Cambodia has a lot of strange things from the westerners’ point of view, in each corner you can be surprised or even shocked by their lifestyle or eating habits. You have to prepare for many surprises especially when you are visiting a local market.

One thing, quite common there, but a big surprise for me was to find that what looked like an ordinary stool with eggs in the market, was actually selling not fresh eggs, but boiled eggs with unborn duck inside (Pong Tia Koun) !!! When my local friend Borey asked me if I want to try it, in my mind passed a lot of confusing thoughts and I agreed, but after seeing him taking out with a spoon an unborn duck already with few feathers and a head, I understood that there is no way I can do it. I couldn’t even watch him eating it. As Borey said, it was a bit too big as normally, but still tasted good and very crunchy.

So Pong Tia Koun is a 14 to 21 days old egg boiled, with partially formed duck still inside. The fetus is not really formed and you cannot easily see it without pulling apart the egg. It is usually served with pepper, garlic, chilli sauce, laksa leaves and lemon juice.

Most Cambodians consider Pong Tia Koun to be an aphrodisiac and a high-protein, healthy snack. It is commonly sold by street vendors and often served with beer. You can find them easily everywhere in the streets, it is as common as hotdogs or burgers.