Enjoying the Cuisine: Surviving and Thriving Part 2

Real quick before I share about the culinary delights of Cambodia... Last last weekend (so Feb. 16-19) we went to Thailand. Usually people go to the mountains or the beach for a long weekend. Well, like Ava Michelle and I said on November 13- "We threw normal out the window at the RDU airport!" Granted, we did wind up at a beach. It just happened to be a beach on a Thai island called Koh Chang. We had an awesome time- delicious food (real life Pad Thai!), elephant trekking, Tree Top Adventures aka a high ropes course in the forest, air conditioning, hot showers, and a nice little break from city life. The only bad part was that we spent as much time on buses as we did enjoying Thailand. Oh, and crossing the border on foot is a nightmare. Enjoying the Cuisine: Surviving and Thriving Part 2 - try everything: it might surprise you - don't eat too much of anything: you can always find more later but you can't undo damage to your stomach once it's been done - sometimes it's better not to ask what's in a food until after you try it - pace yourself on the rice: there's not really an alternative if you get tired of it - the food on the street carts or at the market is just about the best you will find, especially for the price (a full meal for $1, adding a large fresh fruit smoothie will bump the bill to $2) - taste the fruit!: it looks weird but there are things like dragon fruit & mangosteen & lychee that you can only find as artificial flavorings in America. - quiz a local on how much random things should cost: just like with everything else, they'll try to overcharge White people - know where you can get a simple Western meal to renew your taste buds - be generous: Cambodians love to share everything, especially food. They will insist you take some of anything they have so make sure you return the favor. - do away with germaphobia: like I said, sharing is common. At my work for lunch, everyone puts their food in the middle while everyone crowds around on the floor and takes a little of this and a little of that to add to our own portions of rice. It's a great way to try lots of new foods and even better if I don't like what was packed for my lunch! - be open-minded when ordering: you don't always know what you're going to get when you are an English speaker ordering from an all-Khmer menu with blurry/no pictures. I would advise learning the word "noodles" ("mee" in Khmer)- they are a safe bet and delicious on their own in case you accidentally order some mystery meat. - learn to like spicy foods - don't try to eat on a moto: I was eating pineapple on the back of a moto one day since it was lunchtime and I had a 20 minute ride ahead of me. My Khmer-speaking driver pulled over and told me something about my food. I broke him off some pineapple but he refused it. I figured he was asking me not to eat on his bike- strange but his moto, his rules. We started on the road again and through some charades, I realized that he had told me not to eat because the dust from the road would get in my mouth. What a sweet guy! - don't try to keep up with Cambodian appetites: for such small people, they put away a lot of food! They will insist that you eat until you're stuffed but don't give in, especially if you are visiting for a good while. Eight weeks is a long time to appease people at the price of your discomfort. - accept the fact that you will probably get sick: it's part of the experience and won't last long. Fun things I've tried: - grilled mini bananas - Khmer coffee (basically espresso with sweetened condensed milk) - insects: crickets and the like - pureed fish with chile peppers - Ramen noodles (yes, like in the package) for breakfast - mangosteen* - fresh passion fruit juice - dragon fruit* - lychee* - limpot* - ohm-puhl* (that's the Khmer name, I don't know what it is in English) - coconut cake balls - fried frogs - sweet purple rice - ice cream-like substance made from beans and one made from tapioca - green tomatoes are common too which is cool *A Google search may clarify what some of these look like. I didn't know until I saw them here. The next things on my list to try are an avocado smoothie (don't be skeptical yet) and an Indonesian restaurant in town- I know that's not Cambodian but still... Also, if you are interested in pictures here is the link to my album on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151539154524179.552253.624354178&type=1&l=fb2fdc9a01