Cambodia food lovers are in for a tasty treat as top-rated Siem Reap Food Tour launches alternative trips across the capital, Phnom Penh. Starting this month, Phnom Penh Food Tours is offering morning and evening adventures exploring the flavours of Cambodia’s vibrant capital city. Phnom Penh Food Tours and its Siem Reap sister offer guests a deeper understanding of Cambodia’s culture through its cuisine.
Following successful test runs, the official opening follows in mid May. Phnom Penh Food Tours takes visitors to neighbourhoods where Cambodians live and eat but where tourists rarely venture.
“The tours are by foodies, for foodies,” says Steven Halcrow, the company’s co-founder. “Phnom Penh’s food culture is different from Siem Reap’s and we’re looking forward to introducing more people to both.”
Tours take small groups around the city in tuk tuks on a chef-planned route that includes vibrant markets, street-side stands and hole-in-the-wall restaurants.
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Guests enjoy traditional specialties and street-food treats such as breakfast noodles, smoky-sweet grilled meats, savory soups with local foraged herbs, and deep-fried fish swimming in coconut curry, in what is an extensive introduction to Cambodia food and its cultural setting.
Halcrow, a Scottish chef, and Lina Goldberg, an American food writer and author of Move to Cambodia, first launched their boutique food tour business in 2014. Since then their tours have featured in the New York Times, Vogue and Lonely Planet – as well as Travel Begins at 40 – and have received consistent raves on TripAdvisor and other sites.
The tours costs $75, including food, transport and beer (evenings only), and last 3.5 hours. A 20 percent off promotion runs through June. For more information or to book yourself on one of the tours, email [email protected]