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. 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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Toe and her husband, D, are diplomats who, at the time we visited Cambodia, were assigned in Phnom Penh. You can read more about Toe, her Cambodian experience, her kuro-kuro at iba pa by clicking on this. 

When Toe found out we were going to Cambodia, she and D graciously extended us an invitation to stay at their place.  I wanted to get Toe and D something special. As I was not quite sure of what they needed, I e-mailed Toe to get a sense of what she wanted. Of course, Toe asked for the impossible. She wanted Kentucky Fried Chicken!  Since Siem Reap was our first stop, I could not conceive of a way of keeping fried chicken edible until we get to Phnom Penh. It therefore came as a relief when Toe later told me to bring Purefoods Corned Beef instead. Apparently, this is D’s favorite. So I arrived in Phnom Penh with my overnight bag stuffed with several cans of Purefoods Corned Beef and my special surprise for Toe and D – Poppycock and chocolate covered potato chips. (more…)

Today I will take a deep breath, pause and exhale all that is negative within me. Tomorrow, I will tell you about my trip to Phnom Penh.