Cambodian Tea, the culinary quintessence of your country in Saigon

1 Cambodian Tea, the culinary quintessence of your country in Saigon

Not as fatty and sweet as Thai tea, but not as refreshing as Chinese tea. It also does not have the strong aroma of coconut milk, and is not served with a variety of beans like Vietnamese tea. However, Cambodian tea is still a favorite of many gourmets.

Cambodian desserts usually do not have too many ingredients. They are mainly basic ingredients cooked together, such as palm sugar, fresh milk, coconut milk, durian. Most notably, egg yolks and pumpkin are added. This creates a unique flavor that anyone who has eaten it once will remember forever.

2 Attractive Cambodian desserts you should not miss

2.1 Steamed pumpkin – Culinary essence on the Cambodian tea map

In Cambodian, steamed pumpkin is called num-à-pơi. This is a very attractive dish, with the fatty taste of eggs, pumpkin, powdered milk, condensed milk and coconut milk. When enjoying it, you will clearly feel the fatty taste, the aroma of new milk and coconut milk. The eggs are sieved many times so when steamed, they are smooth, without holes. Eat a piece and it melts in your mouth, very delicious.

2.2 Tamarind seed tea

Few people think that tamarind seeds can be processed into a delicious dish. However, through the skillful hands of the chef, tamarind seeds become a very attractive version of Cambodian sweet soup.

This Cambodian dessert is elaborate and time-consuming to prepare. To separate the seeds, the chef will roast the tamarind pulp in a pan. Stir constantly to separate the seeds and pulp. Then, the seeds will be roasted, shelled, and dried in the sun. The final step is to soak in water and peel off the shell to get the finished product.

Tamarind seed sweet soup is often eaten with coconut milk. When enjoying it, you will clearly feel the sour taste, the sweet aftertaste that remains. Vietnamtravelio is a big fan of sour dishes, so we often love the taste of this special Cambodian sweet soup. You can enjoy it and review with us to see if it is true or not.

2.3 Sticky rice

Xoi xiem is a special version of Cambodian dessert. The sticky rice is made from delicious Thai sticky rice, and pandan leaves can be added depending on each person’s preference.

The soul of the sticky rice dish is the cade. This is a mixture of eggs, palm sugar and condensed milk. Many places also add durian and mung beans to make the cade more fatty, rich and attractive. The cade will be placed on top of the sticky rice, drizzled with coconut milk, when eating, you can mix it well or cut it into pieces.

3 Top delicious Cambodian dessert shops in Saigon you can try

3.1 Ms. Huoi’s Cambodian tea at Le Hong Phong market

Address: Le Hong Phong Market, Alley 374 Le Hong Phong, Ward 1, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City

Opening hours: all days of the week, from 14:00 to 21:00

Reference price: from 10,000 VND – 20,000 VND/ portion

Located deep in Le Hong Phong market, Co Huoi shop is one of the oldest Cambodian sweet soup shops in Saigon. Co Huoi is now in its second generation, with the original flavor of the Cambodian sweet soup version from the neighboring country.

At Ms. Huoi’s Cambodian dessert shop, you can easily find the most attractive dishes of the ‘neighbor’ cuisine. Among them, the most famous are pumpkin stewed with chicken eggs, tamarind seed dessert, and palm sugar dessert. The tamarind seed dessert is the most difficult to cook, and is also the most popular dish among diners.

In addition, the steamed pumpkin with eggs dish is also very popular with diners. The pumpkin is usually chosen to be of medium size, not too big or too small, washed and hollowed out inside. She will pour a mixture of eggs, powdered milk, condensed milk, and carefully sifted coconut milk into the eggs, then steam them. When diners order, she will cut the pumpkin into bite-sized pieces. To fully enjoy the flavor, you can cut both the inside and the skin.

Another Cambodian dessert that Vietnamtravelio suggests you should not miss when coming to Ms. Huoi’s dessert shop is sticky rice. The sticky rice at the shop is cooked at the right temperature, with loose, shiny, sticky rice grains that are very delicious and have the aroma of pandan leaves. The most special part is the cade. She adds durian inside, so when enjoying it, diners will clearly feel the aroma and characteristic fatty taste.

In addition, you can also enjoy palm sugar dessert if you love the sweet, fresh taste. In contrast to the Vietnamese version of palm sugar dessert, the palm sugar dessert at Ms. Huoi’s shop will add coconut milk and durian. The palm sugar dessert is thinly sliced, and when enjoyed, you will clearly feel the delicious flavor, not mixed with any other place.

3.2 Ms. Co’s Cambodian sweet soup shop at Ho Thi Ky market

Address: 57/21 A Ho Thi Ky, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City

Opening hours: all days of the week, from 07:00 to 19:30

Reference price: from 10,000 VND – 25,000 VND/ portion

Co Co is another Cambodian dessert shop located deep in the heart of the local market in the heart of Saigon. To get here, you will follow the direction of the Ho Thi Ky market food street, go to the end of the street, near the lemongrass grilled beef stall and you will see it.

Co Co Restaurant also has a diverse menu of traditional Cambodian desserts. The most famous of these are pumpkin stewed with eggs, mung bean dessert wrapped in eggs, sticky rice, liver cake, etc.

A portion of steamed pumpkin with eggs at the restaurant is highly appreciated by customers, with the characteristic fatty, sweet, and nutty flavor of the mixture of eggs, condensed milk, powdered milk, and coconut milk. She carefully filters the mixture through a sieve, and steams it over medium heat so the surface of the cake is not pitted, and when enjoyed, it melts right in the mouth.

If you don’t want to eat sticky rice but like the attractive cade, you can try a more special version, which is mung bean wrapped in egg. This is a Cambodian dessert with ingredients and preparation quite similar to cade.

The filling consists of mashed mung beans, mixed with palm sugar, coconut milk, and condensed milk to create a rich, nutty flavor, and a fragrant aroma. The outer part is thinly rolled egg shells, which are very delicious. In addition, Ms. Co’s shop also serves shredded egg shells like jelly, tapioca pearls, and square-shaped chewy balls, and pours coconut milk over them, which is very delicious.

If you love sticky rice, you can order a portion at Co Co’s restaurant! The sticky rice is cooked from delicious Thai sticky rice, mixed with coconut milk, so the sticky rice grains are shiny, plump, fluffy, round, and very attractive. The cade also includes basic ingredients, added with durian and green beans to create an attractive, fatty but not greasy combination.

In addition, if you want to enjoy something more traditional, liver cake is a reasonable choice. The cake is made from duck eggs, adding coconut milk and star anise to cover the characteristic smell of eggs. The outer crust is golden and crispy, the inside is soft, juicy and fatty, very attractive to eat. It looks similar to pig liver, so people call it liver cake for that reason.

Cambodian desserts with delicious, attractive dishes, the aroma of durian, the richness of coconut milk and the sweet aftertaste of palm sugar are the perfect dessert for you. Don’t forget to save the super delicious Cambodian desserts that Vietnamtravelio just suggested in the article in your Travel Guidebook to have more special places to eat.