Khmer food gets overlooked next to Thai or Vietnamese, but anyone who actually tries it finds a gentleness and depth that belongs to nobody else. Khmer shrimp paste (kapi) and fresh black pepper are the soul of every plate — the heat never stings, yet there's a complexity built from a dozen spices. Come to Siem Reap and don't let an international hotel buffet steal your meals.
#1 Fish Amok
Cambodia's national dish and the most signature thing you'll eat in Siem Reap. It's made with fish, chicken or shrimp steamed in a coconut-curry paste pounded from lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaf, shrimp paste and dried chili. The flavour is soft and fragrant with coconut, not spicy but deep, served in a coconut shell or a rolled banana leaf. The texture is firm like Thai hor mok but more delicate, and it's the template for the coconut-based dishes that spread across Southeast Asia to neighbouring countries.
- Order amok made with river fish (carp or snakehead) for the most traditional taste, rather than the shrimp version made for tourists
- Places that pound their own curry paste are noticeably more fragrant and better than ones using ready-made paste
- At local spots away from Pub Street it runs about 3-5 USD, cheaper than the 8-12 USD on Pub Street
#2 Lok Lak
The Khmer dish travelers love most in Siem Reap. Bite-sized beef or chicken is stir-fried with oyster sauce and palm sugar until glossy, served over fresh salad greens with white rice or fried rice, plus a dish of fresh black-pepper sauce squeezed with lime that is the heart of the plate. The flavour is gently sweet and salty in balance, the meat tender and coated in sauce. Cambodia's fresh black-pepper dipping sauce is world-famous, giving a tingling heat clearly different from ordinary pepper.
- The fresh black-pepper sauce (Kampot pepper) is the highlight of the dish — add plenty to taste the real thing
- Ask for a fried egg on top; that's the standard traditional way this dish is served
- It runs 4-6 USD at local restaurants, tastier and cheaper than the tourist-priced spots on Pub Street
#3 Num Banh Chok
A favourite Siem Reap breakfast that people have eaten for hundreds of years. Soft fresh rice noodles, made new every morning, are topped with a fresh green fish curry of lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaf and shrimp paste, laid over a pile of assorted fresh vegetables you add to taste — banana flower, bean sprouts, cucumber, basil and young mango leaves. The flavour is light and refreshing in the morning, a dish Cambodians of every age eat, from schoolkids to the elderly.
- Morning markets sell it only from 5:30 to 10 am and it's gone before noon for sure, so get up early
- At 1-2 USD a bowl it's the cheapest food in Siem Reap, and locals eat it every day
- Tell them to add more vegetables for free, and try it with pickled chili or a squeeze of fresh lime for brightness
#4 Samlor Korko
A traditional Khmer stew many people call the Cambodian ratatouille. The broth has no coconut, unlike amok, made from an herb soup and a light touch of fermented fish, with assorted fresh vegetables dropped in and simmered until tender — flowering vegetables, long beans, baby corn, eggplant and ivy gourd leaves. The flavour is light and refreshing, not oily, not spicy, good for a day when your stomach is off after several heavy meals, or for anyone who wants a Khmer taste different from the usual coconut curries.
- Ask for a little extra fermented fish (prahok) in the broth for a richer, more authentic flavour — but if the smell is unfamiliar, you can ask them to leave it out
- At 2-4 USD a bowl it's a dish locals eat with white rice at lunch
- It's often not on tourist-restaurant menus, so go to a local rice shop or ask the owner whether they have it
#5 Kuy Teav
A clear-broth Khmer noodle soup influenced by overseas Chinese cooks, but seasoned with fermented fish and Khmer herbs until it has a taste of its own. The broth is simmered from pork bones and dried shrimp overnight until it's clear, golden and fragrant-sweet, topped with minced pork, shrimp, fried shallots and cilantro, eaten with fish sauce, sugar, pickled chili and a squeeze of lime to taste. The flavour is well-rounded and clean on the palate, a good breakfast before heading out to Angkor Wat.
- Order flat noodles or thin noodles as you like, but flat noodles soak up the sauce and broth better
- At 1.5-3 USD a bowl, shops beside the morning market are cheaper and often tastier than ones in the tourist area
- Eat it hot the moment it's served; fresh Khmer noodles only stay soft for so long
#6 Kralan
The most distinctly Cambodian street snack there is. Sticky rice mixed with coconut milk, black beans and palm sugar is packed into fresh bamboo tubes and roasted slowly over charcoal for hours. The heat cooks the sticky rice and draws coconut flavour from the bamboo into it, until it's smoky and softly sweet with coconut. You eat it by peeling away the bamboo tube and biting in — the rice is chewy and soft, fragrant with coconut, sweet in just the right measure. It's a good snack to have while walking the night market after coming back from Angkor.
- Buy it fresh off the charcoal; a tube that's just finished cooking has the smoky aroma and the sticky rice is still hot
- At 0.5-1 USD a tube, order 2-3 as an evening snack
- Some stalls make a version with black beans or red beans, so order all the flavours to compare
Where to stay in Siem Reap for this trip
A well-located hotel means less commuting and more sightseeing. Here are real, top-rated stays in Siem Reap — compare Agoda · Booking · Trip.com in one click.
Primefold Hotel
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Central Suite Residence
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Jaya House River Park
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Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor
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Tours, tickets & activities in Siem Reap
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Before You Pack
Pub Street and the Angkor Night Market are full of Khmer restaurants that have toned the flavours down for tourists, but if you want the real thing, walk into the old-town morning market (the Old Market) or a roadside porridge shop where locals queue from first light. It's cheaper and far tastier.