I washed my shoe as much as I could and tried to force the shredded insides into some sort of wearable state. One has to soldier on!
We had breakfast prepared for us at the community hub
. Baguette, omelette, fried rice.
We then went for a walk to the local market wit several ladies to buy ingredients for our lunch. The locals are just so lovely. They are all going about their day but when you say hello or soksabi their faces just melt into beautiful smiles. The kids (and adults) love it when you wave as well and wave back.
We returned to the hub to cook. The ladies would lead by showing you what to do, then put the chopping block in front of you with whatever task they wanted you to perform. In this way we all communally prepared our meal. We made a sweet and sour fish soup, tomatoes stuffed with pork and sticky rice balls with chunks of palm sugar inside.
We were all done by 11.00 and opted to eat early so we could head to Siem Reap. The drive took about three hours. As we got to the outskirts of Siep Reap, the rain began. Big drops at first, which became even bigger and bigger. As we neared the hotel the street was a little creek and the rain was pelting down with force
. A car was parked right across the entry way so we had to negotiate our way around the bus and in between the car through ankle deep water. The drainage is pretty remarkable - within an hour there is just a few puddles. We had a couple of hours before heading out to the central market and Pub Street. We stopped in at Long's Bar. What a chilled out classy place! It's a little haven tucked in off a quiet street behind Pub Street. All the furniture is made from recycled pellets, it's a "child safe" supporter, plastic free supporter and very relaxing. I had a pomelo and basil infusion, very refreshing after being in the heat and humidity. A few people got t-shirts (at a discounted price)! We then headed off to the local picnicking spot. When I say local, I mean really local. We saw only a few foreigners. This area is called 60 Road. This is the local night time attraction and is buzzing every night (and not just from all the insects that are snack food)! There are lots of food vendors selling every edible insect and mollusk that could tempt you! We tried many different things
. The first were eggs. They had a little hole on top with a yellow plug. These DIDN'T have chickens in them but they do eat duck and chicken embryo's. These had a little hole cut out of the top and the contents poured out, then a scramble mix is made with salt and pepper then it's put back in the shell and steamed. Once they have steamed they are taken to the market and grilled, just to warm them I think. The texture is really lovely, a smooth set custard with a little pool of pepper in the bottom. Then it was time to try the really interesting stuff. We started with snails in a curry sauce. A bit chewy but the sauce was quite tasty. Better than the garlic snails which were also tasted. Val, a lovely New Zealander couldn't get enough of the snails. She was like the mollusk queen. The silk worms were ok but the water beetles were my favourite, really quite good. We had crunchy puffed sheets of sticky rice paper - the texture was similar to prawn crackers but sweet and in my view, much yummier
. Long then ordered us some foods from his chicken lady and we checked out their little fun fair. Little dodgems and duck trains, a jumping castle and balloon darts. You paid $1 for five darts and got a can of beer or soft drink if you popped a balloon. Between us we all scored a drink to go with dinner. We headed back to our bamboo mats where our food was ready. We each got a plastic bag of rice, platters of pork ribs, grilled chicken and bullfrog stuffed with lemongrass seasoning. There were a few dipping sauces. The frog was lovely but it was very disconcerting sitting on our mats next to the river listening to the chorus of frogs. Maybe they were calling out to their lost family members! We left with full tummies except for Mike who didn't really enjoy the meat fest while trying to get comfy on the mats. He topped up with instant noodles when we got back, as you do! The picnic had been a lovely end to our first day in Siem Reap.
Real Food Adventure!
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Krong Siem Reap, Siem Reap, Cambodia
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2025-02-15