Good Cambodian Food and a Massage? – Chanrey Tree…and about the best pepper on earth…

On a recent trip to Cambodia, I had the opportunity to learn about, and eat, the local food. Prior to this trip, I didn’t know much about Cambodian food. After a few days in the country, I was really enjoying Cambodian or Khemer (Khemer is pronounced “kamay” and refers to the people, culture and language of the country) food, and could see influences from surrounding nations like Thailand and Vietnam in the cuisine. One of the places that was highly recommended to us was a place called Chanrey Tree, and I’m glad I listened:

We came for lunch once, and the food was excellent. Here is a look at the menu (its not the complete menu, but just pages from things we ordered):

First, the chicken wings:

These were so delicious, I ordered a second round. Next, the chicken salad. This was just ok but not one of my favorites. I probably would not get this again.

Now, for one of my favorite dishes. I had this dish a few time while in the country. The beef is usually super tender, the sauce so savory with a hint of sweetness, and its usually served with this condiment seasoning combo of salt, pepper and palm sugar. Its the perfect balance of spicy, sweet and salty. Our hotel made it best and I struggled to find restaurants which could prepare it as good (I stayed at the Park Hyatt Siem Reap). If you go, show them the pic below and get ready to have your mind blown. A couple of things first about the seasoning. They don’t just use any pepper, but Kampot pepper which is only found in Cambodia. It may be the best pepper on earth! In fact, its so good, that the pepper has its own “certified geographical indication” (just like wine) in Cambodia AND the EU! I tried desperately to find the seasoning while in the country and the best I could do was the packaging below (note, I have since tried the seasoning I bought at home, and while its really good, is not an exact replica of the amazing seasoning I had while in the country). Anyway, back to lok lak beef. This restaurant’s version was so good, I also ordered seconds of this dish.

Another amazing dish I had a few times was chicken sour soup. So well balanced between salty, savory and sweet. Highly, highly addictive!

Other things I had that I loved were amok, and various curries.

I also enjoyed a lot of the local desserts and some of them reminded me of Filipino desserts. I will post more about local Cambodian food and places I ate at later on. This was Nhom Chek Bok – mashed banana, stick rice, coconut milk, sesame seeds and coconut sorbet.

…and another dessert which I don’t remember. One thing to note about this restaurant is that they will come by and give you white rice once your mains start arriving; so no need to order that separately. Lastly, the restaurant gave us a discount card to be used at a related spa with our bill. To our surprise, the spa was just next door! We decided to check it out and got Khmer massages. The massages and facility are top notch, and I would highly recommend both the spa and restaurant, and would not hesitate to return myself.