When you think you’ve left no stone unturned in the temples of Angkor Wat and are on the lookout for a great place to dine in Siem Reap, go to Chanrey Tree for a superb blend of East meets West
Much as we become ‘templed out’ in Asian countries after the hundredth shrine, temple, pagoda or religious site, so we become jaded by the repetitive supply of noodles, sticky rice and dumplings that are the default daily sustenance.
We go out of our way to investigate tasty alternatives – and whilst they inevitably have the same base ingredients as any other meal, as with any cuisine, it’s the subtle changes that can make a world of difference.
As awe inspiring as the Angkor Wat complex of temples and pagodas is, by the time we’ve travelled miles between the sites, clambered over endless boulders of hewn stone, listened to the history of countless dynasties and dodged the endless tourists, traffic, hawkers and traders, we’re ready for some rest and relaxation.
The only places you’ll find true peace and quiet is within the sterile confines of hotel restaurants and lounges but these hardly help you embrace the true character of any country – designed as they are to immunise you from the reality outside.
The challenge, therefore, is to find a place where you can experience the best an Asian country has to offer without drowning in the often frenetic fairground of its culture.
With a little investigation and a lot of asking around we’re pleased to discover Chanrey Tree.
The restaurant is centrally located at Pokambor Ave in Siem Reap and we’re told its French Fusion Khmer cuisine.
Chanrey Tree is on a busy street and looks like the entrance to a grotto, with its lush greenery framing the narrow walkway into the inner confines of the property. As we walk through the reception area we enter what appears to be a beautifully restored traditional wooden Khmer house, with its polished wooden beams and open airy atmosphere.
Our table is between the house and the modern and spacious al fresco area, albeit we could also have chosen to dine in the front garden overlooking the serene Siem Reap River.
Fortunately both the drinks and dining menus are printed in several languages, so as we each settle over glasses of white and red wines, we’re able to select the dishes we’d like to try – aided by coloured pictures alongside the descriptions of what we should expect .
French Fusion Khmer, in effect, means that Cambodian dishes have been ‘Europeanised’ so that the end result is more readily recognisable for its ingredients and distinctive in its flavours than the sometimes amorphous or glutinous dishes presented in less discerning establishments.
All in all, the dishes are ‘cleaner’ and more distinguishable and as a result more enjoyable for us. We’re not above eating anything, anywhere but after an arduous albeit enjoyable day it’s a pleasure to sit and eat a lovely meal without being suspicious of what it might be.
The atmosphere of Chanrey Tree is open, airy and exotic with a buzzy vibe, with the space between tables designed to be neither intrusive nor Spartan.
The only downside to our visit is a European contingent whom we assume to be Embassy staff and their families on a night out. Keen to enjoy their own meal, they are happy to let their noisy boisterous kids run riot around the tables of other diners.
Whereas the locals are gracious in tolerating this continuous intrusion, I’m not; so I send them packing back to their own table to interfere with their parents’ evening instead of ours. To me their attitude smacks of the colonial arrogance that historically alienated us from many countries and there’s no place for it today in locations where we are now guests.
That said, with my equilibrium restored by another glass of imported red wine, we enjoy a simply lovely evening meal in these elegant surroundings, wrong-footed only by the ‘lost in translation’ requests and instructions between ourselves and our scatty waiter, which adds to the humour of the event and doesn’t in any way detract from the overall experience.
Our evening consists of dishes of soup, grilled stuffed frog, tenderloin beef and fish, all prepared using a base of fermented shrimp paste that is often mixed with garlic and chili peppers, which is also used in dipping sauces for grilled and fried meats.
Khmer cuisine differs from other Asian cooking in that as well as reflecting both the Indian and French influences from its history, it creates individual dishes of sweet, sour, salty and spicy content, rather than combining them all into any one dish; as with Thai or Vietnamese cuisines.
Its up to the diner, therefore, to select their dishes based on what flavours they wish to eat and in what order, to suit their tastes for any one meal.
Our meal, the evening, the ambiance and the setting has been a delight. Cambodia is one of the few places where street food is not the only, or best, place to taste authentic country cooking.
Chanrey Tree stands out for us as an exceptional venue to immerse yourself in true Khmer cuisine.
If you’d like to check out Chanrey Tree for yourself then click here but if you want to combine Cambodia with your own adventure to anywhere in Southeast Asia, then why not ask us to arrange your own tailor-made travel – to immerse yourself in the wonders of this world?
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