Travels

Tagalog book: Bahay Kubo (Nipa Hut)

4 June 2014 by Nathalie Abejero 4 Comments

This folk song is a catchy tune (in tagalog), and my son picked up the lyrics in a very short time. He was 2 years old then and spoke no Tagalog. It’s a good introduction to the language and culture of the Philippines.

Anak Books has a great description of the book, so I copy it below in its entirety from their website. Please visit them because it also features a lot of great books in both Tagalog and bilingual Tagalog/English.

The classic Tagalog folktale ‘Bahay Kubo’ is lovingly told and beautifully illustrated through classic Filipino vignettes. This book includes lyrics and score. “Bahay Kubo” is perhaps the best-known and best-loved folk song in the Philipines. Its composer is unknown. Its Tagalog lyrics have been passed down through the generations by way of the oral tradition. The words and music which appear in this book represent but one of the many versions of this folk song. The song’s diatonic melody and walts-like rhythm suggest European influences. The lyrics include plants which are not indegenous to the Philippines, such as peanuts (mani), eggplant (talong), and mustard (mustasa). These foreign elements could mean that the folk song originated or evolved during colonial times. Bahay Kubo tells of a family living in a small nipa hut, surrounded by a garden filled with vegetables. It is a song that celebrates the bounty of our land.

This post is for the Read Around the World Summer Reading Series from Multicultural Kid Blogs! Now through August, bloggers from all over the world will share their recommendations of great multicultural books for the entire family! For more details and the full schedule, visit the series main page. You can also follow along on our Summer Reading Pinterest Board!

Phnom Penh for kids and families

23 April 2014 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

It seems like most cultures outside the West are kid-friendly. It’s easy to go out or travel with kids in Asia. You won’t be met with glares and attitude as soon as you enter an establishment with a toddler in tow, or signs banning kids from restaurants. When ours were babies, restaurant staff would even take and entertain them so we can enjoy our meal together, then give the baby back with the bill! Same with getting a massage, manicure or pedicure.

So on top of other things that make Cambodia attractive for an expatriate post, in the past eight years the options for families with young kids have improved significantly. My favorite things to do where I can take the kids with me:

For a great manicure/pedicure with a glass of wine, and where the staff are awesome with the kids:
- Chanails #46 St 352
- July Salon #67 Sothearos Blvd, almost across from Almond Hotel
Khmer Desserts:
- Shaved ice desserts
- Coconut ice cream
Restaurants:
- Java Cafe, with a special kids’ room #56 Sihanouk Blvd
- Romdeng – they won’t normally take the kids, but they have a great kids’ room #74 St 174
- La Cita Urban Mex Restaurant (they serve Peruvian and other Latin American fare) #12 St 282

Here is a list of more kid-friendly activities in Phnom Penh. Don’t forget to check the various listings around town for kid-friendly events during the various holidays, like Easter egg hunts, Purim parties, Eid Al-fitr feasts, the myriad new years (International, Chinese, Khmer, Hindu), etc.

(If another Phnom Penh resident sees this and has others to add, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll include it!)

Activities for the family –

Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center – see my previous posts on visiting and having a birthday party there.
Soun Soben and the other stocked fish ponds for a day of fishing and picnicking.
Cambodia Country Club – horseback riding, swimming and other activities.
Lyla Center – a sport and family recreational center – sports a kid’s lagoon in a swimming pool, an indoor playground, a separate adult’s swimming pool, Zoomba and other fitness classes, a spa, and restaurant.
Cambodia Country Club – swimming, tennis and badminton courts, horseback riding, futbol/soccer field, volleyball courts St 2004 Group 6 Toeuk Thla Contact 023 885 591/023 885 592/ 023 883 861/ 023 883 862
Sovanna Phum Khmer Shadow Puppet Theater – #166 Street 99. Performances every Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm. Contact 099 211 168.
Sorya Shopping Mall – roller skating, arcade, cinema (includes western films), karaoke at the top floor #11-13 St 63 (near Central Market)
Kambol Go-Karts – Kambol Village, Kandal (past the airport) Contact: 012 804 620
Super Bowl – Parkway Square Centre N° 113, Mao Tse Tung Blvd (St. 245)
National Museum Nightly light show

Playgrounds and Playgroups –

Lyla Center – (see above)
Kids City – science center, ice skating, climbing walls, play gyms (has Gloria Jeans’ Coffee and a Kids’ Closet), go karts, laser tag
Monkey Business – swimming pool and indoor playground for kids up to 8 years old(?) – #16 St 370 Open daily 9am-7pm. Contact: 016 818 283
Hun Sen Park across from Naga Casino – carnival atmosphere with street food, games, rides for children under 12
Sambo’s Club House – Breastfeeding Support Group Saturday mornings and Tot play area -#14 St 398 Contact: 023 211 044
Social playgroups – every Tuesday 3-5pm at Gasolina
outdoor playgrounds – veal hong (off Sothearos Blvd and St 240), by Wat Phnom
chase pigeons in front of the Royal Palace
at the supermarkets (Lucky on Sikhanouk, Lucky at City Mall, Bayon, and other malls) there are small playgrounds for toddlers

Kid-friendly swimming pools –

Lyla Center – (see above)
Himawari Hotel Apartments – #313 Sisowath Quay Contact 023 214 555
Raffles Hotel Le Royal – Contact: 023 981 888
Cambodia Country Club – (see above)
Dragon Water Park – Koh Pich (Diamond Island) next to Elite Golf Club entrance. Open daily 10:30am-8pm. Contact 023 45 54 023
Monkey Business – (see above)
Eureka Villa – #24 St 184 Contact: 023 699 9020 (on one of the streets behind the Royal Palace)
Splash Inn – #5 St 244 Contact: 023 986 174 (next to Wat Bottum)

Books, Movies –

Flicks – weekend kids sessions every Saturday and Sunday morning 10am
French Cultural Center – Cartoons and Children’s library every Saturday
Open Book (library for kids st 240 by an NGO looking to promote a love of reading) #41 Street 240. Open daily 10-5pm. Contact 012 876 623

Instruction – Private and group classes are plenty, just hearing from other parents, seeing the posts online or the signs around town. But most are by word-of-mouth through friends, because there are lots of informal groups in the city among both Khmers and foreigners. Many are happy to provide instruction in an expertise area, and even go to a client’s house. For more formal classes, a simple google search might pull up some options, as will a search through the Cambodia Parent Network and Expat Advisory archives.

Music Schools – Srornos, Simphony, or private lessons in voice, piano, violin, etc
Dance Arts – Central School of Ballet, other dance schools
Martial Arts – tae kwon do, bokator
Sports – Tennis, Swimming (Australian Standard Swim School and many private instructors)
Language – Khmer, French, English, Mandarin are the most popular languages here, but other major languages are available for instruction. Again, do a search on the forums for a recommendation.
after-school classes for elementary grades and up – ISPP, Northbridge, Hope International, East-West School
after-school classes for the toddler through kindergarten ages – The Giving Tree, Gecko and Garden, DK Schoolhouse, iCAN

Other sources of info –

Street stall dining in Battambang

15 March 2014 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

Battambang is a culinary destination. There are varieties of fruits and vegetables native to this region that don’t grow as well anywhere else. And the local preparation of many condiments and foods have a distinct character to them.

Every night on the riverside, food vendors set up shop. On the far end of (further from the market than the tokalok, or fruit shake, stalls) is a routine stop whenever my colleagues and I are in town. I think two or three vendors cook the same thing but my colleagues prefer the family at the end; the woman in the picture below is the main cook and everyone else helps with other parts of the operation. Grilled in banana leaves and eaten with rice, sangvaec* is a processed fish product made over the course of several days. It’s similar to nhem (2nd picture below), except it’s grilled so it has a smokiness to it. It’s served with nom ban chok (white noodles), a tray of vegetables (eg slices of cucumber, green tomatoes) and all sorts of tasty green leaves (including lettuce leaves). A combination of all of these – sang vaec, noodle, cucumber, different leaves) are wrapped in a green leaf and dipped into a sweet-spicy sauce. It’s similar to the way people eat ban xiao, or what’s commonly known as Vietnamese pancake (just keep in mind the Khmer don’t call it “Vietnamese” pancake).

*As with any language that use a different (non-Roman) alphabet, transliterating to English is a bit difficult. There’s no or poor equivalent in English for many Khmer characters.

Nhem (nem?) – also a local delicacy – are similar to sangvaec, but these fish rolls are wrapped in a small leaf with a slice of chili. They’re sold in the markets and street stalls. River fish is pounded with spices, then fermented a few days to get that hint of sourness. It would be considered rude if we came back to Phnom Penh without several bunches of these to hand out to everyone. A “bunch” is a cluster of about 7-10 balls, and costs 1000riel (US$0.25) or more. They also have that fermented taste (without sangvaec’s smoked/grilled flavoring). It’s a pretty tasty snack, but just with prahok and durian, definitely an acquired taste for Western palates.

Nhem also come in bigger sizes. In the picture below you can see the bunches hanging on strings towards the back. To the front of the photo are those coconut (Dong Ktii) which are native and specific to Battambang. Where regular coconuts are just 200riel, these are very rare and cost 32,000riel (US$8.00). I’m still seeking a coconut expert to tell me more about this specific variety. They seem similar to the macapuno variety in the Philippines, which is a mutant strain that doesn’t propagate. The interior is filled with soft sweet jelly-like meat, with very little juice.

The following aren’t native to Battambang but they’re found on the bustling market or riverside stalls at dinnertime (which is anywhere between 4pm to an hour after sundown here). One very popular street food is this skewer of chicken eggs. The eggs were drained, spiced, then put back into the shells. They’re then grilled and served hot.

And of course, the perennial favorite of street food in Asia, fertilized duck egg, is always on offer wherever you go.

The nightly food market is a busy event. About 30 vendors set up their barbecue stations, tables of foods – trays of prahok, vats of rice or soup, bowls of sweets and desserts – and sell them all for take-away. They’re placed into plastic bags. Yes, even soups go into plastic bags and somewhat sealed by tying it off with a rubber band.

All manner of grilled river fish and meats can be found here. An entire grilled chicken can set you back around 20,000riel (US$5). One of the tastier fish is tilapia prepared by covering it in sea salt and a mix of spices, wrapping it in foil, and grilling it. The meat is very tender and tasty.

Fish amok, signature dish of Cambodia, steamed in banana leaf pockets.

Prahok-type preparations are grilled in banana leaves and sold hot. This king of condiments is a mashed, salted and fermented fish paste that goes into many dishes. There is no way to avoid this piquant delicacy!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

1 February 2014 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

All’s quiet in the Penh as celebrations to welcome the year of the Horse continue. It’s our second chance to kick into gear those New Year’s resolutions. But for those who truly excel at procrastination the biggest one is yet to come, Khmer New Year in April.

Santa Claus has come to the Penh

23 December 2013 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

Our son’s first word (apart from mama and papa) was elephant – every time we pointed to an elephant in one of his books he’d say “peh-pet”. Last year he was still a bit young to appreciate the celebration of Christmas, and was afraid of Santa Claus, even when he arrived with his favorite creature, Sambo the elephant. This year we milked that naughty/nice list idea cuz it works like a charm – it’ll be a treat to watch this little boy on Christmas morning now that he knows better. Sambo, happily, is no longer a regular on Phnom Penh’s busy riverside. He retired this year to a zoo.

Christmas cards with a Khmer twist

23 December 2013 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

I bought these cards at a Women’s International Group (WIG) Christmas Fair a few years ago. On the back of the cards is a copyright for Global Art and Anita Dean who, from a quick google search, is the founder of Global Art, Phnom Penh. I wish they printed the name of the artist too.

Anyway, I hope I’m not breaking any copyright rules by scanning and posting these beautiful cards. If anyone knows who the artist is, please leave a comment!