A strange transition occurs when you have been in one country for a few months and then travel to another. Those little things that were so familiar all disappear. Suddenly, saying hello or ordering your meal become challenging again. We may also have entered Cambodia with a more negative attitude because of all the the things we heard about theft and rampant overcharging before getting here. Our first few days were rough and we thought we would just move on to Thailand right away. But after a week or so the transition occurred. And now, much to our own surprise, our hearts have been won over by Cambodia.
Muslim woman and husband in fishing village
The is tremendous poverty and suffering here. Certainly there is crime especially in Phnom Pehn. The tuktuk drivers do hassle you when you walk down the street. But it is all done with a smile on their faces and is easy to manage. After a short time it becomes something you laugh at with them as you walk down the street.
Tuk Tuk in Phom Penh
I am learning too about the Khmer Rouge and the terrible genoside that occurred here after the Vietnam War. The political tensions continue as riots and death happen in Phnom Penh while I write this post. Fortunately we were not affected by the riots although we did see the protestors march through the city.
We crossed the border from Laos receiving a 30 day Visa without issue. After a hair raising ride lasting 12 hours in local taxis (minivan packed full of people and their belongings) on bad roads, we arrived in Phnom Penh. We stayed in the big city for 2 days and then moved on to the small city of Kampot in the south.
Fishing Boats on the Kampot River
While in Phnom Penh we gave our passports to an agency who had them processed at the Thai embassy. This took about 9 days including holidays and weekends. We finally received them in Kampot from a bus driver courier complete with 60 day Visa for Thailand. Total cost was $100US for 2 Visas.
Woman in Muslim fishing village
Unlike our Laos experience, we have difficulty finding the faces of the ethinic minorities here. The Cambodian face has softer features then other southeast Asians and the language is completely different then Laos and Thai. The food too reflects a perhaps more sophisticated palate with less often sugar or burning peppers and more often subtle blends of spices and herbs. We spent most of our almost month in Cambodia trying all of the Khmer specialties. Cambodian food has been influenced in different ways by India, China, Vietnam, and the French. We found curries made with turmeric or coconut, tamarind sauces, and the ever necessary occasional baguette.
We spent many hours wandering through the market in Kampot, our favorite little town in South Cambodia. We were introduced the best parts of Kampot by our friend Jean Louis (https://freebirdtravelblog.com/2013/10/24/festival-friend-and-food-in-luang-prabang/).
How many brooms can you fit on a motorcycle?
We discovered these tasty fried shrimp cakes which are dipped in a spicy sweet sauce. Wrap them in lettuce, dip in the sauce, and take a bite. The woman who cooks them stands right in front of you as you eat. 5 shrimp cakes cost about .50 cents. When Michel asked to take her picture she demanded a dollar which is why you won’t see her picture here. The women vendors in the market are tough and negotiation is often required when a barang (foreigner) is buying anything.
Shrimp cakes at market
I also discovered the dessert section of the market. The women are cooking these deep fried goodies right there so you eat them nice and hot. The inside is full of mild sweet bean paste and the outside is coated with sesame. You can feel your arteries clogging up with each bite but it is gooey goodness all the way.
Deep fried dessert
Ah salt! Ah pepper! I never really understood you before. Right outside of Kampot are fields of pepper and beds of salt. The local women all have their own special bottle full of dried local salt mixed with pepper in their own preferred quantities waiting for you on the table. So many years of eating Morton’s salt and pepper, how was I to know that it would make food taste this good. Also, they cook their food with fresh pepper corns. A subtle hearty taste with a tiny bit of heat.
Kampot Green Pepper
Palm sugar was another revelation. Palm sugar is made by making several slits into the stem of a palm tree and collecting the sap. The sap is then boiled until it thickens. It has a more mellow sweetness than cane sugar.
Palm sugar in the local market
The Khmer use it in some but not all of their traditional recipes. Most noteable might be Bai sach chrouk: Pork and rice. The pork is slow cooked and caramelized, then served over rice. When served at breakfast it came with a fried egg on top. Whether breakfast or later in the day it is always accompanied by a delicious chicken garlic broth and a side of spicy chili sauce.
Carmelized Pork and Rice in front of French Colonial Building
We spent one magnificent week at an Eco Resort outside of Kampot called Genesha. As though we really needed to unwind anymore but unwind we did. Check Genesha out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GaneshaRiversideEcoResortKampot. Stephanie and Emannuell are fantastic hosts. We lived in a perfect little Yurt built on a platform above a secluded river and mangrove. They have a great chef at Genesha, Sam Nang, and every meal was a pleasant surprise.
The first was Koh Kong style beef with crying cauliflower. The name says it all here. So spicy you really do cry while eating it. This was the only really spicy meal we ate in Cambodia. The pieces of beef are tender and in a tangy chill sauce. The cauliflower is a perfect complement to this hearty meal.
Koh Kong style Beef and crying Cauliflower
The Misou “Sam Nang” style contains rice noodles, onions, carrots, and fresh basil. All drenched in a chili sauce with peanuts.
Miso Sam Nang Style
Chicken and minced fresh banana flower salad. The banana flower is cut very thin and mixed with lime, steamed carrots, peanuts, green beens, and a few red peppers sliced thin. Refreshingly good.
Chicken and Banana Flower Salad
Matchou Slak Maka Sat moan is a coconut based khmer curry. What makes it really special are the herbs from the garden. We have not yet been able to identify what these herbs are. We have never seen or tasted them before but the flavor added to the curry is earthy and subtle. This curry contains chicken and morning glory as well. It is not possible to stop eating this once you taste it.
Matchou Slak Maka Sat moan
The four dishes above are traditional Khmer dishes as interpreted by Sam Nang.
A couple of the dishes that Sam prepared for us had a more international appeal. This first is called Parlement Roll. A fried pork roll with crispy skin stuffed with minced pork and herbs in a blanket of creme fraiche. Get ready to take a nap after this one. It is so good you’ll have to eat it all.
Parlementer
The dish called Shrimp Walking in the Garden is a Sam Nang fantasy. The sauce is a coconut curry base with peanuts, shallots, and garlic ground to a paste and all reduced. The vegetables are all battered and deep fried. They are adorned with a shrimp topping and then smothered in the sauce. All of this rests on a bed of French fries. The peanut based curry reduction is a perfect complement to the veggies and shrimp. You will end up dipping those french fries in it until it is all gone.
Shrimp Walking in the Garden
When we were not eating at Genesha we spent time sitting around the table with the local French expats. Michel and all the guys sharing stories of their adventures around the world. me struggling with understanding the French and working to improve my own, yes I can hear some of you chuckling now.. During those conversations we learned about several places around town that serve traditional Khmer food. We spent some time visiting those places as well.
Right next to the old market are some outdoor restaurants across the street from the river. One of them was recommended for a couple of excellent dishes. The first is The Beef in the Bamboo. This beef is slow cooked in the bamboo with herbs and what I assume is a lite bamboo sauce. The result is tender beef with a subtle yet tangy sauce. Pour the concoction over rice or dip the veggies in it and you are in heaven.
Beef in Bamboo
The most surprising and perhaps our favorite meal was Shrimp over Glass Noodles. What is a glass noodle? We are still trying to figure out how they do it. They are crispy rice noodles. Over the top is sweet chili sauce, peanuts, shrimp, and herbs. It is a sweet dish but it’s so much fun to crunch on those crisp noodles in that wonderful sauce.
Shrimp and Glass Noodles
We were referred to another restaurant on a dark street where no tourists go. It it large like a warehouse and the customers actually park their motorbikes in the restaurant. Sit down at one of the tables and order the Crab with Green Pepper Sauce. The city of Kep near to Kampot is well known for its crab and no doubt it was Kep Crab that we were eating that night. The green pepper corns in the tamarind based sauce create a savory mildly spicy flavor. We went back for this one more than one time.
Crab in Kampot Pepper Sauce
Our last stop for Khmer food included a trip into the kitchen to learn proper techniques for frying frog legs. Our host Etienne and his wife Sriet share this meal with us after Sriet taught us how to prepare it. We spent a lovely evening in their restaurant. The first meal was Fried Frog Legs with a Lime Kampot Pepper Sauce. The deep frying techniques demonstrated by Sriet required to create perfectly crispy frog legs were important.
Our hostess and chef
But the key ingredient is the sauce. It is made of lime, local fresh salt, a pinch of palm sugar, and ground Kampot pepper. You can really taste the freshness of the pepper in the sauce.
Lime and Pepper Sauce
Take your crispy yet still very juicy frog leg and dip it in the pepper sauce. The fresh pepper blends perfectly with the mildness of the frog leg meat.
Fried Frog Legs
Our second meal at Etienne’s place was Frog Legs with Ginger and scallions. Ginger, we discovered, is another perfect compliment to the mild and juicy frog leg meat.
Frog Legs with Ginger
They say that to really understand Cambodia you must see Ankor Wat. The ancient ruins built long ago are a reminder of the long lasting reign of these people as the premier culture in the area. It’s true that Ankor Wat has stood the long test of time when so much of the Cambodian culture has been lost during the tragic war and strife here. But we believe that perhaps the best way to experience what remains of the ancient Khmer culture is to eat their glorious food. We’ll come back to Cambodia again and look forward to gaining deeper understanding of this charming country.
Categories: Cambodia Travel, Khmer Food
FreeBirdTravelBlog.com 
Thanks for providing a portal through which we can share your adventures! Wonderful photos and great writing, very descriptive. Very informative and entertaining, I am so enjoying your blog!
Thanks so much Linda!
Hi Claire and Michel, What beautiful mouth watering photos and descriptions! Thank you for sharing that culinary adventure! Now I am very hungry and must go eat! If we ate the way they do we would be so healthy I think. Do you see overweight people in your travels or is it a rare thing for locals to pack on pounds like many of us processed foods eating westerners? We are trying to eat more like your pictures here at home these days but it is hard to do as there are so many opportunities for bad toxic approximation of food here. Love you!
Kathy
Hey Kathy,
Very few overweight people here. Most meals are small and shared around the table. And those are the lucky ones. Many people go hungry here as often as they eat. They use rice as a filler so a little bit of meat or veggies and a couple of big spoons of rice. They do not really even get the concept of multiple courses. It is all pretty healthy stuff other than the rice though.
Love,
Claire
oh my bouddha ! nous aurions visité le cambodge ensembe ? 😉 j’ai ressenti les mêmes impressions, surprenant les khmer, adorable autant que les lao, je n’ai pas vu de village katu 😉 mais j’ai aussi compris beaucoup de pauvreté; mais ils sourient, comme si la vie coulait comme un rivière du mékong ..mon food préféré le amouk au crabe lait de coco -)
j ai été trés touché, j ‘ai regretté d’avoir visité le camp S21..
je vous embrasse bien fort tous deux, claire, michel,
la nostalgie de ces voyages me rendent tres nostalgique..je suis rentré en France..j’été fatigué !
lol
My chère petite nostalgique,
et oui les voyages forment la jeunesse mais fatiguent les jeunes vieux comme nous! (surtout nous toi la p’tite jeune t’a encore de la route a faire?
Claire et mois sommes ravis de t’avoir connu et de constater un changement positive dans tes attitudes, avoir été témoin de tant de choses qui dans ta vie semblaient te faire du mal,
tu semble maintenant les accepter, les embrasser avec compassion sans qu’ils ne te perturbe même si tu regrette d’avoir pris conscience de terrible génocide ce qui malheureusement continu a exister un peu partout sur notre merveilleuse planète, parfois physiquement monstrueux ou seulement physiologiquement ce qui peut être aussi terrifiant , la population grandissante a une rythme que la planète terre ne peux contenir ne peu que rendre ceux qui n’ont pas assez plus malheureux et rendre plus dure ceux qui ont trop et qui veulent toujours plus? et comme tu l’a vu ceux qui n’ont rien semble savoir sourire plus!
Comme tu site le Bouddha garde en toi ce qu’il t’a démontrer et ne cherche pas a porter sur tes épaules la misère des autres, en prendre conscience c’est bien mais reste juste un témoin compatissante sans en souffrir. lisant te messages lors de tes péripéties en Asie ta vie semble être beaucoup plus harmonieuse, c’est un plaisir de le constater.
Ah cette foutu bouffe Khmer…, quel délice!
Maintenant que tu es dans ton petit cocon, te sentant en sécurité, nous te souhaitons une vie paisible et pleine d’harmonie avec tous ceux qui t’entourent.
N’oublis pas tout ce que cette aventure Asiatique t’a démontrer de la vie et reflète sur tous les points qui t’ont permis de changer, et t’avoir apporter plus assurance.
Nous t’embrassons avec toute notre amitié, et espérons te revoir prochainement en France la belle explorateur (ou exploratrice?)
Claire et Michel
(c’est mois Michel qui écris…, pas aussi bien que ma chère “better half” ou meilleure moitié, expression bien Américaine.)
PS, “Explorateur” j’adore, explosant ce voyage en Asie, chouette non? nous aussi nous cherchons a nous exploser tous les jours, souvent dans le calme pour être plus réceptif.
J’ai lu dans un Temple cette phrase que je traduis de l’Anglais; ” un être en colère ne peux voir les causes et les résultats de ses actions”
“An angry men can not see the cause and effect” j’ai beaucoup aimer et y pense souvent.
j’en souris Angkor ..ha ha… voilà par contre ce que les femmes en rigolent et en voit la cause à l’effet ” à bientot i hope !
Bravo Gertrude….. Keep on trucking, Ou continue sur t’a lance…, ca a tout l’air d’être le Bon Chenin… Bison de nous deux… Quand a nous, nous continuous, a mon age il fault savior roster jejune pour que le ciel ne me to be pas sur la tete….!