After giving our rain ponchos to some street vendors and selling our helmets to two Vietnamese men, we were off to Siem Reap. The Hanoi International Airport welcomed us with the beckoning neon light for Burger King. I had been craving a McDonald’s sundae, my “go to” motorcycle road trip treat, since leaving Canada. Shawn was craving a burger. BK would do.
We left Hanoi behind in the gray drizzle. Siem Reap welcomed us with warmth, a stunning sunset and incredible efficiency. 25 minutes from the time the plane landed to meeting our driver. This includes getting a visa, going through customs and getting our bags. Our driver was a wealth of knowledge. We learned that Angkor means “city” and Thom means “big”. The city of Angkor has 54 temples, one for each of the 54 provinces.
First activity, street food tour. We love to start exploring every new culture with a tour of its street food. It’s a great way to orient yourself to a new city, pick up a few basic phrases and figure out the local food scene. Most importantly, eating a scorpion has been on my bucket list since being stung by one a decade ago in Bonaire.
Sam from Backstreet Academy picked us up in a tuk-tuk. We highly recommend the tours offered by Backstreet Academy. Each tour offered is “owned” by a local. The proceeds of the tour go to the website provider (7%), the local guide, local driver and local artisans/vendors. Each tour is essentially a small business that is owned by locals.
We headed to the Road 60 Market, a 2 km long street market that offers fruit, insects, BBQ meat and fish, clothes and amusement park rides. Here Sam introduced us to some amazing new fruit. Custard Apple, a green and knobby, thick skin hides a delicate, soft and sweet fruit inside. Nothing at all like an Apple, this was incredible. Next was the Milk Apple / Purple Star Apple. A purple fruit that, when quartered, resembles a beautiful flower. Not as sweet as the Custard Apple, the MilkApple has a delicate sweetness and is slightly more apple like in texture. Jackfruit and roasted jackfruit seeds, rambutan and Logan. Yum!
Next was the insects. Rice grasshoppers, crickets, silk worms, water cockroaches, and water beetles. Crunchy and light, except the meaty and mushy silk worm. For the most part tasteless, save the flavours of the various marinades used.
Next up, BBQ. Lemongrass stuffed frog and small, sardine like fish. The frog was wonderful, flavourful and delicate. At $2.50 each, we will be going back for more.
A traditional Cambodian stuffed pancake was next. A paper thin rice pancake filled with bean sprouts, pork and carrots. Served with lettuce, cucumber and mint, and a sweet dipping sauce. Another wonderful treat.
For dessert, sticky rice with coconut and sugar and wrapped in a delicate crepe.
And then, the one food I was mesmerized by since learning of its existence. Fetal egg. An egg that has been fertilized and incubated, and then eaten within 18-21 days once specific body features have been formed. So basically a hard boiled egg that when cracked open reveals a tiny head and beak, body and other “characteristics”. I wasn’t sure I would be able to do this. But with a Cambodian beer in hand, I was ready to give it a go.
It was surprisingly good, if you could get past the texture. The taste is more or less like a hard boiled egg, but every bite a unique texture depending on the body part being eaten. I even found a tiny bone – the beak. I can’t say I will be trading in my standard eggs for fetal egg anytime soon, but I do see the appeal of eating this incredibly unique dish.
All in all another great street food tour. Highlights were the exotic fruits and stuffed frog!
Live Life Epic 