• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • ABOUT
    • All About Grantourismo
    • Work With Us
    • Meet Lara and Terence
    • Itineraries, Tours & Retreats
    • Media Coverage
    • Contacts
  • SLOW
  • LOCAL
  • EXPERIENTIAL
  • RECIPES
Grantourismo Travels Logo

Grantourismo Travels

The website of globetrotting professional travel writing and photography team Lara Dunston and Terence Carter

Grantourismo Travels Logo
  • AFRICA
        • KENYA
          • Masai Mara
          • Mombasa
          • Tsavo West
        • MOROCCO
          • Essaouira
          • Marrakech
        • SOUTH AFRICA
          • Cape Town
  • ASIA
        • CAMBODIA
          • Battambang
          • Phnom Penh
          • Siem Reap
        • INDONESIA
          • Bali
        • JAPAN
          • Tokyo
        • LAOS
          • Luang Prabang
        • MALAYSIA
          • Borneo
          • Kuala Lumpur
          • Penang
        • MEKONG RIVER
        • SINGAPORE
        • MYANMAR
        • THAILAND
          • Bangkok
          • Chiang Mai
          • Isaan
          • Phuket
        • VIETNAM
          • Dalat
          • Hanoi
          • Hoi An
          • Saigon
          • Sapa
  • AMERICAS
        • ARGENTINA
          • Buenos Aires
        • BRAZIL
          • Rio de Janeiro
        • COSTA RICA
          • Manuel Antonio
        • MEXICO
          • Mexico City
          • San Miguel de Allende
        • UNITED STATES
          • Austin
          • New York City
  • AUSTRALASIA
        • AUSTRALIA
          • Adelaide
          • Darwin
          • Gold Coast
          • Melbourne
          • Perth
          • Sydney
  • EUROPE
        • AUSTRIA
          • Vienna
          • Zell Am See
        • ENGLAND
          • London
        • FRANCE
          • Céret
          • Paris
          • Perpignan
        • GERMANY
          • Berlin
        • HUNGARY
          • Budapest
        • ITALY
          • Alberobello
          • Calabria
          • Italian Lakes
          • Sardinia
          • Venice
        • MONTENEGRO
          • Kotor
        • POLAND
          • Krakow
          • Zakopane
        • PORTUGAL
          • Porto
          • Portugal Wine Regions
        • SCOTLAND
          • Edinburgh
        • SPAIN
          • Barcelona
          • Jerez
          • Mallorca
        • TURKEY
          • Istanbul
  • MIDDLE EAST
        • JORDAN
          • Desert Areas
        • QATAR
          • Doha
        • UAE
          • Dubai
Cava and Catalan Cuisine, a Perfect Food and Wine Pairing. Grilled artichokes at Canals & Munné’s restaurant, Sant Siduru d’Anoia, Spain. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Cava and Catalan Cuisine, a Perfect Food and Wine Pairing

Cava and Catalan cuisine are made for each other. Sparkling wines are usually sipped at celebrations, as aperitifs or with sweet desserts. But Cava, we discovered, on a wine trip through the Penedes, is one of the few bubblies that can be drank throughout an entire meal.

Cava and Catalan Cuisine, a Perfect Food and Wine Pairing

“You can drink Cava with everything,” was the mantra of every winemaker we met on our recent trip through Cava country in the Penedes wine region near Barcelona.

The notion that a sparking wine would have enough character and depth to match increasingly weighty dishes during a multi-course meal was repeated with so much conviction that by the end of our 50 Great Cavas tour we were won over.

Where Cava Punctuated a Five Course Meal

Our first meal of the trip at Adernats wine cooperative, in the village of Nulles, after our first tasting, was held high in the vaults of a Modernist cathedral-like winery, dating back to 1920. The dramatic setting and five courses matched with wines was a fine way to silence our reservations that Cava was simply a one-dimensional bottle of bubbles.

The summery starter of tomato and watermelon gazpacho with anchovy was perfectly paired with their Essencia Cava while the main course, meloso de cerdo Ibérico con salsa de Ànima, was equally matched by their superb XC Grand Reserva made from 100% Xarel·lo, aged 45 months in the bottle.

Along with Macabeu and Parellada, the Xarel·lo grape is one of the three traditional varieties used to make Cava. By the end of the trip Xarel·lo had become one of our favourite grapes.

But now, surprisingly, we think of that meal every time we drizzle a little of the co-operative’s wonderful Extra Virgin Olive Oil over a salad or to finish a pasta. If you visit, make sure to grab a bottle. Catalunya’s olive oil is divine.

It was at Adernats that we began to wonder if Cava and Catalan cuisine was a perfect food and wine pairing.

When Cava Accompanied Cured Meats and Cheeses

The next day, our first breakfast in Spain in over four years had us wondering why we hadn’t been back since our original 2010 grand tour. A couple of café cortados and a few slices of salty melt-in-your-mouth Jamon Ibérico whetted our appetite for another day of Cava and Catalan cuisine.

After an early morning stroll through the misty vineyards at Mas Codina in Puigdàlber, we settled in to sample their Cavas. During the tastings our hosts brought out massive platters of Jamon Ibérico, chorizo and a traditional local goats cheese made the foothills of the Pyrenees north of Barcelona.

The range of Cavas featured varying percentages of Chardonnay, Macabeo, Xarel·lo and Pinot Noir and were a wonderful match with the snacks — which I would normally have preferred with a medium-bodied New Zealand Pinot Noir to be honest. The standout was the Gran Reserva Brut Nature, aged 42 months in the cellar at the winery.

Where Cava Washed Down Catalan Style Tapas

At Llopart Winery in Subirats, after a glass of their Rosé Brut Reserva and a tour of the expansive winery and cellars, we enjoyed a generous spread of both traditional and modern Catalan-style tapas to accompany our cava tastings.

Held in the lofty, modern tasting room, the brilliant lunch included three classic Catalan dishes: pan com tomate y Jamon (toasted bread rubbed with tomato, with a slice of Jamon Ibérico), a savoury Catalan pizza called coca (specifically coca de seats y butifarra), and escalivada (smoky grilled vegetables).

We also grazed on mushroom tarts, salmon blinis, foie gras, pastel de atun, and brandade de bacalao all washed down with a series of Cavas from Llopart. They were all such great matches, there wasn’t too much use of the wine spittoons.

The Imperial Gran Reserva Brut, which was well structured and creamy with toasty notes, and the limited production (25,000 annual bottles) Leopardi Gran Reserva Brut Nature, which had spicy notes, matched well with the richer dishes of the spread.

When Cava Kicked Off a Rustic Catalan Meal

If the Llopart lunch showed us how refined Catalan tapas could be, the rustic dinner at Cuscó Berga winery later that night gave us an introduction to the typically hearty one-dish meal that was characteristic of peasant food served right across the Mediterranean.

That it followed a couple of bottles of Cava with the winemaker brothers in a stone hut overlooking the vineyards was a bonus.

Called fideus, it was a simple dish made of fine noodles that were fried with a little seafood that some like to compare to paella made with pasta instead of rice.

It reminded us of a plainer and even more humble version of dishes like Egypt’s kushari, which uses a similar noodle, the Indian version, kedgeree, and the Arabian dish Mujaddara, made from rice, lentils, grains and onions.

A big Cava would have stood up to it very nicely, however, we reached for some red.

Where Cava Bookended A Multi-Course Meal

The most memorable meal of the trip was in the elegant dining room of the splendid Bohigas winery, our favourite of the trip, where we’d already sipped cava in the cobblestone courtyard, on a sunny terrace overlooking the vineyards, on a billiards table after a tour of the fascinating attic, and finally during a wonderful multi-course meal.

Our feast began with a ‘pica-pica’ of amazing tuna tartare, big plump scallops over mashed potato and cabbage, and delicate mixed croquettes, followed by trumpet mushrooms topped with a fried quail egg.

After this brilliant start to the meal, the next dish was quite a surprise – risotto de ceps i parmesà – a risotto with just-in-season ceps mushrooms and Parmesan cheese. It was a surprise because it rivaled any we’ve had in the north of Italy.

The matching wine for this part of the meal was their Udina de Fermi Bohigas, made from a blend of Garnacha Blanca, Xarel·lo and Chenin Blanc. And that was another surprise, because it wasn’t a Cava.

After so much Cava over the previous few days we were feeling like we had bubbles in our veins, so it was nice to sample this well-structured, complex wine which really opened up beautifully. It was a great white.

Our second main course was Turbot amb patates confitades, sofregit de la iaia i oli avellanes (essentially Turbot with potato confit). This was once again surpassingly matched with a red wine — their Fermi de Fermi Bohigas 2009, made from 85% Syrah and 15% Black Imperial, which is Cinsaut, a classic grape to blend with the Syrah as well as Grenache and Mourvedre.

The expression here was big, bold and long, fruity, but with structured tannins. I had to do everything in my power to not sneak a bottle into my camera bag. And while I loved the wine, ironically, the dish could have been matched with the Cava Noa de Bohigas that accompanied our dessert, a brownie de nous amb salseta de fruits vermells i gelat de vainilla.

Where Cava Matched Each Course of a Catalan Feast

After a tour of Juvé & Camps extensive winery and a Cava tasting in their high-tech tasting room, we returned to town to explore their expansive underground cellars in the centre of the town of Sant Sadurni d’Anoia before enjoying a wonderful Catalan feast in a room beneath the owners traditional home.

As if to hammer home the fact that Cava could indeed be matched with everything, every dish on the fantastic Catalan menu was served with the Catalan sparkling…

Xató del Vendrell (Vendrell-style salad)
Cava Brut Rose

Escalibada con arenque y uva (grilled vegetables with herring) Cava Reserva del la Família Brut Nature

Canelones de pato del Penedès con foie y bechamel de setas del Montmell (duck cannelloni with foie bechamel and mushrooms)
Cava Reserva del la Família Brut Nature

Cazuela marinera de sepia con albóndigas (seafood stew with ‘meatballs’ and octopus)
Cava Milesimé

Bacalo con espinacas a la Catalana y “All i Oli” de meil (Bacalo with spinach)
Cava Milesimé

Gallo del Penedès con ciruelas y piñones (local chicken with pine nuts)
Cava Gran Juvé

Mousse de captains (mousse with chocolate and almonds)
Cava Gran Juvé

The standout dishes were the Canelones de pato del Penedès, which, for a very rich dish paired brilliantly with the superb Cava Reserva del la Família Brut Nature, and the chicken with pine nuts, which had a very earthiness that paired wonderfully with the Cava Gran Juvé.

When It Could Only Have Been Cava

Our last meal on the trip, at the restaurant at the bodega of Canals & Munné in the centre of Sant Siduru d’Anoia, was the most casual and probably the most Catalan.

The highlights were amazing roasted artichokes and calçots, massive spring onions or small leeks, depending on how you want to look at them, served with romesco sauce. See our story on how to eat calcots like the locals in Catalonia for more on that meal.

We really couldn’t have sipped anything else but Cava with such quintessential Catalan dish.

Cava and Catalan Cuisine – a Perfect Food and Wine Match?

So can Cava really go all the way through a multi-course meal or is it still just a celebratory bottle of bubbles regardless of what the Catalans wish to think?

Well, I have to say that at the end of a week indulging in Cava and Catalan cuisine, the Spanish sparkling does indeed have an increasingly wide spectrum of expressions, from the traditional light style we think of when we think of bubbly through to the more complex Cavas that feature the relatively recent addition of Chardonnay (in 2002) and Pinot Noir in (2008).

While the addition of foreign grapes to indigenous varieties has been contentious with some traditional producers, personally, I love the more complex nature of these sparkling wines when paired with the kinds of richer, heartier Catalan dishes that we were sampling.

So, yes indeed, Cava can definitely go all the way, depending on the menu. But even if the temptation of a Rioja is too much when faced with oxtail (just signal to the waiter), you can triumphantly return to Cava for dessert.

Support our Cambodia Cookbook & Culinary History Book with a donation or monthly pledge on Patreon.

SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Share9
Tweet
Pin1
Yum
10 Shares

SUBSCRIBE TO THE GRANTOURISMO TRAVELS NEWSLETTER

Sign up below to receive our monthly newsletter to your In Box for special subscriber-only content, travel deals, tips, recipes, and inspiration.

100% Privacy. We hate spam too and will never give your email address away.

Share9
Tweet
Pin1
Yum
10 Shares

Related Posts You Might Like

Advertisement

Find Your Spain Accommodation

Booking.com

Shop for related products

About Terence Carter

Terence Carter is an editorial food and travel photographer and infrequent travel writer with a love of photographing people, places and plates of food. After living in the Middle East for a dozen years, he settled in South-East Asia a dozen years ago with his wife, travel and food writer and sometime magazine editor Lara Dunston.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mariana says

    November 15, 2014 at 11:22 pm

    A great read and then “you can triumphantly return to Cava for dessert” – just brilliant!

  2. Terence Carter says

    November 16, 2014 at 12:22 pm

    Thank you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

About Grantourismo

Lara and Terence are an Australian-born, Southeast Asia-based travel and food writers and photographers who have authored scores of guidebooks, produced countless travel and food stories, are currently developing cookbooks and guidebooks, and host culinary tours and writing and photography retreats in Southeast Asia.
READ MORE…

Featured Posts

Gardens and Villas of the Italian Lakes – Hidden Parks and Romantic Havens. Villa Carlotta, Tremezzo, Lake Como, Lombardy, Italy. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Gardens and Villas of the Italian Lakes – Hidden Parks and Romantic Havens

Living like Locals – Taking Care of the Cats of Istanbul, Turkey. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

The Cats of Istanbul

Pho Ga, (chicken noodle soup), Hanoi, Vietnam. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved. Welcome to the New Grantourismo and a New Year of Travel and Food.

Welcome to the New Grantourismo and a New Year of Travel and Food

Footer

ABOUT GRANTOURISMO

  • All About Grantourismo
  • Meet Lara and Terence
  • Work With Us
  • Itineraries, Tours & Retreats
  • Media & Advertising
  • Media Coverage
  • Contacts

THE GRANTOURISMO SHOP ON SOCIETY6

The Grantourismo Shop on Society6

GET THE BEST MANAGED WORDPRESS HOSTING

Get the Best Managed Wordpress Website Hosting with Flywheel

IMPORTANT DETAILS

  • Terms and Conditions
  • Editorial Policy
  • Comments Policy
  • Advertising
  • Privacy Policy

AMAZON AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE

Grantourismo Travels is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program.

GRANTOURISMO AFFILIATES/SUPPORT

Grantourismo is reader-supported. Posts contain various affiliate links. If you click through and purchase something, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. That income supports the work we do to create content. Here are more ways to support Grantourismo.

SUBSCRIBE

SOCIALLY CONNECTED

  • 6,048 Followers
  • 2,580 Likes
  • 1,841 followers
  • 19,053 Followers

INSTAGRAM FEED

Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check o Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check out our seafood recipe collection, especially if you celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with a fish focused meal in the Southern Italian tradition, transformed by Italian-Americans into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or like Australians, who celebrate Christmas in the sweltering summer, feast on seafood for Christmas Day lunch, we’ve got lots of easy seafood recipes for you.

Our recipes include a classic prawn cocktail, blini with smoked salmon, a ceviche-style appetiser, and devilled eggs with caviar. We’ve also got recipes for fish soup, seafood pies and pastas, salmon tray bake, and crispy salmon with creamy mashed potatoes.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/seafood-recipes-for-christmas-eve-and-christmas-day-menus/
(Link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating!! 

#christmas #christmasfood #seafood #fish #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #grantourismo #grantourismotravels #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you’re still looking for food inspo for Chris If you’re still looking for food inspo for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meals, my smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’ recipe is one of dozens of recipes in this compilation of our best Christmas recipes (link below). 

The Christmas recipe compilation includes collections of our best Christmas breakfast recipes, best Christmas brunch recipes, best Christmas starter recipes, best Christmas cocktails, best Christmas dessert recipes, and homemade edible Christmas gifts and more.

My smoked salmon carpaccio recipe makes an easy elegant appetiser that’s made in minutes. If you’re having guests over, you can make the dish ahead by assembling the salmon, capers and pickled onions, and refrigerate it, then pour on the dressing just before serving. 

Provide toasted baguette slices and bowls of additional capers, pickles and dressing, so guests can customise their carpaccio. And open the bubbly!

You’ll find that recipe and many more Christmas recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/best-christmas-recipes/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas!! X

#christmas #christmasfood #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #salmon #smokedsalmon #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels 
#xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I sh If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I shared a collection of recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts — for condiments, hot sauces, chilli oils, a whole array of pickles, spice blends, chilli salt, furakake seasoning, and spicy snacks, such as our Cambodian and Vietnamese roasted peanuts. 

I love giving homemade edibles as gifts as much as I love receiving them. Who wouldn’t appreciate jars filled with their favourite chilli oils, hot sauces, piquant pickles, and spicy peanuts that loved-ones have taken the time to make? 

Aside from the gesture and affordability of gifting homemade edibles, you’re minimising waste. You can use recycled jars or if buying new mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars, you know they’ll get repurposed.

No need for wrapping, just attach some Christmas baubles or tinsel to the lid. I used squares of Cambodian kramas (cotton scarves), which can be repurposed as napkins or drink coasters, and tied a ribbon or two around the lids, and attached last year’s Christmas tree decorations to some.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/homemade-edible-christmas-gifts/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Yes, that’s Pepper... every time there’s a camera around... 

#christmasgiftideas #ediblegifts ##christmasfoodgifts #foodgifts #giftideas #homemadegifts #christmasfood #ediblegiftideas #hotsauce #chillisauce #sriracha #pickles #homemadepickles #recipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood 
#blackcat #blackcatsofinstagram #picoftheday 
#christmas #christmastree #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas #cambodia #siemreap
This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’ This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’s perfect if you’re just back from the fish markets armed with luxurious fresh crab meat. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and very, very moreish.

Our crab omelette recipe was one of our 22 most popular egg recipes of 2022 on our website Grantourismo and it’s no surprise. It’s appeared more times than any other egg recipes on our annual round-ups of most popular recipes since Terence launched Weekend Eggs when we launched Grantourismo in 2010.

If you’re an eggs lover, do check out the recipe collection. It includes egg recipes from right around the world, from recipes for classic kopitiam eggs from Singapore and Malaysia and egg curries from India and Myanmar to all kinds of egg recipes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, USA, Australia, UK, and Ireland.

And do browse our Weekend Eggs archives for further eggspiration (sorry). We have hundreds of egg recipes from the 13 year-old series of recipes for quintessential egg dishes from around the world, which we started on our 2010 year-long global grand tour focused on slow, local and experiential travel. 

We’re hoping 2023 will be the year we can finally publish the Weekend Eggs cookbook we’ve talked about for years based on that series. After we can find a publisher for the Cambodia cookbook of course... :( 

Recipe collection here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio):
https://grantourismotravels.com/22-most-popular-egg-recipes-of-2022-from-weekend-eggs/

If you cook the recipe and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either in the comments at the end of the recipe or share a pic with us here.

#recipe #recipes #eggs #eggslover #breakfasteggs #WeekendEggs #egg #breakfast #brunch #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #lookingforapublisher #writingacookbook  #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angko I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angkor Archaeological Park, home to stupendous Angkor Wat, pictured, celebrated 30 years of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. 

That’s as good an excuse as any to put this magnificent, sprawling archaeological site on your travel list this year.

While riverside Siem Reap, your base for exploring Angkor is bustling once more, there are still nowhere near the visitors of the last busy high season months of December-January 2018-2019 when there were 290,000 visitors. 

Last month there were just 55,000 visitors and December feels a little quieter. A tour guide friend said there were about 150 people at Angkor Wat for sunrise a few days ago.

If you’re looking for tips to visiting Angkor, Siem Reap and Cambodia, just ask us a question in the comments below or check Grantourismo as we’ve got loads of info on our site. Click through to the link in the bio and explore our Cambodia guide or search for ‘Angkor’. 

And please do let us know if you’re coming to Siem Reap. We’d love to see you here x

#siemreap #cambodia #asia #travel #instatravel #traveldeeper #slowtravel #localtravel #experientialtravel #exploremore #neverstopexploring #goexplore #igtravel #angkorwat #angkor #temple #temples #angkorwithoutcrowds #unesco #unescoworldheritagesite #unescoworldheritage #archaeology #archaeologicalsite #traveladdict #beautifuldestinations #beautifulplaces #travelgram #wanderlust #picoftheday📷 #grantourismotravels.
Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky, flavourful and succulent chicken thighs that are fantastic with steamed rice, Chinese greens or a salad, such as a Southeast Asian slaw. 

The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours before cooking, which ensures it’s packed with flavour, then it can be cooked on a barbecue or in a pan.

Terence’s soy ginger chicken recipe is one of our favourite recipes for a quick and easy meal. I love the sound of the sizzling thighs in the pan, and the warming aromas wafting through the apartment. 

It’s amazing how such flavourful juicy chicken thighs come from such a quick and easy recipe.

Recipe here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio): https://grantourismotravels.com/soy-ginger-chicken-recipe/

If you cook it and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either here or in the comments at the end of the recipe on the site or share a pic with us x 

#recipe #recipes #chicken #soygingerchicken #asianfood #southeastasianfood #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #cookingtime #recipe #recipes #comfortfood #foodblog #food #foodstagram #healthyfood #instafood #healthy #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re mak Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re making with my market haul from Psar Samaki in Siem Reap — all for a whopping 10,000 riel (US$2.50)?! 

Birds-eye chillies thrown in for free! They were on my list but the seller I spent most at (5,000 riel!) scooped up a handful and slipped them into my bag. She was my last stop and knew what I was making.

My Khmer is poor, even after all our years in Cambodia, as I don’t learn languages with the ease I did in my 20s, plus I’m mentally exhausted after researching and writing all day. I have a better vocabulary of Old and Middle Khmer than modern Khmer from studying the ancient inscriptions for the Cambodian culinary history component of our cookbook I’m writing.

So when one seller totalled my purchases I thought she said 5,000 riel but she handed back 4,500 riel! The sum total of two huge bunches of herbs and kaffir lime leaves was 500 riel.

Tip: if visiting Siem Reap, use Khmer riel for local shopping. We’ve mainly used riel since the pandemic started— rarely use US$ now as market sellers quote prices in riels, as do local shops and bakeries, and I tip tuk tuk drivers in riels. I find prices quoted in riels are lower.

Psar Samaki is cheaper than Psar Leu, which is cheaper than Psar Chas, as it’s a wholesale market, which means the produce is fresher. I see veggies arriving, piled high in the back of vehicles, with dirt still on them — as I did on this trip. 

The scent of a mountain of incredibly aromatic pineapples offloaded from the back of a dusty ute was so heady they smelt like they’d just been cut. More exotic European style veggies arrive by big trucks in boxes labelled in Vietnamese (from Dalat) and Mandarin (from China), such as beautiful snow-white cauliflower I spotted.

Note: the freshest produce is sold on the dirt road at the back of the market.

#cambodia #siemreap #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotography #igfood #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #instadaily #picoftheday #market #siemreapmarket #psarsamaki #marketfresh #vegetables #healthyfood #marketshopping #traveltips #foodtravel #culinarytravel #localtravel #cooking #cookingtime #curry #homemade #currypaste #grantourismotravels
My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recip My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recipe makes tender meatballs doused in a delightfully tangy-sweet sauce, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots, with carrot-daikon, crunchy cucumber and fragrant herbs. 

The dish is inspired by bún chả, a Hanoi specialty, but it’s not bún chả. No matter what Google or food bloggers tell you. Names are important, especially when cooking and writing about cuisines not our own.

This is an authentic bún chả recipe:  https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-bun-cha-recipe/ You’ll need to get the outdoor BBQ/grill going to do proper smoky bún chả meat patties (not meatballs).

My meatball noodle bowl is perhaps more closely related to dishes such as a Central Vietnam cousin bún thịt nướng (pork skewers on rice noodles in a bowl) and a Southern relation bún bò Nam Bộ (beef atop rice noodles, sprinkled with fried shallots (Nam Bộ=Southern Vietnam) though neither include meatballs. 

Xíu mại= meatballs although they’re different in flavour to mine, which taste more like bún chả patties. Xíu mại remind me of Southern Italian meatballs in tomato sauce.

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to millions of Khmer, there’s bánh tằm xíu mại. Bánh tằm=silk worm noodles. They’re topped with meatballs, cucumber, daikon, carrot, fresh herbs, crispy fried onions. Difference: cold noodles doused in a sauce of coconut cream and fish sauce. 

Remove the meatballs, add chopped fried spring rolls and it’s Cambodia’s banh sung, which is a rice noodle salad similar to Vietnam’s bún chả giò :) 

Recipe here: (link in bio) https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-meatballs-and-rice-noodles-recipe/

For more on these culinary connections you’ll have to wait for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history. In a hurry to know? Come support the project on Patreon. (link in bio)

#recipe #recipes #vietnamesefood #cambodianfood #asianfood #southeastasianfood #ricenoodles #rice #noodlebowl #meatballs #igfood #igfoodie #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #writingacookbook #writingacambodiancookbook #patreon #patreoncreator #grantourismo
It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour matches the furnishings of our rented apartment. So, no, I did not colour-coordinate the interiors to match our cat’s eyes. 

I keep getting DMs from pet clothing brands wanting to “partner” with Pepper and send her free cat clothes and cat accessories. Although she did wear a kerchief for a few years in her more adventurous fashion-forward teenage years, I cannot see this cat in clothes now, can you? 

#pepper #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsrule #blackcatsmatter #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlover #catlovers #catlove #catoftheday #catphoto #catpic #catpics #cambodiancat #cambodiancatsofinstagram #catlife #catloversclub #catoftheday #catgram #catstagram #cats_of_instagram #catphotography #catsofig #catsoftheworld #catsofinsta #cats🐱 #siemreap #cambodia

SAFETY WING INSURANCE

Safety Wing Insurance

Images Protected By Pixsy

Protected By Pixsy

Footer Widget Header

WEB LOVE

As Seen in The Guardian As Seen on NineMSN As Seen on Tnooz
As Seen In The Independent As Seen on Frommers As seen on Viator
As Seen in Afar As seen on Gadling As seen on Context
As Seen in Fathom As Seen on Matador As seen on Inspirato with American Express
As seen on the Daily Mail website As seen on the Forbes website Grantourismo on the SilverKris website

ALL MEDIA COPYRIGHT © 2009–2023 GRANTOURISMO | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
DESIGNED IN APARTMENT RENTALS, HOTELS AND RESORTS AROUND THE WORLD BY GRANTOURISMO MEDIA.
ASSEMBLED IN SOUTH-EAST-ASIA.
GRANTOURISMO TRAVELS AND ‘MAKING TRAVEL MORE MEANINGFUL AND MEMORABLE’ ARE ™ TO GRANTOURISMO MEDIA.