An intermission

Before I post about the Cardamons crossing-and some other things that have happened since- I thought I'd give you a heads-up on my culinary findings.

There is two things that I cant live without since I got to Cambodia.

Ice coffee with milk.

A very simple but effective combination of instant coffee, crushed ice and condensed sweet milk. Sometimes served unstirred (my preference), with the milk sitting in the bottom. Instructions:

DON'T stir it. Suck gently until you feel the milk in the tip of your tongue. Lift the straw until it reaches the coffee and suck some more. Lift your tongue a bit so that the bitter coffee flows under it. Lift it some more and let the thick sweet milk touch your palate and as it becomes thinner, flow and mix with the coffee. Swallow. Repeat until satisfied/finished. A note: Locals don't drink it this way and you are expected to stir it once served, so don't be alarmed when the coffee lady looks at you as if you are mad, just learn how to say “no problem”, and go elsewhere to reflect on how such a trivial drink can be a genuine attack on the senses.

Chilli Sauce

Comes in two flavors:

The very spicy one. A small drop will bring back memories long forgotten and tears to your eyes. Its aftertaste will remind you that life is sweet and apparently ketchupy.

The mild one. It will make even the blandest food exciting. A plate of rice will never look the same again.

After two months of rice and noodles, it was time for some exploring. Here's the report:

Snake

Very tasty if grilled correctly. If overdone, it can be used to play tennis or against the riot police if you happen to be in Greece during this winter. It's got lots of scales, and a part-chicken, part-fish flavor. Served with salt-pepper-and-something-white-and-sweet seasoning.

Duckling

Few images are more disturbing than a boiled duck embryo in an egg, I must admit it required some courage on my behalf to try it. Once you get past that though, it's quite tasty, very chicken egg-like, with a slight taste of liver. The body is extremely soft apart from some crunchy bits-the bones I presume- and can be squashed easily before eaten. There might be a few feathers in there, just push them aside. Served with salt, pepper and a bit of sliced garlic.

Bugs

Lots of them, in different sizes. The small ones are crunchy, something like almost burned potato chips with a sweet twist. The big ones require some work, you need to peel the upper part of the shell and eat the rest which, well, to be honest, tastes like shit.

Turtle

Fried in ginger and curry, very tasty, the flesh is quite tender and beef-like. The legs are chewy as hell. As for the head, even the Khmers I had it with were a bit hesitant and in the end nobody ate it. Didn't make any difference though, since it was already cut in half with the brain-matter scattered in the rest of the food.

Tarantulas

Had it for breakfast after a night of heavy drinking. Didn't help my hangover at all. Fried in the same sweet sauce as the bugs, most of it is crunchy and tasty apart from the back part of the body that has something like minced liver and a soft, white and relatively tasteless bit that I guess is the silk. I also discovered I'm allergic to them, bummer!

 Dog

Before coming here I had sworn to my self that it would be the only thing I wouldn't eat. Well, I lasted 2 months. It's very chewy, as expected. It reminded me strongly of goat, both in smell and taste. There's sausages included, intestines for the outer part and liver and other atrocities for the filling, yummy! Served with banana tree thingies that are dipped in a bowl of dog-broth. When I asked them where they get the dogs they pointed at the street, but I think they were taking the piss.

Merry Christmas!