CAMBODIA SIEM REAP 2016: Le Tigre Papier Cooking Class

By Cathy H - 6:21 PM

My first impression was Cambodia was very plain, with fields and crops everywhere and a lack of metropolitan infrastructure. It was a stark contrast to the glitzy city of Bangkok, and very evident that as a developing country- it was still under construction and struggling with a lot of poverty. The sidewalks were basically dirt paths, and tuktuks existed instead of actual taxis that served as the dominant form of transportation there. Despite being in one of the big cities, Siem Reap- everything was very rural but quaint at the same time. At night, I took a tuktuk to Le Tigre Papier for a 3 hour cooking class which started with a tour of the old food market. Than, we selected our starter and main course dish. I made a mango papaya salad and seafood Amok, which is a yellow curry coconut concoction used to flavor the seafood. Our instructor even made us a huge plate of sweet sticky rice with fruits and jelly as dessert, and gave us a certificate of completion at the end. It was very much worth the $15USD cooking fee and I managed to make friends with two Danish girls. After class, we explored Pub Street and the Angkor Art Night Market after having some drinks. It was a great first day in Cambodia.