Street Food Koh Kong, the one redeeming quality of the place.
Koh Kong is an island and province in Cambodia. The word Koh means Island in Khmer. Islands throw up ideals of beauty and solace. You will find neither of these in Koh Kong.
If you are looking for the aforementioned pleasures you need to go to Koh Rong, or even the hidden gem of Koh Kong.
To read about Koh Rong click here
To read about Koh Kong click here .
To read about the Khmer Language click here .
What is there to do in Koh Kong?
I have written a Koh Kong guide, which you can read here . There are a few resorts here which look nice, but there really is nothing of touristic value to Koh Kong. The reasons to come here will usually be for work. Personally I was in Koh Kong to cover the Hun Sen Cup match. Turns out I will be coming back here a lot.
Being by the sea though means they do have a cracking street food scene in Koh Kong. The one redeeming quality about the place.
Street Food Koh Kong
There are basically two areas of interest in Koh Kong, the amusingly titled Chicken Farm Road. For whatever reason this amused me and my partner. Turns out there isn’t a chicken farm on the road either.
Eating and drinking on Chicken farm road
All of the main hotels and guesthouses are on chicken farm road. There were allegedly two western restaurants, Fat Sam’s and Paddy’s, but they have either closed, or are invisible. What you are left with is poor quality rural Khmer cuisine. I love Khmer food, but when you get to the boonies its not great.
To read about Khmer cuisine click here .
The only nightclub in Koh Kong is also located on chicken farm road. A very rural affair, but cheap beers make Berry Pub a decent option if you need to socialize at all.
Seafront of Koh Kong
For street food Koh Kong it is all about the seafront/riverfront. I class this as the sea, but locals say its a lake/river. There’s water and fishing boats though. There are a number of decent guesthouses along here, as well seemingly where the 4 expats hang out.
The main reason to come here though is that after dark the Koh Kong street food scene jumps into life. They’re not reinventing the wheel here! Nice and simple tables set out by the water, with vendors serving mostly seafood dishes. The range here is phenomenal, crabs, shrimp, fresh fish and probably the best thing I tried, something that looked like a stingray.
And of course there was squid! I’m a huge fan of Khmer squid (link). They have it in abundance and it cooked and served as is, rather than Chinese style destroyed with spices.
Koh Kong pepper!
Much like everywhere else where you do street food in Cambodia you are left to mix up your own spices from the table. Most places serve Kampot pepper, the most famous Khmer export. Apparently in Koh Kong they also make their own pepper, Koh Kong pepper would you believe! Mixing this with some lime and then dropping the squid into it was to die for.
Overall the food here is pretty cheap and you can get by on a few dollars, or you can go crazy. We went crazy and dropped $30 in 2 nights. Again when I say crazy Cambodian crazy, rather than real world prices crazy.
Koh Kong might not have all that much going for it, but if you do end up here, head to the waterside. Great street food, an amazing sunset and the knowledge that you are truly off the beaten track in Cambodia.
Street food Koh Kong, it’s a thing.
