Meric

February 9, 2008
Cuisine: Cambodian, Asian Fusion

Sivutha Boulevard
Siem Reap, Cambodia

Phone: 855 63 966 000
Website: www.hoteldelapaixangkor.com/meric.php

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Course I: Pomelo and grilled pork salad

Course II: Grilled chicken and yam bean salad

Course III: Grilled beef skewer with green papaya salad

Khmer organic white rice

Course IV: Bar fish and eggplant with coconut milk soup

Course V: Stir-fried calamari with Khmer curry and peanut

Course VI: Braised beef shank with palm sugar and star anise

Course VII: Assorted Khmer sweets

Birthday “cake”

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I celebrated the big 2-6 climbing on ancient temples around Angkor Wat and enjoying a luxe dinner afterwards at Meric. I would normally skip swanky joints for homelier ones, but since it was my birthday, I had to live it up. Plus, Conde Nast Traveler named Meric one of their Hot Tables in 2006:

Named after a type of pepper grown in the Kampot region of Cambodia, this slick dining room at the trendiest new property in Siem Reap, the Hôtel de la Paix, has immediately become the boom town’s best table. New Zealand native Paul Hutt, one of the most inventive chefs in Southeast Asia, moved here from the Shinta Mani Hotel, and if his menu there was brilliant, here he’s really hit his stride. Think Khmer cooking for the twenty-first century, which is to say regional dishes made with local produce and given a high-shine Pacific Rim gloss. “What I love about Cambodia is the incredible freshness of the ingredients and the subtlety of Khmer cooking, a very misunderstood Asian cuisine,” says Hutt. His menu evolves constantly; among the latest dishes were steamed maan (fermented fish) with Khmer crudités, lake krill from nearby Tonle Sap, a salad of ambarella (between a quince and a crab apple), and stir-fried frog with basil (entrées, $18–$22).

Our entire party of six ordered the Khmer tasting menu—a seven course Cambodian feast priced at $28. The presentation at Meric is really something special, every course was served on slabs of stone and garnished with banana leaves.

The first course was a large spoonful of pomelo and grilled pork salad. We weren’t sure whether to eat it in one bite or to make it last by using additional silverware. The salad was very similar to the pomelo salad I had in Da Nang at Buddha Bay, minus the squid. From the fried shallots to the pork slivers to the fish sauce-based dressing, the salad was more or less a Vietnamese goi.

The grilled chicken and yam bean salad came next. The yam beans, also known as jicama, created a crunchy and refreshing base. The chicken was shredded and simple, while the herbs shined through.

The grilled beef skewer with green papaya salad served with Khmer organic white rice was a crowd pleaser. The beef was marinated in lemongrass and tasted smoky from the grill. The pickled green papaya salad contrasted well with the fatty beef. The white rice was the finest jasmine I’ve eaten in all of South East Asia.

The bar fish and eggplant with coconut milk soup was lovely as well. The fish’s texture was sturdy like chicken, while the eggplants were nice and tender. The coconut milk brought about a milder and creamier curry soup.

The stir-fried calamari with Khmer curry and peanuts was probably the least memorable of the dishes due to its lack of oomph. Diced green peppers and peanuts can only take a dish so far. According to the chef, this dish isn’t purely Cambodian. While the Khmer do eat squid, it’s usually grilled and not stir-fried.

My favorite course of the evening was the braised beef shank with palm sugar and star anise. Reminiscent of Vietnamese bo kho, this rich and savory stew was brimming with moist pieces of beef and richly flavored with star anise. The yolk from the hard-boiled egg soaked up the salty broth, creating an orb of deliciousness.

For our final course, we were presented with an assortment of Khmer sweets including a banana cake, a sticky rice cake topped with custard, and a shot glass filled with sticky rice with black eyed peas and coconut milk. The cakes were served with a caramel-y palm sugar sauce that seduced me completely. My favorite combo was the banana cake dipped in the palm sugar sauce—caramel and bananas go hand in hand.

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Eating in Cambodia

Every year during Tet, the entire city of Saigon shuts down. Businesses and restaurants close their doors so that workers can spend the holiday celebrating with friends and family.

To take advantage of the godsend 10-day vacation the Times gave me (and to avoid starvation), The Astronomer, Lush (my lovely gal pal from college), Zach, Thomas and Olivia (Thomas’ lovely gal pal from college), and I packed up our bags and headed to Cambodia for the Lunar New Year.

Our first stop was Phnom Penh, where we stayed with my mom’s friend Sue. Sue lives in a ginormous house with three people on staff, including a very talented cook. For our first meal in the city, we enjoyed a home cooked Cambodian dinner.

The bill of fare included Fish Amok, a vegetable and lemongrass curry, and enchiladas (photos 1-2). Sue wasn’t sure if we wanted Cambodian or Mexican food, so she asked her cook to make both. Super! The highlight of the evening (and the best thing we put into our mouths in Cambodia) was the freshly prepared fish amok. Amok is a Cambodian curry that is steamed in banana leaf cups and light on the liquid. Eaten with steamed white rice, the amok unleashed such intense flavors that it tickled us pink. Chilies, lemongrass, coconut and curry melded with the meaty and tender fish.

I was infatuated with the amok this evening and hardly touched any of the other offerings. The curry was brimming with pumpkins and milder than the amok, while the enchiladas’ cheesy and tortilla goodness brought a slew of different flavors to the table, like chipotle! After dinner, we took a long walk around the ‘hood and saw the National Monument and the riverfront.

The following day was spent exploring Wat Phnom, the Central and Old Markets, and the National Museum. Zach and The Astronomer ducked into BB World (photo 3) for their first meal of the day, while Lush and I opted to hold out for some real Khmer cuisine. BB World is a non-descript fast food eatery decorated in a red and yellow color scheme much like Mickey D’s. Zach ordered a cheeseburger value meal, while The Astronomer got a fish sandwich. Zach thought that the fries at BB World were phenomenal—seasoned well and crispy. The burger and fish sandwich met expectations, but were unmemorable.

To thank Sue for her hospitality, we treated her to dinner that night at a restaurant of her choice; she chose the Foreign Correspondent’s Club for its history and ambiance. The restaurant was packed when we arrived, so we had to sit on the third floor, which wasn’t as lively as the second where the bar and woodfire oven were housed.

The bulk of the menu at the FCC is Western, but it includes some Khmer offerings (photos 4-6). Liana and I decided to stick to the Khmer side of the menu and shared the Nhoam Kra Ao Chhouk—lotus root salad with caramelized pork, smoked shrimps, fried shallots, hot and sour dressing ($6) and the Kari Kroeung Sach Moan–spicy chicken curry with pea eggplants, coconut rice and cucumber relish ($7.50).

From the fried shallots to the fish sauce dressing, the lotus root salad tasted exactly like Vietnamese goi. I like goi very much, but was hoping for a Cambodian twist. The chicken curry was bland and the pea eggplants were bitter little things. The Astronomer hoped to relive the glory of our first dinner and ordered the Fish Amok—classic steamed fish curry served with steamed rice, spiced coconut milk & tamarind chutney ($7). Much like the curry, the amok was boring and flavorless, but the tamarind chutney did add an interesting touch. Needless to say, we were disappointed in the FCC’s Khmer preparations. We should’ve just ordered pizza.

On the walk back from the FCC, we stopped by an ice cream shop on Samdech Sothearos Street, located across from the Vietnam Friendship Memorial. The place was sort of like The Max, but in Cambodia. I ordered a scoop of pandan, Lush ordered a scoop of soursop, and The Astronomer ordered a papaya smoothie and crab sandwich (photos 7-10). Although they were a little less frozen than we would’ve liked, Lush and I were impressed with our selections. The light and fresh flavor of pandan was captured well. And even though we have yet to eat fresh soursop, we found the ice cream version just lovely. Unfortunately, the Astronomer’s papaya shake turned out awful and his sandwich was tasteless. Poor guy.

Sue’s cook prepared our final meal in Phnom Penh—grilled fish served with lettuce, herbs, and a green mango relish and stir-fried pork with vegetables (photos 11-14). The fish was prepared simply and deliciously. The moist flesh of the “river fish” was highlighted by the sour green mango relish. I didn’t have much of the actual pork, but the vegetables were tender and hearty.

From Phnom Penh, we headed to Siem Reap to experience Angkor Wat. While seeing the temples at Angkor, we ate mangoes, purple milk fruit and sticky rice (photo 15-16). Unlike the vu sua in Vietnam, the purple milk fruit is cut into slices rather than slurped through a hole. The taste is similar to that of ripened persimmons. The sticky rice with black beans were grilled in hollowed-out bamboo and served as a filling snack. Our tour guide taught us to use strips of bamboo to eat the rice to avoid sticky fingers. Genius.