01 Food tours
Original food tours, curated with our local tastemakers to showcase the neighbourhood kitchens, markets and family-run eateries that define Siem Reap.
Angkor Eats
Siem Reap
Discover Khmer country cooking — amok curry, prahok dip and lok lak with Kampot pepper.
Khmer Kitchens
Siem Reap
Eat Siem Reap at lunchtime — amok curry, tree-ant salad and lok lak with pepper.
02 Meet the tastemakers
The local food experts who help us research, refine and lead every A Chef's Tour.
Amok trey coconut curry, prahok ktis dip, red tree ant salad, lok lak beef with pepper. Khmer country cooking is delicate, herbal and lightly funky.
04 The pantry
- Kampot pepper, world-famous fresh green peppercorns
- Prahok, fermented fish paste in country curries
- Palm sugar, tapped from Cambodian sugar palms
- Kroeung, aromatic paste of lemongrass, galangal and turmeric
- Red tree ants, sour crunch tossed into stir-fries
05 In the kitchen
- Wok-frying beef with fresh Kampot green peppercorns
- Grinding kroeung in a stone mortar for every country curry
- Grilling ang dtray-meuk squid over open charcoal by the river
- Steaming fish amok in banana-leaf cups for a mousse texture
- Foraging red tree ants and their eggs for the countryside stir-fry
06 Eat this first
- Lok lak, cubed beef stir-fried with black pepper and lime dip
- Beef with red tree ants, spicy sour stir-fry with ants and their eggs
- Fish amok, coconut-milk fish curry steamed in banana-leaf cups
- Nom banh chok, rice vermicelli with green fish gravy for breakfast
- Bai sach chrouk, grilled marinated pork over broken rice
What happens inside a hammam kitchen
A morning with the cooks who feed the neighbourhood before dawn. Charcoal, dough, the smell of a bakery working its second oven.
10 Field Notes
Quick field notes to help you get accustomed to Siem Reap.
Weather
Tropical. Hot and humid year-round, rainy season May to October (Angkor is atmospheric in the rain), and cool dry season November to February (peak).
Currency
The Cambodian riel (KHR) and US dollars both circulate. ATMs dispense dollars. Cards work in mid-range hotels and restaurants.
Language
Khmer. English is widely spoken in tourism thanks to Angkor. A few French speakers among older locals.
Etiquette
Cover shoulders and knees at all Angkor temples. The code is strictly enforced. Bayon and Angkor Wat both have dress-code inspections at the entrance.
Getting around
Tuk-tuks by the day are how you cover Angkor, a good driver is worth a lot. In town, the walkable centre is small. PassApp and Grab cover the rest.
Prayer
Deeply Theravada Buddhist today, layered on top of the Hindu / earlier Buddhist heritage of the Angkorian temples. Monks are still central to community life.