Foto Friday # 81

Lemongrass for sale at the market in Kota Kinabalu on the island of Borneo, Malaysia.

C is for Cambodia @ Lemongrass in Camden

When it comes to Cambodian food, you are either in the mindset of it being subtly spiced, or the other way of looking at it as being very bland.

When you compare it to Thai or Vietnamese food, it is pretty bland, but years of hardship, sometimes taste goes out of the window and necessity comes in. Just think of English food from the 40’s onwards.

But as a cuisine on its own, I’d go for the former. You will not get the kick of heat as you do from Thai food, nor the burst of freshness you get from a Vietnamese meal with all their fresh herbs. What you will get is a mildly spiced well cooked food using the best of all things local in Cambodia.

Lemongrass was pretty heaving on this Friday night, even though it is down a non descript road near to Camden Town. It has been around a while as the Time Out stickers on the front window date back to the late 90’s. The chef and owners are Cambodian, but the wait staff were from Eastern Europe. Obviously family members do not work on Friday nights.

The menu has no pan Asian dishes on it, these are all what you would expect to find on a menu in Phnom Penh.

We started the evening off with the mixed starters for 4, which came on 2 plates, and would have been enough for 8. Apart form the soggy prawn toasts all was pretty fantastic, especially the breaded prawns. Very nice.

My main of Phnom Penh Chicken tasted a little similar to the Sweet Chilli Chicken, except for the pineapple. Both were cooked very well, and with a variation or two of sauces I’d say most of the food was pretty similar. But that is the same of food in Indian restaurants as well, and with one chef in the kitchen who can blame him.

All in all for being the only Cambodian restaurant in London it has kept to its principles and only serves authentic Cambodian food, but at a premium. It was not as cheap as I would expect it to be. But it you want something a little different it is worth the extra.

Saigon, Saigon

I had always had high expectations of Vietnam, especially its food. I suppose this has come about from so many people I know coming here and raving about it so much. 

I have passed through Bangkok so many times over the years, and it is quite baffling that it has taken me so long to come to Vietnam. But as they say, good things come to those who wait. 

We entered Vietnam from Cambodia. So Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City was our first stop. It is a really busy city, lots of life, great vibes. Shame there are 5,000,000 moto's ploughing the roads at high speeds. Makes crossing the road an interesting past time.

After a delayed check in to our hotel, and my first taste of Vietnamese Coffee and several bananas, we ventured onto the streets of Saigon. 

After seeing a lot of places catering for tourists, doing western food we were in need of something filling, but not too heavy. 

We wandered down a small alleyway and came across a small restaurant with an open kitchen on one side of the alley and the tables on the other side. Now if a restaurant is brave enough to let you stand there and watch your food being cooked, then it can't be all bad. 

So we took a table and ordered 2 bottles of Bia Saigon. Much needed refreshment. 

We ordered some fresh Salad Rolls, Lotus Root Salad and Pork with Lemongrass and chilli (which I have eaten now several times and is fast becoming a personal favourite.) 

When we bit into the Salad Rolls, the first thing we tasted were the fresh herbs. This is how I expected them to be, and we were not let down. 

The Lotus Root Salad was similar to Green Papaya Salad, but without the heat. of its Thai cousin. Really really good. 

The Pork and Lemongrass & Chilli, as I said before is fast becoming a favourite of mine. Seem to be having it everywhere. It's the combination of minced lemongrass and chilli that drives my taste buds mad. Simply Delicious. 

Walking around the markets, you can see the amazing fresh produce, this for me is what makes Vietnam such an exciting culinary destination. I for one and going to eat my way through it.