gastronomical adventurism

durian 

gnome sauie

I recently tried two new foods endemic in Cambodia.  The first was the infamous durian, that limburger of fruits famously banned from hotels, public transportation and the like.  To me the pungent smell is kind of like strong garlic--very unbecoming of a fruit.  When the lady at the market cut open the green, thorny shell for me, it was a little like dissecting an arthropod.  After extracting the meat, she cocooned it in several layers of plastic and styrofoam, presumably to keep in the smell.  (It didn't work, the whole fridge smelled like durian once I brought it home).  The appearance and texture make it seem more like something you would dig out of the belly of a whale than fruit, but I gave it a try anyway.  Thankfully the taste is milder than the acrid aroma, but it was still quite rich.  It's richness and texture made it almost like eating very ripe avocado.  I still can't decide whether I like it or not.

My second new gastronomical exploit was a breakfasty thing served out of a cart.  Normally I strictly avoid street food in Cambodia, but this looked good and hygenic and steaming hot.  It's hard to write the name of it in the roman alphabet, but the first word sounds like 'gnome' (a prefix attached to bread/cake-like foods) and the second word something like 'sauwie' (pronouncing the W without moving your mouth).  Inside a crepe are white rice, black rice, fresh shredded cocounut, sugar, and a few beans.   It's mildly sweet and very hearty, good energy to start the day with.  They also cost 25 cents apiece, making them my new favorite breakfast.