Living in Phnom Penh: And We Just Got LUCKY!

Posted by Lui on Aug 31st, 2010 | 2 comments

If I’m in the Philippines and I am asked what is the first thing I would think about when the word-LUCKY is mentioned, I would be quick to answer – Lucky Me! Pancit Canton. But here in Phnom Penh, when the word lucky is mentioned I’ll be thinking of —Phnom Penh’s very own, Lucky Burger -The Original Homegrown Cambodian Fastfood! And I actually like it! It’s definitely no McDonald’s but I think it can hold it’s own against those giant fast food franchises. I even prefer it to KFC sometimes.

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.

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Food Trip Friday 16: Korean Dongas and Bibimbap

Posted by Lui on Aug 20th, 2010 | 9 comments

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!

Food Trip Friday 12: Khmer ‘Tocino’ Rice

Posted by Lui on Jun 12th, 2010 | 6 comments

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?

Food Trip Friday 11: Fried Fish in Sweet Sour Sauce

Posted by Lui on Jun 4th, 2010 | 10 comments

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!

There Really is Such a Thing as..

Posted by Lui on May 30th, 2010 | 0 comments

A free lunch! Yep, I ‘m just back from our regular lunch from my mother-in-law’s. Of course, she cooked my faves again. We had pa’a, ground pork with ground fermented fish and steamed with egg and usually eaten with lots of fresh veggies. We also had steamed fish, Chinese style and another kind of clear soup.

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?

Food Trip Friday 10: Tres Amigos Pizza @ NYDC Siem Reap

Posted by Lui on May 28th, 2010 | 10 comments

I missed a few Fridays for this meme.. I know I was always out and about plus a lot of things happened. But anyway, here’s my entry for this week..

I’ve mentioned we went for a few days to Siem Reap to give Ouwie a whirlwind tour of the Angkor Wat temples. We took the morning bus and we got there around 2 pm. Since Hi-ace is a little picky when it comes to eating in restaurants we stopped in we were so hungry by the time we got there. After a quick hotel check-in we found ourselves wandering over to Alley Street. Chinks said she wants to eat pasta and pizza so we picked NYDC..

I like their menu.. Coolness!

I ordered their Lemon Sherbet Frizz but guess who finished it? Chinks! It was really delicious..

And here’s our pizza.. The house specialty, the super thin crust Tres Amigos. Yummy!

The rest of the stay there was spent temple hopping, shopping, eating and eating. No wonder I was already thinking of buying adipex p coz I gained a lot of weight!

The photos are kinda blurred, the resto had very dim lighting and I guess I was just too hungry to fix any settings on the cam. =)

Food Trip Friday 09: Seafood Lunch, Kep Crab Market

Posted by Lui on May 7th, 2010 | 15 comments

One of the reasons I wanted to visit Kep was Seafoods! And it didn’t disappoint. It may be a little bit pricier than in Sihanoukville, but the food was definitely worth it! We got there around lunch time, the receptionist at Kep Lodge gave us a map and recommended we have our lunch at the Crab Market. These are all shacks cum restaurants lining a portion of the beach.

Since it was on lunch hour, almost all restos were jampacked and I we were already starving. We settled on the not-so-crowded Kep Thmey Restaurant. Hi-ace wondered if the food will be any good coz how come this was the only one not full. But whatever, we were hungry so we ordered..

Ever tried fried crab? My first time and it was sooooo good! This was one of those few times that I felt the urgent need to eat without spoon or fork! Fresh crabs were stir fried with vermicelli, a bit of chili sauce, and topped with peanuts and spring onions. Truly yummilicious.. That’s one Khmer cuisine trademark, adding peanuts to dishes, it adds a lot of flavor and crunch..

Deep Fried Fish. I forgot to take a photo of the sauce. But this one was good too.

Prawn Soup with Mint..Made me sweat but it was really good too..

And we got free pineapple slices too.

We also finished off a big pot of rice. Even Chinks (who loathes getting her hands dirty when eating) ate with her hands lol! Total bill? 83000 Riels about $21.

Food Trip Friday 08: Nom Tnout

Posted by Lui on Apr 30th, 2010 | 5 comments

Nope, I didn’t cook this. More like, it was delivered to our house by hubby’s nephew. This is a native Cambodian rice cake flavored with ripe palm fruit, locals called Nom Tnout (Palm Cake). Topped with shredded coconut and sugar.

How did it taste? More like our Pinoy puto but with a little tangier taste, plus the toppings adds a bit of texture. Will definitely have it again..