I was met at my hotel by Ducky – her real name is Sonya Duck. She owns the company Urban Forage. She moved to Cambodia from Australia and runs food tours as her side gig. During the day she teaches English to children in a local school. She came here as a tourist and decided to stay. She is a lot of fun and loves food. She has 2 tours – street food and a roving dinner. I picked to go on the roving dinner because it goes to 4 different restaurants, one of which is a local BBQ garden. It’s great because if you have ever travelled alone overseas often if you go to an upscale restaurant to eat solo, the hosts and waiters treat you like a leper. This way, I could sample a few different places without the sad pitiful glances from the waiters wondering why in the world I have no friends with whom to share a meal. Ducky, a rather plucky blonde, picked me up at my hotel. In the tuk-tuk, I met the other two diners- a couple of accountants who are now living in Hong Kong. They just moved there from Bermuda and were recently married in Italy. She was healthy, meat-n-potato-fed blonde from the US and he was a tall guy from South Africa. They both love to watch food shows – Anthony Bourdaine is their favorite (I did not go into my distaste for the travelling chef).

Ducky is a great host and ambassador for the local cuisine. Her trusty Tuk-tuk driver was a delight. His name was Mr. Smiley and he lived up to his name. We started with drinks at Sky Bar (although there was a sign that said Eclipse), which has a great bird’s eye view of the city. From high above sipping a gin & tonic I was able to file away the doom and gloom that I had just experienced. It was fun to sit with strangers and engage in the usual travelers’ chitchat. Ducky had carefully preselected the restaurants and chosen an assortment of dishes for us so that we got a varied taste of the local flavors served in an imaginative way. All the restaurants except the BBQ joint were rather upscale, ex-pat haunts.

The second stop, The Lost Room, served us an array of appetizers: a tasty goat cheese dip with veges, spicy spring rolls, a platter of amuz-bouches (spelling?) consisting of spoons filed with crab cakes and I cannot remember the other. There was also a small dish of olives. It was a mouth-watering start. The most fun was driving down the graffiti-filled alleys to get to these hidden gems. Next we went to a terrific local BBQ spot (54 La-Ngeach Sros) and had fried frogs (and yes they do taste like chicken), tasty garlic marinated, grilled pork ribs, garlic sautéed morning glory, and rice. It was served with dishes of lime, salt and pepper, chopped garlic and peppers in fish sauce, and soy (the familiar sides for BunCha- a deeeeeelicious Vietnamese noodle and grilled meat soup). You squeeze the lime into the salt and pepper to make loose dipping paste. But lazy me prefers to dump the side flavors on my rice and mix everything together – YUMMMMMMMY!!!!!!!!!!!! We had lots of beers. Mr. Smiley joined us for this section and he got a big chuckle when he saw me dump everything into my bowl of rice and chow down with my chop sticks. He looked at Ducky and said that I ate like a local. He told me about his daughter who recently got a scholarship to study abroad and that his family was happier that he now gave up drinking. I laughed and said me too since he was driving. I had a really fun time talking with him. He reminded me of why I so desperately wanted to live in this area of the world and am sorry I am not now. I hope I grow to like China, but for right now I have not settled in or surrendered Dorothy.

Our final stop was The Duplex for dessert. This was the least of my favorites. I know how to make a good dessert and these did not hit the spot for me: a thinly sliced apple lasagna stack (I am not a fan of the “stack” – too 80s for me), a chocolate, sweet rice and banana pile, and a third that I cannot remember. I completed my final dishes with an iced local coffee with sweetened condensed milk (a very fattening treat). Truly a fun evening. When we came out, Mr. Smiley was asleep in the tuk-tuk. He had attached his hammock to the sides and was hovering just above the seats. He was zonked out from all the tasty BBQ. It was a shame to wake him; he looked so peaceful. I highly recommend this tour. The next day as promised, Ducky sent me a list of more places to try.

I went to Romdeng, a restaurant from her list, my second evening. It serves as a training ground for street kids to learn a profession. I ate crispy tarantulas (sort of like a funky soft shell crab) and beef with red fire ants (very spicy). I had a really good chili, lime margarita.

The next day I did a bit of shopping and got a pedicure at Daughters of Cambodia (they train women who were saved from trafficking to work in the beauty, restaurant, and clothing industries – it is a cool complex where they give spa services, serve food, and sell their creations). Later I ate at a restaurant called Mok Mony and had coffee grilled pork ribs and gilled betel leaves filled with spicy beef (sort of like a spring roll). These dishes were also tasty. They also had the most delicious frozen drink of lemongrass, lime, and cucumber mixed with fresh sugarcane juice. It was truly heaven in a glass.

Right now (my last day in Cambodia) I am eating in a place called The Laughing Fat Man. I had chicken spring rolls, garlic roasted pork ribs (not as good as with Ducky), a passion fruit mojito and a few iced coffees with sweet milk. My massage and honey sesame scrub that I had earlier in the day gave me an appetite. This is my last evening. I plan to end it at the movies (it is a bit rainy today – I have been luck with sunny days – even though this is the rainy season). The theatres here play The Killing Fields on a daily basis. I have not seen the film since the 80s so I think it only appropriate that I end my visit with that.