Delicious Cambodian Food (or....Delicious International Food in Cambodia!)

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If you know me, you know I love food! Frothy fruit drinks, icy sorbets, flavorful ice creams, crusty Italian-style pizzas, fresh and aromatic southeast Asian dishes with basil and lemongrass and spicy peppers, tropical fruits like mangosteen and mango and longans, tasty dips and chips you can't stop eating like hummos and tzatziki, fruit and herb salsas for fresh fish and rare meats. Yummy!! So, of course, one of the best parts of traveling is trying the incredible foods made around the world. During our 3.5 years in Cambodia I was never at a loss for incredible food. All made fresh, mostly organic, made from veggies and meat raised locally. The hardest thing moving back to the U.S. was eating all the insanely fortified, dense, packaged, and fake foods that we have everywhere!

One of the things that surprises visitors most about Cambodia is the plethora of incredible, unique, and gourmet food shops with cusine from all around the world! Some of the best Italian, Spanish, Middle Eastern, French, and African cooking is found in Cambodia! Why? Because you have so many international ex-pats who have settled in Cambodia and opened incredible restaurants with food just like home, and because so many Cambodians grew up after the genocide in other countries, learned amazing cooking techniques, and then married those international styles with their Khmer heritage to create some funky and delicious fusion styles. YUM!

My last 3 weeks in Phnom Penh, I made a calendar of all the places I had to eat before I left (breakfast, lunch & dinner!) and I took photos at most the places. I missed photos at some places, so this photo montage is definitley not an exhaustive list of all the other AMAZING restaurants out there (i.e. Malis, Romdeng, Pop Cafe, La Volpaia, Ocean, Tamarind, etc.). Not to mention the super fun Cambodian food that can be found all over at small cafes on every street!

So enjoy the photos....they are quite indulgent and really just for me to remember what I loved and all the fun meals Ben and I had every night. The other fun thing we miss is that almost every restaurant did home-delivery, and the food is so low-cost, so it was so easy to eat out most nights and not have to cook in the sweltering heat with ants fighting to eat your dinner off the stove before you can get it onto your plates 😊. I hope you get to go to Cambodia and enjoy the fun, too! 😊

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Photos

Ben & Chris at our favorite breakfast place - The Shop!
Home-made french toast, fresh passion fruit syrup, rasberry tarts, frothy capuccinos, crisp bacon...now you know why we gaind 20 lbs in Cambodia :)

FRESH Mangos...beautifully arranged
Never shipped in, never 1/2 way rotten, never go old too fast, never tasteless. Wow, this reminds me how much I miss being in SE Asia!

Passion Fruit Syrup with French Toast
Although the French Toast is delicious, the real star is the home-made passion fruit syrup made with fresh passion fruit. OH MY GOSH. So yummy. Even Ben loved it!

The Shop!
What a fun place for breakfast, desserts, gourmet sandwiches and salads, and home-made breads. They also have THE BEST PASSIONFRUIT SMOOTHIE (no dairy!) IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peaceful...
Ben and I would go to The Shop on Saturday mornings and have a long breakfast, write letters home, read good books, enjoy the morning breeze and watching the beautiful palm trees and activity on the street. I miss those mornings :(

The Chocolate Shop
The owner of The Shop and The Chocolate Shop is from Belgium. She started TCS a couple years ago and brings all the chocolate from Belgium. They have chocolates (the one with Kampot pepper is to die for...and ones filled with coconut and passion fruit!), brownies, cappuccinos, aaaahhh. It smells like pure heaven when you open the door.

Heaven Awaits....
Can you smell the chocolate that pours out when you open that door? It is HEAVEN.

Coconuts
Do you need a refreshing, natural drink in the middle of the afternoon? Just stop your moto by the side of the road for a shaved coconut! Straw comes with it :)

Java Cafe!
Ben's favorite lunch spot was Java Cafe & Art Gallery. They have a super fun "fast" lunch spot where you can get sandwiches and salads. Ben was obsessed with their BLT and great French bread. I loved all their pasta and couscous salads. :)

The smaller Java "Fast" Lunch Spot
Now, they have expanded and the Java lunch spot is a huge floor beneath their flagship restaurant spot.

My Favorite Meal at Java
Java has THE BEST Spinach Parmesan Gnocchi with Basil Tomato Sauce on the planet. I asked for the recipe, but the owner wouldn't give it to me. I miss it :(. I used to eat it twice a week...

My Favorite Java Meal
Spinach Parmesean Gnocchi with Basil Tomato Sauce and Cauliflower Soup with Roasted Mushrooms. The pictures aren't that attractive, but this is an utterly delectible meal. The best Gnocchi EVER!

Friends!
Mith Samlanh is an NGO serving kids living or working on the streets. They have tons of awesome vocational training options and other services. Two of the best restaurants in Phnom Penh are training places for youth in their program - Friends & Romdeng.

Colorful Friends!
Friends the Restaurant is international tapas. They have amazing food and even better drinks! Not to mention the banana spring rolls with chocolate and rasberry sauce! :)

Ben at Friends
The inside is so colorful and fun, filled with art made by students in their programs. The food and drinks are top notch and the service is even better! :)

Me & Ben at Friends
Be sure to support social enterprise restaurants and businesses in Phnom Penh, like Friends! Eat a lot and TIP BIG! :)

Mango Salad
YUM. Fresh, crisp, slightly spicy, tangy, basily...yum! The tomato hummos wontons are also awesome...along with everything else on the menu!

Aaahhh...Italian at Le Duo!
Le Duo is a super fun Italian place with authentic Sicilian food. Luigi and his family run the restaurant and you feel like you\'ve entered another world.