Chamkar is located in the tourist restaurant block next to the Psar Chaa in the downtown area of Siem Reap.
Chamkar is a vegetarian restaurant, which is what drew us there. We ate there on three occasions, having seven of their dishes.
In addition to its focus on vegetarian cooking – a rarity in Cambodia – the plus of Chamkar is their attempt to make something unique and interesting. It’s not your plain, old, standard vegetarian solutions, like vegetable stir fry or vegetable fried rice. Chamkar makes original stuff, like a stuffed tofu dish, and some interesting fritters with a sauce. The dishes even show some presentation.
The down side is that, with an effort to be original, comes both hits and misses. Some of the stuff struck us as strange, other things as good.
Nonetheless, we appreciated the creative effort, and the chance to eat something other than the same, now-tired stuff we have been eating for months on end during our travels in Southeast Asia.
The price for two dishes, a couple of beers, and a large bottle of water runs in the US Dollars mid-teens. That’s pricey for Cambodia overall, but competitive for Siem Reap.
If you are vegetarian or vegan, and looking to try something unique, Chamkar is worth a try.
