Culinary Cambodia

📍 Siem Reap Angkor Airport - Siem Reap (52 km): 60 mins

Welcome to Cambodia! Upon your arrival in Siem Reap Angkor International Airport, you will be welcomed by a local English speaking guide and transferred to your hotel for check-in.  

Overnight in Siem Reap

Inclusions:

📍 Siem Reap – Temples (06 km): 10 mins

Discover Cambodian cuisine and culture in a fun, tasty Siem Reap cooking class. Meet with a local chef to discuss the morning’s plan and lunchtime menu. Then head to the market and browse the displays of herbs, fruits, vegetables, and meats on offer. The chef will explain some of the more unusual ingredients on offer and how they are used in traditional dishes.

Then it’s time for cooking! Venture out of the main part of town to an outskirt local restaurant. Be welcomed into a typical Khmer restaurant and shown to the kitchen. Under the watchful guidance of the chef, chop, slice and dice the ingredients. Use traditional tools such as mortar and pestle and follow recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation.

When the meal is ready, sit down and feast on the delicious dishes. It's time to return to Hotel, with a full belly and a better understanding of local culture. 

This afternoon travel by Remork (local transportation similar to Tuk Tuk) to Angkor Wat and marvel at its grandeur. Take a closer look at the intricately carved gallery walls and learn about the Hindu myths and historic tales they represent. Hear tales of the construction process which took 30 years of intensive labour to complete. See some of the 2000 “Apsara” carvings, each one a unique representation of female guardian spirits adorning the temple walls.

Overnight in Siem Reap

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch

📍 Siem Reap – Ta Brak village (20 km): 35 mins

Meet the guide in the hotel lobby at 07:30. 

Today embark on an authentic rural Cambodia tour to learn about life in a typical village. Meet friendly locals and discover traditional village customs and cultures.

Like most villages in Asia, Ta Brak is busiest in the morning hours. Sit down with a local family and enjoy breakfast (take-away from the hotel) while observing the activities of the village. Continue through the village, providing ample opportunities to stop and chat with locals and to observe their activities. 

Before leaving the village, head to Khmer smokehouse and meet a warm family. Learn the process of smoking fish, discover Cambodian rural life through stories shared amidst fragrant smoke. Over a fresh coconut juice, get to know the family, engage in discussions, and gain a better understanding of the countryside lifestyle in Cambodia. 
Conclude this morning, partake in a special Buddhist tradition. Local monks will impart wishes of good luck and success in a solemn, age-old ceremony. 

This afternoon, unveiling Cambodia's chocolate secrets! Join the tour and discover WAT Chocolate, Cambodia's first bean-to-bar factory. Learn the fascinating journey of cocoa, from bean to bar, and savour delicious chocolate. You'll even leave with a chocolate treat of your choice! This experience is perfect for families and promotes ethically sourced Cambodian cacao from Mondulkiri.

Bring an appetite and sense of adventure on this unique Siem Reap nightlife tour. After sunset, travel by Remork (Cambodian tuk-tuk) to Street 60. Make a stop at a stall famous for its pickled fruit and fried insects. Taste the contrasting flavours of sour fruit dipped in a salty and spicy dip, or try a selection of crispy crickets, grasshoppers, or silkworms. Then, head over to the Sombai rice wine workshop to sample a selection of spirits made from fermented rice. Taste the unusual concoctions infused with local fruits and herbs, accompanied by local snacks.

Continue the culinary adventure to Wat Damnak to the handful of smoke-filled corrugated-iron roofed shacks and fancier open-sided eateries on Wat Damnak Street, Sach Ko Ang Jangkak with its accompaniment: a sweet-sour pickle-salad of thick cucumber slices finely shredded green papaya and ginger. 

Next, explore the streets around Psar Chas (Old Market), which are lined with various stalls. Take your time to sit down anywhere and enjoy anything you like! Make sure to stop at one of the many fresh fruit stalls to try a range of exotic local fruit. Continue the foodie adventure and drop by a famous local ice cream shop just off the popular Pub Street. There are a lot of ice cream shops in town but Gelato Lab is truly special. Pick a flavour of ice cream or sorbet that’s bursting with the pure taste of organic milk, local fruits, chocolate, nuts, Madagascar vanilla. Return to the hotel.

Overnight in Siem Reap

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🍗 Dinner

📍

Meet the guide in the hotel lobby at 08:00.

Travel to the great city of Angkor Thom “Big City”. Begin a walking tour of the city at the Terrace of the Leper King; then follow a parade of nearly life-size elephant carvings that adorn the aptly named Elephant Terrace to the entrance of Baphuon temple. Continue to Bayon temple. Take time to browse its galleries depicting everyday life at Angkor and the wars waged by King Jayavarman VII.  

Visit Ta Prohm temple. The temple was made famous by the Angelina Jolie film Tomb Raider. The temple is best known for the trees and vines growing atop the temple walls.

Continue to Preah Dak village and be welcomed by a warmful khmer family and learn how to make the noodles. 
Have the opportunity to taste “Nom Banh Chok”, a traditional Cambodian noodle dish that has become a beloved national treasure. This flavorful and aromatic meal is a symphony of textures and tastes, featuring delicate rice noodles, a rich and fragrant curry sauce and a variety of fresh herbs and vegetables.  

Return to the hotel and stop at a local shop to learn about the versatile palm tree. Sample delicious palm sugar cakes and palm spirit, and discover the many ways this remarkable plant is used in Cambodian culture.

This evening at 18:00, be picked up from the hotel by remork (a Cambodian “Tuk Tuk”) and drive to the first restaurant, where follows a different business model, directing their profits to various organisations. You may order any drink from the menu (they make some special cocktails and fruit mix using local ingredients) and any one appetiser (try different ones and share with each other). Next, enjoy Khmer classic dishes at another social enterprise restaurant providing disadvantaged youths, and underprivileged adults, professional training and employment in the hospitality industry. 

After dinner, go to a tropical garden restaurant run by an organisation that operates a hospitality training school where all the restaurant workers learned (or are currently learning) their trade. Learn about how the program runs and its achievements while enjoying a creative cocktail, a glass of wine, beer, or coffee.  This stop will mark the end of your tour and your driver will bring you safely to your hotel or, at your choice, drop you off at Pub Street or in the city centre of Siem Reap.

Note: Dining for a Cause closed on Monday

Overnight in Siem Reap

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Siem Reap – Battambang (174 km): 3 hrs

Depart to Battambang, Cambodia’s second largest city although it feels like a big country town with some of the friendliest locals you’ll meet in the country.

This afternoon, experience a unique ride on the Bamboo Train. You will travel through beautiful rural landscapes and rice paddies (depending on the season of visit). The Bamboo Train is a true rollercoaster ride without loops! (Note: the bamboo train is occasionally not in operation without prior notice).

Dinner tonight at Jaan Bai (meaning ‘rice bowl’ in Khmer), a social enterprise restaurant established by the Cambodian Children’s Trust to provide training and employment for disadvantaged youths, with all profits going to support the activities of the Trust.

Overnight in Battambang.

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast

This morning, embark on a culinary adventure with Smokin' Pot's hands-on Khmer cooking class in Battambang. Begin your day with a Remork ride to the bustling local market, where Chef Vannak will guide you through a vibrant selection of fresh ingredients. Immerse yourself in Cambodian culture as you learn to craft authentic dishes, unlocking the secrets of traditional flavours. From market to plate, this unforgettable experience will leave you with a newfound appreciation for Khmer cuisine.

Return to the hotel. 

Afternoon at leisure. 

Overnight in Battambang

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch

📍 Battambang - Siem Reap (174 km): 3 hrs

This morning you will have breakfast at Lan Chov Khorko Miteanh, nicknamed ‘Noodle Guy’ or ‘Chinese Noodle’. Hand-pulled noodles and handmade dumplings, prepared fresh daily in their open kitchen.

Then visit an ancient house located in Wat Kor Village, the oldest standing Khmer timber house in Wat Kor Village. Continue to the local village where you observe how rice paper is produced, banana chips, Krolan “sticky rice and black beans in bamboo”,  and rice wine. 

Lunch at a local restaurant in the town of Battambang (lunch on your own). 

After lunch, you will be transferred back to Siem Reap. 

In the evening, pickup by a Remork (local tuk tuk) head to Asana Bar, located in the last remaining traditional Khmer timber house in the heart of the old town, for a Khmer cocktail lesson. 

And finally this evening enjoy a farewell dinner at the stunning Embassy Restaurant, an exclusive fine dining experience unparalleled in Siem Reap and headed by executive chefs Pol & Sok; the “Kimsan Twins”. With a constantly changing menu based around seasonality, guests can savor skilfully prepared masterpieces from multiple-course set menus, paired with a selection of fine wines.

Overnight in Siem Reap

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Siem Reap Hotel - Siem Reap Angkor International Airport (52 km): 1 hrs

Enjoy some time at leisure until the transfer to the airport for your departure flight. 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast