I didn’t just want to get to know the country, but also the people. Travel takes you to other places and cultures, but what matters is people. When we first came to Cambodia 15 years ago, many locals still spoke French, and we could not speak a word of Khmer. But my wife had business partners in Phnom Penh, and through them we came into contact with local families. We were able to visit them at home and eat with them. Our guide helped us with translations. I will never forget the first time I eat with locals, having my lunch on the floor. I had no idea how to eat properly. Our host family explained to me with hand movements that I can also add the rice to the soup.
Learning how to eat with locals
15 years later I was back in Cambodia, this time in Siem Reap, to live here. We had lived in Vietnam, Laos and Thailand and I found many new friends there. In all countries, it has always been important to me to understand how people live.
Eat with locals and cooking at a organic farm in Battambang
When I arrived in Cambodia, I quickly got in touch with my neighbors. They live in small apartments that consist of a room with a bathroom and are about 40 square meters in size. In it lives a whole family. The men went to work in the morning, the women stayed at home. I asked them if they work too. Most said they needed to stay home, take care of the kids and cook food.
Support for families
I thought: If you cook anyway, why not make money with it? Let people eat with locals and pay for it. A friend brought me into contact with Sorida, with whom I started Dine With The Locals. Our first hosts were my neighbors. I thought to myself: They have beautiful houses, they are great at cooking and they are lovely people. They couldn’t speak English, but that only made it more authentic. I invited friends to test dinners and they were thrilled. “We would never have access to a local family,” she said. Precisely because everything was not perfectly prepared, they enjoyed it. I always enjoyed cooking with friends myself. Cooking is one of the essential cultural activities. A culture is also defined by the food.
Eat with locals: our first hosts
Activities beyond cooking
Today we have 15 hosts across Cambodia and two in Vietnam where travelers can eat with locals. We are still looking for new families, soon also in Laos. I visit most of them myself, cook together, explain our concept. We want to offer our guests more than just food. You will learn how to dance Aspara, what modern artists do, how to make a souvenir pendant from coconut palm leaves or what herbs and plants are used for cooking.
Our guests make an experience that I’ve always appreciated traveling: getting in touch with people and making contact, learning new things and making new friends.
If you’re coming home to a Cambodian family for the first time and want to eat with locals, you’ll probably wonder about the customs. Eating with locals also means knowing how to behave correctly and not commit a faux pas. We have a little guidebook on what you can do in a Cambodian house and what not. Before we go into detail, there’s something else about gifts: she’s not expected. Khmer sometimes bring some fruit when visiting relatives. We recommend our guests to give a generous tip. The family doesn’t really want souvenirs.
The art of the Sam peah
When you approach the house, the family will usually be waiting and waiting. In Cambodia, as well as in Thailand and Laos, people greet each other with hands clasped together, held in front of the body. In Cambodian it is called “Sam peah”. How high your hands are held depends on the other person.
Sam peah, the Khmer greeting for friends. Important to know if you visit a house and eat with locals.
Sam peah, the Khmer greeting for monks
Sam peah, the Khmer greeting for older people
Sam peah, the Khmer greeting for the king
If the other person is younger or the same age, you hold the clenched hands directly in front of the chest.
If the person is older than you, your fingertips are almost touching your chin.
If you face higher-ranking people, like a village elder, a professor, a politician, then your fingertips are at nose-high.
You greet Monks with the flat hands at about eye level.
If you should ever meet the king, then the hands must be folded over the head, often the head is also bent forward.
It is just with younger members of the family sometimes handed the hand, then shake it, but with a very light handshake. But wait, until this is offered to you.
If you can say something in Khmer, welcome with “Jem Reap sua”.
Take the shoes off
In a Cambodian house no shoes are worn, so you will have to take them off, but you can keep the socks on. A small exception is a terrace in front of the house. Most of the time you can see a lot of shoes where you should take them off. When entering the house best not to touch the threshold, which brings bad luck.
Takes shoes off before enter a Khmer house
If you help our hosts with cooking, the kitchen will usually be outside and you can start shoes. It is a bit unusual that guests cook, so there are not many rules. Our hosts are very relaxed and will tell you what you can do. Do not be afraid to do something wrong, you will be rewarded with a hearty laugh.
Eat with locals in their house
At meals, there are some rules of hospitality that mainly affect the locals. A guest is an important person in a family and should be treated accordingly. There is no fixed seating arrangement, but one waits out of courtesy until the oldest person has sat down. Most of the time you are sitting on the floor. Men sit cross-legged while the women have their legs bent to the left or right. Most of the times you will sit in plastic chairs those days.
Guests after eat with locals in Phnom Penh
First you will get a glass of water, sometimes in a small silver bowl. The water is purified drinking water, so you do not have to worry. Then rice is served, mostly by the wife in the family. The oldest person gets rice first, then mostly the guests. The rice is placed directly on your plate. The small bowl, which stands most next to the plate, is for the soup.
If everyone got rice you can start to take something from the different dishes. Apart from a clear soup, everything is eaten together with the rice on a plate. The food in Cambodia is cut in small pieces, so you will not see a knife. Eaten with fork and spoon. Chopsticks are actually only available for pasta dishes, which are usually also served in a large bowl. Incidentally, you are welcome to sip noodles here.
You signal the end of the meal
If you eat with locals, you will be asked again and again to eat more. But you are waiting for a signal that you are full. It is common practice to stop eating when the guest finishes the meal.
After eating you can get up, stretch your legs and look at your house and garden. The first floor is mostly taboo, unless it is explicitly offered to you (here is the bedroom and ancestral shrines). In the house look at everything, but ask if you can touch something. For everything that looks religious, it’s best to keep your hands off it.
Host Ms. Phanny in Phnom Penh
If you get a dessert, it will be taken while sitting. Cambodian desserts are delicious. The mother of our host Sareth makes various desserts and sells them in the market. If you come for lunch, you will be able to taste it.
Say good bye and wave
When you say goodbye after you eat with locals you will stand with the family in front of the house. It is customary to thank you again, and to do some small talk. The farewell phrase is “Jem Reap Lia”, and you will fold your hands again as you would on arrival. Always start with the oldest person. Children will often wave, then wave back. Sometimes you will also get a small farewell gift to eat a fruit or a snack.
Whether you’re in a market or just walking along a busy street, there are street stalls selling small desserts everywhere. Many sellers open already in the morning, from 7 o’clock and until 9 o’clock some are already sold out. There are many different types of these fried desserts and treats. We want to introduce three of them here, most importantly, Num Pom, the Khmer waffles
Our host in Siem Reap, Ms. Laum, sells homemade waffles in Siem Reap in the morning. In Khmer they are called Num Pom, and unlike European waffles they are not round but rectangular.
How to make Num Pom
Nom Pom, the Khmer coconut wafflesMs Laum makes Nom Pom, the Khmer coconut wafflesMs Laum makes Nom Pom, the Khmer coconut waffles
Ingredients for Num Pom:
2½ cups rice flour
½ cup palm sugar
2 pinches of salt
3 eggs
1 cup coconut cream
½ fresh coconut flesh, grated
The dough is made from rice flour, eggs, palm sugar, salt, coconut cream and coconut meat. It is stirred like a regular waffle dough for about 5 minutes. The waffles are available in different quality. The cheap waffles are made with the thinner coconut milk and just a few coconut flakes. But Frau Laum buys the thicker coconut cream and fresh and coarsely grated meat.
With a ladle, the dough is then placed in the waffle irons that lie over a charcoal fire in a traditional Cambodian ground grill. The fire heats the irons very hard, so it does not take long for some crunchy waffles to finish. Traditionally they are served on a banana leaf. A good waffle costs 1000 Riel, about 25 cents.
Flat disks (Num chak chon)
Num chak chon
Fried in the fat dough slices, which are called in Khmer Num chak chon. They consist of rice flour, half of which consists of glutinous rice flour, palm sugar and normal sugar, coconut milk and eggs. If you eat with locals, there is a good chance they offer you them during the day. Here is the exact recipe:
Ingredients:
Rice flour 250 g
Glutinous rice flour 100g
Sugar palm 100 g
Sugar 20 g
Coconut milk 120 g
Water 185 ml
Egg 1
Salt1 / 3 tsp
Oil for fry
How to make Num chak chon
First mix flour, salt and sugar, then stir it. Add a beaten and stirred egg and gently add the coconut milk. Gradually add half of the water. In the next step, the palm sugar is stirred gently until it has dissolved, about 10-15 minutes long. Now you add the rest of the water. The dough then has to rest for about 4-5 hoursm thats is different from Nom Pom.. Then small round pancakes are baked from it, which must be slightly brown at the edge.
Bullfrog Bread (Num Hing, Hollow Donut)
Num Hing got the funny name because it looks like a bloated bullfrog. It is especially in the morning for coffee eaten and is often sold out after an hour. To do it, you have to fry it in oil, preferably in a big wok. It tastes best if you still garnish it with sesame seeds.Other than Nom Pom you will use yeast here.
Bullfrog cakes or Num Hing
The ingredients:
2 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 tsps. of dry yeast
1 tsps. of baking powder
1/4 tsps. of salt (or 1 / 2tsp)
1/2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of water (add little bit more of dough gets dry)
1 egg
How to make Bullfrog bread
Mix all ingredients at room temperature and knead them into a dough. If this is supple enough, you have to let it go covered for one hour in a not too cool place. Then you shape a long roll on which small slices about 2 cm thick are cut off. Put it on a plate and let it rest for another 15 minutes. Then you roll the small dough pieces flat and put them immediately in the hot fat. It is best to roll only one piece of dough at a time. It has to float in fat, like in a deep fryer. When completely bloated, remove and drain. After a short cool, they can eat the donuts.
If you like to make the Nom Pom waffles yourself, book lunch or dinner with Ms. Laum in Siem Reap. You will additionally learn how to make fish amok and other Khmer dishes and have a great meal with our host. It will be a unforgettable memory and a truly authentic experience.
Make your own Num Pom and delicious Khmer food in Siem Reap
Of course, if you are going to Cambodia you will want to see the famous temples of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap. You will also visit the capital, Phnom Penh, and see the Royal Palace. But there are still many unknown places to discover. We tell you what you to do in Cambodia.
1. Look at architecture in Phnom Penh
Independence Monument Phnom Penh
There are not many buildings left by former star architect Vann Molyvann. He has designed the Olympic Stadium and the famous Chaktomouk Theater as well as the Independence Monument. You can still see both of them. He worked directly under King Sihanouk in the golden period of Cambodia between 1955 and 1970, when the city became the pearl of Southeast Asia. He also founds the New Cambodian Architecture, which is still an inspiration for many architects and artists. A glimpse of what Phnom Penh looked like in the 60s is in this video. Another highlight in architecture is the Central Market. You can also watch it from above on Google Maps and see how its arms reach all directions. It was built in 1937 and was then the largest market building in Asian. It is one of the most famous Art Deco buildings in Asia and a must on the list of what to do in Cambodia.
2. Modern Art in Cambodia
As a traveler, you will learn a lot about the past of Cambodia, especially the time of the Khmer Empire and the sad Khmer Rouge period. But there are also interesting developments in the present, and art is at the top of the list. Some artists have freed themselves from the shackles of the old rules and try to break new ground. One is Vannak Khun, a photographer and performance artist who has already presented his works in Tokyo. You can visit him in his studio in Phnom Penh and enjoy a typical Cambodian meal together. He will show you his works and explain what they mean. If you are interested in dance then you can watch the performances of Silverbell in Phnom Penh, a Cambodian dance group that performs modern dance and is also a highligt, what you can do in Cambodia. In Siem Reap there are the New Cambodian Artists, who also perform modern dance. You can also see great art in galleries, such as Theams House in Siem Reap, Tribe Gallery in Siem Reap, Sangker Gallery and Romcheik 5 Artspace & Café in Battambang, and Kbach Gallery and DinArt Gallery in Phnom Penh.
3. Eat with locals
Cooking is on the list what to do in Cambodia.
The Cambodian cuisine is not well known, most travelers know the dishes Amok and Lok Lak, but not much else. The kitchen of the Cambodian kings has even influenced the Thai cuisine, and even has Indian roots. Cambodian food is not so spicy because there was no chili at the time of the Khmer empire – they were introduced later from South America. Many ancient Khmer dishes are still cooked in families today. It is a unique experience to go home to a family and cook a typical Cambodian meal together. You will cook like home, in a typical local kitchen, which is sometimes even outside the house and eat with locals. At Dine With The Locals, you can choose from 15 different host families in Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Battambang and Banteay Meanchey. Each family has their own dishes and recipes, and if you want to know what you can do in Cambodia, it’s definitely a family visit. You can also help the family earn extra money.
4. What to do in Cambodia: Exploring the hinterland
As a traveler, the best experience is to leave the classic route and explore new paths. For example, if you want to travel from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, you can make a stop in Kampong Thom, there are guesthouses or the cheap but quite good Glorious Hotel. Here you can see some lesser-known temples like Prasat Andet, Prasat Kuhak Nokor or Sambo Preykuk. To relax, you can take a rest at The Prey Pros. This is a real insider tip what you can do in Cambodia. The villagers have built a tourist attraction on a lake, which is mainly visited by locals. During the week, it is rather quiet and you can wonderfully enjoy the nature and talk to the owners of food stalls. If you want to travel to Siem Reap via Battambang, you can stop in Kampong Chnang. The city is quite small, but beautifully situated on the Tonle Sap River. Climb the Phnom Kong Rei and enjoy the views of the surrounding area. Go to the market and try the dishes there, especially the baked sweets.
5. By bike through the villages
After the meal have a bike trip around the village
We are not big fans of guided tours, so we do not offer guides at Dine With The Locals. We believe it’s better to explore the area on your own. That’s why we recommend simply taking a bike and touring on your own. In Phnom Penh you can take the bike and the Tuktuk to the Koh Dach peninsula and explore it on two wheels. Another tour leads to Tonle Bati, a popular lake south of Phnom Penh. Try to avoid the main roads and use Google Maps. Here are also small streets and paths registered. In Battambang you can drive through the city from north to south, all the way to Phnom Sampov. If you want to experience something very special, what to do in Cambodia is to visit our host Panha Yem. She has an organic garden and grows her own vegetables. She is also an environmental activist and teaches students how to do without plastic. You will cook a delicious meal with her and take it together and then she will take you on a great tour through her village. An unforgettable experience.
If you have any questions about what to do in Cambodia, just send us an email or contact us via Whatsapp or Facebook. We are happy to help
We live in the age of bucket lists and Instagram-enabled places. When traveling, a moment lasts as long as the upload to the social network. Even in remote areas we have a high speed internet connection. Our digital experiences don’t last long.
And yet we are looking for deceleration. The difference between the tourist and the traveler is that the latter takes time. Travelers want to get to know people, discover places, look for the new and the unusual. Travelers want to make experiences that are authentic. Travelers want to connect with people, build relationships, socialize. Travelers bring not only pictures home, but new friendships and memories.
Cooking at a organic farm in Battambang is an unforgettable experience.
You cant’t forget experiences
Whenever we travel, it is the people we remember. The tour guide in Buthan, who took us home. The hotel owner in Kathmandu, who made a career as an environmentalist. The DJ in Japan who rarely saw Tokyo in their club. The student in Vietnam, who liked to wear colorful clothes.
We want to connect people in Cambodia with travelers. When you come to our hosts, do not book lunch or dinner. They book an extraordinary experience that is hidden from the tourist. We give you time and space to talk to our host families, cook and eat together.
A common meal is the first way to connect people in all cultures of the world. Essen connects and is at the same time a starting point for an exchange of cultures. In Cambodia we had guests from India, from Taiwan, from America and from Germany and many other countries. Many guests exchanged their Facebook addresses with the families, some went out together after dinner or enjoyed the view of the rooftops of Phnom Penh.
Guests enjoying the view in Phnom Penh
We create something special
If you come to Cambodia or Vietnam, we offer you a truly authentic experience. Each of our hosts not only cooks delicious local food with you, but also introduces you to the culture and way of life. We have former apsara dancers, organic farmers, silk producers and modern artists. Our hosts are carefully selected so we can offer you an exclusive experience.
Those who come to Angkor Wat are impressed not only by the sheer size of the religious site, but also by the detailed stonework. In many columns, images of Apsara dancers are carved. On the other hand, stories are told in the walls, from the beginning of the world to battles and everyday life. In this way, we get a fascinating insight into the Khmer culture more than 1000 years ago. Even in a digital project, it has been attempted to design the architecture as it once looked and to awaken it with a vivacious life. But there is also a lot about food in Angkor Wat to see.
The significant period of the Khmer and Angkor Wat was during the reign of Jayavarman II who lived in the 9th century. He gilded as the founder of the Khmer Empire, the dominant war until the 15th century in the region and long considered the largest empire in the world.
Lots of stone carvings about food in Angkor Wat
Old stoneworks shows the daily life in Angkor Wat
Our team took the trouble to take a closer look at some of the reliefs. As a web platform, which deals with the food, of course, we were interested in corresponding stone slabs. Food has always played a major role in Angkor Wat and the realm of Jayavarman II.
Today we know only from the traditional stone slabs how this project was mastered logistically. There were whole units that only dealt with the preparation of food in Angkor Wat. It is believed that many stone works show soldiers or priests cooking for the ruler and working in the countryside.
Especially interesting are the details. On a plate in Angkor Thom you can see how to pour a rice into a pot.
Ancient carving of cooking rice in Angkor Wat
This is on a small fireplace. This kind of rice cooking is still a common way today in Cambodia. Anyone visiting a Cambodian family in Siem Reap will see the same items. Another picture shows a pig being panned over a saucepan. This too is still a common practice today: only small pieces are cut and then placed in the boiling water.
Old ways of cooking Khmer food
Already in the old Khmer empire, people cooked together food in Angkor Wat and had a meal. Even then you sat on small podiums that had different purposes. On the one hand, they served as a table on which one sat and ate together. But they also served as a workplace.
People sit on a table in Angkor Wat
Another plate shows the hunt with bow and arrow. Today, simple rifles are taken when hunting game. But after a heavy rain, men are seen wearing helmets carrying a long spit. They are looking for frogs, sitting along the roadside and along the canals. Frogs are a cheap source of protein and they are still found on Cambodian plates.
A wild pig is put into boiling water
In the early years of the Khmer Empire many dishes were developed. Our hosts preserve the tradition of Cambodian cuisine and Khmer culture. What was once the food in Angkor Wat is now the common cuisine in Cambodia.
The small street food dishes you can buy at street stalls in Bangkok have made street food world famous. In Cambodia, too, there are small stalls in every town, most of which produce one or two dishes. Some also have a whole buffet to choose from.
Street food is served for the whole day
First you have to distinguish the grill stalls from those who sell cooked food. Everything that is meat is grilled, from fish to chickens to frogs and rats. Some shops grill half a cow or a pork half on the roadside. The meat is then cut directly and calculated per 100 grams. You also get some herbs and cabbage. Another form of grilled food as street food is small pieces, such as chicken legs and wings, chicken hearts and feet, or simply sliced beef or pork slices. Often the meat has been marinated with chili, soy sauce and other ingredients. Rats and frogs are usually laid on the grill as a whole.
Street food is common for breakfast
But there are also cooked food on the street to buy, Most street stalls also have a few seats. Nam Ban Chok is a kind of fish curry, but not spicy with plenty of coconut milk. It is served with rice noodles and many herbs. In Cambodia it is a classic breakfast dish. Similarly, the Khmer curry, like most curries a mild variant, despite the red color. Classically it is served with chicken cooked in curry. The rice noodle dishes at street food stalls are usually only at certain times, usually in the morning. If they are sold out, you have to come back the next day. There are also very local delicacies: In Battambang the absolute insider tip is a small stall that sells pork brain soup early in the morning.
As in Thailand, small street restaurants with a buffet have been established in Cambodia. Here you can either choose three small dishes and serve them with rice or order a dish with a large portion. The menu varies from day to day and depends on what’s on the market, but also on the mood of the mostly female chefs.
Our host Hong Ginlai in Siem Reap runs a street restaurant. Their specialties are the Samlor Ktis, fish and pork with Tamarind and Prahok and Samlor Kor Ko, a soup with vegetables, Kreung paste and powdered toasted rice. Every morning she drives to the market in the dark and buys the ingredients for her dishes. Some stands already prepare the goods for them, cut the vegetables or mix the paste for the fishcakes. From seven o’clock in the morning she starts to cook the street food, and at 9 o’clock at the latest there are 15 different dishes ready to buy.
Learn yourself how to make the food
Ms. Hong Ginlai gave us exclusive access to her restaurant: If you want to cook your own food on a street stand, you can book it here. It starts at 8 o’clock, and after cooking, a breakfast is taken together. Our colleague Mealea explains the guests even more about the Cambodian cuisine.
Every year during the Pchum Ben holidays members of the family will get up early in the morning and start making Orn Som. It is popular Khmer snack, usually made for special occasions, but also found at local markets. It contains sticky rice, yellow beans and pork, wrapped in a banana leaf.
How to make Num Orn Som?
If you want to make it yourself, you just need a few ingredients. The most difficult to get might be a banana leaf, but it is an important part of the dish. First, you have to soak sticky rice in water over night. Then in the morning you wash the stick rice and let it drain, then mix it with coconut milk, some sugar and salt. Have a bowl with soaked and boiled mung beans and a bowl with slices of pork belly ready. The pork belly can be salted and you may want to add some garlic as well to make Orn Som.
You will now place a rectangle banana leaf on your kitchen table (you can also put aluminium foil under it). Then spread sticky rice like you would do it for a sushi roll. Press it slightly down, so it’s a flat surface. Next comes a layer of mung beans, flat as well and not extending over the stick rice. Now place a slice of pork belly over it. Cover it again with some mung beans and sticky rice.
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Make a roll and secure with strings
Now comes the tricky part: You have to make a roll out of it. If you use aluminium foil, then just hold both end of banana leaf and foil together, fold it twice and roll over. The traditional way of Orn Som however is to roll and fold carefully, and then secure it with strings. Nowadays many people use cheap plastic, but in the Cambodian villages Khmer families will still use strings made from natural material like banana leafs or water hyacinth. Once the rolls are done, you will boil them. If you do it at home it take about 5 hours to cook, in simmering water. Cambodians will use huge pots and heat the water over open fire.
For a holiday, Khmer will put the Orn Som into a basket and bring it together with other foods to the pagodas. Here it is either offered to the monks and they will have it as lunch, or placed on a certain table, where people then pick it and eat together. You can replace the pork belly with beef or even chicken, the latter isn’t as juicy as it should be. There are also sweet versions, where the meat is replaced with bananas and shredded coconut.
Every year Cambodia celebrates the Pchum Ben day. Many call it the ancestors day, because the main activity is to offer food to the ghosts of the dead relatives. Officially the festival is 14 days long, but most families leave it with the last three of four days. In Phnom Penh it is common now to just go to the temple for one day. The capital is quite empty because many who work here leave the city and go back to their hometown. The word ‘Ben’ in Khmer means to collect; ‘Ben’ also means to cup or mould cooked rice into portions. To ‘Ben Baht’ means to collect food to give to monks. The word ‘Phchum’ means to congregate or to meet together.
How does a day during Pchum Ben look like?
Our team member Thyda explains the activities with her family.
“One day before the main Pchum Ben celebrations, my mother goes to market to buy meat and vegetables. Wer are very traditional, that means we cook a lot of different dishes.
On the day when we are going to the pagoda, all family members get up at 5:30 am. They gather in the kitchen and start preparing the food and cook. Usually it takes around one and a half hours to cook all the different dishes. There is no rule in what to cook. Some prefer more expensive food like duck and beef, some care more about decoration, and others worry about the ghosts health and offer vegetarian food. After cooking, we arrange the dishes in small containers (in khmer called Chansrak) together with rice and some fruits as well as Khmer sticky rice. Also, we have to bring candles and even some money for the monks and the pagoda.
Some people go to seven pagodas
Join a Khmer family with Pchum Ben celebrations
The family then usually drives to the temple next to their home. There is also a tradition that families have to visit 7 pagodas within 7 days. Everyone goes to the pagoda because they don’t want the spirits of dead members of their family to come to seek offerings at pagodas in vain. It is believed that wondering spirits will go to look in seven different pagodas and if those spirits can not find their living relatives’ offering in any of those pagodas, they will curse them, because they cannot eat food offered by other people.
The women dress in a traditional skirt, often woven from silk, and a white blouse. Over the shoulder they wear a white scarf. Girls can also dress the same way, The men have a nice shirt and trousers.
Feeding the ghosts
We have to make sure we arrive at the temple before 11 am. It is tradition in Buddhism, that monks are not allowed to eat after 11 am. So we arrive at 8am at the pagoda and offer the food to the monks. One reason is to support the holy men with food, during Pchum Ben it is also a way, to feed the ghosts. The monks are mediators between the real world and hell. It is said that during Pchum Ben the gates from hell are open and the hungry ghosts come out. The offerings are meant to make them full and calm the ghosts down. After placing the food containers in the dedicated place, we queue up in a line of many people to put rice in bowls on a very long table. some decades ago rice was thrown on the floor to feed the ghosts, but it changed to bowls and plates so it can be eaten later.
Another beautiful tradition follows the offerings. Monks have build huge sand piles, and we start creating small hills from it and decorate with flags and ornaments. This activity is only seen during Pchum Ben. It is unclear where the tradition is coming from, and some pagodas have only one sand mountain while other have several in different sizes.
[UPDATE: Not available in 2020] Join us for a authentic experience in Pchum Ben day
Join a Khmer family with Pchum Ben celebrations
Once the activity at the sand piles is over, we sit with others in the pagoda and have a meal together. Since there is way too much food for the monks and the ghost don’t really eat it, it would be a waste to leave it. Some pagodas share the food with poor people in the neighborhood.”
Thydas mother Phanny is a really good cook, and offers to take travelers to the pagoda during Pchum Ben. We have a special package that includes:
It is a kind of hot-soup which was named from a forest. It is cooked with a combination of chicken and varieties of fresh vegetables like colorful tomato, green pepper, and sweet pepper, mixed with Khmer Kroeung and tamarind. For Khmer Kroeung, she uses lemongrass stalk, Kaffir lime, Galangal, Rhizome, and garlic. To make a yellow Kroeung, she added turmeric a bit over than others to get color and flavor. Finally, the soup is added with holy basil known as M’rah prov.
Host Ms. Phanny in Phnom Penh
FRIED SWEET GOURD (KHUO NORNAOENG)
A very fresh fried tropical vegetables mixed (gourd and sweet corn) with chicken egg will bring you an unforgettable experience of Khmer food. After cooking, she added Kampot pepper and spring onion over the fried.
GRILLED PORK RIB (CHHA-EUNG CHHUMNY CHROUK-ANG)
A common right dish for every time meals such as breakfast, lunch or dinner. She could make it special by marinating the pork ribs with Kampot pepper (a special pepper from the southwest part of coastal of Cambodia), a little salt and sugar, oyster sauce and garlic, etc. Its smell will make you hungry!
COCONUT JELLY (CHA-HUOY DOUNG)
Hot and steamy would be a good way to describe the weather in Cambodia. Therefore, the coconut jelly is a popular dessert to help you cool down the heat inside your body. Mixed gelatine powder with coconut water and let it stand for a few minutes. After that top up it with coconut milk and leave in the fridge to set.
One of the most important religious festivals in Cambodia is Pchum Ben. It is translated as “Ancestors Day”, but actually lasts up to 14 days. The festival marks also the end of the buddhist lent and the rainy season. Monks will now again be allowed to travel and asking in the villages for alms.
Our host Phanny will give travelers the rare opportunity to join her and her family in the festival activities. This year the main activities are from 27.-29.9.2019.
You will join them at 8am in the morning and help preparing the food. Those dishes will later on given as offerings and donations to the monks, but also be your lunch. Once the offerings are prepared, the family will take you to the pagoda.
Go to the pagoda and honor the ancestors
During Pchum Ben offerings are made in the pagoda to the ancestors. Since there is no graveyard and -stone like in christian countries, prayer will we sent up to the ancestors world. Those who are not with us anymore play still an important role in the Khmer culture. It is expected that during Pchum Ben the gates of hell will open and the ghost can come to the real world for a while. To please them, monks in the pagoda will chant day and night. The families will please the ghosts with offerings, usually food. But is is common belief that also those relatives who are not in hell will benefit from the ceremonies. The offerings will be given to the monks, as kind of intermediates to the ghosts. In rural Cambodia some people will throw rice on the floor to give it directly to the ghosts.
Meditating in the temple during Pchum Ben
Your part will be that of an observer, but you can participate as much as you can. Phanny’s daughter Thyda will teach you how to pray (you are praying to the ancestors, so even for non buddhists its ok to do it without believing in a religion). But we leave it up to you. She will also lead you to the sand stupas, which are build in the temple areas during important religious festivals like Pchum Ben. It will take around two hours at the pagoda. Traditionally women wear a white blouse when entering a temple area, men a shirt and trousers. You don’t have to dress like a local, but should wear decent clothing, covering as much skin as possible.
Having lunch with your host family
After the offerings and prayers Phanny and her family will take you back to the house where you will have lunch with the family (it’s optional to have the lunch at the pagoda, but we need to know in advance).
It is a kind of hot-soup which was named from a forest. It is cooked with a combination of chicken and varieties of fresh vegetables like colorful tomato, green pepper, and sweet pepper, mixed with Khmer Kroeung and tamarind. For Khmer Kroeung, she uses lemongrass stalk, Kaffir lime, Galangal, Rhizome, and garlic. To make a yellow Kroeung, she added turmeric a bit over than others to get color and flavor. Finally, the soup is added with holy basil known as M’rah prov.
FRIED SWEET GOURD (KHUO NORNAOENG)
A very fresh fried tropical vegetables mixed (gourd and sweet corn) with chicken egg will bring you an unforgettable experience of Khmer food. After cooking, she added Kampot pepper and spring onion over the fried.
GRILLED PORK RIB (CHHA-EUNG CHHUMNY CHROUK-ANG)
A common right dish for every time meals such as breakfast, lunch or dinner. She could make it special by marinating the pork ribs with Kampot pepper (a special pepper from the southwest part of coastal of Cambodia), a little salt and sugar, oyster sauce and garlic, etc. Its smell will make you hungry!
COCONUT JELLY (CHA-HUOY DOUNG)
Hot and steamy would be a good way to describe the weather in Cambodia. Therefore, the coconut jelly is a popular dessert to help you cool down the heat inside your body. Mixed gelatine powder with coconut water and let it stand for a few minutes. After that top up it with coconut milk and leave in the fridge to set.
The dates:
27.9.1019
28.9.2019
29.9.2019
The price:
40 USD for single person
70 USD for two people
100 USD for three people
Included:
Transport from the host to the pagoda and back to the hosts house
Welcome snack and drink at the hosts house
Offerings for the pagoda
Lunch at the hosts house
Free tea and drinking water (and free refill).
Not included:
Transport to the hosts place
After booking we will send you a ticket with the location description and relevant phone numbers. It takes about 20-30 minutes from downtown Phnom Penh to the house, since it’s in the north of the capital.
Whenever we ask our guests how they found us, they answer they were looking for a way to eat with locals end get in touch with regular families. They already did the bucket list of important landmarks and buildings, but want to know not just about the past, but how people live now. And food is a good way to get together, create a calm and relaxed atmosphere and exchange cultural knowledge. We want to give you some advise how and why to eat with locals (and experience a locals place in general.)
Host Ms. Phanny cooks Khmer food in Phnom Penh
Local food is always special
From whatever country you come, there will be one dish that is well know all over the world. In Germany it is sausage, in Thailand Green curry, in the UK fish and chips and in Cambodia probably Beef Lok Lak and Prahok. But does this really cuisines of a country? When come to a city and look for food around here, Google and Tripadvisor will present you their selection of restaurants. But is this really locals food? In many cases it is not. Most of those places for example don’t serve the Siem Reap sausage, a fat and sweet sausage usually heated on a charcoal fired BBQ.
So when you arrive in a city, better ask for the cities most famous food. Who to ask? Go to a local restaurant, ask a seller on the streets. Language problems: These days even the Khmer language is available in Google translate. Just ask “is there a local eating around me?” and follow the people’s suggestions. Avoid the tourist places, because they have to cater a wide range of taste, and usually don’t dare to go into local special food. And of course, you an always Dine With The Locals.
How to get in touch with locals?
There are many ways to get connected. When in Siem Reap, you will most likely hire a tuk tuk driver to take you around Angkor Wat and the temples. Many drivers have family members with restaurants (although some will take you to the place where they get the most commission). But there is a really good chance that you get a driver who is open minded and like to connect to travelers. If you ask him (or her), where you can eat with locals or spend a evening with locals, he may just invite you to his home. If you prefer a local restaurant, ask him where he goes when he takes his family out (but don’t be surprised when he says Pizza Company, its’ a big thing now).
Guests after cooking with locals in Phnom Penh
In Ho Chi Minh City the best way to meet locals is to go to one of the parks in downtown in the late afternoon. Just walk around and it will not take long that someone will ask you something. Vietnamese students are eager to practise English and looking for opportunities to do so. You can meet them also in the Vietnamese coffee shops, where they just hang around, watch a movie or staring at the mobile phones. In the evening many people from Saigon walk along Nguyen Hue street next to the city hall. But you can also roam around Pham Ngu Lao to the Benh Tanh market. Recently Buy Vien street became the host spot for the local night life. an absolut must is here to have a meal at The Bun Bar, authentic Vietnamese food on a new level.
Talk with staff in your hotel
If you are travel in the low season, staff in the hotel has more time to chat with you. Most are happy to improve their English. Just be prepared that it takes a while to start a conversation. Also, many Khmer in the hospitality industry speak English at a basic level. They want improve, but you should be aware that the vocabulary and general knowledge is limited. When you are used to typical BnB food, don’t expect it in Cambodian or other Asian hotels. When you have breakfast with Khmer, they eat soup or rice, sometimes porridge, but for sure not cereals or sausages. Any chat with locals in your hotel may result in a night out. We had a guest at our Host Sarath who was so happy, that they all went together to pub street. After the dinners for ladies came the drinks for ladies.
Meal sharing is common when you eat with locals
In a Cambodian restaurant as well as in families sharing is caring. You don’t order a dish for yourself. Instead the oldest member of the party orders several dishes, and they a shared. There is no real understanding of courses – just dessert comes last – but at a wedding for example the soup is the highlight at the end. When you eat with locals the dishes come as they are prepared, one by one, in no particular order. Some family member will give you either an empty plate or one already filled with rice. Then you can pick from all the dishes on the table. One advice: do not use your spoon or fork to transfer from the plate or bowl to your plate, but the one provided. This can be confusing sometimes, since they are all the same and you easily forget if this was your spoon or not.
Travelers can help cooking and chat with the Khmer family
The use of chopstick is not very common for Khmer dishes, but for Chinese food. And since the rice noodle soup has it’s origin in China, the family will provide you chopsticks. If you eat in a local restaurant, have a look for the box at the end of the table. It’s usually a container with forks, spoons and chopsticks as well as Asian soup spoons. Talking about spoons: there is a spoon as we know it from the western world and the Asian soup spoon. You find both of them and they kind of serve the same purpose. However, the soup spoon is for sure the one you should grab when eating soup – or even some desserts, like tapioca pearls in coconut milk.
Spoons, forks and chopsticks
There is rarely a knife on the table, some say for safety reasons. But there is also not need since all food is prepared in a way that it can be eaten with just spoon and fork. Meat is cut into slices and pieces, fish as well. Because most meat, in particular chicken, will be cut from top to bottom, expect some bones in it. All kinds of meat are expensive, a whole chicken on the market cost 10 USD. It would be a waste of money to just serve you the chicken breast. The same goes for fish, expect bones as well. At least the cook removes the head and fins.
What to do and what not to when you eat with locals
Every culture has some rules and traditions, and Cambodia as well as it’s neighboring countries make to exception. When you enter a Khmer home, please leave your shoes outside. This is a rule for the inside of buildings, not for any outside seating. In some houses the elevated terrace is also considered living space. The easiest way is to watch what the others are doing. If they great you with the hand folded together, just do the same. Action is sometimes more than words and a greeting in English supported by the right action is totally appropriate.
As a guest you experience kind of a VIP treatment as it is in most cultures. Your host will serve you rice and drinks first.You may still wait until everyone else has rice on the plate. The oldest person in the family will then serve you some of the dishes on your plate or ask you to take it yourself. You don’t have to empty all the food. But you should at least try a bit from everything. If you like it, you can say “Tchnang”. The “a” pronounced like the “u” in “sung” and the “ng” pronounced as it would be at the beginning. The word means delicious, of course.
Hospitality in Cambodia
Khmer families are very friendly and open to guests. When you are traveling on the countryside, it is common that a family will wave at you and when you stop offer you some drinks – sometimes for sell. When you visit our hosts you can experience this warmth and inclusive approach to guests. The families are happy and proud to show their skills and the Khmer culture. And it is not just about cooking. Every of our hosts has their own special things to show, from basics of Aspara dance to modern art, organic farm, historic items or silk worms.
Going off the beaten path and explore the real life of people in a country is what creates unforgettable memories. We are trying to help you by giving exclusive access to local homes, while at the same time promoting local culture and supporting local families with additional income. Enjoy the experience!
We have our six minutes of fame in September, when the Cambodia-Episode of “Mit 80 Jahren um die Welt” is broadcasted on German TV station ZDF. A team visited us in April and filmed for half a day at our host Sarath’s house. The show tales six elderly people on a trip around the world, and one stop was in Cambodia. After visiting the night market and the temples they also wanted get in touch with a local family.
And the best experience local life and cook and eat with locals is what we a Dine With The Locals can do best. Sarath explained the concept of the mushroom farm and then led the guests to the crocodiles, where they wer even allowed to feed them with fish – from a safe distance of course. The crocodiles there are bred for eggs and babies, not as meat producers. After exploring the surroundings it was time for a typical Khmer lunch with three different dishes.
Family took good care of the guests
The day was hot and also one of the days with a power cut. To provide a bit a a breeze, Sarath’s father went to the neighbors who had a simple generator running, used all extension cords available and made two small fans going. This and a few cold towels and hand held fans was ver much appreciated by the guests.
For us the show is a great opportunity to be a but more known the the German speaking market, but also showcase what we are doing. The visitors where overwhelmed by the hospitality and friendliness of our host family.
TV Team is getting readySarath gets her micThe team is filming and interviewing the familyThomas and Sarath during filmingThe guest could feed the crocodilesThe old people enjoyed Cambodian food
You can see the part of the episode here:
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How does a day during Pchum Ben look like?
As a guest you experience kind of a VIP treatment as it is in most cultures. Your host will serve you rice and drinks first.You may still wait until everyone else has rice on the plate. The oldest person in the family will then serve you some of the dishes on your plate or ask you to take it yourself. You don’t have to empty all the food. But you should at least try a bit from everything. If you like it, you can say “Tchnang”. The “a” pronounced like the “u” in “sung” and the “ng” pronounced as it would be at the beginning. The word means delicious, of course. 
