Phnom Penh was a great stop for some culinary adventuring. From dim sum to Japanese to traditional Khemer it had a little of everything. We even tried tarantula! Which just went to prove that everything is good deep fried lol. The street food was delicious and cheap, travelling breakfast carts with fried egg and noodles to yummy fresh juice shops that spring up all around the markets.
But by far our best meal was on our last night there. Kim convinced me to try something called Dine in the Dark where after you choose the theme of your three course meal you are led by your blind waiter into the pitch black dining area. I was completely unsure of the idea and quite nervous but our guide/waiter Jojo made us feel very comfortable. I choose the Khemer menu while Kim chose the international. Jojo explained to us where everything was on the table and reassured us we just had to call and he would come to assist us. We ordered a bottle of wine which he expertly poured for us just before our appys arrived. We both got a type of salad which we took great fun in describing to eachother and being pleasantly surprised by all the flavor components and textures. Next was our main where Kim got the most unexpected and wonderful surprise of biting into perfectly cooked lamb. Without telling me what she had she offered me a bite... it's so incredible to have such flavor burst over your palate when you're not expecting it. After our main we were served a amuse bouche of three different shot glasses of chilled soups. Delicious. We took a moment to sip our wine and converse with Jojo and another server about working and living in Phnom Penh and they were super chill and talkative. Dessert arrived and we quickly realized Kim's had both bananas and chocolate in it so we switched. For the best too cause Kim loved mine with sesame, coconut sticky rice and papaya. After we were finished and Jojo had informed us our bottle of wine was now empy we were led back downstairs. It's important to let your eyes adjust as it is quite a shock being back in the light. The hostess then showed us photos of what we had eaten and we could see how much we had figured out. We scored pretty close to a hundred! I have to say it was one of my best dining experiences ever, combined with the pleasure of discovering your meal and our constant chatter with ourselves and our servers, it was phenomenal. Little did I know how fun it would be, thank you Kim for challenging me.
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