Eating Out

Hotel de la Paix

Andreas Melin

Siem Reap receives more than a million visitors each year thanks to Angkor Wat. But in recent years the town has quickly adapted to the needs - and dollars - of the tourists. Nowhere is this more evident than in "Bar Street" a short charming street in the old French quarter of town which is alive with cafes, bars and restaurants. By and large there are four main types of eating establishment in town.

1) Upmarket places aimed at foreigners and sometimes charging fat foreign prices. High quality, very "Zen." Khmer food is interesting, and Cambodia had a big dose of French influence to produce ane exciting cuisine. A good example, and other readers will add their favourites, is Sugar Palm Cafe managed by a Kiwi/Khmer couple to the highest standard. The food is exquisite.

2) Funky places for the free independent traveller. Global culture with a local twist. You'll spot them easily. They always have funky names like Dead Fish - and many are extremely popular.

3) Truly local restaurants. Cheerful, semi-outdoors,great food, heaps of it, cold beer and of course those ubiquitous plastic chairs. There are many around town, and many guest houses have their own local style restaurant. A reliablly good example is the simple restaurant at the Central Market "food court." These places are best enjoyed with locals who can advise on the best dishes.

Another good local place: Maharajah: Excellent Royal Indian Restaurant just in the Old Market Area just One Street Over from Pub Street . Very nicely prepared, Fresh, Hygienic, very reasonably priced, 100% Halal Royal Indian dishes - uniquely spiced North Indian dishes with an emphasis on meat (chicken, beef, mutton, fish) dishes. There’s also plenty of Veg dishes to choose from. The Indian breads are also excellent.. Free Home Delivery  and All dishes are prepared with vegetable oil, vegetables are cleaned with drinking water and the ice are made with purified water .  Tel+855 92 50 66 22 www.maharajah.biz   

4) Foreign enclaves for the timid. The big hotels each have restaurants aimed at the package tours. Chinese, Japanese, Korean - or that global "Sheraton a la Carte" style - these could be located anywhere. The Khmer element is fairly minimal. 

Go local! Depending on your budget the first three categories each offer more choices than you can possibly entertain during your stay - though a good strategy might be to mix and match your diet. You can go really adventurous if you wish: try some snake (which isn't bad at all) or frogs legs, or stick to more familiar fare. Travellers to tropical Asia are justifiably concerned about food preparation hygiene. This is a good argument to go to places recommended by others, but also to be on the safe side - a case of packing in your luggage a generous supply remedies for upset stomach, and sticking to bottled water.