Jaunted

Breakfast:
If you're like me, it sometimes takes a little motivation to rise and shine after a long day of travel. How's this for incentive to get your lazy ass out of bed? The earlier you hit the streets, the better your breakfast will taste.

Cambodians wake up at dawn, and local markets are buzzing by sunrise. The classic Cambodian breakfast is a hot bowl of noodle soup. Ask for Q 2 (seriously, that's how it sounds).

Tea is always available for free at even the smallest noodle stall, but if you need a morning mug of coffee, find a spot that serves drinks and ask for cafe k'dao (hot coffee) or cafe t'kaw (iced coffee). The word for milk is tuk d'koh, and it's generally the sweetened condensed variety.

Other breakfast options include fresh baked baguettes, delicious homemade waffles or meat and egg on rice with chili sauce.

Lunch:
My absolute favorite street food in Cambodia is green papaya salad, or bohk lahong, one of the healthiest and most delicious concoctions humankind has ever invented.

A papaya salad stand is usually mobile, a glass box on wheels. The box is full of thin strips of green papaya, along with the other salad fixings like dried baby shrimp, chili peppers, garlic, limes, peanuts and crabs.

I like my salad with one chili pepper and no crabs, a recipe you can communicate with sign language, but feel free to try other combinations.

Dinner:
There are so many options. I love Cambodian street sandwiches, ubiquitous around markets from late afternoon on. The sandwiches are a fresh baguette greased with something buttery and stuffed with something Spammy, along with pickled vegetables. Sounds gross, yes, but trust me and try it.

All manner of grilled meats are available on the street, and the truly brave can try a snack of tiny clams. The Vietnamese presence in Cambodia also leads to plentiful steaming bowls of pho, a fragrant noodle soup with beef.

The one food I've never been able to bring myself to try is soft-boiled duck fetus, but Cambodian friends assure me it's a special treat.

For desert, try a fruit shake, called tuk a lohrk. Mixed fruit is delicious, but my favorite flavor is papaya, lahong. Finally, don't leave Cambodia without trying bong aym, a bowl of various sweets served with shaved ice and sweet milk.

Final Tips:
My attitude towards street food and safety is simple: I'd rather risk a bellyache than hide away in my guesthouse eating banana pancakes. Almost all street food is fine; just use common sense and hand sanitizer.

Related Stories:
· Cambodia Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photos: Phnomenon.com]