FOOD: THE CAMBODIAN WAY

If you bored with the same old roast dinners around town on a Sunday, do what some of the locals do and head across the Japanese bridge to Preak Leap. Here you can enjoy a lazy Sunday at one of the many stilted restaurants on the Mekong.


They are wooden constructions and many have no tables, just sections where four or more hammocks surround a mat. After getting comfortable,(that's an art in itself!) someone will bring out a tray of soft drinks and beer. You only pay for what you drink and can top up anything that is short supply. The staff will pop round every so often to fill up the ice in your drinks, as very few have fridges to cool down the beer. For the big spenders it seemed to be the thing to buy a bottle of Johnny Walker and mixers whilst enjoying the gentle breeze from the Mekong.


As it is on the river, the main dishes served on the menu are fish based and these are recommended but there are also many pork and chicken dishes cooked up in the local Khmer fashion. Nearly all the dishes are served on a type of charcoal hot plate with raw vegetables on the side. Those of us lucky enough to have an attentive Khmer girl in the party will find they finish off the cooking process and serve you up a great meal. There is of course, enough rice to sink a battleship served with whatever you order, it just wouldn't be Cambodia otherwise.


To make things more (or less) entertaining most of these places have huge karaoke systems set up and if you can stand it, will keep any Khmer girls with you occupied for a time, while you sleep off your lunch in a hammock. Be warned though, sometimes the alcohol will take affect and you may well find yourself the main wailing attraction! There are not many foreigners that go to these places, so for the Cambodians, watching one try and usually fail to sing, is great fun.


To get there and have a tuk-tuk wait for you costs around $8. They always try for more but offer them a beer or two and it works out cheaper. As for the cost of the food, it works out a great deal at $20 for four of us including the beer. The karaoke is extra but two hours on it will only add a couple of dollars to the bill, unless you are fined for noise pollution!