Food and drinks in Cambodia

Food

Travelers up country will generally find themselves limited to Cambodian cuisine or to the fairly ubiquitous baguette and paté. Due to the widely available and strong effects, Chinese food can be seen anywhere throughout the country which reflects the origin of the southern coastal of the major Chinese migrants. That is the reason why tourists should not spend time finding Yunnanese or Szechuan food, but think about Teochou, Hailam, Hokkien, and Cantonese cuisine instead. In the west regions of Cambodia including Sisophon, Battambang, Poipet, and Siem Reap, Thai food is much more popular. Also, in the east areas comprising Takeo, Kampot, Svay Rieng, and Kampong Cham, the most common cuisine is Vietnamese. Sihanoukville is well-known for the delicious seafood dishes cooked in special methods and has various of impressive Western restaurants serving Italian, French, German and British cuisines.

There are numerous restaurants locating throughout Phnom Penh, so it is very convenient for visitors to find any kind of both fast food and slow food. The city also offers some of the most delicious French cuisine in Indochina and some colonial special dishes originated from North Africa and the Middle East such as the Morrocan sausage and cous-cous.

Drinks

It's always best to drink bottled water in Cambodia. The traveller should also beware of ice of unknown provenance, particularly up country or at street stalls. Soft drinks like cola and lemonade manufactured by internationally known companies are available everywhere, as is canned and bottled beer. International beers to look for are Carlsberg, Heineken, Tiger, ABC, Victoria Bitter, Fosters, San Miguel and Singha; local brands include Angkor, Angkor Stout and Bayon. Draft Angkor is available in Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and Siem Reap. Imported wine--shades of Cambodia's colonial past--is similarly available in major towns, whilst domestic varieties promising strength and virility are widespread. Caution should be exercised with fresh fruit juices and sugar cane juice, but cartons and cans of fruit juice, milk and drinking yoghurt are available on supermarket shelves in the capital and at Sihanoukville. Coffee--often very good--and tea are generally available throughout the country.

Being a tropical country, Cambodia also has a lot of types of fruits all around the year, especially by the end of summer, the local markets seems to be a colorful picture with numerous fresh fruits gathering from different regions. Additionally, the fruits’ prices are very reasonable and their quality are very good, too. Some abundant fruits that can be seen almost every market in Cambodia are coconut, starfruit, watermelon, banana, mango, rambutan and durian.