Eating and Drinking in Cambodia

Typical Khmer Dishes

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.

How a Cambodian meal is served

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.

Recommended restaurants in Cambodia

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:

• Haven: This restaurant opened in 2011 in Siem Reap. It gives work and valuable training to kids from orphanages and safe shelters. Every year they take new trainees.
• Marum and Romdeng: Both are part of TREE Restaurants, a global alliance that employs underprivileged teenagers and teaches them working skills. All the profits of the restaurants are invested in the students working there.

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.

Fruit juices

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.

Local Beers

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.