Today we are in a very unexpected place - A Korean restaurant in Cambodia. I can't say I expected to be eating Korean food so soon after leaving. We've already got a craving. One of the things we've noticed since coming to Cambodia is just how much of a Korean influence is here. We've noticed that with the buses, all of the buses have been Korean. With have noticed it with guesthouses, restaurants and also just going into grocery stores we've seen Korean popsycles and this and that. And then you have all of the Korean K-Pop playing on the radio. Yes, we just head Psy's Oppa Gangnam Style. We complimentary sweet potato - Kokuma. Oh, that looks good! How is the sweet potato? It is the best sweet potato I've ever had and I'm not exaggerating it is really good. Korean food back home where we're from in Canada is actually really expensive but here in Cambodia - where the cost of living is a lot lower - it is actually a little bit less than what we paid when we were in Korea. Of course, every Korean meal comes with side dishes - the banchan. We have some of our favorites like Kimchi Jeon (Kimchi pancake). The million dollar question whenever we eat Korean food outside of home origin (outside of the home country) is it as good. Is it as authentic? And this here gets full marks as being very authentic and delicious. We just ordered our favorite Korean meals, which we used to almost eat daily when we were back in Korea. I'm having the sundubu Jjiggae, which is a tofu stew and Sam is having Dolsot Bibimbap, which is rice in a hot pot. It is crazy how much I'm actually enjoying this meal. The sundubu jjigae is something that I eat almost every single day for a whole year when I was in Korea and you'd think I'd be sick and tired of it but I'm actually been craving Korean food, so it is really nice to find it here in Siem Reap. On a hot and humid afternoon in Siem Reap, Cambodia we cool down in an air conditioned Korean restaurant serving up our favorite Korean foods we enjoyed while living in South Korea as ESL teachers. You can leave Korea but Korean never leaves you. Considering I've spent a full four years living in South Korea teaching English it has left an undeniable impression upon me. My experience living in Korea has shaped me as a person today. Often I crave Korean food as much as I do western dishes; however, unlike ubiquitous items such as pizza and burgers, it can be harder to find. Luckily, we noticed on the back of a tuk-tuk an advertisement for a Korean restaurant: Daebak 대박. Daebak in Korean is an expression that roughly translates as 'awesome.' Did you do well on your test today? I sure did! DAEBAK!!! 대박.!!!! However, we wondered whether or not the food was be as authentic or delicious as the amazing home cooked Korean food we had while living in Gyeonggi-Do. After sampling a few of the sides dishes and mains, we were more than pleasantly surprised and we both agreed that if this restaurant was in Korea it would still receive top notch marks for authenticity and overall deliciousness. I ordered my favorite dolsot bibimbap (stone pot Korean rice) and Audrey selected her favorite Korean soup (Sundubu Jigae - soft tofu soup) that came with a host of Korean side dishes. Very few restaurants in Siem Reap have air conditioning so this was more than an added bonus after we had been outside dripping sweat all day visiting the Temples of Angkor. We certainly fulfilled a craving for Korean food at this restaurant and we may even come back again before leaving town. How about you? What types of food do you crave when you've been away from home for awhile? Please let me know in the comments below: 시엠립 에있는고온 다습 한 오후에 우리는 ESL 교사 로 한국에 살고있는 동안 우리가 즐길 우리가 제일 좋아하는 한국 음식 을 제공하는 한국 식당 을 에어컨공기 냉각 , 캄보디아 . 당신은 한국 을 떠날 수 있지만 한국 을 결코 떠나지 않는다 . http://nomadicsamuel.com/video-blog/eating-korean-food-cambodia This is part of our Travel in Cambodia series. We're making a series of videos showcasing Khmer / Cambodian culture, arts, food, religion and people. Proudly presented by: http://nomadicsamuel.com , http://smilingfacestravelphotos.com , http://thatbackpacker.com & http://backpacking-travel-blog.com All photos and video taken by Samuel Jeffery (Nomadic Samuel) and Audrey Bergner (That Backpacker). This video features the song ''Electrodoodle - Kevin Macleod" available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Commercial license.

• published: 05 Apr 2013
• views: 5614