pinaywifespeaks » Blogging and Web

Food Trip Friday: Cambodian Kari Nom Yah

Lui — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:02:36 +0000

I’m hopeless when it comes to cooking Khmer dishes (mainly coz I haven’t tried hard enough..yet) but I love eating Khmer food. I’m actually passionate about home cooked Khmer food. And thankfully, I have a really awesome mom-in-law who indulges my cravings. Whenever she cooks up some of my favorite Khmer dish, then she’ll always send some to our house.

And this was what she cooked for Mother’s Day. I was feeling bit blue that day coz Hi-ace was on a trip so it was just me and the kiddo at home. And so of course, this made my day.

Kari Nom Yah with Nom Ban Chouk noodles.

Nom ban chouk noodles are freshly made and usually served with a fish based sauce – check out my previous post about the typical Nom Ban Chouk noodles. But Kari Nom Yah is slightly different. It still uses fresh nom ban chouk rice noodles, same kinds of veggies goes in, but its the sauce that makes the difference.

Fresh Nom Ban Chouk Noodles Wrapped in Lotus Leaves

The sauce still uses flaked fish, but its flavored a bit like curry and its red. The ‘curry’ is not as heavy as the meaty Kari Nom Ban Chouk, its lighter in flavor and consistency. And the taste? I love it. very very tasty and I like the balanced flavor.

veggies: basil,peppermint (+some more greens, I don't know what to call), lotus stem, sprouts, cucumber and can't do without chili

The Sauce. This tasted so good, I swore I'll learn how to make it!

I also like adding a lot of peppermint leaves for extra zing and chopping in a lot of lotus stems for the extra crunch. I ended up liking it so much that I asked M-I-L for another set last Thursday. I know I’m getting too spoiled here. Lol.

Food Trip Friday: Cheap Buffet at Thansur Bokor

Lui — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:09:47 +0000

Two weeks ago, we went up Bokor Mountains to check out the new road and the new resort/casino as well as some sights there. Whenever we go on road trips like this, we usually don’t pack a lot of food, just the basic snacks. The kiddo doesn’t like eating ‘old’ cold food and we always try to eat somewhere local.

We did the same thing this time, but I was also apprehensive if there was any food places up there coz as far as I know the casino has just had its soft opening and not all facilities are operational yet. But I needn’t have to worry as we found out when we got there coz they have a coffee shop as well as an Asian buffet. Check out their web site – Thansur Bokor.

Hungry as we were, it was no brainer that we opted to go buffet. The whole spread cost $6 only. Which was a great great deal coz it was not a measly spread. There were a lot of options, vegetable salads, fruit salads, vegetarian dishes, Asian and stir fried viands, soups, porridge, plain and fried rice, drinks plus lots of breads. I didn’t take photos of the buffet table as there were a lot of people there and I think it would be rude.

I took snapshots of our plate though. Here’s what hubby and I shared:

my veggie salad. their dressings are really good.

fish fillet with shredded mango salad, pork and tofu saute, some pastries.

my fruit plate. I had two servings of this. It was that good.

I also love the bold decor. I usually think too much color like this becomes an eyesore, but they somehow managed to keep it together. And it was an easy guess that I would beeline for this purple seating. Of course, I could never resist anything purple. Ha!

An entry for:

Food Trip Friday: Khmer Stilt & Hammock House

Lui — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:04:00 +0000

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:

A Food Blog in The Works

Lui — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 22:08:59 +0000

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.

Food Trip Friday: Spicy Sausage Pasta

Lui — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:34:40 +0000

A few days ago, I was just tagging along with hubby and the kiddo. They were on a date, and I was the third wheel hahaha. Yes, we do have this ‘date’ time with our daughter every once in a while. During the ‘date’ it was our kiddo’s choice that’s usually followed (within reason, ok?). That day, she wanted to eat pizza and pasta (sigh, what else is new?) and she picked Pizza Company.

She chose this: Spicy Sausage Pasta. This pasta is serious about being spicy. There were about 5 large dried red chilies on it, not counting the chopped/sprinkled chili. It was just WOW!! Since she can’t eat much of it, I had to finish it but it was good and I managed to eat all of it along with almost a pitcher of soda. LOL.

We also had this sausage-stuffed crust seafood pizza, which was okay. At least it wasn’t spicy. The taste I think has been adjusted to suit Khmer palates, its a bit sweet and not too much tomato sauce on it.

This is an entry for:

Random Posts

Gallery Update..

Lui — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 03:39:32 +0000

Seems like my ongoing gallery update will take a bit more time. No matter how much I push, other things just get in the way. I’m also watermarking all images because I know its just as easy to grab images I actually shot and posted here and claim it. That already happened to some of my images which were downloaded and uploaded to some sites without permission.

I know I’m not a pro photographer and my photos leaves a lot to be desired but I worked on it, they involve some effort on my part so asking permission would be the least I would ask and a linkback would be nice if the images would be used. I’m not stingy, I just think its the right thing to do to give credit where credit is due. And its even worse when some sites use my images and hotlink them to my server, so I had to get a bit techie and disable hotlinking from third party sites. Even if the process of watermarking all my previous images is a tedious task, I’m going to do it. Mind you I would much rather spend my time mooning over silver jewelry, but this must be done.

So this watermarking thing is holding me up making a really awesome and pretty gallery but we’ll get there. Hopefully soon enough. Just watch out for it.

I do wonder why its such a hardship to properly credit used images like this? See. The image above belongs to:

Image: goldsaint / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Food Trip Friday: Tasty Khmer Food at Neth Socheata Siem Reap

Lui — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 04:14:37 +0000

We were really hungry by the time we arrived in Siem Reap at around 2 pm. After dumping our backpacks in our hotel we wandered about in search for food, and we chanced upon a small alley near Pub Street. We picked out this resto called Neth Socheata on a whim. We had no idea about what they served but it looked like food and yes, our prime concern was to be fed. We were that hungry. Haha. The nice colorful interior also looked inviting enough.

We ordered Fish Fillet in Olive Oil and Herbs, Beef with Veggies and Basil. I also got a refreshing drink of watermelon shake.

And one word about what we ate: Delicious!

Neth Socheata Hotel and Restaurant
84, 2Thnou Street, directly opposite the Old Market, Siem Reap

you can enter the small alley from Thnou Street (near Old Forest shop) or you can also enter via Pokombor Ave. (alley right next to Body Tune Massage)

This is an entry to:

A Little Revamp

Lui — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:34:35 +0000

Just dropping a little note to inform everyone dropping by this site that.. I’m revamping. Not the entire site or the theme, I’m doing some revamping on my galleries.

I had been hanging around on Google Analytics as well as the site stats provided by my hosting service and apparently majority of people who visit this site come and check out the galleries. A big chunk of people who ‘find’ this site by way of images I have posted. Yes, I had been diligent with most of the ‘alt’ tags on my images and its really worth it.

So I had been contemplating making the galleries a lot more pleasing to the eyes and much more easier to navigate. Mind you, I’m well aware that I’m not the best photographer around, I just take snapshots of things I find interesting and that’s it. But I’m thankful those images some find interesting enough and well, I’ve always said photos sometimes are better story tellers than words.

And another big reason why I’m revamping my image galleries: to save server space. Lol. 90% of my images are hosted in my server and after almost 4+ years of blogging, well, it’s just a lot. So I made the decision to just get a separate image host with hotlinking.

I’ll be downloading all images I have previously uploaded, then re-linking them to the posts. I know this is going to be tedious and I’m writing this posts as some posts might have some broken images for a time. Please bear with me.

And hopefully I’ll have better looking image gallery here in a week or two. Wish me luck.

Image: posterize / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Food Trip Friday: Steak Kitchen Again

Lui — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:52:22 +0000

My first dining experience in Steak Kitchen with the Queen of Wishful Shrinking wasn’t exactly a very impressive experience, so I was really surprised that I gave the place several more chances. It could be that there are only a few places you can eat in Sovanna Mall that isn’t so crowded and maybe because my daughter became a huge fan of their Seafood Crumbed Platter (huge platter for less than $5!).

Now Steak Kitchen has become a family favorite. And luckily the first time lackluster dining experience was not repeated and all subsequent meals we had there has been really good. They have an extensive menu and very very affordable prices.

Here’s what I had last time.. Grilled Chicken Breast with Pepper Sauce and Grilled Pork Chop.

An entry for

Steak Kitchen is located at 5th Level, Sovanna Shopping Center, Phnom Penh Cambodia

Wordless Wednesday: Opulent

Lui — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 03:06:02 +0000

Opulent Koh Kong Resort in Koh Kong Cambodia. Located right next to Koh Kong Safari World and very near the Cambodia-Thai Had Lek Border. Aside from the usual hotel amenities, this complex also houses a casino primarily for Thai casino lovers.

Food Trip Friday: River View Cafe, Siem Reap Cambodia

Lui — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:11:19 +0000

This is one gem of a restaurant find among the huge number of restaurants in Siem Reap. My sister and I were just looking for a cup of coffee after a leisurely stroll in Old Market when we came across a cozy little cafe along the riverside called River View Cafe.

We sat down on one of their comfy wicker chairs and ordered coffee. It was good, so my sister checked out their menu and ordered a serving of ‘River View Sandwich’ – bacon, grilled chicken sandwich. She thought it would be something light and small, but what we got we could barely finish between the two of us and it only cost $4. It was really really good. Served with coleslaw salad and fries.

Further scanning of the menu revealed that they had some Filipino food, so we asked the friendly waitress why is that so. Turns out the wife of the owner is a Filipina. We got introduced, they were both friendly and we promised to come back for breakfast. Their breakfast was just WoW! Huge servings. And to think we ordered the ‘smallest’ breakfast in the menu but we can’t even finish half of it. Breakfast prices range from $3 (for pancake set – 2 big pancakes, 2 eggs cooked any way you want it, potatoes ‘n onions, fruit bowl and orange juice) to $5 for the BIG breakfast. And its worth every penny.

And oh, the breakfast in photo is served with a bowl of sliced fresh fruits and orange juice I just forgot to take photos coz..well I was overwhelmed. Lol. Our small table was overloaded with plates and it was enough to feed a small army.

I would recommend this little restaurant and I would be going back there whenever I’m in Siem Reap. I think their breakfast has me hooked. It’s right along the riverside (beside Body Tune Massage and Kampuccino Cafe), a block after Old Market, central but away from noisy Pub/Alley Street. Just the right place if you want some quiet.

An entry for

Wordless Wednesday: Faces on Stone

Lui — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 09:31:33 +0000

Bayon Temple, Angkor Archaeological Park, Siem Reap Cambodia

Random Posts

Food Trip Friday: Khmer Beef BBQ

Lui — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 01:23:39 +0000

So much for planning this to be posted before Friday. Lol. The frequent power cuts here in Phnom Penh is driving me nuts and throwing off my work schedules off the track. Last night, instead of doing a bit of blogging and turning in early, we had to spend sometime for a scheduled video teleconferencing with some relatives. We were supposed to talk to them in the afternoon, but yeah, as usual there was a power cut so it was rescheduled for last night.

When are we getting back to normal, Phnom Penh’s Electrite du Cambodge?

Enough with the rant. Here’s my Food Trip Friday feature. Khmer Beef Barbeque!

Cambodian’s aren’t very fond of pork bbq, I don’t know why. But they prefer it to be beef, and they also don’t like the strong beef smell and aftertaste, so what they do is smother their barbecue with lemon grass and a whole load of spices. And they don’t stop at that, they eat it with pickles (lots of em) and a lot of sauces you can choose from.

It’s actually very very delicious. Specially served with French baguettes, grilled and buttered. A popular Khmer snack food and available just about everywhere.

Wordless Wednesday: Exotic Tonics

Lui — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 06:53:11 +0000

Something I saw at the souvenir shops in Siem Reap. Exotic animals like baby snakes soaked in wine.

Food Trip Friday: Malaysian Food @ D’Nyonya Central Market

Lui — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 02:27:58 +0000

I love Malay food. It’s one of the cuisines I constantly crave. Thankfully, there are lots of restaurants here in Phnom Penh serving Malay food so my cravings are usually easily catered to. There’s the Singporean versions, there’s the authentic Malaysian food, Penang curries etc.. And you can also find places catering to different budgets. You can actually be spoiled for choice.

One of our favorites would be D’Nyonya Restaurant. It’s centrally located, right next to Central Market and the best place to grab a bite of Malay food after shopping. Prices are good, and the food is really good. It’s Malaysian owned and quite popular with their community here in Phnom Penh judging by the constant stream of patrons during lunch hours.

Just a few weeks ago, Sreisaat and I had this really bad craving for Char Keuw Teuw so we met up there to have our fill.

Its was soooo good. I only ended up craving for more when we were done eating. I don’t know but Char Keuw Teuw for me is just super yummy! It’s a riot of flavors and I like it a bit spicy with a smoky/burned aftertaste. And this one just hit the right notes.

I love fruit juices and this one’s pretty special ( I know it looks weird for some..lol!) . Passion Fruit Juice aka Markissa Juice in their menu. It’s a bit sour-sweet, just the way I like it.

An entry for

Restaurant D’Nyonya (also check out their website)
No.91Eo ,Street 126 Central Market , Phnom Penh -Cambodia
Phone : 023998408

Wordless Wednesday: Khmer Shadow Puppets

Lui — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 04:35:03 +0000

Traditional Cambodian puppet shows using light or fire against a white screen and puppets made of leather to tell stories..

Food Trip Friday: Phnom Penh’s Napoli Pizza

Lui — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:29:06 +0000

Yes, you all already know me, hubby and the kiddo are really just pizza eating machines pretending to be human. Lol. And a few Saturdays ago, we were just driving around when we thought of refueling out tummies with what else but pizza. So we headed over to Kampuchea Krom Blvd, thinking of just grabbing a pizza at Pizza Company. But parking there is like expecting to find a 100 dollar bill on a crowded sidewalk so we just drove on.

A few blocks after, my daughter screamed, ‘ I see PIZZA!!’. She was pointing at a resto called Naples Pizza. So of course, we had to go try it. And thank God we did. I think I have a new favorite pizza place here in Phnom Penh!

I like the huge variety of pizza’s you can choose from on their menu. They also have Greek, Canadian pizzas and lot and lots of other choices. But of course, we had to try out first the thin crust, sausage stuffed seafood pizza. And it was soooooo good.

I had iced coffee..

They also had free desserts (taro and tapioca pearls in sweet coconut milk) which was nice, though I forgot to take photos of that.

The service was also efficient and friendly. Prices are affordable, and they also have free pizza promotions during weekdays. Let’s just say, I’ll be going back there again soon to try the other pizzas. I do wish they’d have more branches closer to city center..

Food Trip Friday: Cambodian Nyom Salad

Lui — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:48:35 +0000

I had been craving this for awhile now and specially so since I’m on the diet right now. I LOVE Khmer salads, they are very easy to make and very very tasty. Cambodians have a really passionate love affair with vegetables and thankfully, I’ve learned to be passionate about my veggies too.

The Nyom Salad is very easy to make. Here’s what you would need:

Cabbage, sliced thinly.

Carrots, strips.

Cucumber, sliced thinly or in strips.

Fresh green been sprouts.

Tomatoes, sliced thinly.

Basil leaves (optional)

Peppermint leaves (optional)

Dried shrimps , soaked and chopped.

Flaked dried fish (optional)

Peanuts

As for the sauce, you just need lemon juice (or vinegar if you don’t have lemon), 1-2 cloves of garlic chopped finely, sugar, fish sauce. Mix the sauce together and when you’re ready to eat just drizzle it over the veggies and toss.

This is just perfect specially if you’re eating deep fried fish or grilled meat.

An entry for

Food Trip Friday: Bopha Titanic Restaurant

Lui — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:47:06 +0000

Bopha Titanic Restaurant along Sisowath Quay, Phnom Penh is popular with the tourist crowd. And its not really that surprising, it has great location – riverside, extensive menu (Khmer, Thai, and western fares) and the place is spacious.

We love going there for Khmer food, and just to relax and take in the river breeze. Hubby and I both like Khmer and Thai food, while the kiddo prefers pastas and we get all of this in one place. We also love the ambiance, the attentive staff and of course, the food is yummy. Prices are mid-range.

Here’s what we had last time we went there. Khmer Seafood Ma-am Stew- I can’t get enough of this! Its sooo delicious and you’d need unlimited servings of rice with this one. They serve this with lots of veggies to tame the strong salty flavor.

We also had seafood glass noodles which was also great but my camera’s battery died on me so no photos of that..The kiddo as usual ordered her Pasta Bolognese with Garlic Bread. Yum. And the serving is huge.

I’m sooo looking forward to going back there again. Soon.

An entry for:

Food Trip Friday: Cookin’ Banh Chao

Lui — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:43:00 +0000

Were lucky our Khmer neighbors are foodies too. They love doing cook outs during weekends and inviting us too. Last week was really interesting coz they were making Banh Chao (Banh Xeo in Vietnamese). This is a Vietnamese dish of rice flour crepes with assorted fillings. Khmers have adopted this dish and their version is one of my favorite Cambodian foods.

Khmer version has some additions like shredded coconut, flaked crabs and more assortment of greens to be eaten with it. The sauce is also slightly more ‘peanut-y’.

I took some pics while they were cooking…They usually cook this over charcoal and it smells heavenly. And it was super yummy. And I ate more than three servings lol. They must think I haven’ t eaten for weeks but it was that good.

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pinaywifespeaks » Blogging and Web

Food Trip Friday: Cambodian Kari Nom Yah

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