Yesterday, we’ve been doing a bit of clearing our teeny weeny backyard coz when Hi-ace returns he plans to build an outhouse there and perhaps place a wooden swing set for Chinks. Anyway, after a few hours of sweeping, Chinks had been complaining and wanting to eat out.

Crunchy Lucky Burger french fries..

That’s my chicken burger, fries and Chinkee’s nuggets..

I asked her where she wants to eat and she says she wants Lucky Burger Nuggets! That’s her usual choice and of course, me I always go for their french fries, fried chicken burger. I find them affordable, a hamburger costs about $1 up add up fries and drinks and you get a bill of about $3. Their nuggets cost about $1.90 for a serving of I think 10 pcs? Shh, truth is, its fast becoming my comfort food here..

Anyway, food in Lucky Burger is good and they serve fast. And I kinda like going local and helping those locally grown businesses. If you’re around Phnom Penh, do try Lucky Burger. At least you get to have the local Cambodian version of McDonalds. Check out Lucky Burger website to know more about them.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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I guess I let my crazy anxieties get the better of me, coz when I got here I was just proven wrong.  I found Khmers to be very friendly and warm. When we arrived I got along famously first with my nephews and nieces mainly because I could easily communicate with them in English. I remember our first day, Hi-ace’s niece set aside half her day so she could tour me around the market and help me buy the things I need. She had always been ready to help with everything.

Cutie Khmer kids..

Khmer ‘Ta’  (grandpa) manning a store..

My Khmer sister-in-law’s are also very very nice. It’s a pity I can only speak and understand a smattering of Khmer but they never left me out and go to some length using sign language to make me understand.

They are tactile sort too. They are touchy and don’t be surprised to see people holding hands even men! I remembered I was really surprised when a few days of knowing me, one of my sister in law walked around in a mall with me and it was just natural for her to hold my arm or drape her hands over my shoulders companionably. I wasn’t used to that, but I must confess I felt touched that she didn’t consider me strange enough to stay aloof from me.

Same with our neighbors too. They are shy but very friendly.They like hanging about and their kids likes practicing speaking English with us. My sister, Ouwie also told me she noticed a big difference between her students here and her students in the Philippines. She said students her are really very affable and she was surprised when they took it upon themselves to constantly email her or chat with her, even if they are not her current students anymore. It’s also common for them to give her a call, just to catch up and ask how she’s doing and share some news to her.

I find them to be very patient, calm and I’ve rarely seen a fight here in a public place.  Take the case of our trip to Mondulkiri with Hi-ace’s students, we were stuck in the middle of nowhere for several hours because a heavy equipment was blocking the way, and I never even heard anyone raising a voice! That’s something I think we Filipinos could learn from. Of course, they tried to resolve the situation, but in a very diplomatic and unruffled manner. So at the end, we do through without anyone having a heart attack and I could look back and say being stuck there became one of the highlights of the trip!

Of course, there are exceptions. Like in all other places and people, there are those I find annoying. One are those motodup and tuktuk drivers out to bleed you for money. I don’t find them amusing at all, but there are times I feel for them too. But hey! All of us are trying to earn a living too, so I wish sometimes they’d stop seeing barangs as walking ATM machines.

Another thing I don’t really appreciate are some really grouchy and gruff salespersons in the market or in malls. I’ve had repeated experiences of sales persons berating me or snapping at me just because I dared to touch what she is selling! I was like, duh?! How can I buy something without choosing or even checking it out? When this happens I just learned to take it in stride and instead of getting annoyed, I just move on to another store. Well, its their loss anyway, haha when I’m known to be shopping addicted..

Hmm, I guess looking back I’ve also have some minor irritations when it comes to dealing with Khmers, but those are exceptions. In general, Khmers are very cordial and good people. I have great admiration for them knowing what their past has been like and I’m just thankful I got the chance to be here and get to know some of them..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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I  resemble this right now. Really! Except I must say, I’m better looking..lol!

I guess I’m feeling melancholic about not having Hi-ace here and this is not so good for me. When I’m feeling like this I tend to binge. Till now I can’t believe I went on a ice cream and pizza shopping spree the day after hubby left? I ate a pint of ice cream and one whole double pizza just by myself, and I felt horrible afterwards, like I could never get up anymore..

Thankfully, Ouwie and Chinks are with me and keep dragging me everywhere. One lucky thing too, MIL keeps bringing us food, cooked food and fruits so we have no need to cook most of the time. I’m also happy I’ve got friends here in Phnom Penh who I could go out with, pass the time with coffee, girl talk, and thrifting!

I’m keeping busy with my multitude of blogs and I’m ecstatic about some blog experiments I’ve been making. I’ve got a couple of new blogs needing a lot of tweaking and I’m having a grand time doing so. I’m also helping out a cousin with a web project and another cousin with his medical job search. Hmm, my sched is a bit full, so why am I feeling so lazy and bone tired?

Perhaps, I’m in need of some pampering? I should visit a spa and have a scrub or something.. More soon..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Not cooking this time, I guess I’m too lazy. I haven’t really tried much of the food courts in malls here mainly because I’m not a fan of the coupon system, its a hassle! And another reason is that I’m not yet even halfway trying those tempting restos all across Phnom Penh.

Anyway, yesterday Chinks wanted to go to the play area in the mall and we discovered that there is an uncrowded, and fairly big play area within Phnom Penh’s Sovanna Mall food court. While waiting for her, my sister and I ended up browsing the food stalls and we were surprised at what we saw. Tempting, yummy food at super affordable prices. The steepest price I saw was about 10,000 Riels for a huge meal!

And since I’m a huge fan of Korean food we ended up making a beeline for the Korean food stall. Not much variety but what we saw we liked. Ouwie who haven’t tried Korean food got herself the Korean version of Dongas, breaded pork cutlets with lots of side dishes, this is of Japanese origin but was adapted by Koreans, I think.

I got myself my all time fave Bibimbap, steamed white rice with lots of veggies, meat, fried/raw egg, with lots of steaming hot sauce and mixed together..

Each set cost just 8,000 R (about $2) and we both made a promise well go back every after few days so we could sample everything they’ve got in that food court. It was that good!

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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I was looking for a cartoon to let you on how I look and feel today and I think this comes close. I know she looks about 10 years old, but just use your imagination and add up about two decades and that’ll be me..

Chinks and I got back from the Philippines on August 11th. We made another brief stop in Singapore then we took the night flight to Phnom Penh. We had a bit of a scare when there was engine shut down right before the plane took off but thankfully the delay was just less than two hours. But it was frightening, really. I’m just lucky Chinks goes right into sleep whenever she boards a plane so she was oblivious to everything. In any case, we got home safe and sound. The vacation was great but it felt so good to back in Phnom Penh and seeing Hi-ace, my sister Ouwie and my in-laws.

Once I got here I got busy cleaning, doing laundry and also preparing Hi-ace’s stuff. Then yesterday, we brought him to the airport for his flight to Taipei then on to LA. I miss him already, I don’t have anyone to fight banter with hehe.. He’ll be gone till December 21st so I feel really really weird right now. But we’ll manage for the next four months and thankfully my mother in law constantly checks on us, bringing us food and even groceries hehe lucky me! Also, my Khmer nieces and nephew are at my ‘beck and call’ in case we need something or have an errand to run.

I owe you guys more updates, and it’ll be coming in the next few days. It will mainly be about our vacation =).. More later..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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He also told me there are of course, contractors who cheat, since those who go by this route rarely take the time to be actively involved in the teeny weeny details of the construction, chances are you’d end up with a house with sub-standard materials. But then of course, this also has a lot of advantages, since you don’t have to worry about buying your own bricks, cement, steel and other materials like stainless steel drums, flooring tiles etc..So you save precious time.

Another option you can take is to hire laborers and a foreman. This is the option we always take whenever we have construction needs. Luckily, Hi-ace has one really good friend who has a group of construction laborers. They don’t come really cheap but their work is really good and very reliable. In this case, you provide the materials, and they just do the constructing bit. So you have complete control over the material quality, the costs, but it also demands a lot of time. Materials are really expensive here in Phnom Penh so it pays so shop around and be cost-effective.

In any case, building a house or even a fence for that matter is a huge thing. It’s not something like buying a tv set, where if you don’t like it you can simply ditch or replace it. So whichever way you go, make sure that you end up with a finished product that is worth the money you paid for.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Yesterday, we were supposed to be looking for some new tv stands after visiting a travel agency to make travel arrangements, but we ended up just driving around, then going to the supermarket then piling up on pastries. Ugh, really really bad for me but Hi-ace was on his element trying {and totally succeeding} to make me eat some calorie laden muffins and doughnuts.

Since the shopping trip was postponed yesterday, I decided to go this morning not for tv stands though since I prefer to have Hi-ace when I buy that, and since he’s in Takeo province today, it was just me doing a bit of shopping in where else but Russian Market (Psar Tuol Tompong). I didn’t really have a clue what to buy and I was thinking of buying a pair of sandals but I didn’t like what I was in the stalls. I ended up wandering about the market when one seller called me. I remembered she lives a few doors down from my mother-in-law’s flat and she asked me to have a look at the new things she’s selling..

My, my! Really nice swimwear and lingerie, which is really hard to find around Phnom Penh. I bought a few Merona tankini’s to give to my friends and some Gap bra’s (and no they are not fake, all authentic!!). How much? $6 for the tankini’s and $5 for a lacy bra in nude color. All a steal with those prices considering that Merona tankini’s retails from $15 – $40..

Here’s just some:

She has this really small shop and I tend to overlook it with all the other shops crammed about the market but it was a great find! She has a lot of branded lingerie, bikinis, swimwear, sleepwear and tank tops. And she gives a fair price too and is not really scary to bargain with.

Several stalls down I also bought a sexy little tankini for Chinks for only $3..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Hi-ace is not happy with it though, coz he doesn’t fancy moving around with the rain and the floods that usually fill Phnom Penh’s streets with just a few minutes of rain. But I just love it! The whole day I’d been doing some chores without getting hot and sweaty, done a bit of packing, then I cooked a really delicious lunch of course with steaming hot soup.

The afternoon was spent blogging, then after a couple of posts I grabbed a book and curled on the bed, reading. This is the time I crave to just curl up in a ratty old and comfy sofa, not those too modern couches that are just tad too uncomfortable. Then a mug of steaming hot chocolate or coffee and a good book or a really nice movie would be enough to take me to blissful state of contentment…

Hope the rain would stop every so often but I really like that the temperatures are not so hot anymore…

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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I’m thinking I’ll probably gain 100 lbs by the time August comes, so be forewarned. Lol! On with the packing, my priority of course are Chinkee’s things. I usually travel light and don’t bring those not necessary and what we could just buy there so were sticking to basics. Hmm, what is it about packing that makes me so lazy? But it has to be done. After this post, that is..

Then I’m on to attack the laundry pile. Ciao!

Image Source

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Why the hurried construction? We actually didn’t have plans yet of constructing a fence around our property coz were still dumping soil on our backyard to raise it up to the level of the street, but two weeks ago there were two separate incidents where an intruder/trespasser came in our compound. It scared me and it just made Hi-ace paranoid since he won’t be with us for a few months. We have a gate but that time, it was open since our neighbor {Hi-ace’s relative} keep going out all hours. Then a guy just came in went inside our neighbor’s house (adjacent to ours) and got knives and a scissor. Then he proceeded to cut his hair in front of our yard. Then he got some paper, cut it all up and scattered it all over. And while he was doing that, he didn’t quit muttering something, which was really freaky! Thankfully, our front door was closed so he didn’t come inside our house.

The second incident was around lunch time, another guy came in and kept looking around. Before Hi-ace can come out and ask him what he wanted he just ran like he saw a ghost or something. There and then, hubby decided to call for the contractors to build a fence around the house. And what he had made is about 3 meters high so I’m kinda feeling like were in a maximum security prison but I feel safer, much safer.

It’s still so dusty all around and I’m feeling like I’m going to need some allergy bedding soon. Then after all that hooplah about intruders and construction, I had to rush with my shopping and preparing things I’ll be bringing home to the Philippines next week. Whoa!! Next week, I could hardly contain my excitement anymore. I haven’t been home for almost two years and I’m also looking forward to springing the surprise visit to my parents who has no idea well be going home. Everything is arranged and thankfully, our relatives who knows about our travel plans have kept mum about it so it’ll really be a surprise.

Having fixed my things already, this week, I need to prepare Hi-ace’s things too coz I don’t have much time when we get back here in August. Well be arriving 11th and in less than 5 days he’ll be flying out too. Sssh, I think I miss him already and the prospect of staying here in Phnom Penh just by ourselves, stresses me just a bit..

More later..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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I did most of the shopping at Russian Market (Tuol Tompoung Market) coz its nearby and well, everything is there. I got lots of branded factory overruns shirts, pants and jackets plus lots of Khmer bags (luv them!) and also some Northface and Kipling bags.

My favorite buys though are still Khmer fabrics! My mom and my aunts just love them and I always bring some whenever I go home. You can actually find lots of fabulous choices from the simple plain silk with geometric patterns at the bottom, to the handmade silk with full patterns and also some plain handmade ones.

I went for these as this is what my mom requested for. Plain, bold colors with geometric patterns. 2 meters costs $4. Bargain hard since the usual initial price quote would be around $10-$12 for 2 meters. Believe me you can lower it down to less than $5!

Handmade silk are pricier, the ones with full patterns costs anywhere from $50-$100 per set. While the plain handmade ones can go for $10-up per meter.

I also got some really nice scarves for my super fashionista cousins. I picked just neutrals so it will go with any outfits they wanna pair it with..

Shopping just exhausted me, truly. I never thought I’d say that but this time it did. Add to the fact that the Russian Market doesn’t have the airconditioned comforts of shopping malls.. The good thing is that, I’ve lost a bit of weight haha it was like being in a sauna. But I’ll probably still be back there in the next few days coz I always miss something out, after I do some life insurance lead research which Hi-ace asked me to do. Right now though, I need a little break. And oh, our fence construction around the property is almost done, so I could really really take a breath now..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Moat surrounding Angkor Wat..

The Angkor Archeological Park is located a few kilometers from Siem Reap city. The first time I went there I thought the temples were close together but I was surprised to learn that the park actually covers a huge huge area with hundreds of temples dotted everywhere. Visitors either go by hired cars, some by bikes and more popularly by tuk-tuks. We made arrangements for our tuk-tuk for the day. Costs $15 for the whole day and we could take him anywhere except Banteay Srei and other far flung temples. We did not hire any guide since Hi-ace was with us anyway, and I had a guidebook in hand.

Road to Angkor Thom

We left early. A little past 6 we were already on the way. We missed out on the sunrise since Chinks was difficult to wake up and I didn’t have the heart to drag her while she was still sleepy. We decided to do this route:

Morning: Angkor Thom Gate, The Bayon Temples, Terrace of the Elephants, Terrace of the Leper King, Ta Phrom, Banteay Kdei. Afternoon: Angkor Wat and Phnom Bakheng.

Angkor Thom Gate

At around 11 am it was already scorching hot so we decided to drive back to Siem Reap. Had a leisurely lunch in Pub Street, then we went back to the hotel for a quick swim and nap. Then at around 3:30 pm we were back exploring Angkor Wat and after that we were just on time for watching the sunset in Phnom Bakheng..

Bayon Temple

I’ve been to these temples several times already, but still it never ceases to keep me awestruck! Amazing, just amazing. I guess no matter how much I try, my descriptions won’t do all this grandeur justice, so I’ll just let photos tell my story..

Terrace of the Leper King

Baphuon Temple

Terrace of the Elephants

Ta Phrom Temple

Banteay Kdei

Angkor Wat

Phnom Bakheng..

More Photos? Check out my Photo Gallery page.

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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The National Museum of Cambodia located in Phnom Penh. Definitely one red landmark and a must visit!

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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Khmer Traditional Puppets on display at the Old Market

And a blog post without much photo for me is just bleh! Anyway, last May we took advantage of the few days holiday to bring Ouwie to Siem Reap. We had been wanting to do this but Siem Reap always takes the back seat whenever we hie off somewhere for the weekend.I’ll be dividing this into two parts, this first part will be all about Siem Reap City and the next one will be all on the Angkor Wat temples..

Alley St..Boutiques, galleries, restaurants, bars..

We left Phnom Penh early by bus. We find this a lot more convenient to go around as there’s plenty of bus services and its very affordable too. The trip was uneventful, the road in excellent condition and at around 1 pm we were already in Siem Reap. The hotel I booked has a free pick up service so it was an added convenience.

I love Siem Reap, not just the temples but the city itself. And Ouwie aptly described Siem Reap as ‘cozy’ and friendly place. I love those quaint little souvenir shops, almost endless rows of restaurants and bars, and of course, galleries, galleries and more galleries. Those who travel with me knows, I could just walk the whole day soaking up the atmosphere of the place, and I would appreciate it all the more if there are galleries and craft shops.

That’s actually what we did the whole afternoon after we got there. Once we checked in the hotel, we picked one that is close to the Old Market so everything was just a short walk away, we just wandered about different shops, eateries..

Check out more photos at my Photo Gallery page..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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It’s actually called bai saik chroeok (rice with grilled/fried pork) or bai saik muan (rice with grilled/fried chicken). I’m absolutely addicted to this. My sister, Ouwie too, won’t let two days pass without us going to some Khmer restaurant or in the market just to have this.

Bai Saik Chroeok (Pork)

This is the typical Cambodian rice breakfast, and usually sold till about 11 am in restaurants and in the food halls in the market. Since its very similar to our own Pinoy ‘tocino’ I just call it Tocino Rice, and you can always see a lot of Khmers buying this for take out so I guess this is also their version of bento boxes hehe..

Bai Saik Muan (Chicken)

What’s in it? Pork or Chicken marinated (sweet) then grilled or fried. Then served with a huge helping of rice, usually drizzled with oil. Some also have the yellow rice variety where the rice is boiled with chicken broth and this is really so delicious but ohh so fatty! It is then topped with chopped spring onions and a mainstay of most Khmer rice dishes – pickled vegetables plus lots of cucumber. If you eat in the restaurant or in the market you’ll also be getting a glass of iced tea for free..

And how much for that huge pack? Pork usually goes for 4000-5000 Riels ($1-1.5) while Chicken is a little more expensive, 6000-8000 Riels ($1-2). So, I guess its hardly surprising I’m gaining a lot of weight here, hmm?

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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I can’t believe were half-way through 2010 already! The past few days, I’ve been really distracted, hence the ‘mostly photos’ and meme posts only. I have a lot of my plate right now, coupled with this niggling thoughts I keep having that, ‘hey! its June already, what have I done?”’

I keep thinking what have I been doing for the past months? Blogging wise, it has been a great few months, very productive. I’ve done a lot of postings. I’ve also been consistently updating the few more blogs I started last November. I also managed to create a couple more ‘secret blogs’, these are mostly for me to experiment on streams of income from blogging. I love being busy, but sometimes its exhausting and its draining me. Most of the time I wish there’s around 50 hours per day, so I could fit in cooking, cleaning, laundry, errands, eating, blogging and other web projects, sleeping and playing with my daughter. Being a work-at-home mom is really not a joke!

Thankfully, there’s a lot of things I could turn to whenever I lose my momentum. I’m now crocheting a lot, nothing fancy, just some basic patterns for me to practice on the basic crocheting stitches. I’m currently working on a table cloth {more like a gigantic doily} with matching glass coasters. I’m making it for my mom and since we’ll be going back to the Philippines for a month-long vacation next month, I want to finish it in time. It’s been awhile since I gave her something hand-made so I’m very excited. She likes collecting crocheted things, home accessories etc, so I’m sure this would make her happy..

Preparing for our impending vacation is taking up a lot of my time. I’m doing a lot of shopping and I always keep missing something whenever I go so its like a never ending thing. Thankfully, all travel arrangements as well as hotel bookings, transfers had already been booked, so I only have to worry about stuff I need to bring. It’s a good thing too that school is almost over for Chinks and she could still attend the school’s recognition day scheduled on the end of the month.

And on top of all those things, I’m also preparing for Hi-ace things coz when we come back in August, after only a few days, its his turn to travel, and I don’t want to cram so I’m already preparing for some things he will also be needing. Whew! I feel like I’m being carried by a tornado with all these things, but hopefully things would settle down in a bit and anyway, I’ll be getting a month-long break. But no worries, I plan to still update this while I’m  away..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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I realize you guys might not be able to see the fish but trust me its actually there, lol! I have a burst of  ‘i need to cook’  something which sometime occur when I can’t think of something to write on my blog or when I ran out of ideas to add to my plethora of projects or times when I just want to ignore that I have a huge pile of laundry waiting to be done..

Actually hubby and I have an agreement, that I only need to cook if and when I want to and I don’t feel like cooking I just need to call him to grab some takeouts or if I want to try some new resto. I’m a lucky girl, I know but I don’t want to push my luck and not cook every time. So, I do occasionally cook.

This one, I filleted the fish coz Chinks freaks out with fish bones, then I deep fried it to golden brown. Then I made the sauce, I prefer mine with lots of diced bell pepper and carrots..Arranged lettuce, placed the fried fish on it, then poured the sauce. And yes, I might have overdone it with the sauce, but hmmmn, it actually tasted good!

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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A common sight here in Cambodia..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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flower vendors @ Psah O’Russei

Anyway, back to topic – Phnom Penh street scene. My obvious favorite are the various vendors you can see on the streets..Here’s some snapshots I’ve collected the previous months of vendors selling mostly snacks, drinks, flowers and toys..I’m just not the best of photographers haha I just tend to snap and snap, but here’s just to give you a feel of the place..

second hand clothes @ Boeng Trabaek Market

roasted pig vendors @ O’Russei Market

Bok Lahong (Papaya Salad) Vendor

sausages, dried squid for grilling

steamed sweet corn vendor

clothes, shoes etc along the sidewalk (st. 47)

balloon vendor @ the riverfront

At the onset, I thought ‘uh oh, another chaotic city!’ but looking at everything around me made me realize that all the ‘chaos’ make this a really unique place. I mean, I certainly can’t imagine Phnom Penh withouth those vendors..

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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It’s something the whole family looks forward to, Ma’s Sunday lunches. Home cooked food is still the best and I’m beginning to think I need some appetite suppressants coz of too much appetizing food she presents us every weekend.

After lunch we had a lazy time watching ‘Happy Feet’ on DVD and now were just back home. I feel so lazy and so full. But before we left, she asked me what I wanted to eat next week.. Here’s what I want..

Papaya Salad Khmer Style with Pork Skin (I know calorie counters are bleeping wild but I just love this!!)

What’s in it? Papaya strips, carrot strips, peanuts, mint, shrimps, pork skin. and mixed with sweet-sour sauce that is uniquely Khmer! Yummy-ness! Hope Ma makes this next week..Or maybe I should start learning how to make it?

©2010 pinaywifespeaks. All Rights Reserved.

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