My Thai girlfriend may be disappointed if she cannot find Somtam. Are there any restaurants that serve Thai food in Siem Reap.

There are plenty of Thai restaurants in Siem Reap.

in addition, there is a Khmer version of the dish (pok la' hong) which can be readily found

Moved to Cambodia travel forum.

There are plenty of Thai restaurants in Siem Reap.

in addition, there is a Khmer version of the dish (pok la' hong) which can be readily found

Moved to Cambodia travel forum.

In my opinion bok la hong cannot be compared to somtam.

Like many Khmer foods it lacks spice and your wife would be best advised to take chili powder with her. That advice is based on having taken over a 100 Thai travelers to Siem Reap.

The equivalent of kwitiow can be found from street stalls etc and your may wife may well the pickled and dry fish from the old market.

Personally, I would not go to Siem Reap for Thai food - especially as there is virtually every other international cuisine available. Try the Khmer Amok by all means and you will find many rice based dishes. Depending on where you are staying you will find a wide range of Asian breakfast dishes.

Are they at least able to grow their own papaya in Cambodia or do they also import it like 90% of everything in this country ?

Papaya is locally hrown.

Thai style somtam is available in Thai restaurants. The Khmer version is available many places, including street vendors, but does lack chili. Fresh chilis easily bought at the market.

There are several Thai restaurants in town - the most popular is the Purple Elephant and the most authentic (in that it is run by Thais) is on the opposite corner by the traffic lights closest to Lucky Mall (can't remember the name of the place for the life of me) and sadly, it also has the nastiest toilets in history with a spider infestation beyond anything a reasonable person would tolerate - I know Buddhists shouldn't kill but I'm pretty certain they are allowed to gently brush the bastards outside. My Thai girlfriend lived happily in Siem Reap for a year before I sent her back to Thailand for being a bit of a lunatic; she managed without taking her own chili or indeed any form of food from Thailand.

There are several Thai restaurants in town - the most popular is the Purple Elephant and the most authentic (in that it is run by Thais) is on the opposite corner by the traffic lights closest to Lucky Mall (can't remember the name of the place for the life of me) and sadly, it also has the nastiest toilets in history with a spider infestation beyond anything a reasonable person would tolerate - I know Buddhists shouldn't kill but I'm pretty certain they are allowed to gently brush the bastards outside. My Thai girlfriend lived happily in Siem Reap for a year before I sent her back to Thailand for being a bit of a lunatic; she managed without taking her own chili or indeed any form of food from Thailand.

Clearly, she was not from Isaan!

(Although many lunatics are)

Thanks for all your replies. Actually she is from Ban Bueng, near Bang Saen, Chonburi. I have just liberated her from her factory job working 12 hour shifts for 20 years and 2 hours of travel each way. They refuse to pay her her TISCO forced savings because she did not give them 30 days notice.

You know what I told her to tell them....