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: Ly Vanna, Picture by : Nathan Dexter. |
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Perhaps
some traditional Khmer foods like durian and duck
embryos may prove to be an acquired taste for visitors.
But just the other side of the Chroy Changvar Japanese
Friendship Bridge, a simple food loved around the
world is a catalyst for daily picnics by local Khmers
unwinding after a hectic day in stressful Phnom
Penh.
The food is simple, the atmosphere relaxed and friendly
and to dine here in the open air can cost less than
a dollar.
Perhaps some traditional Khmer foods like durian
and duck embryos may prove to be an acquired taste
for visitors. But just the other side of the Chroy
Changvar Japanese Friendship Bridge, a simple
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A Bakheng corn seller
hawks her wares.
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food loved around
the world is a catalyst for daily picnics by local Khmers
unwinding after a hectic day in stressful Phnom Penh.
The food is simple, the atmosphere relaxed and friendly
and to dine here in the open air can cost less than a
dollar. Follow Route 6A for about nine and a half kilometers
over the bridge, past the Prek Leap restaurant strip,
and stalls appear on both sides of the road __ open-air
restaurants slung with hammocks with floors of woven mats.
Bunches of coconuts sit outside, ready to be opened for
their sweet, fresh juice. Khmer noodles and even roast
chicken is available at some stalls. But the specialty
of these unmarked restaurants in Bakheng is something
simpler still.
Sweet, boiled corn (called pout in Khmer) cooked the Khmer
way. The origins of this picnic haven are simple. For
decades, the people of Bakheng have grown corn and taken
it by bicycle to sell in Phnom Penh. But when the bridge
was destroyed during heavy fighting in the early seventies,
it became more difficult for families to transport their
corn. |
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After the
Khmer Rouge was ousted from the capital in 1979
and life began, slowly, to return to normal, a few
enterprising families began cooking their crop and
selling it in front of their homes.
After the bridge was repaired, more and more locals
heard about Bakheng's corn and began making the
journey over the bridge to sit by the water or look
out over fields and eat fresh, homegrown corn. Today,
there are as many as a hundred tiny restaurants
hawking cooked corn for between 3000 and 3500 riel
for 10 cobs. The best time to take in the relaxed
Bakheng atmosphere is between 3pm and 8pm, when
families and groups of friends flock here to enjoy
the clean, cool air and watch the sunset. And the
corn restaurants have become so popular that now
there is not enough locally grown corn to last the
season. Real Bakheng corn is only available between
January and March. "Our home grown corn is
more tasty than corn from anywhere else in Cambodia,"
admitted corn seller Mr Chhun Eang, who, at more
than 50 years of age considers himself expert in
the matter of corn.
"But we import corn from many places and provinces
to meet the demand for the other nine months of
the year."
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Boiled with spices and
seasonings, this corn is like gold.
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Each shop can
sell from 80 to 90 cobs of corn a day, and as many as
200 on weekends and holidays like Khmer New Year and Water
Festival.
"I have about 20 people a day coming to my shop and
on special days like Pchum Ben (Festival of the Dead)
and New Year, I might get more than 50-it's hard to find
a place to sit down," Mrs Thim, another seller, said.
At 40 years of age, she has been selling corn here for
more than five years.
"There are three types of corn. Pout dormneup is
soft corn, grown from domestic seed. People like it very
much," she explained.
"Pout kormpong is corn from canned seed which is
imported from other countries. Pout ksay is corn from
hard seeds that have been domestically grown. People don't
like this last one as much because it is much less tasty
than the others."
But even those who buy Bakheng corn at the peak of the
local season may not be able to capture its rich flavor
if they do not know the secrets of cooking it, she said.
"We add special ingredients to our pot __ some sugar,
a little salt, sugar cane and teuy leaves," she said.
Teuy is a type of aromatic leaf.
"We usually spend about an hour cooking our corn.
Then we serve it with chhay pov (dried salted vegetable),
pickled cabbage or even, like in the old times, chili
mixed with salt."
Cambodia is so often a place of simple pleasures.
And a trip to Bakheng, to savor freshly boiled corn and
perhaps sip fresh coconut juice while watching the sunset
and enjoying the company of friends and family that is
a simple pleasure many of Phnom Penh's locals say is hard
to beat. |
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Suite
B8, Regency Square, InterContinental Hotel, 294 Mao Tse Toung
Boulevard,
Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia.
Tel: (855) 23 213 133 Fax: (855) 23 213 033
E-mail:
editor@leisurecambodia.com |
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