About Anything and Everything: Cambodia: Eats!

I was actually not that excited about trying Cambodian cuisine because most of the blogs that I’ve read said that it’s kind of bland. Well, comparing Khmer food to Thai…that’s probably true. But I was pleasantly surprised because I kind of liked it. My Filipino taste buds easily adjusted to Khmer cooking and most restaurants served good portions and that made A and I happy.

There was the lunch in Samroh Srah Srang Restaurant while taking a break from the temple tours. I was quite hesitant to have our meal there because not one tourist was in sight and my gauge for a good restaurant is when it is flocked by people. I have to really commend Soryar, he sure does know where to bring us.

The Angkor beer ad made A happy!

Loved these…sweet and salty peanuts.

Sweet and sour pork spare ribs. I’m not into sweet sauce but the crunch of the pork was definitely worth it!

Ginger Chicken…the ginger bits were crunchy, the chicken fillets were tender.

Fish amok. Amok is the national dish of Cambodia, it’s chicken or fish cooked in coconut cream.

Eat-all-you-KANIN! Soryar said that Cambodians love rice so much that most, if not all, restaurants offer unlimited rice servings.

These dishes were too mild for my Filipino palate so what’s a girl to do? I asked for patis (fish sauce), lime (they don’t have calamansi) and chili (got nice red ones). Soryar said that I should put fresh garlic in my “sawsawan” (it’s a Cambodian thing). I politely declined because the Pinoy in me knows that fresh garlic is best with vinegar. Hehe!

And we also had a taste of Khmer merienda (snacks!).

Sticky rice cake wrapped in banana leaves, much like our suman!

But with a surprise inside…a banana!

A downed his rice roll with an energy drink.

I remember Sam, our driver and guide for the day, made a stop in one of the stalls by the highway and…

Bought us snacks…again!

Another Khmer snack cooked in a bamboo!

I was scared to take a bite…the black spots looked like huge flies to me!

I didn’t want to eat that rice cake but Sam was so nice buying them for us so the least I could do was try it, right? Wrong! It wasn’t THAT awful namanl, just bland and tasteless. It sure could use a lot of sugar or kahit na salt. I ate half of what was offered to me and was able to get over the taste (or lack thereof) and continued pretending that I liked it just because Sam’s act of generosity was so heart-warming. Oo, plastic ako like that! Hahaha!

We also had a taste of a Khmer buffet when Soryar booked us in Angkor Mondial. This dinner buffet also included an Apsara show. An Apsara in the Khmer language means “Heavenly Angel” so it was a dinner buffet while being entertained by dancing angels.

The salad spread.

Traditional Khmer cuisine.

Loved dessert! But I think they used coconut milk instead of just plain milk in this “leche flan”.

This was what I enjoyed the most! Yummy green mangoes!

And this was what I dipped the mangoes in. Chili salt!

We were almost done with dinner when the show started. The costumes were exquisite. All dance numbers symbolize a story. A and I were mesmerized. We couldn’t take our eyes off their hands…the movement they made, bending their wrists and pointing their dainty fingers at every angle. A also said that I DO look like an Apsara. So that means I look like an angel??? Ako na ang magsasabi na HINDE. Hahaha! Well, he said that it’s my eyes…ang mata ko na malalaki at parang isda kasi sobra daw magkalayo. Hahaha!

I think we had the best seats that evening. Thanks, Soryar!

The girl (chicken) is Cambodia and the boy (monster) is Thailand.

They have small feet!

They almost look the same. With elaborate make-up on their creamy white skin.

Loved the costumes!

See the hand movement

And our last dinner in Siem Reap was in Khmer Kitchen along Pub Street. I love Khmer Kitchen! Such great value. Food is good and relatively cheap. And the staff were so nice. You gotta have at least one meal in Khmer Kitchen when you’re in Siem Reap.