A friend told me a few weeks ago that I’m lucky, I’m in the front row seat when it comes to experiencing Khmer cuisine. I mean real Khmer food. The one’s cooked at home, not those delicious but often ‘fusion’ or tweaked food to suit the visitor’s palate. I never really thought about it, but then most of these things I consider ‘normal’ or a daily routine. I eat mostly Khmer food now, so I guess I took it for granted.

Sure  there are a lot of Khmer restaurants around, but those catering specially for tourists don’t really offer the real Khmer food. More like a semblance of Khmer food. I think its a bit hard to find, authentic Khmer food in those restos. Probably, the most usual Khmer fare that tourists and some expats taste would be amok and lok lak which is a shame coz the country has a lot to offer in terms of food. Take for instance, their wide variety of samlors (soups), its a must try but they are often hard to find. That’s why if you have Khmer friends and you get invited to their homes to eat, I would suggest jump at the offer (I know it sounds mercenary but..) you might be in for a little palate adventure.

While its a bit hard to find authentic Khmer fare in most city restos, you can still find something close to it across the Japanese bridge. I’ll let you on a little secret: this place is my favorite place to relax during weekends – those little stilt huts with hammocks along the river! Mind you, these places aren’t posh, and not for those who prefer their napkins to be sparkling white. But its an experience you’d find in no other place.  This is an entirely Khmer affair and celebrates the Khmer love for lounging around on mats, hammocks and food.

There are a couple of places like this a few minutes drive away from the Japanese bridge, but the ones we usually go to are the one’s near the Chinese temple. I’m not sure exactly about the directions and the restaurants usually have Khmer names. But these places are a fantastic places to relax, be with family and friends. The food is also cheap and really really really delicious.

Just a few weekends ago, we went there again to enjoy the food and some quiet time. Here’s some pic spam..

The food..

grilled shrimps with garlic-chili sauce, served with herbs, cucumbers & tomatoes

chicken stir-fried with ginger & spring onions

samlor koh kor – veggies, fish, spices and flavored with roasted rice..this is super delicious.

Nice, relaxing place..

fabulous river views..

little huts for some privacy

the super happy to be there kiddo. she loves the hammocks obviously.

This is an entry for:

I’m going to talk real estate here. So I can’t guarantee its going to be interesting. Hahaha. I personally find finance, real estate blah blah boring. But since I’m a wife and a mom with a family to think of, such things I have to deal with. A little disclaimer, I’m not an expert in real estate nor am I a broker. I also have no knowledge about foreign ownership of real estate in Cambodia and its legalities.  So what I’ll be discussing is our own personal experience in owning a home in Cambodia.

We have our own lot and a small house here in Phnom Penh. It’s within the city limits and very accessible to the markets, and other conveniences. We love the place coz its quiet, safe but very accessible. We’re not moneyed folks and a billion trillion light years away from being an ohkna (equivalent to tycoon), so owning a house and lot was a big hurdle for us.

If you’re just like us, regular working folks, then buying a lot and a house is almost impossible here. For several reasons: (1) Prices are so steep-really crazy steep and unregulated! (our neighbor’s lot 6×20 m is priced at $80,000! I find this amount obscene! It’s not even a commercial area!) (2) Home financing is not widely available nor is it popular, and its not a very practical option either as loan interest are sky high.

Before we decided to settle here, I was full of complaints about how real estate in the Philippines was so expensive and how lame was the government backed home financing – Pag-ibig, was. BUT when we got here and was faced with the realities of how we can own and not rent our own place, I had to appreciate that the real estate prices back home was regulated and people could at least have some access to home financing without being buried in debt and interest.

I could only thank my lucky stars that my husband has some financial genius tucked in there somewhere in his brains. Early on in our marriage, when prices are not so high here in Phnom Penh, and instead of spending a lot on a lavish wedding, we decided to just invest in a piece of  land. That time, this lot was pitiful looking. With a smelly creek at the back, not much neighbors/houses around, pot holed streets, and I lamented that this place can’t possibly get any internet connection (ha!) and it ‘seemed’ far from the city. But hubby argued that the city is expanding rapidly, and we won’t have to wait long till the area is developed. So we shelled out a couple of thousand dollars and got ourselves that lot. I was consoling myself that at least we won’t have to rent a place when we moved here.

Friends and some readers ask me if there are malls here in Phnom Penh. Yes, there are malls, but not like the huge malls in neighboring countries. They usually are smallish and the goods being sold in there reminds me of those sold in 168 Mall in Manila. Bargain, and low quality items at inflated prices. I observed Khmers don’t have a huge fondness for shopping in air-conditioned malls, they usually just go there to cool down, eat or go to the supermarket. And you really can’t fault them since what’s being sold there can be found in most traditional markets at a much lower price.

signage ‘reads’ to Psar Thom Thmei meaning New Big Market

One of the most popular traditional markets here is the Central Market or Psar Thom Thmei. This place is also pretty much always on a tourist’s itinerary not just because of the goodies you can find there. You can buy gold coins and jewelry, Cambodian souvenirs, cheap clothes, electronics  and the wet goods area is also a place to see. Another reason to account for its popularity and why its considered one of Phnom Penh’s landmarks is that its a really gorgeous place. Not your typical ramshackle market.

It’s made with a unique Art Deco design and was constructed during the 1930′s. It features a huge yellow dome and four arms as extension. The dome houses jewelry shops, while the four ‘arms’ houses various shops. It has recently undergone an extensive renovation and is now more beautiful than ever.

Whilst the place is huge and can be extremely hot during mid-day, its also very easy to navigate and the shops are organized well enough. The surrounding shops are also interesting to see, with most of them selling mobile phones, tablets and all sorts of gadgetry.

If you’re here in Phnom Penh and have an interest in both shopping and architecture, then this place should be on the must visit list.

I love to eat. I think most people do too. And Phnom Penh is one of those places where you can eat, eat, eat and not go broke. I love the huge variety of places you can choose fromand the fact that most of these places are not expensive. For a small city, it offers a good number of restaurants where you can sample various tastes and cuisines. Italian, Chinese, German, Thai, French, Nepali, Swiss cuisines.. the list could actually go on, you’d perhaps need a progene to try it all.

It might be because of the growing expat population as well as the booming tourist trade that has these various eating venues shooting up. I’m not complaining though. Ha! Far from it. And another thing I love? Those free guides and business listings. It’s easy to find new places to eat. I even have one little guide on my handbag always and check it occasionally for whichever place we haven’t tried yet.

Considering that I’m posting a lot about food here in this blog, and with some readers emailing asking where and what to eat, I’ve decided to go ahead and start my own food blog. I’ll be using the domain GoEatWrite.com. It’s in the works and I’m pretty much excited about it. I actually bought the domain a year ago, and we planned for it to be a collaborative travel-food blog among us friends, but busy schedules just made things a bit difficult to do. But now I’ll be using it and blogging about my foodie adventures.

site preview…

I’ll be writing about food I eat and reviewing some restaurants and also I’ll be occasionally featuring food I cook. Lol. Yes, I cook. If I have time, I’m actually mad about cooking. As for the restaurant reviews, we like going in a place as regular customer. I want the regular customer experience and so I could tell it like how it is. I don’t go around telling the resto that yada yada I’m here to do a review, I don’t think that is fair. Also while I like going to pricey (snooty?) restos and enjoy their good food, I find more enjoyment in looking for those hole in the corner, not so hyped places that offer authentic and delicious food.

I’ve blabbed enough, so just watch out for that food blog. Bookmark it – GoEatWrite.

Hmm, I think I just found my favorite time of the year to be in Phnom Penh: Khmer New Year! Why? The streets are almost empty, I had a crazy time driving around. Lol. The only time I could actually brave to drive. Hahaha. Yes, those careening motos and speeding SUV’s makes me a coward so I’m really scared to drive here and I’m trying to overcome that sloooowly.

Phnom Penh Street During Khmer New Year. Yay! Almost empty!

The past few Khmer New Years, we joined the exodus of city dwellers to some vacation destination. But this year, we have decided to stay on. And I’m so happy we did decided to stay behind. The only downside is that most shops were closed from the 13th, so if one suddenly gets inspired to shop  for test sieves, I doubt if there is any place open.

an almost deserted junction. this place is usually packed with traffic..

The only places open for business were biggie supermarkets and a couple of restaurants and mostly just along the riverside area. Our neighborhood which is usually noisy has been eerie with too much quiet. Even our neighbors dogs are out of town!

my kind of street. I can drive here. hahaha!

But sigh, this moment of peace and quiet is almost at its end. I’m sure lots of those who drove out of the city are now hurrying back. Hmm, still, I’m happy we got to loosen up  a bit.