History of Cambodian Num Kom & Num Ansom · 1500 Year Old Glutinous Rice Cakes

Num kom is a steamed Cambodian glutinous rice dumpling filled with grated coconut and palm sugar, and wrapped in banana leaf. (It resembles the Indian steamed modak except for the banana leaf wrap.)

Hawaii Fried Chicken Rice Restaurant in Phnom Penh អាហារដ្ឋានបាយមាន់ហាវ៉ៃ

This is not a recommendation, I mean, I am not suggesting anyone make a special trip for this. This is a "foodilogue" of interesting food I tried during my trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia and I personally would seek out more food like this 😬 I like it though it was not what I expected.

Restaurant name: Hawaii Fried Chicken Rice អាហារដ្ឋានបាយមាន់ហាវ៉ៃ

Address: #190 E0 Street 130, Sangkat Phsar They 3 Khan, Phnom Penh, Cambodia (diagonally opposite Le Hotel at the intersection of Street 130 & Street 49)

Tel: +855 9267 1913

Hours: 6:00am - 3:00pm

Nom Banh Jok Preap Sovath · Famous Khmer Noodle Stall in an Alleyway in Phnom Penh

One of my missions for this trip to Phnom Penh is to taste num banh chok, one of Cambodia's national dish. My local hosts, Yuan and Eli showed me their favourite NBC stall - a gem hidden in the alley beside the SBI LY HOUR bank branch at Czech Republic Blvd.

Stall name: No name side lane stall

Address: Near intersection of Czech Republic Blvd (169) and Kampuchea Krom Blvd (128), Phnom Penh

Hours: 8:00 - 5:00pm (closed 12 noon - 2pm)

Famous Sokuntheary Cambodian Snail Soup at Koh Pich Diamond Island Phnom Penh សុគន្ធារី ស៊ុបខ្យង

One of the dishes I wanted to try in Phnom Penh is snails or escargot. The former colonial masters love escargot while snails have been part of traditional Cambodian cuisine long before the French appeared here. There is a famous Cambodian snail soup stall on Koh Pich (Diamond Island) that is raging red hot now.

Stall name: Sokuntheary Snail Soup សុគន្ធារី ស៊ុបខ្យង

Address: Sopheak Mongkol Road, Koh Pich River Side, Diamond Island, Phnom Penh

Hours: 4:00pm - 12:00 midnight

Sok Hok Khmer Coffee · Orussey Market Phnom Penh · Heady Espresso From A Sock

I found out that it is not easy to find traditional Khmer coffee in fast modernising Phnom Penh. Even the street side coffee stands that I came across during my trip, sport espresso machines. So, you can imagine my excitement when I stumbled upon this side lane coffee stand near the intersection of Charles De Gaulle Blvd (217) and Sok Hok Street (107) at the Orussey Market area.

Stall name: Sok Hok Coffee (side lane coffee stall with no English sign or banner)

Address: Near the intersection of Charles De Gaulle Blvd (217) and Sok Hok Street (107) at Orussey Market area in Phnom Penh

Hours: Breakfast & Lunch

Cambodian Flat Pork Ball Noodles · Srey Neang Noodle · Phnom Penh គុយទាវស្រីនាង ប្រហិតសាច់ជ្រូក កែងផ្សារចាស់

I was going to spend a day at the National Museum of Cambodia, so I went scouting around the area nearby for a power breakfast that will fuel me through two thousand years of Cambodian history.

Restaurant name: Srey Neang Noodle

Address: Intersection of Preah Ang Duong Street (110) and Preah Ang Eng Street (13)

Tel: 085 88 3466

Hours: 5:00am - 1:30pm

Num Banh Chok Wat BoTom · Sophath + Pho in Phnom Penh

Even though nowadays, finding places to eat is literally at our fingertips, I still get my greatest joy from eating by going out foraging blind. There's something about the joy of "own self" discovery, of unexpected delights. That's how I stumbled upon Nom Banh Chok Wat BoTom.

Stall name: Sophath + Pho

Address: # 78 Street 07 Sangkat Chaktomok, 12207

Tel: 092 250 778

Hours: 7:00am - 8:00pm

Cuisine Wat Damnak · Fine Dining in Phnom Penh · Authentic Cambodian with French Touch

Buddy Irene who is resident in Phnom Penh and is well plugged in in the local F & B scene, brought me to Cuisine Wat Damnak. Opened less than a year ago, Irene said Damnak is a must for any visitor interested in the fine cuisine of Phnom Penh. After last night's amazing dinner at Cuisine Wat Damnak Phnom Penh, I couldn't agree more.

Restaurant name: Cuisine Wat Damnak Phnom Penh

Address: 29 Samdech Mongkol Lem Street (228), Phnom Penh

Tel: 09 935 8520

Hours: 11:30am - 2:30pm | 6:30pm - 11:00pm (Sun off)

Num Banh Chok @ Central Market Phnom Penh

One of the missions I set for myself for this trip to Phnom Penh was to experience num banh chok, one of the dishes often mentioned as Cambodia's national dish. It is a noodle soup staple found along streets, corner coffee shops and markets.

Stall name: Num Banh Chok (cooked food stalls in Central Market got no signboard) 

Address: Central Market, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Hours: 6:00am - 10:00am (Num Banh Chok stall)

Mister Crab Seafood @ Russian Market Phnom Penh · Toul Tom Pong Seafood Street Food

My first dinner in Phnom Penh was not traditional Khmer food but seafood done contemporary Phnom Penh style. It's at the famous Russian Market. There's a row of at least three similar street side seafood stalls and Mister Crab was clearly the most popular.

(Cambodia is now post-pandemic. To enter the country, immigration will ask to see your vaccination status. Otherwise, clearance is the same as pre-Covid.)

Stall name: Toul Tom Pong Seafood

Address: GWR7+2RC, Phnom Penh (@ Russian Market)

Hours: 5:30pm - 10:00pm (opens at 8:30am on Sunday)

History of Cambodian · Khmer Cuisine · Ancient Food from Mekong River & Tonle Sap Lake

Khmer cuisine refer to the food of Khmer people. Cambodian cuisine refer to the food of Cambodia which includes several other ethnicities such as Cham, hill tribesmen, Lao, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. Cambodian cuisine has Indian, Chinese and French influences due to the country's history.

Some well known Khmer dishes include prahok, fish amok, pomelo salad, samlar kako, coconut pineapple curry (samlar k'tis), coconut prahok dip and num banh chok. Most may sound unfamiliar but I shall explain more later in this post.