have basil that never roots for me, whether due to freshness (or lack thereof) or perhaps commercial farming practices meant to combat guerrilla gardeners. Perhaps there’s even some more mystical explanation, as if the basil’s livelihood predicted the course of friendship with my dining partner(s). Whatever the case, it’s a random little thing I do and enjoy sharing with others. I highly recommend giving it a try.