Running amok in a good way

Participants started the morning by visiting a Siem Reap wet market with chef Lat Chhunly, then watching him prepare Cambodia's national dish from fresh ingredients. [Photo by Mike Peters / China Daily]

More Khmer flavor

What other taste treats can you expect in Cambodia?

The essential spices of lemongrass, turmeric, kaffir lime and galangal are combined with four essential vegetables: bitter melon, pea eggplant (the little-bitty green guys), banana blossom (usually in salads and soups) and water lily.

You can find spicy hotpot noodles at the night markets and pub-street eateries, as well as bai sach chrouk (pork and rice) with cucumbers, peppers and vinegar for breakfast and lap khmer (a chili-sprinkled sliced beef salad) on many menus for lunch and dinner.

Like Vietnam, Cambodia has a strong French colonial influence that shows up most delightfully in the bakeries. Delicious croissants and baguettes abound.

Fried tarantula, which some guidebooks describe as a "local favorite", was featured in a CNN Go story that went viral several years ago. We never saw it in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, though we didn't scour every corner of the night markets.

We're told it can still be found in the rural provinces. Gordon Ramsay tried one.

Contact the writer at michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn