In 2011, with two friends, we hired a taxi and were taken from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap (Cambodia). The 300 kilometres journey took five hours. Halfway, we stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch. The menu was rice, plus either vegetables, fish, or chicken. The mother and (presumably) daughter, served. The granddaughter, aged around 12-13, translated and calculated the bill in Cambodian riel, Thai baht, American dollars, or European euros. The rice came from the field behind the restaurant; the vegetables likewise, the fish likewise (there was a lake) and the chicken likewise. All was delicious, freshly cooked, and cost us around $3 per person (because we were obviously foreign tourists ready for fleecing).
Since 2011, I have eaten thousands of
restaurant meals. But that roadside meal in Cambodia still sticks in
my mind with great affection. I hope the family restaurant is
still there, and thriving
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