Cambodian Food

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Queef
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Cambodian Food

Post by Queef »

We have a cook at my job. She's Cambodian and therefore only makes Cambodian food.

9/10 times, the food would make a rat puke. It stinks, it looks like barf. There are more bones than meat. Fish and meat are usually undercooked. It's a fucking nightmare. I was told by my coworkers that she is an excellent cook.

I've never had tasty Cambodian food. Never. Why is Cambodian food so goddamn nasty? Vietnam and Thailand have got some tasty dishes. What happened to Cambodia? (please don't tell me "the KR did it" once again. Be more creative). I mean they were colonized by the French. Most former French colonies have delicious food. What's with Cambodia? Is it because of the "we're Cambodian, we're the best" mentality? I'm just trying to come up with a logical answer.

Did you pensioners got used to Cambodian "cuisine" after a while? Does your Khmer wife/ gf make that nasty ass local shit somewhat edible?
explorer
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Re: Cambodian Food

Post by explorer »

Cambodia is one big scam. Cambodian restaurants sell food to customers they would not eat themselves. Ask Cambodians, it is common knowledge. When the food is going rotten they add it to the dish and add enough spices so you are not supposed to taste the rotten food. This enables them to make more money than if they bought fresh food.

A lot of people get sick from the food.

A few people die from the food.

However, if you check out different places, on rare occasions you may come across a good one. Once you find a good one, go there every day.
## I thought I knew all the answers, but they changed all the questions. ##
Queef
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Re: Cambodian Food

Post by Queef »

explorer wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 1:41 pm Cambodia is one big scam. Cambodian restaurants sell food to customers they would not eat themselves. Ask Cambodians, it is common knowledge. When the food is going rotten they add it to the dish and add enough spices so you are not supposed to taste the rotten food. This enables them to make more money than if they bought fresh food.

A lot of people get sick from the food.

A few people die from the food.

However, if you check out different places, on rare occasions you may come across a good one. Once you find a good one, go there every day.
Please tell me you're being a smartass. This can't be true.
If it is true, does that also apply to "western" restaurants catering to "western" crowds?
explorer
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Re: Cambodian Food

Post by explorer »

I was in a restaurant a few days ago. There were a group of school children there, probably from an international school in Hong Kong, doing a tour of Cambodia.

One boy was vomiting in the restaurant, probably from something he had consumed some time before going to the restaurant. This ruined his holiday in Cambodia, and inconvenienced the others in the group.

Many Cambodians dont make the connection between what they eat and being sick. Ask them, some people have some ridiculous superstitions. So whatever he consumed will still be being sold.

Many of us have experienced something similar, but become smarter about what we consume.
## I thought I knew all the answers, but they changed all the questions. ##
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John Bingham
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Re: Cambodian Food

Post by John Bingham »

explorer wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 1:41 pm Cambodia is one big scam. Cambodian restaurants sell food to customers they would not eat themselves. Ask Cambodians, it is common knowledge. When the food is going rotten they add it to the dish and add enough spices so you are not supposed to taste the rotten food. This enables them to make more money than if they bought fresh food.
That's nonsense. Most restaurants depend on repeat business. If the customers were being served food that they didn't like or made them sick they wouldn't go back.
Many Cambodians dont make the connection between what they eat and being sick.
Condescending BS.
Silence, exile, and cunning.
Queef
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Re: Cambodian Food

Post by Queef »

John Bingham wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 2:10 pm
explorer wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 1:41 pm Cambodia is one big scam. Cambodian restaurants sell food to customers they would not eat themselves. Ask Cambodians, it is common knowledge. When the food is going rotten they add it to the dish and add enough spices so you are not supposed to taste the rotten food. This enables them to make more money than if they bought fresh food.
That's nonsense. Most restaurants depend on repeat business. If the customers were being served food that they didn't like or made them sick they wouldn't go back.
Many Cambodians dont make the connection between what they eat and being sick.
Condescending BS.
That's what I thought. Then again, good customer service in Cambodia is like a pink unicorn on 4th of July... Maybe the lack of F&B etiquette extends to the kitchen. Who knows. That still doesn't explain why Cambodian food is so disgusting.

Many Cambodians make the connection between what they eat and being sick. They just don't understand why the food they ate got them sick, since it didn't get them sick the last time they had it. That still doesn't explain why Cambodian food, compared to Vietnamese and Thai food, is so disgusting.
explorer
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Re: Cambodian Food

Post by explorer »

Queef wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 1:58 pm
explorer wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 1:41 pm Cambodia is one big scam. Cambodian restaurants sell food to customers they would not eat themselves. Ask Cambodians, it is common knowledge. When the food is going rotten they add it to the dish and add enough spices so you are not supposed to taste the rotten food. This enables them to make more money than if they bought fresh food.

A lot of people get sick from the food.

A few people die from the food.

However, if you check out different places, on rare occasions you may come across a good one. Once you find a good one, go there every day.
Please tell me you're being a smartass. This can't be true.
If it is true, does that also apply to "western" restaurants catering to "western" crowds?
Ask Cambodian people, it is common knowledge.

Next time you go to a restaurant, ask if you can go to the bathroom. When you go to the bathroom, have a look in the kitchen if you can. See if you would eat food prepared in that kitchen.

There are some restaurants owned and run by Westerners, who employ Cambodian staff, where the food is good. The owners also train the Cambodian staff about hygiene.

I have not been to every restaurant in Cambodia, but I would be surprised if you can find a restaurant owned and run by Cambodians, which operate at a standard which would be acceptable in Australia. If you do, it would most likely be owned and run by a Cambodian who has lived in a Western country.

The levels of hygiene and freshness vary. If you go to a restaurant where there are a lot of Western customers, they normally have a high turnover of food, so you get much less stale food. The level of training also varies. Some are better than others.

Most restaurant kitchens in Cambodia have rats and cockroaches in them. Cambodians dont consider it to be a problems and dont kill them.

I have seen a place selling food in a village, where a dog got up on the table and started eating the food. They chased the dog away, and sold the remaining food to customers.

I have seen fairly well educated people preparing food. A dog comes along, so they pat the dog. They then go back to preparing the food.

I repeat, if you check out different places, on rare occasions you may come across a good one. Once you find a good one, go there every day.

The places which cater for Westerners often have better training. Go for places with a lot of customers as they have a high turnover of food.
## I thought I knew all the answers, but they changed all the questions. ##
explorer
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Re: Cambodian Food

Post by explorer »

It is interesting listening to the views of Westerners in Cambodia.

Some will tell you that the food is good, so dont even worry about it.

Others will tell you, if you want decent food, you should not be in Cambodia.
## I thought I knew all the answers, but they changed all the questions. ##
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Kammekor
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Re: Cambodian Food

Post by Kammekor »

Queef wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 1:15 pm We have a cook at my job. She's Cambodian and therefore only makes Cambodian food.

9/10 times, the food would make a rat puke. It stinks, it looks like barf. There are more bones than meat. Fish and meat are usually undercooked. It's a fucking nightmare. I was told by my coworkers that she is an excellent cook.

I've never had tasty Cambodian food. Never. Why is Cambodian food so goddamn nasty? Vietnam and Thailand have got some tasty dishes. What happened to Cambodia? (please don't tell me "the KR did it" once again. Be more creative). I mean they were colonized by the French. Most former French colonies have delicious food. What's with Cambodia? Is it because of the "we're Cambodian, we're the best" mentality? I'm just trying to come up with a logical answer.

Did you pensioners got used to Cambodian "cuisine" after a while? Does your Khmer wife/ gf make that nasty ass local shit somewhat edible?
The Cambodian 'cuisine' is actually hardly worth eating besides let's say 5-10 signature dishes.

The 'stinking' food might come from the ingredient 'prohoc' / 'prahoc', fermented fish, which most Westerners don't like. I hate the smell of it too, although if it's added in small amounts (which Cambodians hardly do) it can enhance the taste of dish.

And yes, Cambodians like to chew on bones. Wherever I eat, I always get the chickenbreast, while they're fighting over the legs (no, not the thigh!) of the chicken.

If you're ready for an adventure, try goat meat with red ants. If you close your eyes and ignore what you've been taught when you were a kid that's a spectacular dish.
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Re: Cambodian Food

Post by davegorman »

explorer wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2019 2:39 pm It is interesting listening to the views of Westerners in Cambodia.

Some will tell you that the food is good, so dont even worry about it.

Others will tell you, if you want decent food, you should not be in Cambodia.
You’re mixing up two things.
“Good food” is relative and personal. You’re saying they sell rotten food that makes people sick.

You know that kid from Hong Kong could have had a meal at his mums or any restaurant in downtown Hong Kong.
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