The official start of summer is just around the corner, and
it's the perfect time of the year to get away and experience new
cultures and cuisines. To help us get inspired,
Roger Mooking, host of
Everyday Exotic, shares his delicious adventures and notes from
across the globe. We'll be rolling them out every Wednesday
starting today, over the course of several weeks. Here's the first
one--enjoy!
The first city we landed in was Phnom Penh in
Cambodia. My first mission was to go and find some
Khmer food after taking in the vibe of the city.
Our tuk-tuk driver took us to one of the local markets. Around the
outer perimeter of the market were stalls selling t-shirts,
bracelets, fabrics and tourist knick-knacks. However, deep in the
middle of the market there was a gem of a "food court," if I could
call it that.
There were about thirty different stalls, all setup with different
Khmer dishes, local produce, butchers, fishmongers, and random
people sleeping under tables trying to avoid the afternoon's heat.
The butchers all carried a lot of pork and dried meats along
with sausages. I'd be lying if I told you it smelled like a perfume
counter with all the unrefrigerated raw meat hanging from hooks,
but the butcher shop smell didn't stop my crew and me from sampling
some of the delightful delicacies before us! We tried all kinds of
skewers, sausages, salted
mangoes and shrimp pancakes. We were
warned by some peeps not to eat the local street food because it
would likely make us sick. Well, I didn't end up getting sick from
the marketplace food (the street food was always on point), but
many days later when I ordered the hotel room service... let's just
say the trip home wasn't fun.
Be sure to check out more from Roger Mooking here.
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Posted:
Wed, Jun 08 2011 by
Guest Blogger