SUGAR PALM in Siem Reap doesn't pan out so well (2/23/24)

 Our second night in Siem Reap did not fare so well. We decided to tuk-tuk over to Sugar Palm as it was another 25 minute walk in the 90 degree heat. It was a cute setting in a giant inverted V building with a huge arched roof, so typical of Thailand and Cambodia. There were (thankfully) lots of fans in the ceiling and the setting was quite nice with teak tables although many of the chairs had hard backs and I really would have liked the cushioned ones. The music was extremely odd and went from kitchy 1930's Asian to 1950's and later. My husband noted that the place was "full of white folk." We did tell the servers that we loved spicy food and wanted to eat as local as possible, but I think that was heard with deaf ears, or perhaps a language issue. 

We had discovered the wonderful herby local gin Seekers "Jason King" Botanicals Gin and it was served here with tonic, kaffir lime leaf and our favorite butterfly pea and also apple giving it a blue tint. Super drink indeed and the wine prices were in the 30$ range making me very happy with a bottle of Ferraton et Fils "La Tournee" Vermentino & Viognier blend from the Rhone Valley, a winemaker I actually met in his home many years ago.

The Khmer Fish Salad was basically a ceviche with lime juice, capsicum, carrot, cabbage, bean sprouts, peanuts and a hint of mint with peanuts on top that was most refreshing but not spicy at all.

The Shrimp Cakes were not what we expected at all. Rather than battering them in a paste like we do with shrimp, fish or any seafood, these are teeny shrimp all held together with a light batter and then deep fried until super crispy and served with lime/pepper/salt dipping sauce that carried a punch. They were fun, but as dep fried foods can be, a tad greasy. 

Spicy Sour Soup was with chicken, tamarind paste, kroeung (hope you know what this is by now), Khmer spice, prahok (fermented fish paste), morning glory, eggplant and curry leaves and was a very nice soup indeed but not too spicy. 

I decided I really wanted one dish that sounded great..Pork Stew with Quail Eggs, especially after my lunch that day of the whole grilled quail with the egg inside! The stew came with bamboo shoots, Five Spice(well, it was NOT spicy) and palm sugar which actually made it a tad sweet and thus not our favorite dish at all. We left a tad disappointed after the two amazing meals we had had on previous nights and prayed our meal the next night (our last in Cambodia) would be better. It was not that this was a bad meal, it was just really geared for the tourists that filled the place.