Another one’s run Amok

Fish Amok - the best introduction to the magic realm of Cambodian fine food

What a typical, virgin Westerner arriving in Cambodia imagines about its food we - I guess - all know.

Ha!

Surprise!

Pol Pot, genocide, famine and poverty - that picture of Cambodia is still the only one for many in the West. I wasn’t different, to be honest. When I first arrived in Phnom Penh I barely expected something more than typical, never ending Asian street food feast I knew before from India and Nepal. Well, I simply forgot I was coming to a kingdom.

And a royal welcome I received.

My first sensual contact with the Khmer cuisine wasn’t maybe very original - it seems that fish amok is an compulsory element in every local restaurant’s menu - however, it was probably best introduction to Cambodia’s magic realm of fine food. This slightly spicy but delicate curry fish dish, steam cooked with coconut milk - what even sounds to me like a fairytale - pleased me on every level. It looked good, smelled nice and finally boosted all my senses which, well, run amok. I instantly fell head over heels in love.

And that was only a shy look from the gate into whole golden palace of Cambodian food tradition. Its baroque abundance of dishes and wild variety of ingredients can make any respected world cuisine blushing, including French and Italian. That, all together with well-balanced and open minded recipes ranging from genuine starters through great selection of main and side dishes to fabulous desserts, guarantee that eating in Cambodia is a pure pleasure.

So, if you’re fresh in Cambodia - as was I not so long time ago - don’t miss the opportunity to dine like a king in this true Kingdom of Fine Food. But be careful. Where’s magic, there’s a spell. You may become enchanted for life.

Grzegorz Ostrega is a freelance photographer / writer who is currently traveling Asia.
You can see more of his work on BabelImages

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