Penh Plates Food Tour with 15+ Tastings

Phnom Penh culinary traditions come alive every evening. This four-hour feast skips the tourist restaurants for 15+ tastings across smoky charcoal grills, street vendors, markets and local eateries scattered across the capital. Follow your local tastemaker to the spots you'd struggle to uncover alone, tackling everything from fish amok and Khmer noodles to grilled beef skewers, fried frog, fiery wok noodles and tropical market fruits. Along the way, discover how ancient Khmer traditions, Chinese migration, French influence and Cambodia's legendary pepper shaped what the city eats today. Join our 15+ taster crash course in Cambodia's cuisine.

1. 1

   Phnom Penh

   15 min

   Phnom Penh doesn't wind down when the tropical heat fades. Charcoal grills flare beside the pavements, woks clang behind open-fronted eateries and roadside vendors emerge to cook food shaped by the Mekong, ancient Khmer traditions, Chinese migration and almost a century of French influence. Over four hours and 15+ tastings, we'll chase that history through smoky grills, street carts, markets and local eateries. Before we get started, our tour reflects the local cuisine and the limitations of traditional eateries mean we unfortunately cannot cater for every dietary restriction. Here's an honest appraisal so nobody is disappointed: 
✔ Suitable for mild nut allergies, lactose intolerance and no pork diets (though please note that pork is cooked in some of the locations visited).
⚠ Possible for pescatarian, gluten intolerance and no seafood diets, though some tastings may be unsuitable.
✖️ Unsuitable for vegan, vegetarian and halal diets.

2. 2

   Stop 2

   45 min

   Start with a dish Cambodians have been eating for generations. Num banh chok samlor Khmer tangles soft rice noodles with fresh herbs and vegetables beneath a fragrant Khmer-style gravy. Rice noodles are such a fixture of Cambodian mornings that num banh chok is often simply referred to as "Khmer noodles". 

Then attack one of the country's most famous creations: amok trey. Fresh fish is folded into a silky coconut custard fragrant with kroeung, the pounding of lemongrass, galangal, turmeric and aromatics that forms the flavour base of countless Khmer dishes. Alongside comes cha trob, smoky aubergine with savoury minced pork, and samlor machu kroeung sach ko, a bright, punchy beef soup where sourness and lemongrass cut straight through the richness.

3. 3

   Phnom Penh

   1 hour

   Now follow the smoke. Charcoal grilling is one of Phnom Penh's great evening rituals, and as darkness settles, makeshift grills begin appearing across the capital. We'll bounce between some of our favourites, starting with sach ko jak kak, beef skewers caramelised over glowing coals, and juicy sach krok sausages. Tear off hunks of crusty baguette and pair with sharp pickled papaya – a small reminder of how thoroughly Cambodia absorbed the bread introduced during French colonial rule and made it its own. But Phnom Penh's best food isn't conveniently lined up on one street. Jump aboard a tuk tuk and tear through the capital for kontuy moan ang, chicken blistered over charcoal, crisp fried mushrooms and deep-fried frog. Dip everything into tuk mreach, the deceptively simple combination of salt, lime and Cambodia's legendary pepper. Grown in the country's south for centuries, Cambodian pepper was once prized in the great kitchens of Europe. Here, it belongs beside a plate of fried frog.

4. 4

   Phnom Penh

   1 hour

   Next, listen for the wok. Lort chha hits fierce heat as short, springy noodles are tossed with beef and Cambodian pâté until smoky and caramelised around the edges. Then tear into num kachay, chive cakes with crisp, fried bottoms and satisfyingly chewy centres – one of several Cambodian street foods that reveal the long influence of Chinese communities on the country's cooking. Between bites, we'll pass Wat Ounalom, one of the most important centres of Cambodian Buddhism. Founded in the 15th century, the monastery became the headquarters of Cambodian Buddhism and survived one of the darkest periods in the country's modern history. Today its stupas and temple buildings provide a moment of calm amid the grills, traffic and noisy evening streets surrounding it.

5. 5

   Stop 5

   45 min

   There are 15+ tastings to conquer, but we're saving something sweet for the final stretch. Dive into Psar Kandal, an old-school neighbourhood market where Phnom Penh still shops for fish, meat, herbs, vegetables and everyday ingredients. We'll taste whichever exotic Cambodian fruits are best that day before finishing with chek ktis, banana softened in rich coconut milk. After an evening of sour broths, peppery dips, charcoal smoke and fiery woks, it's a suitably gentle landing.

6. 6

   Stop 6

   15 min

   Then emerge from the market onto Phnom Penh's riverside, where the Tonlé Sap meets the Mekong, the river system that has dictated Cambodian life, agriculture and food for centuries. Four hours earlier, we started with a bowl of Khmer noodles. We'll finish beside the water having eaten our way through 15+ tastings spanning ancient Khmer flavour combinations, French bread, Chinese-influenced street snacks, Cambodian pepper, smoky grills and market sweets. Phnom Penh's history isn't confined to temples and museums. Much of it is still sizzling over charcoal, being tossed through woks and served from the streets every night.

• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
• Not recommended for pregnant travelers
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• Not recommended for severe allergies

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.