French Gastronomy Month in Kep — The Brasserie Bowl That Closes the Series at Crab & Co and Leaves You Wanting One More Glass

Imported French bouchot mussels, white wine, herbs — and the fries that complete the picture.

The Brasserie Bowl That Closes the Series at Crab & Co and Leaves You Wanting One More Glass

French Gastronomy Month at Crab & Co ends the way every great French evening should — at a brasserie table, with a bowl of mussels, good fries, and nowhere else to be. If the roast chicken is the soul of the French home table, then moules-frites is the soul of the French brasserie — the dish that has been ordered at zinc-topped bars from Calais to Bordeaux since long before anyone thought to write it down.

The mussels at Crab & Co this July are bouchot — cultivated on wooden stakes driven into the tidal flats of the Atlantic coast, perfected over centuries in the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel. Meaty, sweet-briny, consistently exceptional. They arrive in Kep imported directly from France, sautéed with white wine and herbs, served with golden French fries — crisp, the only possible accompaniment.

"The genius of moules-frites is that it asks almost nothing of the cook and delivers almost everything to the diner — the sea in a bowl, the crunch of a fry, the warmth of wine and herbs. There is no simpler argument for the French table."

Eight dishes. Eight stories. One month of French gastronomy on the coast of Cambodia. French Gastronomy Month at Crab & Co in Kep has been a journey — and the bouchot mussels are the perfect place to arrive. Dip the fry in the broth. Order another glass. Let the evening find its own pace. Thank you, Kep. À bientôt.

A LITTLE HISTORY

The bouchot method of mussel cultivation is one of the oldest forms of aquaculture still practised in France. Its origins are traditionally traced to an Irish sailor named Patrick Walton, shipwrecked on the Atlantic coast near the Baie de l'Aiguillon in 1235. Driving wooden stakes into the tidal mud to trap sea birds, he noticed mussels colonising the posts. The bouchot was born.

Over the following eight centuries, the technique was refined and codified. Today, bouchot mussels are grown on wooden stakes in the tidal flats, feeding on natural plankton as the tide rises and falls twice daily. The Moules de Bouchot de la Baie du Mont-Saint-Michel now hold a PGI — Protected Geographical Indication — under European law.

Moules-frites became a brasserie institution in northern France and Belgium during the late nineteenth century. The broth left at the bottom of the bowl — reduced wine, herbs, mussel juices — is considered, by those who know, the best part of the dish.

 ON THE PLATE

DISH   Bouchot Mussels

COMPOSITION   Imported French bouchot mussels · white wine · herbs · French fries

PRICE   $28.00 (500g)

PAIRING   Muscadet sur lie or a crisp Picpoul de Pinet

VISIT US

Restaurant: Crab & Co at Kep West

Address: National Road 33A, Krong Kaeb (Kep), Cambodia

Hours: Open daily — 7:00 am to 10:00 pm (later on weekends)

Reservations & enquiries: www.kepwest.com/dine

Table booking: www.kepwest.com/reservations

Green Season Special — enjoy our special rates: $129 a night for Cambodians and residents.