Culinary delights and mid week entertainment

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Sunday, 29 May
I seem to have formed a weird addiction to these strange milk based lollies that I found in the mini mart here. Since lactose and I are not really friends, this is perhaps an unhealthy alliance. But then, we ladies do need more calcium in our diets right? Plus the package is kind of cute.

Monday, 30 May

To combat mosquitos in an environmentally friendly, chemical free way, put up a bat house. One brown bat can eat up to one thousand mosquitos in one hour. Search the web for bat-house plans, or purchase a bat house at your local home centre. Mount the bat abode in a sunny spot 12-15 feet off the ground.

Thanks for that encouraging information Michelle D. Maybe Batty is saving me from Dengue Fever and Malaria. I was asked today if I would be interested in house (and cat) sitting for some Aussie expats who are going home for a couple of months. I wonder if they have a bat house?

Wednesday, 1 June
Today, I had crickets and a banana for morning tea. The crickets were tasty. You eat them whole. Even the head with it's beedy little eyes. Mmmmm. They were awesome. I think the flavour may be more from the sauce they are cooked in though. It was kind of salty... Maybe they have MSG on them? I have previous experience with popcorn here that was entirely too spicy for me, yet still somehow compelled me to keep going back to it due to it's salty MSG'ness.


Thursday, 2 June
Today the expats went out for lunch to celebrate R's birthday. The destination of choice was an amazing wood fired pizza place. Have I mentioned that I am going to get fat here? The restaurant seems to be part of a hotel, as it also had a pool right next to it. Complete with a cute ginger kitten lounging by the pool.

I discovered recently that there is a dive school here, so have been kind of thinking about doing a scuba diving course one weekend, on the basis that it would probably be cheaper. Turns out though that it costs about the same as going through a dive school in Cronulla, so seeing as it would take up 4 days of my time, I might give it a miss for now. Plus it will be more fun if I can convince someone to do it with me (any volunteers?)

After a magnificent Italian lunch, an expat couple took Daniel and I to an amazingly good Lebanese restaurant. For those of you from Sydney, I would say it is was definitely as good as Jasmins. Seriously. But an awful lot cheaper! We were even provided with a free Sheshi pipe after the meal (though I wasn't a huge fan of it myself). Conveniently Daniel now has a loan of a motorbike, which maked the transport much easier, particularly as it was reasonably late by time we were heading home. I think I was somewhat of a nervous passenger at times though. No reflection on the driver, simply because after taking a fairly minor tumble on dirt previously, I was more acutely aware that a higher speed spill onto asphalt, in the dark, amid traffic, while wearing shorts, a t-shirt and thongs might not be very pleasant! (A reminder that "thongs" = flip flops, for those of you reading from Ireland). I still kind of want to get a motorbike here though.


Friday, 3 June
Today I had lunch with Scott (an expat from the agency I came here with) to catch up on what I've been up to in Cambodia so far, how things are going an thoughts on what might be next. It was an interesting conversation and plenty of food for thought. The impression you gain of what it would be like to live in a country when you know you will only be there for two months yourself is of course quite limited - so it was good to hear more of a long termer's perspective.

In the evening, it was time for a much anticipated trip to Riverside with Sophall and Adono (my current housemates), to try out some western food - a first for Sophall at least. On this one, I regret not doing my research better. The restaurant we eventually decided on had an impressive looking menu, but sadly the food served was not quite up to the same standard. I'm not sure how much Sophall enjoyed the food (I wasn't too thrilled by it myself) but Adono, ever the optimist found it to be pretty good. Actually the pizza wasn't too bad. Just stay away from the lasagne.

After dinner, Sophall and Adono too me to the night markets, which was not at all what I had expected. It was very much like the day markets, but with a very (very!) lound live singer. I think for some reason I was expecting it to be more like a carnival with lots of lights and rides. I didn't see many tourists there either, which also surprised me since Riverside is the tourist area. Towards the back of the markets you can find a large eating area. Rather than having tables, there are a whole lot of mats laid out, with serviettes and condiments at convenient intervals. It was like a giant communal picnic! I loved it. The food was all Khmer food, and we were able to persude Sophall to have something which in English literally translates to "egg duck baby". Egg duck baby is a fairly precise description of the food. This is a Cambodian favourite I'm told, but I simply could not bring myself to try it. Basically it is a duck egg, where the ducking has been allowed to grow a bit, but not to hatch. So when you open the egg, there is a litle partially formed duckling inside! Comlplete with wings and little feathers and bones. All of which are eaten. I think I might have to stick with the crickets!


***Scroll down for more photos!***

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Comments

[Suzy]

Egg duck baby? I'm glad it was Sophall and not you. And those menus. Are they really that big or are Sophall and Adono tiny midgets?

[shells]

Yeah Suzy, I couldn't bear the idea of eating the egg duck baby. Sophall and Adono are normally sized. Menus were giant! Lovely to hear from you!