FLAVOURS OF SIEM REAP
Historically anchored, modernly forward
It is not hard to picture the golden days of the Khmer Empire as I pass through the remnant of its ancient capital. Despite the onslaught of tourists and unending streams of tuk-tuks, Angkor remains grand and impressive. Verdant canopies made of tall trees that have withstood the test of time and gargantuan temple towers of wistful stone Buddha faces blur as I speedily head toward a small village to visit a traditional vermicelli rice noodle maker house.
AGE-OLD ARTISANS
The rural village by the vast area of Angkor Archeological Park is where three generations of family preserve the tradition of making rice noodles with a heavy stone mill. The sounds of clucking chicken and trickling well water lull me as I observe the labour of producing Cambodia’s favourite staple ingredient. After grinding the soaked rice into wet dough with the stone mill, the dough is left to dry and ferment. Afterward, the hard dough is boiled and softened with a blow from a leg-powered wooden mortar and pestle. Three ladies climb up to the wooden pestle and push the pedal as their mother sits on the ground and moves the dough in a perfect unison. The yeasty and elastic dough will later be put inside a metal cylinder mould (which is fitted with holes at one end) and squeezed directly into a tub of boiling water. To avoid clumping, one of the daughters lifts them up and transfers the noodles into a pail of cold water before dividing them into portions.
“We call this noodle and the dishes featuring them as num banh chok,” explains Pisith Theam. The executive chef of Park Hyatt Siem Reap is responsible for creating this half-day gastronomic tour for curious travellers who wish to explore Siem Reap beyond the typical sunrise tour of Angkor Wat. In between a market visit in the bustling town and overseeing lunch operations at The Dining Room, Theam patiently answers my questions. Our final stop before going back to the hotel is at a pottery where I managed to create an oddly shaped vase and a huge appetite for num banh chok.
INTRIGUING INGREDIENTS
During our bumpy ride back to the chic colonial oasis of Park Hyatt Siem Reap, Theam explains that the backbone of Khmer cuisine is palm sugar, prahok and fresh herbs. Widely used in many dishes, the palm tree or tnot grows in many parts of the country and its sugar gives Khmer cuisine distinctive sweet notes. Prahok, on the other hand, is a different story. Dubbed as the Cambodian cheese for its pungent odour, the fermented mudfish adds depth and saltiness to a dish. Be it the classic fish amok curry or a simple stir-fry, no Cambodian will cook without adding a pinch of prahok. Just like fine
cheese, the longer it ferments, the better it gets.
Lastly, the herbs. There’s no better way to enjoy the fresh bursts of flavour from the saw-leaf, waterlily stem, snake bean, parsley, basil and other forest herbs than to eat them raw with a bowl of fragrant Num Banh Chok Samlar Prahal. Herbaceous and light, the yellow fish curry made of kroeung lemongrass paste and coconut milk is the best breakfast from the hotel, reflecting Theam’s dedication to translating local flavours and sourcing the best quality ingredients.
The same attention to detail can be seen throughout the Bill Bensley designed hotel. Each of the 104 rooms and suites is aesthetically tailored for comfort, from the plush king-sized bed to the blackout curtain operated with a single button. On the ground floor, the dramatically dark reception area with hot pink accents is charmingly integrated with The Living Room where top-shelf wine and high tea are served. A pre-dinner cocktail before sunset or rejuvenating palm sugar ice cream on the chic black-andwhite dining swing is a must-do. It’s reminiscent of colonial times where the hottest days were spent drinking G&T on the veranda or swimming in one of the two swimming pools.
As charming as the hotel is, Angkor awaits and a visit to the ancient ruins is a magical experience not to be missed. Ancient civilisation have thrived near waters and the same can be said about the significant role of the Tonle Sap Lake for the Angkorean civilisation. Without its abundant supply of fresh water and food, the majestic ancient capital, which was said to be populated by one million people at its peak, wouldn’t have existed. By exporting the
rice and fishes from the lake and its surroundings, Khmer King Jayavarman II managed to finance his architectural ambitions. To this day, Tonle Sap remains one of Cambodia’s most important sources of food supply. As the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, it also functions as a natural flood water reservoir for the Mekong River system and teems with a high degree of biodiversity.
THE CHANGING FACE OF MEKONG CUISINE
Sothea Seng is acutely aware of this blessed environment and constantly worried about the impact of rampant development on his homeland. At Lum Orng, a farm-to-table fine dining restaurant which he just opened in June, Seng raises awareness of the important role of nature on what he coined as New Mekong Cuisine. After gaining success with three other restaurants, Seng wants to create an establishment that pays respects to the terroir, retains the integrity of the traditional recipes and showcases his heritage. Located on the outskirts of Siem Reap, the farm is located just across the restaurant. “My friends tell me that I am crazy to build a restaurant so far from the city centre, but it has always been in our culture to forage and add fresh produce into our meal. That’s why we build Lum Orng here, to have access to the vast land and nature,” explains Seng.
As a child of a farmer in Kampong Cham, he moved to Siem Reap for job opportunities and worked as a shopkeeper. Then, he landed a job in a hotel as a kitchen helper and eventually as a chef. When the chance to work abroad came, he packed his knives and moved to Dubai and, subsequently, the Caribbean. When he came back home, he found out that a lot of the knowledge, tradition and recipes have been lost during the brutal reign of the Khmer Rouge during 1975 to 1979.
In one of his sojourns to Koh Ker, 120km from Siem Reap, he rediscovered phset pok or bird egg mushroom, which he used to play with as a child. “Cooking is mostly done by women and when they pass on, they often leave no recipes behind. I take it as part of my homework to find, preserve and redefine what Khmer cuisine really is,” says Seng as he presents a stir-fried bird egg mushroom with young lotus seed drenched in a tasty homemade oyster sauce. It’s one of the dishes from the six- or eight-course tasting menu at Lum Orng.
Echoing Sothea Seng’s comment that Khmer cuisine has always been entrusted to the care of women, Kimsan Pol and Kimsan Sok helm Embassy Restaurant, which opened in 2014. The Kimsan twins - as they are known despite not being related to each other – broke convention and built an all-female powered restaurant. “We have seven women in the kitchen and 12 on the floor. As a female chef, I know firsthand that it is not easy to find good opportunities in the kitchen. We want to change that and share what we have learned with these women,” explains Pol. Learning has always been at the heart of Embassy’s endeavour. Both chefs were taught by a former chef of the royal family and are known for their extensive training abroad under the tutelage of well-known chefs like Régis Marcon.
Deriving inspirations from their recollection of Khmer street food, local ingredients and royal recipes, Embassy’s seven-course tasting menu changes each month, according to ingredient availability and the seasons. “Khmer cuisine is about using what we have around us. Foraging is not new to us. Ingredients such as wild herbs, edible flowers, freshwater fish, these are some of the staples of our cuisine,” explains Pol. Dishes such as the Sihanoukville Seabass Sour Soup, Tamarind Flower, Green Banana and Rice Paddy Herbs reflect what Pol used to eat as a child in her village of Kampot albeit with a sophisticated twist. Scandinavian furnishings adorn the 52-seat restaurant. The Kimsan twins’ focus on the details is visible from the stamped word of ‘srey’ (which means woman in Khmer) on the tableware to the meticulous wine or organic herbal tea pairings. “We want this to become the embassy of Cambodian cuisine where people from all over the world can come and experience it,” say both of them. In the hands of these four driven and talented chefs, I can see no alternative but a thriving Khmer cuisine.