A KHMER FEAST

We crowed about Italian culinary masterpieces—the cheese, the wine, the gelato. We savoured the falafels in Egypt, the masala dishes of India, and—let’s be honest—nearly everything and anything in between. Food has not been disappointing on this journey, and the food we found in Cambodia has been no exception.

Three words summarize what makes Khmer cuisine so great: fresh, garlic and baay (rice).

In many ways, we’ve found Cambodian (Khmer) food to be quite similar to Vietnamese or Thai food—offering flavours of peanut, pineapple, coconut, and soy sauce (aka, salt). What differentiates Khmer food from that of its neighbours is mostly the spice; here the food is much tamer—especially when compared to Thai food. But what it lack in heat, it certainly compensates for in garlic, sauces (fish, oyster, and/or sweet chili sauce, etc.)

NOTE: Re. garlic, too much is never enough...we’re talking at least one head per meal. It is always sautéed in oil and added to sauces, and it truly is a beautiful thing. And, as always, when everyone’s eating it, then you’re all a winner; you just don’t want to be the odd man out.

(Above: minced garlic)

We’re pretty spoiled here. From Monday to Thursday when we live at Rescue, we have a wonderful woman who comes to cook for us. She is phenomenal (!!!)—both as a chef and a person. Her name is Oye, and she’s as eager to learn English and how to cook western food as we are Khmer. I teach her how to make muffins and icing, and we glean from her the secrets of stir-frys and salads.



As is custom here, every morning Oye goes to market to buy the necessary ingredients for the day’s meals. Whether you go to the finest restaurant in town, to market in search of your own ingredients, or to the corner joint to dine with the locals, it’s all the same: everything was either growing in the ground or running around on the ground 24 hours ago (sometimes they still are...clusters of flapping fish or clucking chickens—enjoying their final hours on earth—are available for the customers’ perusal and selection.) It is every health nut’s paradise: loads of veggies, endless supply of exotic fruit, and bags and bags of rice. That’s it! No MSG. No artificial flavouring. No Trans fats. No preservatives.

(Above: Dragon fruit...similar taste to kiwis)

But if you’re not into preparing your own meal, there is plenty of places to choose from for a meal out on the town.

Restaurants. They’re everywhere. In fact, there’s not a whole lot else to do in this city except eat...which we’re ok with. If you’re wanting to eat on the cheap, there’s many a pho shop to be found. For only $0.75, even the most frugal palettes can be entertained; though, you’re really getting what you pay for here: a plastic lawn chair on the shoulder of some busy street, the owner’s eight-year son wiping tables next to you, dubiously-clean eating utensils, and an even-more-questionable bowl of mystery meat soup. It does the trick.

If you’d rather something a few rungs higher on the culinary ladder, you’ll find hundreds of places that offer the classic Khmer dishes and a few western plates. These are the places we tend to enjoy. Some are good for the atmosphere (ie. a lizard-ridden garden, dining around a swimming pool, a rooftop overlooking the river), a few for the friendly service, and others for their notable specialties (tarantulas al dente, anyone?). All provide a host of flavours that leave you feeling glad to be alive, especially as you pay the bill ($2 to $3/person).

Then there’s those places that have you really dig deep in the wallet...anything over $5. Truthfully, we haven’t been to these places yet, but I’m sure they’re good too. It’s pretty easy to get accustomed to feasting for a buck or two, so when a place asks some atrocious sum, such as $7.00, you’ll have nothing of it!

Bottom line: from the most refined cuisinier, to the tightest penny-pincher, if you’re hungry—or just bored—Cambodia is a good place to be.

But if we want to be where the real action is, we’ll want to head to the market; though this will have to wait for another day...