Restaurants in Siem Reap

Curry Walla

Our bus arrived in Siem Reap at about 2:30 on Saturday, and we hadn't eaten much all day - a snack on the bus, and ice cream at the short stop we took. So after checking in at the hotel, we went to the closet restaurants, within walking distance. It turned out to be Indian food - something Janaya and I had wanted to have for a while. Chicken marsala, chicken korma, and of course, naan. We were all hungry and it tasted great! - Roseann

The Dead Fish Tower

This was the most unusual restaurant we went to in Siem Reap. A sign in the front said, "We don't serve dog, cat, rat or worm. Scary, but we still gave it a try. The restaurant has many levels all being connected by small, steep staircases. Food is brought up to various levels with dumb waiters and pulleys. It looks like an old barn, or something out of Swiss Family Robinson. You can sit at regular tables or sit on cushions and eat at low tables. The food they serve is Thai, Khmer and fish and chips. At times they put on Apsara dancing. We went there on our second day in Siem Reap. They had live crocodiles in a tank and chicks walking around the restuarant. I had fried rice, which is one of my favorites. It was very good. - Austin

The Blue Pumpkin

Many people had told us that the breakfast and fruit shakes were the best at this restaurant. Excited to have our grandparents taste fruit shakes (with safe ice), we went to this restaurant for lunch the second day. We ate upstairs in an air-conditioned room, decorated almost completely in white. Couches and trays were available for sitting around the outside of the room, but our group was too big so we sat at a table. Grandma and I tried something new - fish ravioli. The others had more western pasta dishes. When my meal arrived, I took a bit - spiccccccy! For desert we had fruit shakes, made of blended fresh fruit and ice. This is a very typical drink here, although it often has sweetened condensed milk in it too. It was a great place to eat. Next time I will have breakfast there. - Janaya

BBQ Suki

BBQ Suki is a cool buffet restaurant. At each table there was a big fryer with pork fat on top and chickn broth around the sides, all over charcoal. There was also a whole pig that the chef was cutting. There were alligator k-bobs that Grandpa tried. A chest filled with raw meat (including alligator) and a buffet of raw vegetables and noodles were waiting for our decisions. We cooked it all up and ate it all too. For dessert, I had my favorite coconut jello-like bars - like we often have at Slate Hill potlucks. - Janaya

Weekend in Siem Reap

While my grandparents visited us, we took our first trip to Siem Reap. Siem Reap is a tourist town known for its close location to ancient temples, including the famous Angkor Wat. We went there expecting a quiet weekend away from the city and got a bustling tourist town. From great and unique restaurants, to tons of hotels and plenty of massage parlors, you could tell how much of a tourist town it was.

On our first day, we went to see the temples. We started in the Angkor Thom complex. This used to be a big and busy city in ancient times. In this complex, we went to Bayon Temple, known for its large Buddha faces. A lot of the rock had crumbled, but it was mostly intact. Because of my knee, I didn't climb up to the upper levels, but instead (with the help of our guide) found a cool and empty place to sit and wait, with Grandma and Austin (who doesn't like heights). I knew that without the guides help I could have never found my way through the hallways and chambers.

The next temple we visited was the very popular Ta Prom. Featured in the movie, Tomb RAider (which was mentioned many times) it has gained a lot of publicity. It is known for the trees growing up, in and around the temple, slowly splitting the walls.

After lunch, we moved on to the most famous temple, Angkor Wat. It is in the best condition. It is a beautiful temple and is very photogenic, with a large reflecting pool. Interestingly, there are 4 swimming pools inside this very old temple, built at a time when Europeans would never have thought of swimming.

It was a long and hot day, and afterwards, Acacia, Grandma and I went to get a massage for our tired feet. Then we headed out to dinner at a cool restaurant, the Dead Fish Tower.

Janaya