I love Khmer food but I must admit I’m nowhere near good when it comes to cooking it. I’m always pressed for time and one characteristic of Khmer cuisine is the freshness of ingredients (and I don’t have time to go to the market daily..) and lots of spices that needs to be chopped/grated/minced etc.

So when I crave Khmer food, I either resort to the cooking of my nice mother-in-law who spoils us several times a week with her always delicious Khmer cooking. But I’m not that thick-skinned to eat at my in-laws house everytime though I know they would welcome it. So we usually head out and try out different Khmer restaurants around Phnom Penh.

One of our favorite Khmer Restaurants is Boat Noodles Phnom Penh. This homey restaurant is located in St. 294, near the Philippine Embassy. It’s menu features a lot of Khmer and Thai favorites. It’s hard to miss this place if you’re looking for it. The facade is full of potted plants, statuettes with a lot of cars and motos parked especially during lunch and dinner hours. It’s popular among locals, expats and tourists alike.

Why we love it? The menu is extensive, delicious and affordable. Mains usually goes for $2-3. A family meal for 3 would not go beyond $15. Another reason is the ambiance. It has the look and feel of a traditional Khmer house, wooden decor, Khmer silk, surrounded by lush plants and fishes swimming in small ponds. Their staff too is an asset, speaks English well and you can easily request to tone down the spiciness of some of the dishes. And the last reason we like eating in Boat Noodles Restaurant – their fried ice cream. Chewy crust filled with ice cream deep fried and drizzled with chocolate syrup and topped with cream and cherries. For some reason, Chinkee just loves it.

My favorites – spicy Khmer salad with beef and basil, green papaya salad and Cambodian fresh spring rolls. Hubby loves the tom yum soup best. If you’re visiting Phnom Penh and looking for affordable and authentic Khmer cuisine plus good ambiance, Boat Noodle Restaurant is worth the visit.

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Boat Noodles Phnom Penh

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My daughter Chinkee enjoying Boat Noodles.. Obviously she's full so she's staying still enough for a photo.

This is an update to my previous post – Direct Flights Phnom Penh To Manila. I’ve been waiting for developments and updates about this and I must have missed this(:P allow me some slack hehe I was on a ‘Pchum Ben‘ holiday hangover).

Anyway, its finally confirmed that the much anticipated (it’s probably just me haha!) signing of Memorandum of Understanding between Cambodia and the Philippines allowing direct flights between the two countries happened last September 16, 2009. I got this update from my fave Cambodian news portal – Phnom Penh Post. Yahoo! So that’s one step along the way.

The Philippines’ proposal to open seven weekly flights from Manila to Phnom Penh, 14 flights a week from Clark to Phnom Penh, plus 14 weekly flights to the capital from elsewhere in the Philippines is currently being reviewed by the Cambodian government.

SSCA Cabinet Chief Long Chheng is optimistic that both the Philippines and Cambodia will reach an Air Service Agreement by the end of this year.

Great news right?  The number of Pinoys working here and vacationing here in Cambodia are increasing in numbers so this would definitely be a big help for us. Shorter travel time and cheaper air fares. Now, hubby is worried if this pushes through I might decide to go on a weekly Phnom Penh-Manila jaunts Haha come to think of it, isn’t that a fab idea?

Latest Update here – Update to Direct Flights: Manila – Phnom Penh

I’ve been amiss updating my blogs since I’ve been quite busy with other web projects and coincidentally, the rest of Cambodia has been celebrating the Pchum Ben Festival. So it was holiday for sometime, with lots of going ons specially around the markets and of course, the pagodas. This festival has a solemn quality to it with most people going to pagodas for prayers.

Pchum Ben Festival is a religious festival, and is one of the most celebrated festivals among Khmers. For them, this time is for the Commemoration of the Spirits of the Dead. The festival usually falls on the first few days of September. On the Khmer calendar, the Pchum Ben Festival is on the 15th day of the waxing mmoon on the 10th month, also referred to as the Pheaktrobotr. And this festival lasts for 15 days.

The Pchum Ben Festival is so much a part of Cambodia culture whose daily lives are intertwined with Buddhist religion. This time is where Khmers pray for their departed loved ones and would visit the pagodas and give offerings for their dead loved ones whom they believe are trapped in the spirit world.

Khmer blogger Kim Heang has a good collection of Pchum Ben photos. Check out his blog and find really good photos as well as write ups about Cambodian culture and traditions.

Within the 15 days of the Pchum Ben Festival, Khmers bring offerings to the pagodas. Offerings usually consist of sticky rice balls and cakes wrapped in banana leaves. They also place incense, flowers as well as candles with these offerings.They also bring cooked rice as well as some more home-cooked Cambodian dishes which they share to the monks. The rice is the also divided and placed on several containers.

Trooping to pagodas for the offerings usually happens early in the morning as they also believe that most souls are afraid of sunrise and would wander around during dawn or early in the morning.

The festival is held for 15 days (:D bit long isn’t it??) and the first 14 days is called Kan Ben or holding the offering and last day is called the Phcum Ben or the Gathering for the Offering. The last day is specially important for the Khmers, and they would all go to the pagodas, usually make small boats from banana trunks, fill it up with rice cakes and let if float in the rivers to journey with their loved ones.

This festival is another fascinating insight to the Cambodia culture. My in-laws are Chinese-Cambodians and their rituals varies slightly from these but I was nonetheless fascinated by it. One difference I’ve noticed is that among Chinese they have a small altar at home built for their ancestors and that is where they offer food and prayers instead of going to a pagoda. However, they would pick one day out of the 15 day festival and also go to several pagodas for offerings the same way as Khmers.

We have also opted to visit pagodas that are farther out from the city. Most of these pagodas are really out of the way and the offerings and donations are much more needed by the monks..

One of the benefits of being a blogger and being constantly online is that you can find lots of goodies and here’s one I found. Really! These buildings are truly unique and others outright bizarre nonetheless they sure are fun to look at.

Enjoy!

Agbar Tower, Barcelona Spain

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a 33-story tower at Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed by French architect Jean Nouvel in association with the Spanish firm b720 Arquitectos and built by Dragados. It opened in June 2005 and was inaugurated officially by the King of Spain on 16 September 2005.

So what’s up with me? I should have been updating this but things are getting really hectic this past week. For one its Pchum Ben Festival here in Cambodia so we had been hopping to some pagodas last weekend. Curious about Pchum Ben Festival? It’s the Cambodian festival for Commemorating the Spirits of the Dead. Much like All Soul’s Day and usually extends for 15 days for Khmers and one of the festivals that Khmers really take to heart. I’ve done a fair bit of research on that and will be posting it soon. Hmmn, living in Cambodia is certainly opening my mind to new things about Cambodian culture.

I am also in the midst of working on several different web projects. Some blogs and a full blown website so its taking a lot of my time. I’m spending about 12-14 hours in front of the PC even forgetting to eat sometimes which is simply not healthy but I console myself by thinking I don’t have to rush around looking for the best fat burner just to get rid of my scary love handles.

Tomorrow I’ll have a bit of time to relax and take some rest as the projects are almost done and its holiday here so hubby and Chinks don’t have school (meaning I could get lots of help around the house ).

Will update the soonest..

I was in need of a little retail therapy. I had been in a horrendous mood for the last couple of days, must be PMS or I simply have tons to do and no time to do facials or even have pedicure. Anyway, a few days ago, I decided to treat myself to some shopping. I wanted to go early so the malls were not an option so I went to Psar Tuol Tompoung (Russian Market) to see what I could interest me.

That’s one the things I miss in Manila. The malls and shopping . From where we lived in Cavite, an SM Mall was just a couple of minutes stroll so I usually have my retail fix every so often. Here in Phnom Penh, though there are air-conditioned malls I find them too smallish and some vendors are really in for the kill (I mean they really overprice!) so I prefer going there with a Khmer (more bargaining power..) or I just go over to Tuol Tompoung Market. I guess malling isn’t yet so much a part of Cambodia culture .

I decided to play a little game and see what I could buy with $20. I figured not much. I was wrong. One of the reasons Tuol Tompoung Market is really popular with the tourists – Brand Name Clothing @ a fraction of its original price. No, they are not second hand. All brand new, I don’t have any idea how it got there but I have a few guesses. They are all from garments factories from all over Phnom Penh. Brands like Calvin Klein, Levis, Gap, Colombia, Billabong, Banana Republic, Dockers, Old Navy, H & M to name a few and in-house brands of some US chains like K-Mart.

So, if one really has a thing for brand name clothing at super discounted prices then you wouldn’t mind, the hot and claustrophobic market. It’s actually fun and reminded me so much of Divisoria, Manila on its not so crowded days.

After about an hour shopping around, I spent a total of $16 and here’s what I got!

2 Old Navy Tank Tops, 3 Old Navy Stretch Pants (perfect for working out!) and 2 H & M shirts for Chinks. Not Bad for less than $20 bucks. Now, I’m planning my next shopping outing..

If you’re visiting Phnom Penh, Tuol Tompoung Market (check the map here) is a must visit. Not only can you find Western clothing at bargain prices, but this place is also full-packed with quality souvenirs, Cambodian silk, and if you’re gastronomically adventurous, try out the yummy Cambodian food on the food stalls in the middle of the market.