
Highlights
- Taste delicious fish and meat dishes
- Cambodian food is rich in seasonings and herbs
- Every dish is a perfect combination of diverse flavors
- Try the most renown of the traditional Khmer cuisine: the street food
Cambodian cuisine is rich in flavors and has been influenced by a lot of different cultures. The dishes are fairly simple, but full of nutrients and perfect for a well-balanced diet. There is an abundance of tropical fruit to make fresh juice with exotic taste.
The flavors of Cambodian meals are strong and contrasting, with a lot of spices (often fermented) and fresh fish coming directly from the numerous rivers around the country. Rice, vegetables and especially fruit are an imperative for every Cambodian meal.
Here is a guide for eating and drinking in Cambodia, without forgetting table manners. Check it out!
The core of Cambodian cuisine is water, rice and fish. The Mekong River runs through the country with huge flows of water, and the rural life revolves around it.
Khmer cuisine has been heavily influenced by Thai and Vietnamese food, though it still conserves its traditional flavors.
Other strong influences come from 1) France, who dominated the country for 90 years: baguettes and many colonial products from South America such as butter, broccoli and chocolate, are its heritage; and 2) China: variations of rice noodles are extremely widespread.
Among the most common ingredients are:
China Highlights, Asia Highlights, and Global Highlights collaborate to provide families and couples with personalized and stress-free experiences in diverse destinations.
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My experience in Thai
All of this was well organized by the local office. The holiday was wonderful. Our guide, Mr. Longdy( Siem Reap)were exceptional. He shared his extensive knowledge of the many wonderful places we visited, and were flexible to take us to additional places along the way based on discussions. Thank you so much .shared their extensive knowledge of the many wonderful places we visited, and were flexible to take us to additional places along the way based on discussions. More
kelli,
Jul 2023
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Seamless Planning
From the day I submitted an inquiry request, I instantly received a response from Monica asking my preferences for my trip. She has been attentive and responsive to our every needs and we very much appreciate it. Looking forward to our trip in November but many thanks to Monica for making this experience to seamless thus far. More
Sana Samhouri,
Jul 2023
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Very professional agency for a memorable trip to Asia
A special thanks to Albee who worked with us and helped to tailor the itinerary to our taste, she was amazing and always available for whatever we needed. The trip would not have been the same without her and her team. Thank you! More
Daniela,
Jul 2023
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It was our first time in Cambodia and …
It was our first time in Cambodia and we had a wonderful time. The accommodations, food, and sites were really beautiful. We ended our trip with a relaxing massage. Sam was very accommodating to our needs and knowledgeable. Thank you for the laughter and for being so kind. More
Amy Oakes Moon,
Jun 2023
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Our guide Borin - never boring!
Our guide Borin, in Cambodia, was knowledgeable, understanding and thoughtful in every aspect of the plan he put together for our trip to Siem Reap and in its execution. He can read the room, and knew exactly how to pace the tour, when to pause, when to break, and how to prepare us for the maximum benefit. He is extremely kind and caring, and it showed at every turn. He also is a dab hand with the camera, and we have a lot of great pictures to show for it. Kudos to my Asia Highlights coordinator - Cathy Chen, for picking Borin. Borin works with a driver (007) who was also very kind and caring. Whenever we returned to the car, he would have cold towel rolls and chilled water to refresh us. So amazingly considerate. It was an unforgettable experience More
David Muliyil,
Jun 2023
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Great visit!
Our guide, Anna, was fantastic! She was highly informative and a delight to spend our days with. Would request her again if we were to return! More
Alejandra M Almonte,
Jun 2023
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We've had such a great experience…
We've had such a great experience planning our honeymoon with Alisa at Asia Highlights! We gave her our dream itinerary, thinking that it might be impossible to do all the things we wanted, but Alisa made our dreams a reality! She's gone so far above and beyond to answer ALL of our questions and make little adjustments that will make a huge impact on our experience. More
Lauren,
Jun 2023
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Alisa knows how to work fast and please a customer.
Alisa is very helpful and works very fast. I am a very difficult client because Inknow what I want in therm of hotels and comfort. She had a lot of patience with me, and moved a lot the plan of the trip, always following my requests. It was a pleasure organizing my trip with her. I recommend her a lot! Thanks Alisa. Malala from Argentina. More
maria laura artola,
Jun 2023
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Trip-of-a-lifetime
In addition, I want to specifically mention the guides provided in certain locations. Rum, in Siem Reap, made the most memorable experience possible. His positivity was contagious - even when it felt like 1000 degrees and we were tired. He brought it all to life, and created a couple days of Ankor Wat, etc. that we will never forget! He heard my daughter's request for specific Cambodian food, and changed our itinerary to go to a village and eat at a locally known shop. He brought the dessert she asked about to us in the car! Overall, he and his driver "Lucky" were a reason to go to Siem Reap. In addition, the other guides (minus one which was switched out immediately) were stupendous. Mon in Bangkok was friendly and provided a great day there; Eak in Chiang Mai gave us a world-class food-tour and day touring the city and its surrounding temples with lots of laughs; Tommy in Hanoi kept us from getting killed in the traffic and gave a stupendous food and architecture/history tour - so very friendly and funny; the fishing village tour in Hoi An, as well as the side-car tour in Saigon, were both unforgettable! Thank you Sharon, and Asia Highlights. Would definitely use again for future trips! More
Teri Simpson,
Apr 2023
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Cambodia and Vietnam adventure!
Our guide in Cambodia, Meas Darapolaith (Pol), was absolutely amazing. He was knowledgeable, friendly and so helpful. His English was excellent and he shared important insights about history and the magnificent sites we visited. We highly recommend him! More
Jennifer Roth Krieger,
Apr 2023
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My daughter and I wanted to discover SE…
My daughter and I wanted to discover SE Asia. Being the first in that region, we wanted to use a tour service company. We ended up using Asia Highlights. From the beginning we were impressed with their services. We left home with of mind because all the pre-travel arrangements were taking care and communicate to us efficiently. All our questions were answered promptly. Once in the countries, we were welcome by our excellent tour guides. Everything was taking care for us. We did not have one issue. They selected the right tours guides for us, they were highly knowledgeable and so much attentive to our needs. We had Dhat in Vietnam and Borin in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I highly recommend Asia Highlights. I came back home so much rested, and with plenty of wonderful pictures and memories. I will definitely use Asia Highlights again for my next trip to Asia. More
Isabelle Dessaux,
Apr 2023
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Fabulous tour and guide in Cambodia
We have been touring Cambodia, guided by Borin ( and driver 007) for the last 2 days. What a fabulous experience! Borin has been a wonderful guide, the best so far in Southeast Asia, explaining the history and culture of Cambodia through his tours of the temples in and around Angkor, as well as the Landmine museum. He has answered all our questions, made sure we were comfortable, and that we have had great food. 007 made sure we always had enough water and cool towels for our face/neck.We highly recommend Borin as a tour guide for Cambodia!! More
Monica,
Mar 2023
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Best Travel Service for Asia Travel
Alisa Liu was in charge of making the arrangements and she helped us from the start to make all of the arrangements and also helped us when we had questions and requested some adjustments. Her service is of the highest professional level. We are 100% confident that our trip will be perfect. We’re also 100% confident that, if anything comes up during our trip, that Alisa will be there to guide us through and take care of us. We won’t even consider using another agency for travel around Asia and we would like to have Alisa work for us again. More
Leo Pospichal,
Mar 2023
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Tour of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand
The tour guides and drivers were another high point. All were very good, friendly, knowledgeable and spoke English well. There were two that I want to call out for their excellence. Chan Sovannarith in Siem Reap was our guide in Cambodia. He really made the experience special. His knowledge, willingness to answer all my questions, helpfulness and general attitude made him fun to be around. In order to praise the second exceptional guide I have to explain about an unfortunate occurrence that I had. I'm normally a very active senior, but after leaving Cambodia for Laos I was suddenly struck by the most intense back pain I've ever experienced, couldn't even roll over in bed (turned out to be sciatica). The guide, Mr. Sonophet, really went the extra mile. He went with my traveling companion and bought a back brace and medications for me. When that didn't help much he took me to a clinic where I was seen by a doctor, given a shot and pain meds. He hand-made a walking stick for me that I'm still using! He made it possible for me to somewhat participate in the activities, i.e. a bed on the boat down the river. When it was time to move on to Bangkok he got me a wheelchair at the airport. I can't thank him enough for these kindnesses! This problem lasted for the remainder of the trip, through Bangkok and Phuket and these guides were also very helpful getting wheelchairs, etc. It was a terrible disappointment to have this wonderful trip disrupted, but it would have been SO much worse without the great help that I received from the guides and my poor travel companion! More
Deb M,
Mar 2023
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In good hands with Sam
Sam Ol took very good care of us - lots of information, listened to and answered all our questions, was passionate about the places we visited and about his people and country. He was kind, had a great sense of humor, and made sure we felt safe and comfortable at all times. He helped us to fall in love with Cambodia in 3 short days. More
Carol Jones,
Feb 2023
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Best tour guide in Cambodia
When we first arrived at the airport in Siem Riep it was so nice to be greeted by Mr Sam Ol. We instantly fell at home when we saw his friendly smile. We were impressed by his great English and knowledge of the temples. On the tour to the temples Sam took care of us every step of the way. He took awesome pictures of us. It felt like we were on a tour given by our brother who is also a professional photographer. Also, we appreciate his humor as well as the fact he had an answer for every question we had. I give Sam 5 stars, best tour guide ever :) More
Len S,
Feb 2023
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Mr. Sam
Mr. Sam our guide in Cambodia, he and the driver out standing service they went above and beyond touring, my wife so amazed beautiful country, we're planning back here near the futures. Thank Mr. Sam,We'll feedback the whole trip next week when we be home in US More
Pho Lover,
Feb 2023
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Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand
We are still in the middle of our trip, but we are just finishing up our time in Cambodia and our guide, Borin, has been AMAZING!!! He has truly made our time here unforgettable and I plan on referring all of my friends and family to come visit this beautiful country! Thank you, Borin, for everything you did to make our trip so fantastic! More
Danielle Blount,
Feb 2023
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Excellent service and Wonderful Guides
All of our guides have been terrific. Mr. Sam in Siem Reip was especially wonderful. Both he and our driver were polite, safe knowledgable and informative. Sam made our trip memorable and enioyable. We will definitely recommend Sam and Asia Highlights to our friends. More
Kaaren,
Feb 2023
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Great tour guide Charity at Siem Reap
Our experience in Siem Reap could not have been any better thanks to our outstanding and cheerful guide, Charity. Her very good English speaking made it so easy to learn so much from her. She understood and answers all of our questions.She was relaxed and very knowledgeable. She went out out her way to help us make amazing pano photos of the cotton trees at Siem Reap and on our sunset cruise. She also advised us on Chanrey Tree restaurant—what we found to be the very best vegan restaurant on our first three weeks of our Asia tour. So glad to have vegan meals with very little oil!!! We are not supposed to have oil and is very hard to find vegan with no oil. Went went back the next night. More
Barbara Cornyn,
Jan 2023
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Cambodian food is a combination of Thai, Vietnamese, French, Chinese and Khmer cuisine. Street food is extremely important.
Breakfast often consists of rice porridge or noodles. Broth with meat or fish is usually served during lunch or dinner, along with stir-fried dishes with beef, pork or chicken. Desserts often consist of fresh fruit such as coconut, banana or mangos.
Fish Amok
The most famous Cambodian dish is delicious stewed catfish with a curry-like cream, made of lemongrass, ginger, turmeric and coconut milk. The fish is soft and melts in your mouth. It is usually served in a basket made from banana leaves.
Everyone in Cambodia has a family recipe for this dish.
Lap Khmer
This popular dish is a beef salad, marinated in lime juice. It is seasoned with garlic, shallots, fish sauce, basil, mint, bell peppers and a lot of chili. It is extremely fresh and spicy, with a strong flavor that is hard to forget.
Nom Banh Chok
You can find this dish on the streets early in the morning. A lot of people eat it for breakfast. It is fresh and simple: Rice noodles in a green fish broth are topped with a lot of bean sprouts, cucumbers, banana flowers and other greens.
It costs about US$1 and is the perfect breakfast or a delicious afternoon snack.
A meal in Cambodia usually consists of more than one dish. People combine dishes of contrasting flavors, cooking styles, and ingredients.
Breakfast is eaten quite early in the morning, and lunch will be quick. The main meal of the day is dinner. Rice, meat and fish will be served, and there will be around five different dishes.
Rice is the staple of Cambodia, and it is used both as a side dish or as an ingredient. Plain white rice is served with every meal, but rice is also used to make desserts or street food snacks, such as deep-fried rice cakes.
In Cambodia you can find a type of restaurant that you may not find anywhere else: Training restaurants. They try to teach disadvantaged young adults some useful skills. Among the most famous are:
Or try the traditional restaurants. If you are in Phnom Penh, it is recommended to check out Mok Mony to taste some delicious Khmer food at a reasonable price.
Because of the high temperatures, it is important to drink enough. You can find a wide variety of drinks, ranging from fruit juices to local beers. Tea and coffee are very popular, mostly because of the French influence.
Fruit is important to the local cuisine: Fruit juices are a must when you are travelling around the country.
Iced lemon tea and lemonade are the most popular fruit drinks. Smoothies are popular as well; they are an important part of night life. There are juice stalls everywhere, with their blenders and fruit displays. You can choose to add coconut milk, sugar syrup, condensed milk or a raw egg.
The two most famous Cambodian beers are Anchor and Angkor. Beer Lao and Tiger are also popular, but mostly among foreigners.
Cambodian beers are really affordable and offer a wide range of qualities.
Angkor is brewed in Sihanoukville, and it is considered Cambodia's national beer. The beer is light and refreshing; a must for many locals and tourists during hot days. The Extra Stout variety has a strong coffee-like taste and a dark, dense color.
Other popular brands are ABC, another dark beer with a strong flavor; Cambodia Lager, brewed with European ingredients, it has a golden color and is very drinkable. Klang Beer is extra strong and smooth: it is easily recognizable because of the elephant on the can.
When travelling to a foreign country, it is important to know and respect local customs, especially when eating. It is easy to overlook local customs if you don't know them. Here a quick guide:
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