Never Look at Your Food
Look too closely at your food here and you might find savory morsels you wish you never had.
The staff at the revered Chinese Noodle Restaurant in Phnom Penh have no compunction about seating you at tables with perfect strangers when it's crowded to save on space. The restaurant is a hit with locals and expats alike, known for it's tasty, hearty and ultra-inexpensive food. It's very often crowded at dinnertime and on this night the staff tersely put me at a table with two young women. One of the young women across from me ordered a simple soup and after taking a couple bites suddenly stopped. She eyed the noodle between her chop sticks. There appeared to be something else on the noodle that matched in neither color nor texture.
"Oh my..."
"Pardon miss, but what is that? Is that a maggot?"
Pause. Staring at the maggot.
"Have you ever seen that before?" I asked.
"No."
Pause. Still staring at the maggot.
"You're not eating the rest of your soup."
"I'm not hungry."
The staff at the revered Chinese Noodle Restaurant in Phnom Penh have no compunction about seating you at tables with perfect strangers when it's crowded to save on space. The restaurant is a hit with locals and expats alike, known for it's tasty, hearty and ultra-inexpensive food. It's very often crowded at dinnertime and on this night the staff tersely put me at a table with two young women. One of the young women across from me ordered a simple soup and after taking a couple bites suddenly stopped. She eyed the noodle between her chop sticks. There appeared to be something else on the noodle that matched in neither color nor texture.
"Oh my..."
"Pardon miss, but what is that? Is that a maggot?"
Pause. Staring at the maggot.
"Have you ever seen that before?" I asked.
"No."
Pause. Still staring at the maggot.
"You're not eating the rest of your soup."
"I'm not hungry."
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| Maggot Phnom Penh – March 2013 |
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| Maggot (Detail) Phnom Penh – 2013 |
I bet you'll still go back for the dumplings, Andy. I know I will.
ReplyDeleteOh you know I will bro. I examined my food for about a minute and I think I stopped caring and promptly ate the rest of my awesome Fried New Year Cake. Hunger is far more powerful than entomophobia.
ReplyDelete