I WANT SOME CHEESE!

You are spoiled for choice when it comes to shopping in Phnom Penh. The markets are typically close-quarters places, where crowds in small spaces haggle for hours over a few riel($1=4000R). So watch your back, your pockets and your bags. Cambodians, like many Asians have little concept of personal space. Also watch out for the manic drivers of cars, motos, and tuk-tuks as they career around and past the market areas; some suggest that armour might be the clothing of choice! Souvenirs and t-shirts are not the only things on offer. Delve into the darker corners and you will come across household items, some smelly food stalls, raw meat left out all day and piles of rotting veg under foot! Definately worth a visit if only for the assault on the senses, especially the nose!


Shopping centres are usually air conditioned and more expensive than the markets although they tend to attract crowds of Khmers experiencing their first escalator ride. Further along the food chain are the street stalls and shops and they tend to be grouped together; Monivong Boulevard for example, has shops selling a vast range of electrical goods. It was whilst strolling down this road yesterday that I had a sudden craving for a lump of cheese!!


For the majority of Khmers, cheese is an acquired taste largely handed down to them by the French, who know quite a lot about fromages, frais or not; and we're not talking here about your mass market cheddar extra strong or that plastic stuff called Kraft cheese slices. I was looking for a completely different taste sensation from the noodles, amok(stew), and luc lak(braised beef) world of Khmer cuisine. Of course I am still enjoying immensely the weird and wonderful food that is on offer here but today I fancy a ploughmans lunch! Luckily in Phnom Penh, believe it or not, you can get one.


It's good to know that Phnom Penh continues to live up to its reputation as a taste-the-world destination and not necessarily attuned only to ethnic tastes. For any foodie worthy of the name, there is a cheese mountain out here just waiting to be nibbled, savoured, plated and served.


I went to Veggy's on Street 240. Not only is this shop the preferred emporium of the Cambodian royal family, but also in its refridgerated back room the staff will cut you a lump of brie des meux and camembert, sell you a pre-cut wedge of house wrapped cheddar, gruyere, parmesan, edam, emmental and others. This mecca of good food also offers most of the necessary accompaniments, such as water and digestive biscuits to olives, cocktail gherkins, and when available, joy of joy, Branston pickle! Loaded up with more cheese than the Eurovision song contest I continued to find the other ingredients for my lunch.


The champion cheese shop when it comes to choice has to be Lucky Supermarket at 160 Sihanouk Bvd. When you get to the entrance, go left towards the packaged meat and vegetables and turn left again to gaze in wonder and salivating lust at the cold cabinet loaded with cheese, cooked meats, parma hams, pates and all manner of other delicious delights. It's a long way short of the food hall at Harrods but then, this is Cambodia. Contained in the cabinet is an almost complete A-Z of churned cheese. You may not be familiar with Beaufort, Campero and Brebis but stilton, holey emmental, exquisitely hard and toothesome tomme de la Jura and its hardy Pyrenees cousin share ample breathing space with gogonzola, blue stilton and a tasty cheddar called "Top Hat". As I was having an 'English' lunch I chose the latter to compliment my earlier purchases. Two French sticks, some spring onions and cherry tomatoes completed my shopping. The only thing missing from this foray into the ploughman's world was a crunchy pickled onion. Problem solved. Paragon's bottled Australian onions in vinegar cost only $2 a jar...while stocks last!!


I went down to the banks of the Mekong, had my ploughman's lunch and must admit for a few moments, for the first time, felt a twinge of home sickness. That was short lived though and this afternoon I have a meeting with one of the directors of the English Languge Training School where I will hopefully be working soon.