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Eating Out in Mexico City – From Taco Joints to Temples of Mexican Gastronomy. Eating out in Mexico City, Mexico. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Eating Out in Mexico City – From Taco Joints to Temples of Mexican Gastronomy

Eating out in Mexico City is truly a delight. You can have a tasty meal of a few tacos for less than a dollar or you can pay two hundred times that amount for a seven-course gastronomic feast at Pujol that is easily as sublime as any meal you’d find in some of the world’s finest eating cities such as Barcelona or Paris.

We ate at every kind of eatery during our recent two-week stay in Mexico City, from street food stands and casual taco joints to traditional Mexican restaurants frequented by middle-class families for Sunday brunches and gastronomic fine-diners filled with be-suited business types lingering over three-hour lunches.

Eating out in Mexico City is similar to Bangkok – there’s the cheapest street food, the mid-range restaurants that do the classics well and there’s gastronomic, Michelin-Starred restaurants when you want some adventure. It’s world-class city for cuisine.

Eating Out in Mexico City – Our Favourite Places to Eat Out

CAFÉ EL POPULAR

All day café
CENTRO’S BEST BREAKFAST EGGS
Lara: I have a soft spot for El Popular because we ate breakfast here frequently on earlier trips, and I still rate it as one of my favourites. There are few better ways to start the day than with a café cortado, a plate of huevos rancheros, the soft eggs swimming in spicy salsa, and a freshly squeezed orange juice. The waitresses no longer seem to leave the dish of sugary pastries on your table, as they once did – which is a good thing as they were always so tempting!
Terence: Well, as this was the place that inspired my obsession with breakfast eggs, what more can I say?
Cinco de Mayo 52, Centro

CAFÉ LA BLANCA

All day café
CHOICE CHILAQUILES IN THE CITY
Lara:
Another place I’m especially fond of – I spent a lot of time here eating late-night meals on my own over the years, especially when I was in the city working on my MA (the bright lights were conducive to working) – and I love that it hasn’t changed. On this trip I recognised a few of the white-coated waiters from my research trip in 1997. And I love that they haven’t modernised the retro interior. Like El Popular they do scrummy breakfast eggs, but I’ve always gone here for the chilaquiles con pollo en salsa verde, which are delish and can be eaten at any time of day. They were my late-night go-to supper.
Terence: Still just as I remembered it! Groovy. The food is simple and hearty, but consistently good.
Cinco de Mayo 40, Centro

SALÓN CORONA

Taco joint
DOWNTOWN’S TASTIEST TACOS & TORTAS
Lara:
These are some of the tastiest tacos al pastor I’ve ever tried! (The Taco Journalism guys would love these!) And such great value at around US$0.80 cents each! The quesadillas were also delish. We ate here at all hours, late afternoon, evening, late at night, and it was always fun, especially when we snagged an outside table on the pedestrian street – the people-watching opportunities are worth lining up for!
Terence: I love this place so much that I insisted that we get some take-away here on our last night in Mexico City after the wrestling. Lara foolishly went to bed leaving a couple of tacos al pastor untouched. They didn’t last until dawn.
Filomeno Mata 18, Centro

BAR LA ÓPERA

Traditional Mexican
TRADITIONAL MEXICAN IN TIME-HONOURED SETTING
Lara: I would love this elegant old place for the history (Pancho Villa’s bullet hole in the ceiling and all that) and the opulent interior alone – the red upholstered booths, polished wood, plenty of gilt and mirrors – but I also love the old-fashioned service, which is always sincere, and the hearty traditional Mexican cuisine. The classics here are solid: the ensalada César, sopa de tortilla, and enchiladas verdes are all good. It’s also fun just to sit at the bar and have a beer. Only the television sets spoil the atmosphere for me, but I guess that is part of the vibe.
Terence: A beautiful space and the classics done to a degree almost worthy of the surrounds. The actual bar should be more happening. Even if you don’t eat here, you must at least drop in for a drink.
Cinco de Mayo 10, Centro

CAFÉ DE TACUBA

Traditional Mexican
ATMOSPHERIC EATING IN EL CENTRO
Lara: Another beautiful old restaurant that oozes history, I prefer the ground floor room for people watching (canoodling couples who shouldn’t be canoodling!) and the upstairs room for atmosphere. The food, while fine, isn’t as great as I remember it, and the service can be very slow. It’s loads of fun when the mariachis stroll through and the nostalgic locals start singing.
Terence: My meal was fairly average. I’d rather go to Bar La Ópera.
Tacuba 28, Centro

EL CARDENAL

Traditional Mexican
INEXPLICABLY POPULAR AFTER ALL THESE YEARS
Lara: Many people still consider this to be one of the city’s best traditional Mexican restaurants, but I was disappointed at the inconsistency and excruciatingly slow service. Sure, we ate here on a busy Sunday lunch when the whole of Mexico City seemed to be waiting for a table, but that’s no excuse. I did enjoy my Chiles en Nogada though…
Terence: I don’t get it. It’s just a place to be seen as far as I’m concerned and the other branch (in the same building as the Brazilian Embassy) was only full of ‘ladies who lunch’. This is not the best eating out in Mexico City experience, that’s for sure. Not feeling it at all.
Juárez 70, Centro

DULCE PATRIA

Modern Mexican Cuisine
GOURMET MEXICAN IN GORGEOUS SURROUNDINGS
Lara: A disclaimer: I’m smitten with the charismatic Martha Ortiz, so I’m certain my dining experience was imbued with her aura or whatever it was that lingered after she left our table. I love the warmth of the room, the first-rate service, and the creative cocktails she invented. The food is a refined expression of popular traditional cuisine, and while it was accomplished cooking, I was enchanted more by the tiny artistic touches, the pretty plates, the the miniature painted sideboard our petits fours were served on.
Terence: I do think the place is still finding its feet (it had only been open for two weeks when we went), but it was very impressive both in the kitchen and with the plates that we were presented with. I adored the pork with mole – probably one of the best dishes I tasted in Mexico. Martha certainly knows how to work a room too. People love her, but she’s still a very passionate chef with a very focused vision of what she wants to do – and that’s half the battle won.
Anatole France 100, Polanco

*IZOTE

Contemporary Mexican Cuisine
CONTEMPORARY BUT HEARTY, HONEST COOKING
Lara: I was super-impressed by Patricia Qintana’s contemporary versions of classic Mexican, including pre-Hispanic, dishes. My trio of miniature cebiches – scallops, red snapper and the Acapulco-style cebiche – were simply sublime, the langostine and shrimp enchiladas with pumpkin seed sauce were scrumptious, and the shrimps in hibiscus mole were some of the finest and most perfectly-cooked shrimps I’ve had – a fantastic meal. My only complaint? The portions were too large. I’d have preferred a tasting menu of tiny portions.
Terence: I have to agree. A tasting menu would have been more advantageous as there were so many dishes we wanted to try! Outstanding food, just too much of it for us.
Presidente Masaryk 513, Polanco, *now closed

PUJOL

Creative Contemporary Mexican
MEXICAN FINE DINING AT ITS FINEST
Lara: This was the most memorable meal and the experience was on par with some of our best dining experiences in Barcelona and Paris. This is innovative gastronomic cuisine of the kind I’d hope to discover more of in Mexico City. It wasn’t as consistent as Izote but even when a dish didn’t quite work it was always an interesting experiment in textures and flavours. I adore what chef Enrique Olvera is doing and would love to see him open a smaller more accessible bistronomic like Jordi Artal’s Cinc Sentits in Barcelona. The seven-course tasting menu we had is a must for foodies, but at 950 pesos per person (US$73/UK£48) without wine, it’s an expensive lunch by Mexican standards and beyond the reach of our food-loving Mexican friends.
Terence: After the heaviness of a lot of the meals we ate in Mexico City, especially at places like El Cardenal, Pujol was a revelation. Until the bill arrived. It did blunt a sublime dining experience – sure, if it was French or Spanish cuisine I would not have baulked at the price. Does that mean I think that Mexican cuisine doesn’t reach the heights of what is being done with Spanish and French cuisine? Absolutely not – the first cookbook I bought was on Mexican cuisine! I do like what they’re doing. This simply was the best experience eating out in Mexico City. I just wish there were more restaurants like Pujol that are more approachable in the way that Barcelona’s small restaurants have democratised the work and legacy of chef Ferran Adrià. I’d be the happiest guy in the world if I came back and saw more food like this than the somewhat stale cuisine of some of Mexico City’s more popular traditional restaurants.
Petrarca 254, Polanco

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About Lara Dunston

A travel and food writer who has experienced over 70 countries and written for The Guardian, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Feast, Delicious, National Geographic Traveller, Conde Nast Traveller, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, DestinAsian, TIME, CNN, The Independent, The Telegraph, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, AFAR, Wanderlust, International Traveller, Get Lost, Four Seasons Magazine, Fah Thai, Sawasdee, and more, as well as authored more than 40 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, DK, Footprint, Rough Guides, Fodors, Thomas Cook, and AA Guides.

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Comments

  1. Amber says

    September 10, 2010 at 10:32 am

    Wow! Beautiful pictures, and amazing sounding food… you’ve definitely inspired me to visit Mexico City!

  2. Terence Carter says

    September 10, 2010 at 12:08 pm

    Thanks so much! I think it shows that we love Mexican cuisine!

  3. Nicholas Gilman says

    September 18, 2010 at 7:09 am

    This is a good list, although I would not include Bar Opera as a place to eat, only for a drinkie. The food is dull. And it is worth mentioning that El Popular is actually a “Cafe de Chino” a type of restaurant similar to the classic American coffee shop, originally run by Chinese immigrants (Popular is still run by the same Chinese/Mexican family) and offering ‘fast food’ and breakfast all day long. SOme of them even offer nominally Chinese dishes like chow mein. There are quite a few left, especially in Mexico City.

  4. Lara Dunston says

    September 18, 2010 at 7:31 am

    Thanks, Nicholas. The food was good when we ate at Bar Opera – just good honest traditional Mexican – very fresh and tasty – the food here was far superior in fact to El Cardenal, which was disappointing. But I definitely love it for a drink – they’re not the greatest barmen, but it’s a nice spot.

    For El Popular I use the term ‘all day cafe’ as most readers wouldn’t know what a ‘cafe de Chino’ was, and our American readers comprise 30% of our readership, so I stuck to the more global description of ‘all day cafe’ which suggests it’s open from early in the morning to late at night and serves food the whole time. It’s always been one of my favourites. When I was staying in the city doing masters research many years ago I used to eat breakfast there every day. Love it!

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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.
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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)

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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

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