Khmer Fine Dining Family Meal

Khmer Chef

While in Phnom Penh Robert and I were lucky enough to be under the tutelage of a Fine Dining Khmer chef trained by the famous Raffles Hotel group of Singapore. Not only is she a chef but also happens to be the matriarch of the family that was taking care of us and leading our Cambodia culinary adventure.

Robert learning about Khmer street food

Most of our “tasting time” was, as usual, spent on the street sampling the various street venders and trying to understand and live like the locals do; in an effort to show us a more refined side of Khmer cuisine our resident matriarch and chef agreed give us a crash course and demonstration in Khmer fine dining. One blazing hot afternoon Chef Danhi & I jumped on our friend’s dirt bike, one for the 3 of us, and headed to the outskirts of the city.

3 Chefs on one bike

We arrived at a large complex that was actually still being completed and was very upscale when compared to the surroundings.

New Housing Complex

We entered the family dwelling and immediately jumped into the cooking, which actually ended up being more observing than cooking. The chef proceeded to produce dish after dish of traditional Khmer offerings in a relatively refined form including, a steamed fish and glutinous rice cake called Amok; a curried chicken dish, that tasted similar to a very mild version of a Thai curry; a traditional herbed omelet, similar to omelets I have had with the Hill Tribes of North Thailand; and a custard steamed in a pumpkin.

Robert's Photot Documentation

If i had to describe Khmer food in a sentence i would say that it is similar to the country’s location geographically, in that it is sandwiched between Thailand and Vietnam. Much of the food looks and tastes like Thai food that has been created with a Vietnamese culinary mind in that the food is rather mild and could be considered “bland” when compared to that of Thailand or Malaysia.

Folding leaves to hold the Amok

Once all of the food was complete a expansive spread began to take form on the living room floor, the traditional eating local throughout most of the region. After snapping a few photos we all sat down to enjoy as a family of food enthusiasts and new friends. All of the love that went into the creation of this feast quickly made its way into our conversations, relations, and now recollection. The company and resulting microcosm of culture was even better than the food and serves as an accent to a culinary experience I will never forget.

Robert shoots the spread