Pandoraspace

Malis

Before visiting Cambodia, I had never tasted Khmer food. For that reason, I was grateful to Toe and her husband, D, for taking Padma and me to dinner at one of the more popular Khmer restaurants in Phnom Penh called Malis (the Khmer name for Jasmine flower).

The ambiance of Malis is similar to that of any stereotypical fine dining restaurant where the tables are covered with crisp white table clothes, the chairs are comfortable, and although there is background music, the place is quiet enough for the diners to hear each other and not hear the conversation going on at the next table. There is, however, a distinctly Khmer feel to the place. Outside the restaurant are a Buddha and a lotus pond. Inside, the restaurant is dotted with Buddha heads, the walls are painted red and the windows are rectangular-shaped.

Despite the great ambiance at Malis, it was the food that took most of my attention. The food not only looked appetizing and beautiful, it tasted wonderful as well.

The first dish was an appetizer of diced stir-fried scallop with bunches of fresh green Kampot pepper served on scallop shells. The taste of the sweet and tender scallops combined with the fresh, spicy and crisp peppers was explosive. As this dish was novel, I have come to associate it with distinctly Khmer cuisine.

For our main meal, we had pork ribs, kangkong (this is a green leafy vegetable that grows in water but I do not know how it is called in English) and prawns. Those dishes tasted similar to Thai or Chinese dishes but were delicious nonetheless. The pork ribs were deep-fried and basted with a salty-sweet glaze. The pork was succulent and its oiliness tempered by the glaze. The kangkong was sauteed in garlic. Simple but good. The prawns were my favorite. They were fresh, sweet and as huge as a child’s fist. The prawns were decapitated, shelled, dipped in a light gossamer-like batter, deep-fried and served to us with a sweet chili sauce. In the customary Filipino fashion, we ate these dishes with moist piping hot steamed rice.

For dessert, we shared the pumpkin crème brulee. It was slightly thicker and had more texture than a regular brulee. It did not have a pumpkin or custard taste. It was not too sweet or too bland either. The taste was rather unique and I loved it.

Malis is definitely one of the places you should not miss when visiting Phnom Penh.

Reality Check No. 3: Taking a Bath in the Public Garden

The Cambodian National Museum is located near the Cambodian Royal Palace and houses items from temples across Cambodia. Padma and I enjoyed sitting on the veranda of the National Museum that over-looked the park. For some reason, I felt like I was in Ilocos looking out from one of the old buildings in the plaza.

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Reality Check No. 1: Gem Shopping

After looking at stone temples and stone carvings for several days, I decided to look at other stones. That is, gem stones.

While waiting for Padma’s plane to arrive, Toe took me to the Russian Market. According to Toe, tourists and foreigners living in Phnom Penh shop at the Russian Market because the vendors speak English. Other than gem stones, export overruns clothing, silverworks, wood carvings and other Khmer products are also sold in the Russian Market.

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Tip No. 15: Do not forget to bring your wan dalah (this is how they say US $1.00 in Cambodia) bills and set aside cash for travel tax and temple passes.

US dollars are accepted in all stores in Cambodia.  Some establishments do not, however, have enough change to give you if you pay for purchases using $ 20.00 to $ 100.00 bills. So, my mom who had also gone to Cambodia ahead of us, advised Padma and me to bring $ 1.00 bills.  Also, since $ 1.00 is equivalent to about 4,000 Reils, you would need sacks of Reils to make a major purchase.  Of course, if you want to experience what it is like to be a millionaire, by all means, change your US dollars to Reils.

Tourists are assessed US$25.00 for travel tax when they leave Cambodia. Be sure to set aside this amount for the tax. Non-Cambodians are also asked to pay a temple pass worth $ 20.00 for a one-day visit or $ 70.00 for a five-day visit to enter the Angkor complex where most of the wonderful temples are located. You should also set aside money for this.

Tip No. 11: Get medical insurance for the trip.

Cambodia is just in the process of picking itself up from the aftermath of the reign of the Khmer Rouge, which was responsible for slaughtering intellectuals many of whom were doctors. For this reason, there are very few hospitals in Cambodia. Toe advised us to get medical insurance for the trip in the event that we would need to be flown out of Cambodia to receive medical treatment in a neighboring country.  Of  course, Padma and I are stingy like living on the edge.  So, we did not get any medical insurance.

Tip No. 12: Wear a hat and comfortable footwear.  I wore slippers (flip-flops).

Tip No. 13: Bring Off Lotion (mosquito repellant).

Tip No. 14: Do not fret over forgetting to bring a toothbrush or shampoo. Siem Reap convenient stores are well stocked with basic necessities and even wonderful treats.  Most convenient stores in Siem Reap cater to tourists, and for that reason, their shelves are stocked with toothbrushes, toothpaste, soaps, shampoos and batteries. More than that, those stores sell, imported cereals like Frosties, Huggies diapers, French wine, all sorts of cheeses and imported ice cream.

Tip No. 10: Splurge on food and sample some street food avoid street food.

Siem Reap offers a wide range of food choices.  There is the authentic Khmer food such as beef Loklak and chicken or fish Amok.  As Cambodia was once a French protectorate, many restaurants serve French food. Thai and Vietnamese cuisine are also available because, at one point or another, the Thais and Vietnamese tried to invade Cambodia.  For the less adventurous, pizza, pasta, deli sandwiches from the Blue Pumpkin and other more familiar food are available at restaurants that cater to foreigners.  So, you should not miss the opportunity to sample the different cuisine available in Siem Reap.

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Tip No. 8:  Chose your temples and avoid getting “Templed Out”.

There is much to learn from every temple.  Alas, there are more than 1,000 temples in Cambodia and it is impossible to visit all those temples in a couple of days (and I suspect even during a lifetime).  I find that the best way to enjoy the temples is to select only a few to visit and explore them at a leisurely pace. Two temples a day is my quota. Otherwise, my mind cannot absorb all the information about the temples, I would get overwhelmed and would  have no time to get a feel of their magic and mystic. Also, try to do other things like going to the Silk Farm or shopping in between temple visits to avoid getting “Templed Out”.

Between our temple visits, Padma and I visited the Silk Farm and went shopping at Artisan D’ Angkor and the Old Market.

From the Silk Farm or Artisan D’ Angkor, you could buy premium quality raw silk fabric and other items made of silk like bags, clothes, bed covers, table napkins and runners. From the Old Market you can buy Kramas or cotton scaves (just make sure you get the good kind by feeling the fabric to make sure it is 100% cotton), Kampot pepper (they say that no self respecting French restaurant would use pepper other than Kampot pepper, which is grown in Cambodia), silverworks (make sure you get the items that have 92.5% silver content), amber (cheap), and semi-precious stones. According to my friend, Toe, all stones that are mined in Cambodia like topaz are cheap but those which are not mined there like rubies and sapphires are expensive. The stones they sell are real but I suspect that not all are of the highest quality. Unless you know what you are buying, I suggest you just buy those that are less than $5 a carat and do not forget to haggle.

Today and in the following days, I will be posting Siem Reap travel tips.

Tip No. 1: Bring a camera. This tip needs no further explanation.

I regret that these are all the photos I could take with, and store on, my phone -

Tip No. 2: Study flight routes, canvass travel fares and book flights in advance.

For any trip, you should find the best way to get there. In our case, I learned that there are no direct flights from the Philippines to Cambodia.  You need to take a flight from the Philippines to Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore and from there to Cambodia.  This could make traveling to Cambodia expensive.  After studying flight routes, I found several budget airlines that offer affordable fares.   (more…)

Our guide showed us this carving on one of the walls of Ta Prohm.

At that time, I asked myself whether there were dinosaurs in Cambodia?  After putting up this blog, this is now my reaction to this image:  ”Hey, It’s me!”

Padma and I laughed when her mom referred to her Siem Reap, Cambodia experience as the Magical Mystical Tour.  Our journey had just begun then which is why I did not understand what Padma’s mom meant. On hindsight, I realize that that description of the Siem Reap experience is apt.