Cambodia

Hey again! I just got back from a weekend trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia, home of the Angkor Temples. I think this should be on everyone's bucket list because it was one of my favorite trips to date. The people, the architecture, the history, and the food were all superb. There are hundreds of temples to see in the massive complex, but we decided to visit the three main ones - Angkor Wat, Bayon/Angkor Thom (with all the faces) and Ta Prom (where Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie was filmed). I wanted to share with you all some tips and tricks we gathered along the way and through our research. The "thing to do" there is watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. Although there has been a lot of buzz recently on how crowded it can get, we did decide to watch the sunrise and we were not disappointed. Here are my recommendations:

- Get your ticket the night before, between 5 and 5:30 PM to avoid the lines in the morning
- Reserve a tuk tuk (main mode of transportation there) through your hotel, and have them pick you up by 4:45 AM, the gates to the temple open at 5
- The hotels can prepare you breakfast in a box, or you can come back to the hotel after sunrise for breakfast
- Wear pants (longer shorts are also acceptable) and a shirt that covers your shoulders
- Wear closed-toed shoes and bring a flashlight or use your phone light since the ground is uneven and it is dark
- Best place to stand is on the left side of the temple, slightly off center
- If you make it there by 5:15, you should be able to get a spot in the first or second row
- Bring a professional camera if you have one, you won't be disappointed
- Visit a travel clinic before you go and bring anti-malaria pills, as well as lots of good bug spray

Note: we went on a Saturday, which was relatively speaking, not that busy for the sunrise. But the third floor of the Angkor Wat temple is closed on this day so we unfortunately missed out on that. Besides that, just walk around and explore. It is really amazing that humans were able to build these massive temples without all the technology we have today.

Panorama of the sunrise, absolutely stunning

Seeing all the colors change with time

The sun finally up

Entrance to Ta Prom 

I didn't know much about Cambodian food before this trip but I absolutely loved it. The flavors were similar to Thai food and every bite was extremely tasty. I couldn't get enough. Here are some of their local dishes I tried. I also recommend going down to "Pub Street" (definitely Western influenced) for dinner, drinks, and walking the streets. There are small markets, crazy loud music, little food stalls, and mopeds with mobile bars lining the streets. We definitely enjoyed our weekend in Cambodia and I hope you all get to visit soon!

Fish Curry with eggplant

Pleah Sach Koo (raw beef salad) - probably my favorite thing I ate in Cambodia! It is Carpaccio-like beef flavored with a fish extract called Tuk Prahoc and peanuts. It is served with bean sprouts, basil, peppers, lemongrass and a chili-lime dressing.

Fish Amok Trey- one of Cambodia's national dishes. It is steamed fish with shallots, lemongrass, garlic, keffir lime, coconut milk, eggs, peanuts, served in a banana leaf. Very tasty.

Chicken with Cashews, A+ for presentation, with brown rice in the wooden container

Nha Hang Ngon and Crab Eating

Before a day of sight seeing in Saigon, our group had lunch at a restaurant called Nha Hang Ngon, walking distance from the Reunification Palace. The restaurant is all outdoors, set up in a garden. The entire circumference of the restaurant is small food stations, each specializing in their specific foods. The menu is extremely extensive and separated into sections by Asian country. Vietnamese food was the most extensive, but Korean, Japanese, Chinese, etc. were all featured. It was a fun way for us to try different foods and see them being prepared in the different sections. Something I have noticed about Vietnamese restaurants is the food comes out right as it is made. Which usually means that everybody is getting their food at varying times throughout the meal. This is nice in some ways since you can be assured the food is fresh and warm, and not sitting under a heat lamp. But it does feel weird to start eating when not all members of the group have gotten their food. It wasn't uncommon for someone to finish their entire dish before the rest of the group had received their food. 

Japanese/Sushi Station

Rau Xao Hai San (Stir Fried Vegetables and Seafood)

A dish from a non-Vietnamese section

Pho (Beef Rice Noodle Soup)

Bun Moc (Vermicelli in Soup with Sautéed Pork Balls and Pork Sausage)

Pretty Garden Sitting Area

2nd floor Garden overlook

Traditional Vietnamese Dishes from this particular kitchen

Crab is quite popular here in Vietnam, called Cua in Vietnamese. One evening, we decided it was time to try some local crab at a restaurant a few blocks from our apartment, called Cua 1 Cuang. It is an open air restaurant with seating that extends into the sidewalk, which is not uncommon here. This place in particular caught my eye since on the sidewalk sits shelves of live local crab and other seafood. When ordering crab, you can choose how you want it prepared, then go up to the crab "shelf" and choose which ones you want cooked, and they were still alive and moving. You can rest assured that is as fresh as seafood comes! We got our crab grilled. It was a little bit of work to pick apart the shell to get to all the meat but it was definitely worth it.

Grilled, with a side of chili-salt

Raw Crabs we got to pick from

A side of fried spring rolls - traditional Vietnamese style

Saigon Cooking Class

Xin Jao from Saigon! One of the most exciting experiences I have had here was to take a local Vietnamese cooking class through a reputable company, Saigon Cooking Class. It was located in a courtyard above a restaurant owned by the same family. The place was very modern and clean, and the experience was absolutely wonderful. Upon arriving we were served local lemongrass iced tea and given aprons. On this particular day, the menu included fresh spring rolls with pork and shrimp, glass noodle salad with squid, and chicken in a claypot with coconut water and ginger. We spent time preparing each course, then enjoying it before moving onto the next course. Everything tasted great. And after the class, I kept noticing some of the dishes we made on the local menus and ordered them at several restaurants, but none were quite as good as the ones we made. They even taught us about presentation of some of the vegetables with unique kitchen tools I hadn't seen before. I also learned that glass noodles are completely made from something called a mung bean, and are naturally gluten free. I have recipes for all of the dishes so if you are interested let me know!

Menu for the day

Lemongrass Iced Tea

Cooking set up with individual stations

Set up for the spring rolls

Sauce for spring rolls with peanut butter and fish sauce

What goes in a fresh spring roll!

My attempt at rolling the rice paper

Rolled spring roll

Voila - ready to eat spring rolls! So fresh and delicious!

What goes into the sauce for the glass noodle salad

Ingredients for the glass noodle salad

Prepping the salad

Adding glass noodles

Final salad with squid, decorated with cucumbers

Individual clay pot cooking stations

Marinating chicken with ginger

Chicken braised in the clay pot - so fun

Added some vegetables in the clay pot as well

Topped it off with rice, which soaked up the wonderful juices

The chef prepared a passion fruit dessert for us

I highly recommend this place if anyone is traveling here. It was such a fun experience!

Secret Garden

Hey Everyone! I am writing this post from Vietnam. I have been in Ho Chi Minh City (better known as Saigon) for about two weeks now and have really enjoyed exploring the city, and of course trying their local foods. The city is insanely lively and vibrant. And there are millions of mopeds zipping around everywhere, it's quite a sight to see. The restaurant I am sharing with you today is called Secret Garden. It was recommended to us by the owner of our Air BnB. It is located down a small alley, and up about four flights of stairs. It seemed very random to us at first but the trek was definitely worth it for the ambience. And there are motivational posters for you along the way (see below). Once you get up there, you walk through the kitchen into a wonderful garden with views of the city. The food is smaller portions, and the menu has English translations and a lot of pictures to help guide your selection. Vietnamese has been surprisingly hard to pick up, but I tried to include the local Vietnamese names of the foods here. I wouldn't say this is the best Vietnamese food I've had so far, but it is definitely a great choice. I have a lot of other posts in the works, and will try to keep a steady stream coming your way. Enjoy.

Motivational Posters

Another cute Poster

Garden with lanterns and string lights

You can see the garden we ate in with the city buildings beyond

Papaya salad with dried shrimp

Goi du du tom kho

Braised Chicken and Ginger in a clay pot

Ga kho gung

Fried rice with seafood

Com chien toi

Stir fried beef and leaf

Bo xao la lot

Stir-fried squid and onion

Muc xao hanh can