Siem Reap - First Lunch at Old Market

On our last full day in Siem Reap, we decided to have lunch at another French Restaurant. On our way there, we decided to go explore the old market. Since we have so much time and not much agenda for the day, I though it would be nice to just browse around the old market. While walking around, we walked pass the food section, and I guess the food caught our attention, cause we ended up eating here for our first lunch, lol.

You see, I have a soft spot for Asian food, specifically anything spicy or sour. And looking at all these cooked dishes kinda made me drool. It was the same in Thailand, but since my friends don't really want to eat at such stalls, I didn't have a chance to try many things there. But here, I was with my husband, so when I suggested to eat here, it wasn't just a suggestion, it was more of a statement, lol. Luckily he obliged. Probably cause he saw some bbq skewers around :P

One of dishes I wanted to try here was the sour soup. I bet they were made from tamarind. I love tamarind so much. And they have so many pots in front of the stall. So I picked this one to eat in. Actually, the stall next to it looked a lot nicer, but it was empty. And this stall was filled with people tabao-ing food, even though nobody sat down to eat. Given a choice, I would always pick the store with the most people, even if it looked more chaotic and dirty. I would trust the local people not to betray me when it comes to their food!

Look at that!

This is where they bbq some of the meat.

And this is what we ordered. I ordered amok again, cause I wanted to make sure it was the same as what I ate in Angkor Wat. It was totally different! This one here was so much nicer! I also ordered a bowl of sour soup. I just wanted to try and when I saw the lady putting so much inside a bowl for me, I told her not so much. But she didn't care, she continue to put more meat and vegetables and soup until the soup was full! Lol. I bet she was going to overcharge a tourist like me. 

My husband came back with two bbq package. I think was chicken, and the other was the minced meat bbq frog that I wanted to try too! So happy he got that! We sat down and asked for rice. We were also served with a dish of raw vegetables. Drinks were also served to us. The owner of the stall kept an eye on us as we eat. Sometimes telling me which vegetables to eat with which sauce. Again, it touches my heart that they care that I enjoyed their food. It also reminded me of a kind Korean aunty who also taught me how to eat green chillies with sauce long time back when I took my husband on his first trip to Korea. It's these small interaction with the locals that I enjoy the most when I travel. People can be nice everywhere. 

Here is the shop we ate at looking out from the inside. The total bill was just 6USD for two person, with all that dishes. I think it was average priced since we did ordered mostly meat dishes. I often read how you could have a nice meal for 1USD in Cambodia. I guess those days are over? Or maybe those who said it were vegetarians? Anyway, this was one of my favourite dining experience in a foreign country! Love it! We cleared everything, and the lady ask us to come back for more the next day :P