Heading to Siem Reap soon? Find the best places for budget friendly vegan food in Siem Reap (in my belly’s opinion) right here. I am all about keeping to a tight budget so you won’t find outrageously expensive or overly fancy joints here. Just cheap, delicious and mainly local cuisine. Plus information about our visit to Angkor, the must-see of Siem Reap.
Susadei from Cambodia, a country that feels to me like it’s always bathing in a glorious golden glow. Siem Reap in Northwest Cambodia will probably be your first or last stop in Cambodia depending on which country you are coming from. For us, it was our last before heading into Laos.
Visiting Angkor Wat is why we ventured up to Siem Reap, and to stroll around and eat a ton of budget-friendly food of course. We certainly found some knock-out places to eat delicious vegan food in Siem Reap all across the health level spectrum. I am sure most of you will be heading to see Angkor too so here’s a bit about our day visiting the ruins.
Visiting Angkor
We came to Siem Reap to blow our weekly budget on a day wandering around the ruins of Angkor, the seat of the Khmer kingdom from the 9th–15th centuries. Blow our budget we did. But it was worth it, Angkor was spectacular even while baking under the midday sun. A one-day pass was a whopping US$37 each, my purse cried its little eyes out.
Full disclosure, I did not buy food at Angkor, to save money I brought sandwiches that I made from things found in a mini-mart. (Baba Ganoush wahey!) I knew the food would be overpriced so came prepared.
We bought delicious baba ganoush, a tray of chopped mixed veggies, and a bag of 6 soft bread rolls for about US$4 all in one mini-mart. It’s a long day walking around the ruins starting at sunrise so I filled all 6 rolls for the 2 of us. They covered breakfast and lunch and kept me sane and hanger-free.
You can get vegan food at Angkor, I had a scout around. There’s veggie fried rice and noodles etc. but they cost US$5, not backpacker budget friendly.
The evening before our day in Angkor we hired an electric scooter for US$10 from Blu-E Bike Service in Siem Reap. You don’t need a bike license for an electric scooter in Cambodia though I still didn’t do the driving. I’m a back clinger with no intention of changing. I get to look around and not put anyone’s life in danger while I’m completely distracted by EVERYTHING!
Blu-E said we could charge overnight there if needed because our hostel had no charge point. We only used half the battery so we didn’t need a charge at all. (Not an ad but we booked our bus to Laos with Blu-E too as they were super nice. It seems, from talking to others on the bus, that our tickets cost the least wahoo!)
We bought our tickets the day before so we could head straight in for sunrise the next morning and skip the ticket queues. Doing this also gave us free entry after 5.30 pm for sunset that day which was a bonus.
We opted against hiring a guide to save money and instead followed the Smart Guide app. It’s free but with paid add-ons. The free guides were perfect for us but it did horse through my phone battery. You also need internet access for it so it’s no use if you don’t have data.
We followed the “small circuit” on the app. This brought us to the “big hitters” as well as other non-crowded incredible structures. The route is 18km, covers 21 sites, and says it takes 7 hours. We started at sunrise and ended at sunset stopping to eat and for an ice-cold, much-needed midday beer. Not to misquote a certain Danish beverage but it probably was the best beer in the world.
An actual human guide will be able to answer questions and point things out but as a money saver, this app did the job.
We didn’t find Angkor to be too busy but it was Feb 2023 and tourism hadn’t recovered to pre-Covid levels yet. There were bus-loads of people, to be fair, but we’d no queuing or overcrowding.
See our full gallery of Angkor photos here.
Want to read a blog post that focuses specifically on Angkor rather than the great vegan food in Siem Reap? We have one coming soon but in the meantime check out this great post by Road Affair.
Siem Reap
Quite a few blogs I read before going to Siem Reap recommended only staying a couple of days. We knew we’d be wrecked after exploring Angkor and had a long travel day to Laos next so we decided to stay 5 nights and just chill and eat and chill. I’m so glad we did. It’s a great place to wander around, people-watch and drink coffee/beer.
Our hostel was fine but not recommendable, mainly because not once would the bar staff give me happy hour prices. I’d send my boyfriend up 2 mins later and he’d get the deal. It was not a happy hour for me. There was also a big ignorant 50-inch TV taking up a lot of space in our room. There are only so many times you can wallop your head off it and not (over) react. It was grand but I wouldn’t stay there again.
We spent most of our time in Siem Reap happily strolling around until we found somewhere to stop in. I love browsing markets so had to go into the Central Market. Lots of clothes, nick-knacks and the usual tourist souvenirs along with fresh produce stalls frequented by locals.
Wandering around the town we stumbled on some pretty cool galleries with local artists’ work in the FCC at Avani. The galleries were filled with big, bold colourful canvases that were truly stunning. One of the exhibitions was raising money for the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity.
A couple of blocks from Avani is the Made in Cambodia market, a marketplace selling locally-made handicrafts and jewellery. There are some beautiful finds in this market and it’s lovely to stroll around. We guzzled coffee nearby on the river banks and watched the world go by. You’ll need your mosquito spray around this area because they are hungry!
Speaking of hunger…
Budget–Friendly Vegan Food in Siem Reap
HeyBong jumped out at me on Happy Cow. It’s a100% plant-based café beside an animal rescue centre in the middle of Siem Reap. The extensive menu includes breakfast, burgers, wraps, snacks, juices and cocktails. A little less budget-friendly than we usually plan but it’s worth it, also I went on my own so that saved money 😉
What I ate: Katsu burger – Katsu tofu with Japanese bbq sauce, slaw, and salad with a few funky fries. Deliciously messy. Green Elixir juice – spinach, celery, cucumber, apple, pineapple, and moringa. Refreshing and delicious, pre-made but still very fresh.
Another place I ditched my date for was The Source Café. It’s an omnivore café but with plenty of veggie and vegan options. The atmosphere is nice and relaxed and the staff are friendly and helpful. The music was low and not intrusive so I could get a bit of writing done.
What I ate: Avocado mushroom toast – smashed avocado with garlic fried mushrooms and tahini on wholemeal bread. I was given hot sauce and salt/pepper to season it myself. Creamy and flavourful breakfast and highly satisfying. Belly punch juice – cucumber, ginger, pineapple. Refreshing and freshly made.
My Little Café is an omni restaurant with really great value meals ~€2/3. Very busy but fast service, lots of nHam drivers (delivery service), locals and tourists.
What I ate: Tofu Lok Lak – traditional Lok Lak is made with cubed beef and I’ve been looking for a vegan version since arriving in Cambodia. The tofu is sticky, sweet and delicious. It comes with a fried egg which I didn’t realise so make sure to say no egg when ordering. Luckily my travel buddy Bob is happy to eat what I don’t and we avoid waste. A lime-pepper sauce comes on the side, its sweet, salty, peppery and sour. Samlor Machou Siem Reap Taohu – Sour soup with lots of greens, green pepper, beans, and leaves. Needed a bit of chilli added for our taste. The broth is rich and comforting.
We stopped into Taste for Life when starving after exploring Angkor. It’s another omni restaurant selling cheap beer and good food. The menu has clearly marked vegetarian food and the waiter asked me if I wanted an egg.
What I ate: Tofu Amok, one of Cambodia’s national dishes, it’s a steamed curry usually with fish but we had tofu instead. It was really creamy with strips of nori for the fish/sea flavour. There was a strong lemongrass taste through it which delights me. Pretty sure it’s the best Amok I’ve had.
Up the street from our accommodation is Kebab and Falafel Time, an omni restaurant serving kebabs, burgers and Muslim food. One side of the menu is completely vegan. Great the day after a night on Pub Street, ahem. The owner was really friendly and we had a lovely chat about the area and how the small businesses are coping after Covid. She cares so much about the food she is serving and you can tell when you eat it.
What I ate: Vegan burger and chips – Falafel patty and a veggie burger with homemade vegan cheese, salad and a tangy sauce filled with beans, onions and more. It was huge!
Looking for snacks around Siem Reap? Try some chive cakes and fried bananas from street stalls. They are greasy but oh-so-delicious.
Have you been to Cambodia? Tell me what budget friendly vegan food in Siem Reap I missed in the comments.
What I Was Reading in Cambodia
First They Killed My Father – Loung Ung
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