Cooking in Cambodia

With more expletives than adjectives Gordon Ramsey's new Channel 4 television series featuring his culinary journey through southeast Asia was difficult to stomach, but the reality is Cambodia is a fascinating country. (His focus for the first instalment screened at 9pm on Monday 9th May).  Profanities aside the programme gave a vivid insight to traditional subsistence cooking from stuffed frogs to deep fried Tarantula spiders. Before going to Cambodia myself a couple of years ago I'd never heard of Khmer cuisine, but here is a centuries old culture with a wealth of delicious flavours waiting to be explored (thankfully with more acceptable ingredients).   I stayed in the chic surroundings of a beautiful boutique hotel in the centre of Siem Reap.  The de la Paix was the perfect location for exploring the stunning UNESCO world heritage site of the temples at Angkor, as well as close proximity to the colourful market and renowned Foreign & Colonial Club or FCC as it's known, complete with ceiling fans and whiff of a gin and tonic fuelled past.  At the de la Paix's renowned Meric restaurant, experimenting with so many flavour combinations I'd never had before from Banana Blossom Salad, to Amok fish (fragrantly spiced white fish in a light sauce served in a piece of hollow bamboo) , to a shot glass of coconut rice sago with an egg cup of palm sugar juice, the gastronomic delights were sensational.  With a backdrop of wonderful architecture, a balmy evening and light breeze perfumed with frangipani blooms, I look forward to returning and experiencing more of this fabulous destination.  Thank you to Gordon for inspiring me to re-visit this unsung gem.