Focus Cambodia shares our guide to the best places to eat when in Siem Reap
Lum Orng
Billed as Cambodia’s first “farm-to-table” restaurant, Lum Orng is the pet project of noted chef Seng Sothea. A native of rural Kampong Cham province, Sothea worked in luxury hotel kitchens in Dubai and the Caribbean before returning to Cambodia to open his own restaurants, including Mahob (mahobkhmer.com) in 2014. Mahob aims at modernising Khmer food while preserving its culinary heritage. Lum Orng, surrounded by an organic garden in suburban Thiok Ondong village, is more experimental: Sothea’s “New Mekong” cuisine includes elements of the long-ago Khmer empire as well as the Mekong Delta and neighbouring Laos and Thailand. Diners can order a la carte or from an ever-changing tasting menu, whose selections might include river lobster in a blanket of rice tapioca, fried frog legs with lotus nuts, and braised pork-rib wontons. Open daily for lunch and dinner.
Pinak Pou
Green duck curry with num banh-chok rice noodles. Padi crab smashed in coconut broth. Kulen Mountain pork sausage with peanuts and mung beans. Savoury red ants and a grilled beehive salad. Chef Mork Mengly has captured the hearts and palates of tourists and locals alike, coupling creativity and time-tested family recipes with ambience reflective of Cambodian nature. He even has a cooking school in this casual fine-dining oasis on Wat Bo Road, a short tuk tuk ride from the urban centre.
Brother Bong Cafe
This relaxed and friendly breakfast-and-lunch spot, on a side street near Wat Bo, is open from 7 am to 5 pm every day. For java lovers, the coffee is some of the best in Siem Reap. Morning meals range from full English breakfasts to fruit-and-muesli bowls, and even a breakfast burger topped with a fried egg. Popular lunches include healthy salads and sandwiches. The Western menu is nicely complemented by a variety of Khmer dishes. Portions are generous, prices are modest and service top-notch.
Jomno Modern Khmer Cuisine
Known for his fusion cuisine with Japanese stylings, honed by a French culinary education but rooted in Khmer flavours and ingredients, chef Seiha Chomnab prides himself on his creativity. He takes inspiration from his mother’s recipes in dishes like a classic fish amok or Battambang sausage. The extensive plant-based menu in this casual, friendly restaurant features jackfruit curry. Floor-to-ceiling windows and a lighted upstairs terrace give this place in Wat Damnak Village an inviting, homey atmosphere for lunch or dinner.
Embassy Khmer Gastronomy
Chef Kimsan Pol presides over an all-female kitchen at a restaurant that celebrates home-cooking wonder women, the foundation of Cambodia’s culinary heritage. A five-course set dinner menu, changing monthly, showcases the best of Khmer flavours and fresh seasonal ingredients — from lotus root and galangal to Sihanoukville baby scallop, marinated duck breast with Kampot pepper sauce to black sticky rice with roasted cashew-nut ice cream. Each course is paired with wines or champagnes. Spacious and elegant, Embassy is located in Siem Reap’s Mondul 1 Village.
Tip
NGO and training school Egbok has made a name for itself by offering quality education to the Kingdom’s under-served youth. A meal beneath the bamboo roof of SPOONS Café and Restaurant supports these students in gaining hands-on experience in the real world of dining, without compromising on the quality of the food.
