There are all sorts of snack and beverage vendors just outside the gates of the main temples/wats in Cambodia. I didn’t know much about Cambodian food overall and was wary of the hygiene issues with respect to street and market food in general, but since reading Robyn’s (Eating Asia) post on “risky food”, and my increasingly adventurous streak (though nowhere near as adventurous as Robyn’s), I figured I would just go ahead and try whatever suited my fancy, within reasonable boundaries. After all, this wasn’t really a food trip, it was mainly a sightseeing holiday… So after a couple of hours touring wats, feeling more than a little parched and hungry, I decided to check out these semi-ripe mangoes, served as they might in Manila, less the bagoong or shrimp paste…
Semi-ripe but still very firm, these mangoes were a wonderful snack. Not as fibrous as I thought they would be, but you could tell they weren’t going to ripen into a cebu-guimaras-smooth-soft mango variety, either. I was surprised that they didn’t offer any salt or shrimp past to go with it, but I happily munched on the entire mango, with Mrs. MM, and The Teen looking at me every few seconds half expecting me to convulse and run into the nearby woods with involuntary bowel movements. I once led large teams of foreign consultants in Indonesia and have seen all sorts of cases of amoebiasis, intestinal parasites, etc. so it wasn’t unreasonable to be slightly worried about food handling and hygiene… But nothing untoward happened. I had a wonderful crisp semi-ripe mango when I most needed it, and I actually went through the entire trip eating what I felt like eating without any ntoward incident whatsoever. So sometimes, you just have to take your chances…
18 Responses
Do not board any plane without packs of Imodium with you. No prescription needed. They are life saver. Semi ripe mangoes are always a delight to me regardless where they come from. The objectionable involuntary bowel movements could always ruin one’s vacation! Just like the Little House on the Prairie woody areas could provide a spontaneous relief to let whatever in one’s holding tank. Nothing could stop the urge. It must be expelled right there and there with tonic noise not as loud as an erupting volcano but very close followed by sweat of joy!
the 1st photo is so tempting…”nakakapag laway”
at any rate how will you compare the mangoes at cambodia with our local one?
Maria Clara: You are indeed Silly Lolo…reincarnated! or should I say Silly Lola!!!…
I find Maria Clara’s description of the “objectionable involuntary bowel movement” as vivid as the invitingly beautiful picture of the mangoes :)
Your first photo looked like a flower…colorful and so nice…glad you had no untoward tummy incident. Am so careful when travelling….don’t like to have a bad tummy. I once got sick while on a train to Monaco…and it was a pity…so beautiful yet I couldn’t enjoy it…Can never forget that as some of the people on the train were so nice….yet I felt awful!!
Most of the time for me the water or ice is the culprit. I have learn my lesson although I will still eat in a coffee shop or road side shop but I will not touch the water they serve or any juice or drink which they use local water or ice. I will go for a Bottled mineral water instead.
Pity it didn’t come with the Thai spicy sugar-salt dip, that’s my favorite snack walking around Bangkok or Chiang Mai.
MM, your pics are really amazing! Is it really the camera or the person taking the pics?
Mila how is Chiang Mai? My next door neighbor (WASPS) here in the East Coast has a jewelry business (hand made in CM). The couple fell in love with CM and the Budhist way of life that they decided to sell their house and move some time in September ’09. They said there are a lot of British and Australians living there also. Wish I have the guts to follow my heart’s dream and desire……btw, they’re also living their 2 college kids and bringing with them their 10-year old girl.
Sorry, I meant leaving their 2 college kids here in the US and bringing with them their 10-year old girl.
The semi ripe mangoes look good – pero mukhang talagang mas masarap kahit sa tingin yung local mangoes dito. Pero hindi yun ang tinitigan ko. I love singkamas (jicama ‘ba). And that’s what caught my attention in the picture (he he he). They look so crisp and sweet. Sarap pag may bagoong!
Ewan ko ba, strange as everybody says, when I go to Pinas, and eat anything that I see, whether in the streets or in the Mall, ayos lang sa stomach ko. And going to the province, I once in a while cannot stop myself drinking from a “rustling” river or maki-inom sa balon ng mga binibisita namin. Pero 3 years in a row, when we get back to Houston, together with the usual “uncoordinated” feeling associated with the jet lag, aba eh pulos takbo sa CR ang inaatupag ko (same with hubby), and this last for a week or two. So.. going back this May, ay naku, Pampanga here with go – to get those carabao’s milk (for the leche flan and other goodies), and along the way, kahit ilang beses ko pang patigilin yung driver, basta bibilhin ko lahat ng makakaya ng bulsa ko, hehehe. Ano kaya at magdala na lang ako ng portable “john” from the camping store?
MM, what were the prices of the snacks (fruits) compared to our local rate?
That mango looked appetizing.
I got a tip from one of the travel channel shows, when trying cooked streetfood, look for those that were deep-fried in front of you and just out of the hot oil, to be safe. The only downside is all the fat. Thanks for the travel tips to Cambodia!
We have Cambodia mango trees planted in my Lola’s backyard in Tanauan, Batangas. They were big and a bit matabang.
EbbaMyra,
Talking about running to the CR. It’s true that whenyou are in PI your stomach is okay ,until you touch the US soil then your stomach starts to growl.I figure ,maybe the bacteria you are harboring can’t stand the cold temperature so it has to come out. This is not scientific, just my observation.
Fruits look so good.
Ang masasabi ko sa iyo like what Maria Clara would say, Ebba, is huwag mong kaligtaan magdala ng supply mo ng IMODIUM!!! …pag uwi mo…it will become your best friend!
des, you are from Tanauan? My mom and dad are both from Tanauan. I have cousins who still live there. So you are familiar with Aling Atay’s Bibingka and Palairos?