Kampot is a sleepy little riverside town in southern Cambodia. Some of the streets still have old colonial buildings with fading paint which make for great photos. Most people stop off in Kampot on their way to the islands in the South. We, my boyfriend and I, were no different. Our intention was to stay a few nights but ended up extending and staying a week. Yellow Sun Hostel which is a 15-minute Tuk Tuk ride outside the town out in nature was our home for the week. The bullfrog and cricket songs at night are a lovely chorus to fall asleep to and the Gibbons were happy to be our alarm clock in the morning. It’s a social hostel but not a noisy party spot so it fitted us well and a good base to explore vegan food in Kampot, Cambodia.
There aren’t a whole lot of activities to fill a week in Kampot if you are the go-go-go type. The laid-back vibe gave us the perfect excuse to relax and recharge by the Praek Tuek Chhu river. The water is safe to swim in and a refreshing way to cool down in the afternoon heat.
Hiring a scooter is a good idea if you know how to ride one. There are great sightseeing and photo opportunities not far from the town. The drive up through Bokor National Park is breathtaking. At the top, you’ll find Bokor Hill Station. Its abandoned buildings from the French Colonial era are great to shoot.
The sunsets are cracking by the river so grab an Angkor beer, sit back, and enjoy. Angkor beer is the only local Cambodian beer that the internet tells me is vegan. Others may be but the info isn’t there. I’ll admit I had a few Cambodia beers in me before I went on the search and came up empty. I’ll update you if I find out more.
La Plantation pepper plantation is also a cool spot to visit. Tours are free and the restaurant has a lime and pepper sorbet that you need to try! They have a shop in Kampot town too where we got a second sorbet fix.
Food wise Kampot has a lot to offer vegans. Most of the places we visited had a vegan menu or marked vegan options. When ordering in a non-vegan restaurant, it’s a good idea to mention “no fish sauce” to the server. I’m not going to lose my shit if a mistake happens, sometimes the fish sauce is in the paste and sometimes I am too ravenous to remember to ask but you do you.
So without further blabbering, here is where we ate vegan food in Kampot, Cambodia and would recommend to a friend.
EpicArts Café is an omnivore café but the menu is mainly veggie/vegan. In many cases the yoghurt, honey etc. can be served on the side. What I loved about this café is that profits from the café and upstairs shop are used to help disabled students and it promotes an environment of inclusivity. Do check out their website for all that they do.
What we ate: Hummus and Olive Bagel. It was a big, white, fresh, soft bagel with plenty of hummus, olives, lettuce and carrot salad. The saltiness of olives worked wonderfully with the lemony hummus. I thoroughly enjoyed every bite. It was $4 but considering the size and the good cause behind the café, I wouldn’t call it expensive.
We were recommended to go to Ecran Noodles, a noodle shop with meat and vegan options. The menu gives a choice to have boiled dumplings cooked in meat or veggie broth but the fried dumplings are fried in the same oil as meat. I do appreciate that the menu states it, sure signs they understand what vegan means.
What we ate: we shared 10 dumplings in veggie broth with a side of rice. The dumplings were big and the broth was rich in flavour with shitake mushrooms and bok choy in it too. It cost us $4 and filled both of us so I consider that pretty cheap.
We ate in Lemongrass Bistro twice as the first time was so delicious. It’s a reasonably priced omnivore restaurant in the centre of town. It has plenty of vegan options, though not clearly marked, and the meat/fish ingredients are listed. There is some beautiful stippling art on the walls for sale outside which make for nice browsing while waiting for food to come out.
What we ate: Tofu Chakroeung Monors – the sauce was like a pineapple satay. It had lots of veg, big chunks of tofu, and came with rice. Our favourite dish.
Tofu Sweet and Sour – was super nice and not too sweet. I think the pineapple was charred which took down the sweetness. It had lots of veg and came with rice.
Tofu Chakroeung – Similar to the tofu chakroeung monors but the peanut sauce had lemongrass rather than pineapple. It was a refreshing sauce with lots of veg and tofu and came with rice.
KFC: Not the chicken chain but an omnivore stall in the town centre market. I came here for the tofu burger but they were out of tofu so got the veggie curry instead. Other blogs had said there were a few veggie options in the market but KFC was all I could find. I’d had an Angkor beer or 2 so do tell me in the comments if you find more. Their menu has 8 or 9 options in the vegetarian section.
What we ate: Khmer Curry – a creamy coconut milk green curry, very similar to Thai curry. It had lots of vegetables though I would have liked tofu if available. This was my first of many Khmer curries over the month.
Simple Things, a Vegetarian café with clearly marked vegan options. Most of the menu is vegan besides the pizzas and a few things with cheese. We found this place right after a long, hot bus ride and really appreciated the couches out front where we could drop ourselves without much fuss over our big bags.
What we ate: The Crispy tofu wrap for $4.75. We split it and it was big enough to satiate us both.
Our accommodation on the river bank as mentioned was Yellow Sun Hostel. It’s 15mins drive outside of town so we ate here quite a few times. It has a separate vegan menu which is always a delight.
What we ate: Tofu sandwich – Tofu and salad on white bread. It was filling for breakfast.
Amok – Veggie curry with tofu in a thick curry sauce. Packed with flavour and was very filling.
Tofu burger – Same as the tofu sandwich but in a bun and with a few chips on the side.
Did I miss anywhere? Do tell me in the comments 🙂
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