**A Taste of Tradition: A Journey Through Cambodian Cuisine**

As I stepped into the heart of Cambodia, I was met with the warm aroma of spices and the vibrant colors of the local markets. The Penang region, known for its rich cultural heritage, is home to a variety of traditional dishes that are steeped in history and served with great passion. My journey began with a visit to the kitchen of Head Chef Hong, where I was introduced to the art of cooking Cambodian cuisine.

**The Wedding Feast**

Under Chef Hong's direction, we embarked on a culinary adventure that would take us through the various stages of preparing a traditional Cambodian wedding feast. The centerpiece of the meal was none other than buffalo meat, which had been sacrificed as part of an ancient tradition. The buffalo had been cut up and ready for barbecuing, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at the scale of the preparation.

As we made our way to the jungle, where we would collect honey from beehives, I was struck by the bravery of Chef Holmes, who climbed 20 meters high to extract the precious nectar. The bees were not a gentle creature, and their anger was palpable as they swarmed around us. Despite the danger, Chef Holmes emerged with the honey in his bag, and we began our journey back to the village.

**The Village Market**

Upon our return, we found ourselves at the local market, where the villagers were shopping for ingredients to complete their traditional dishes. The air was thick with the smell of fresh produce, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement as I explored the stalls. We picked up some of the tribe's homegrown rice, which would be pounded into a coarse flour to make a special dessert.

**The Art of Dessert-Making**

Chef Hong took me through the process of making a traditional Cambodian dessert, which was nothing short of remarkable. The sticky rice was toasted to perfection and then pounded into a fine flour, before being mixed with a generous amount of honey. As we waited for the mixture to dry in the sun, I couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder at the simplicity and elegance of this ancient recipe.

**Marinating the Buffalo**

As we continued our culinary journey, I decided to take a different approach to preparing the buffalo meat. Instead of following traditional methods, I opted to marinate it in a mixture of chili, garlic, and soy sauce. The result was nothing short of spectacular, as the flavors melded together to create a truly unique dish.

**The Final Blessing**

As we sat down to enjoy our meal, we were treated to a special ceremony, where the bride and groom anointed themselves with honey from the village bees. It was a moment of great joy and celebration, and I felt honored to be a part of it. As we raised our glasses in a toast to the happy couple, I couldn't help but feel grateful for the opportunity to experience this unique aspect of Cambodian culture.

**The Party Begins**

As the night wore on, the party only grew more lively. The buffalo kebabs were devoured with gusto, and the honey and rice dessert was met with rave reviews. As we danced through the night, I couldn't help but feel a sense of belonging to this vibrant community. And as I prepared to leave, I knew that I would carry the memories of this incredible journey with me for a long time to come.

**The Final Farewell**

As I bid farewell to my new friends and the stunning Cambodian cuisine, I felt a sense of sadness wash over me. But it was tempered by the knowledge that I had experienced something truly special – a taste of tradition, a glimpse into a world that few people ever get to see. And as I made my way back to the airport, I couldn't help but feel grateful for the incredible journey that I had been on.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enI want to find a dish they won't have taste it and I'm going to deep his Cambodia to find it off into the jungle to help cook out a wedding and serve food that you won't see anywhere else in Cambodia unique to this tribe so God knows what's in store first the helicopter right okay let's go is hot I'm heading to blue pole near the border with Vietnam home to the banana tribe for hundreds of years that lived a self-sufficient life cut off from the rest of Cambodia it's my chance to discover a cuisine that predates the Khmer Rouge there are 30,000 banana people living here in the country's biggest wildest forest I've arranged to meet a local guy called money to take me to the village of pupal I'm relying on him to get me to the wedding feast on time the brake doesn't work don't worry how are you I'm good I'm sorry to let you wait don't worry okay okay can you come with me to the village yes please control yeah sure which way left all right draw it right right the village is another 8 kilometers into the jungle when you see I'm one of the few Westerners the villagers have ever seen and that was quite an entrance Gordon from Glasgow Balin the banan welcomed guests with prayers for good fortune and a drink of rice wine I finished the light time I'll fall flat on my face Paul Paul has just ten families but our weddings big news in Penang culture and a hundred guests have joined them from the groom's village a day's walk away I know if it's Buffalo snake or even stir-fried chicken with honey God knows isolated from the rest of Cambodia the Penang still use age-old recipes head chef Hong shows me what's on the wedding menu super this is done with pork yeah and it's the village recipe yeah under Hong's Direction they're making a whole array of dishes including soups spicy salads and stews yeah you guys have us strong yeah strong stomachs yes but the centerpiece for the feast is the Buffalo that's the Buffalo for the wedding yeah he senses something's wrong doesn't our wedding so important they sacrificed their most valuable animal for the feast very strong part of the wedding ritual involves the bride's father killing the Buffalo as the Buffalo has been cut up ready for barbecuing we head off to the burnings local supermarket otherwise known as the jungle we're shopping for honey a huge but there must be thousands of bees in there with up to 70,000 faced bees in the hive collecting it is extremely dangerous and we set this alight to subdue the bees they smoke them out smoke they cannot do anything do you just fly away oh really yeah so we're gonna stone the bees yeah mind you it's a big enough joint isn't it Carrie's homemade smoker the bravest hunter climbs over 20 meters to the hive there's gotta be an easier way of getting honey yeah surely it's got no safety rope honor if the bees attack when they've been disturbed they can easily kill a man so down on the ground money is making our defenses but I'm not convinced a few twigs are gonna be much use against thousands of angry bees the bees are leaving the beezly the bees are going absolutely nuts that was almost an evacuation point bolt get out of there as we're panicking down on the ground I can't believe the honey collector is hanging onto a branch 20 meters up in a swarm of bees he just made homeless great job they they sting you mean no no not once okay Donny amazing with the honey in the bag we've got a half an hour walk back to the village but Holmes got other ideas hey-hey wild elephants live in these forests this one was caught and tamed by the villagers over 50 years ago how how how yes okay good you okay yeah that's crazy yes back in the village the wedding party's warming up they'll all be expecting an exquisite burning feast so Hong gets straight to work separating the honey and stabbed the bisquits now Hong shows me his favorite dessert firstly toast some of the tribes homegrown rice and this is rice from the local fields sticky rice when the sticky rice turns a wonderful golden color Hong gets me to pound it into a coarse flour then I pour in some of the hard-earned honey you don't cook it that's nice like a nut brittle they taste amazing let them sort of dry out in the Sun now and they get even firmer more brittle and a lot more crunchy who would have thought in a village like this they'd be coming up with a dainty delicious little petit four that would knock the socks of a pharaoh Shay this honey and rice recipe could steal my success at the royal dinner so chef the chef and returning the favor got very tough now because the meat hasn't been hung I think it needs a bit of help I'm showing Hong my take on buffalo kebabs it's fresh a little bit too fresh to cook with so when I sort of tenderize it already and I'll do a I sort of marinated version so dice is in big chunks the soap after seasoning the meat I simply add chopped chili to give it a kick garlic and soy sauce i marinate that so on the flavor yeah you've been amazing yeah the flames and get the hot coal underneath right as the Buffalo cooks I'm going to see the final blessing of the wedding ceremony the bride and groom anoint their family with a villages precious ingredient this is the congratulations to both husband and wife for the handsome to our thoughts of people Arden I mean socks by non-material Connie may wish you a very happy marriage and lots of children yeah the ceremony over it's time to eat okay ladies and gentlemen boys and girls now we got the most amazing barbecue my marinade the Buffalo kebabs are going down a storm jumped on and he's very good they're happy and the kids especially you're living the little sweet the honey and the ground rice delicious music started party's in full swing how much rice wine of the gods with the whole tribe tucking into the rice wine it's gonna be a long night but I've got to leave yeah take care take your zk yes thank you HD thank you take care of are you I've had an amazing week but my role appointment looms next I've got to cook Cambodian food fit for a king or a prince and a couple of princesses at leastI want to find a dish they won't have taste it and I'm going to deep his Cambodia to find it off into the jungle to help cook out a wedding and serve food that you won't see anywhere else in Cambodia unique to this tribe so God knows what's in store first the helicopter right okay let's go is hot I'm heading to blue pole near the border with Vietnam home to the banana tribe for hundreds of years that lived a self-sufficient life cut off from the rest of Cambodia it's my chance to discover a cuisine that predates the Khmer Rouge there are 30,000 banana people living here in the country's biggest wildest forest I've arranged to meet a local guy called money to take me to the village of pupal I'm relying on him to get me to the wedding feast on time the brake doesn't work don't worry how are you I'm good I'm sorry to let you wait don't worry okay okay can you come with me to the village yes please control yeah sure which way left all right draw it right right the village is another 8 kilometers into the jungle when you see I'm one of the few Westerners the villagers have ever seen and that was quite an entrance Gordon from Glasgow Balin the banan welcomed guests with prayers for good fortune and a drink of rice wine I finished the light time I'll fall flat on my face Paul Paul has just ten families but our weddings big news in Penang culture and a hundred guests have joined them from the groom's village a day's walk away I know if it's Buffalo snake or even stir-fried chicken with honey God knows isolated from the rest of Cambodia the Penang still use age-old recipes head chef Hong shows me what's on the wedding menu super this is done with pork yeah and it's the village recipe yeah under Hong's Direction they're making a whole array of dishes including soups spicy salads and stews yeah you guys have us strong yeah strong stomachs yes but the centerpiece for the feast is the Buffalo that's the Buffalo for the wedding yeah he senses something's wrong doesn't our wedding so important they sacrificed their most valuable animal for the feast very strong part of the wedding ritual involves the bride's father killing the Buffalo as the Buffalo has been cut up ready for barbecuing we head off to the burnings local supermarket otherwise known as the jungle we're shopping for honey a huge but there must be thousands of bees in there with up to 70,000 faced bees in the hive collecting it is extremely dangerous and we set this alight to subdue the bees they smoke them out smoke they cannot do anything do you just fly away oh really yeah so we're gonna stone the bees yeah mind you it's a big enough joint isn't it Carrie's homemade smoker the bravest hunter climbs over 20 meters to the hive there's gotta be an easier way of getting honey yeah surely it's got no safety rope honor if the bees attack when they've been disturbed they can easily kill a man so down on the ground money is making our defenses but I'm not convinced a few twigs are gonna be much use against thousands of angry bees the bees are leaving the beezly the bees are going absolutely nuts that was almost an evacuation point bolt get out of there as we're panicking down on the ground I can't believe the honey collector is hanging onto a branch 20 meters up in a swarm of bees he just made homeless great job they they sting you mean no no not once okay Donny amazing with the honey in the bag we've got a half an hour walk back to the village but Holmes got other ideas hey-hey wild elephants live in these forests this one was caught and tamed by the villagers over 50 years ago how how how yes okay good you okay yeah that's crazy yes back in the village the wedding party's warming up they'll all be expecting an exquisite burning feast so Hong gets straight to work separating the honey and stabbed the bisquits now Hong shows me his favorite dessert firstly toast some of the tribes homegrown rice and this is rice from the local fields sticky rice when the sticky rice turns a wonderful golden color Hong gets me to pound it into a coarse flour then I pour in some of the hard-earned honey you don't cook it that's nice like a nut brittle they taste amazing let them sort of dry out in the Sun now and they get even firmer more brittle and a lot more crunchy who would have thought in a village like this they'd be coming up with a dainty delicious little petit four that would knock the socks of a pharaoh Shay this honey and rice recipe could steal my success at the royal dinner so chef the chef and returning the favor got very tough now because the meat hasn't been hung I think it needs a bit of help I'm showing Hong my take on buffalo kebabs it's fresh a little bit too fresh to cook with so when I sort of tenderize it already and I'll do a I sort of marinated version so dice is in big chunks the soap after seasoning the meat I simply add chopped chili to give it a kick garlic and soy sauce i marinate that so on the flavor yeah you've been amazing yeah the flames and get the hot coal underneath right as the Buffalo cooks I'm going to see the final blessing of the wedding ceremony the bride and groom anoint their family with a villages precious ingredient this is the congratulations to both husband and wife for the handsome to our thoughts of people Arden I mean socks by non-material Connie may wish you a very happy marriage and lots of children yeah the ceremony over it's time to eat okay ladies and gentlemen boys and girls now we got the most amazing barbecue my marinade the Buffalo kebabs are going down a storm jumped on and he's very good they're happy and the kids especially you're living the little sweet the honey and the ground rice delicious music started party's in full swing how much rice wine of the gods with the whole tribe tucking into the rice wine it's gonna be a long night but I've got to leave yeah take care take your zk yes thank you HD thank you take care of are you I've had an amazing week but my role appointment looms next I've got to cook Cambodian food fit for a king or a prince and a couple of princesses at least\n"