The Bloody French

If could be argued that the French have a lot to answer for, take Plastic Bertrand for example, okay he was born in Brussels but he sang in French and that’s good enough for me. Ca Plane Pour Moi. Then there was the atrocities they committed, like so many European empire builders across South East Asia promoting the French way. But what they can be extremely proud of, is bringing the humble baguette to the area and in particular Cambodia and to be exact Phnom Penh and to be totally accurate the “La Safran Hotel”.

For its in that hotels lovely, peaceful garden restaurant in the balmy heat of a Phnom Penh evening that was being pushed around by an old colonial ceiling fan, that I dined on an enormous and well constructed Parisian Salade. Accompanied by two glass of chilled Sauvignon Blanc and a bread basket of perfect, warm, crisp, light French bread served with called salted butter on a clean white plate. In a word perfect.

Cambodia as country prides itself on the ability, first to catch, then cook and eventually eat every sort of bug you can think of. They go simply crazy for scorpions, spiders, big black beetle type things and of course crickets, which I can personally vouch for as being excellent with a chilled beer.

So how in amongst all this crazy, weird culinary activity do they managed to produce perfect French baguettes? English supermarkets can’t and they have spent a fortune trying, some of those supermarkets don’t forget are only 22 miles from France.

For more totally unreliable observations of South East Asia, CLICK HERE