Eating out in Cambodia

[NatashaH]

Hi,

Does anyone have any restaurant recommendations for Cambodia? We're going to Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Kep.

[KD1191]

We did not eat very well in Siem Reap, but here are a few things learned during our stay.

The Blue Pumpkin makes quite decent coffee and baked goods (I really like the macaroons, the coconut things with two os, not the French meringues, unfortunately so did the monkeys just outside Angkor Thom...was nearly mobbed. Secondary learning, leave all foodstuffs in the car when approaching small mammals.)

We avoided any sort of 'fine dining' in Siem Reap, but since returning we've had friends who visited Meric and were very complementary of the food and service.

Dead Fish Tower seemed a tourist trap, and it was.

Our best meal came from a restaurant with no apparent name set up under a large tent at the base of the climb up to Kbal Spean.

Exploring Beng Mealea was the highlight of our time in Cambodia.

[rmillman]

We ate very well in Siem Reap: the public market food stalls were excellent for a local feel and we highly recommend Meric. We had the $31 7 course Khmer tasting and it was wonderful.

[pastrygirl]

It's been 2 years, but looking through the guidebook a few things stand out. Agreed on Blue Pumpkin in Siem Reap, and check out Sala Bai, which is a cooking/hospitality school for young Khmers. Try happy pizza if you're into that, but know that it will not be great pizza. In Phnom Penh I stayed at the Bougainvillier Hotel, which was a lovely splurge ($60ish a night) after a month of much more budget accommodations elsewhere. The attached restaurant was very good French, nice cheese and sometimes you do need a break from local food. I do recommend eating in the markets, and being adventurous to just point to things and smile when lacking language skills. Although I was unwittingly served durian for breakfast that way, as one of the toppings on sticky rice, the woman who sold it thought the look on my face was hysterical, so we shared a laugh. If you have a local guide for the day, definitely express your interest in going where the locals go. I had a tasty lunch that i honestly could not figure out what it was, and my guide also convinced me to try one of the charcoal grilled curry-stuffed frogs on a stick that were at many roadside stands outside of Phnom Penh: It was pretty tasty.

[prasantrin]

A report of all (almost all) I ate can be found here http://egullet.org/p1647026

I did not care for Blue Pumpkin. I had stale baked goods and freezer-burned ice cream there. But that may have been a one-off. Or maybe for Cambodia, it was good.

I actually didn't care much for the food in Cambodia at all. Generally I thought it was poorly prepared and not of very good quality. BUT, that being said, it is Cambodia which is very much a developing country in more ways than just the economy. They really haven't had the time to focus on and develop their food culture.

Even though I didn't really love the food, I would recommend Sala Bai because of what you'd be supporting. Pretty much everywhere else I ate was fine. Not great, and not anywhere I'd enthusiastically recommend, but it was fine.

And I'd drink as much young coconut water as I could. And other assorted fruit juices. And I'd have more fruit, too. And I'd buy more palm sugar and I'd finally get some cashews.

[NatashaH]

Thanks, all, for the feedback...

[threestars]

A report of all (almost all) I ate can be found here http://egullet.org/p1647026

That's a very nice list! Thanks a lot!