Foods of Cambodia

I find many kinds of food in Cambodia that I do not often see in Hong Kong.  Some I have actually not seen anywhere else.  There is a kind of sun-dried mango paste that seems to be ubiquitous in the villages of Cambodia, which I have not yet seen outside.  

There are banana flower buds, which can be made into decent salads.  Bananas are also very common in Rwanda, but as far as I know, Rwandans do not eat them.  I wonder why.  

In Rwanda, I have seen people feeding the hearts of the banana tree (plant?) to cows, who seem to relish them.  In Cambodia, hearts of the banana plant are sold in the wet market, presumably as food for humans. 

Roasted, peeled bananas seem to be a popular snack.  Although I'd rather not eat them off the street. 

Crickets, as well as many other kinds of insects, are commonly eaten. 

As are worms, larvas. 

Or you can fight the bees for honey and their combs. 

There are many kinds of palm fruits, other than the coconut.  

Some are delicate, gelatinous, juicy and mildly sweet. I like that a lot. 

Others are fluffy, slightly sweet but rather dry.  Not my favourite. 

The soursop somewhat resembles sugar apple (sweetsop), but is actually rather sour and not as good.  I don't quite like it.  

The lotus shoot, if not eaten, will bear the lotus flower, and eventually the receptacle containing the lotus seeds.  It is commonly used in stir-fry in Cambodia.  

There is a kind of lime, with a named loaded with bias (kaffir, which - I was told - means non-believer in Arabic, a slur against black people).  So some people call them makrut. 

Cambodian food is very interesting, if not always pure, innocent fun.