Best of Siem Reap Eats: three letter acronyms
There are only three letters you need to remember for eating in Siem Reap: K, F, and C.
As readers of this blog may know, food (both making and consuming) is one of my passions, but Siem Reap eating was a bit of a let down. The tourists restaurants around the temples were predictably unexciting, had small portion sizes, and were expensive. But eating noodle soup at various local restaurants ranging from $1.50-$4 was also disappointing, ranging from instant ramen with stir fried vegetables on top (actually the best tasting of the bunch) to rice noodles with pig intestines and kidney. Even steamed buns from roadside carts were practically inedible. The culprit for much of my poor eating experiences was a sweetness that seems to dominate a lot of Khmer cuisine, at least the cuisine which was within reach in Siem Reap. Sweetness in savory food is just not my thing.
So there were really only two meals that I truly enjoyed in Siem Reap. One of them is at FCC Angkor, one of the FCC (Foreign Correspondents Club) family of restaurants. Housed in the old French Governor's mansion, it's a sight in itself.
Here, I tried the lotus root salad, which was absolutely surprising. The thin white tubes that look like penne are actually the thinnest, most tender lotus roots I've ever seen or imagined! With bacon, tiny shrimp, and chicken, it was refreshing and just right for the hot and humid weather.
The only other meal I enjoyed was at none other than KFC, across from the luxurious Hotel de la Paix. Not surprisingly, the clientele included both locals and Europeans, but interestingly 1/3 of the customers on both (!) days we went were Chinese and Chinese-American! So it wasn't just me who wasn't in the mood for more Khmer food.
We had the 1-year of KFC in Cambodia anniversary special. For $2.50, the meal deal included a piece of white meat, a piece of dark, plain rice, gravy, the best soup I'd had in Cambodia so far (it actually tasted natural), and a soft drink. The green beverage you see is Mirinda, a Pepsi brand. I'd had Mirinda in China before, but I remembered that to be a lemon lime flavor. Here, it's "green cream," like a cream soda.
So there you go, best of Siem Reap eats: FCC and KFC.
