Find hosts in Cambodia and Vietnam

How It Works

The Dine with the Locals platform has been created to connect travelers with local hosts and families through daily life and authentic dining experiences in South East Asia. We find and train local hosts and help them to prepare to welcome international guests into their homes.

You can learn about each one of our hosts on our Host profile page, choose a host you wish to book with, and then request a booking. We will check with the host and confirm your booking within 24 hours.

1. Support Local Families

Our hosts are our family. Our mission is to provide an additional income to Khmer women and families and connect them to the tourism industry. We also support our hosts with basic training in personal finance, hospitality and food hygiene, if needed. You are helping these families directly by making a booking with us.

2. Authentic Food and Experiences

Every host will prepare three dishes for you or with you, how much you want to be involved is up to you – you can just watch how food in Cambodia is prepared, or you can learn how to make it yourself. And of course you will enjoy the meal together with the family. In some cases there might also be the opportunity to learn about other daily life activities like silk weaving, organic gardening, fishing and local traditions.

3. Learn with the Locals

The Dine with the Locals platform has been created to connect travelers with local hosts and families throughout South East Asia. Travellers can experience and learn about daily activities and customs, and also learn to prepare and share an authentic meal with their host in a safe and responsible manner.

Say Hello to our amazing hosts

Our hosts are families from different cities in Cambodia and Vietnam. They are single mothers, housewifes, farmers, artists, workers. Have a look at the great food adventures they can offer you.

An Introduction to our Hosts

Here is an overview of our local hosts - to learn more please visit the Host page or click on the Host name below to see their full profile and the menu that they will prepare for you. We now have more than 12 cooking class host families in Cambodia and we aim to increase this, and to grow DWTL acr ...

Ms. Dary – Great vegetarian cooking class and 3 handmade gifts

Ms. Dary is a young mother of two boys, living in Siem Reap with her husband. He is a tour guide, and only a few years before Covid-19 they build their house in the south part of Siem Reap.  Dary worked in a hotel before, where she learned about Khmer noodles and has extensive knowledge about Cambo ...

Naysim – Silk farm and Beef Lok Lak

Naysim and her family own a silk producing and weaving business as well as a fruit farm. You will take a tuk tuk and the ferry to come here from downtown its about 30 minutes, but it's a beautiful scenery on the way. If you want, take your bicycle with you and explore the surroundings. Best time for ...

Nue Thai – Simple life of a family in Siem Reap

Ms. Nue Thai live east of Siem Reap, her house is at a small canopy road and build in the traditional Khmer wooden house style, but with only one ground floor. If you want to experience the simple, but happy life of Khmer people and learn about homegrown vegetables (watch how she makes the omelette) ...

Ms. Chanlon – A garden full of surprises

Ms Chanlon is a 72 year old mother who was born and raised in Battambang. During the Khmer Rouge period she had to leave the city with her six children and stay at the countryside. When the nightmare was over, she was able to return to the land she inherited from her grandmother. There, she build a ...

Mr. Sokha – Soup, ribs and a village tour in Battambang

Mr Sokha is a tour guide in Battambang who knows the city well.  He and his wife, as well as the children, live together not too far from the city center in a traditional Khmer house, mostly made of wood. The family will invite you to learn how to cook in a local setting: the kitchen is usually out ...

Ms. Laum – The most authentic Khmer food

Ms. Laum lives in the heart of Siem Reap and is a single mother. She is 54 years old and has to raise her only son since her husband left her when the boy was young. Since then, she works hard to make a living. She learned cooking by watching the preparations for weddings when she was a child and ha ...

Ms Sokvy – Cooking in the rice fields of Siem Reap

Ms. Sokvy is a mother of two boys living and a housewife, living at the outskirts of Siem Reap. Her house is located close to the rice fields, she and her neighbors grow vegetables in their garden. Ms. Sokvy is a full time house wife with years of experience in preparing Khmer traditional food. Her ...

Vannarith – A meal in the Angkor forest

Ms. Vannarith and her family live in a small Khmer house, surrounded by trees in Siem Reap. It is part of the Angkor forest and on the way to the famous temples (NO ANGKOR TICKET NEEDED). The family also has a small chicken farm in the back yard as well as a beautiful garden. While the husband is wo ...

Chan Mony – Authentic Cooking class in Cambodia

Experience the authentic lifestyle of a Cambodian family . Ms. Chan Mony will not just lead this local culture and cooking class in Cambodia – more specifically in Siem Reap, where Angkor Wat is located. She and her daughter (or her friend) will lead you through traditions and duties of housewifes ...

Ms. Kanika – Regional food of Cambodias north-east

Kanika grew up in the north-eastern town of Stueng Treng, not far from the border with Laos. She runs a restaurant together with her German husband. While some guests are tourists, she mostly serves locals with her food from the north-east of Cambodia. As our guest you will be able to enter the kitc ...

Cook and explore Hanoi with Thanh

Thanh is a Vietnamese woman living in the heart of Hanoi, not far from the Hoàn Kiếm Lake in a local surrounding. She calls herself a green ambassador dreaming of raising awareness about environmental protection & sustainable tourism. She and her team take you around their neighborhood and to ...

Vietnamese food with a family in the heart of Saigon

Nguyen Duy Tuan was a tour guide for the German companies Studiosus and Hapag Lloyd, so he speaks not only fluent English, but also German. Members of his family also speak french. The live in the heart of Saigon, not far from the Ben Than market. The house is in one of the small side alleys you usu ...

Malineat: Bamboo shoots in Banteay Meanchey

Malineat, who studied IT, and her sister, are happy to welcome and host you with a wonderful private meal at her beautiful house located near the river in Banteay Meanchey, surrounded with a bamboo garden, a small lake, an organic garden and her little chicken farm. ...

Read what our guests are saying...

We want to create unforgettable memories and delicious food experiences. Over 100 guests visited our families already – read what some of them have to say on Google and TripAdvisor…

  • star rating  I had such a great and personal time with Dary - cooking and talking a lot about our lifes! The vegetarian food we prepared was delicious and I will try... read more

    avatar thumb Lisa H
    01/17/2023

    star rating  We learned how to cook a local lunch in the home of Sokvy and Chantry. If you have any hesitation, give this a go. It was one of my highlights... read more

    avatar thumb Melinda H
    01/05/2023

    star rating  We had a great experience with Ms Sokvy and her family. She made some delicious local dishes and we were able to join in the cooking. Her family was very... read more

    avatar thumb Teavu
    01/04/2023
  • star rating  Make time for this experience. Such a wonderful way to share in local food, culture, and community. Our family (2 adults, 2 kids) all agreed our lunch with Ms. Dary... read more

    avatar thumb MegHatta
    12/31/2022

    star rating  I had a lovely experience and would recommend everyone to try Dine With The Locals for authentic local experience. Ms Dary helped me when I got lost trying to find... read more

    avatar thumb Chelsea K
    12/29/2022

    star rating  We made a beautiful Cambodian dinner in Dary’s home last night. My husband is a vegetarian and Dary happily accommodated him by using tofu, mushrooms and soy sauce instead of... read more

    avatar thumb Brooke N
    12/15/2022
  • star rating  A really great instantly welcoming experience with Mrs. Dary. meeting the neighbours living traditionally with thier animals including a buffalo and its calf, picking herbs and preparing tradotional base for... read more

    avatar thumb benjaminwE6695OY
    11/12/2022

    star rating  We visited wonderful family. Very interesting experience. We cooked together and eat! Also they have small crocodile farm. Fresh and good products. Home meal. I highly recommend to have this... read more

    Orfelia405232
    02/15/2020

    star rating  If you want to cook a typical Khmer meal in a typical khmer family, it's the best place to go. Ms Laum and Mealea were so nice!! Ms Laum lives... read more

    sebseb1993
    01/07/2020
  • star rating  Had a great time with this sweet family. The father came to pick us up in our hotel and took us to his house which is in a very calm... read more

    808ileniam
    01/04/2020

    star rating  Had a great time with this sweet family. The father came to pick us up in our hotel and took us to his house which is in a very calm... read more

    Trippin i
    01/04/2020

    star rating  If you want to cook a typical Khmer meal in a typical khmer family, it's the best place to go. Ms Laum and Mealea were so nice!! Ms Laum lives... read more

    sebseb08
    01/01/2020
  • star rating  Had a great time with this sweet family. The father came to pick us up in our hotel and took us to his house which is in a very calm... read more

    Ilenia
    01/01/2020

    star rating  We had the pleasure of meeting the Nith family today.

    We had a wonderful experience. The family are lovely and welcome you into their home with open arms.... read more

    V6878AVfredw
    11/28/2019

    star rating  We had the pleasure of meeting the Nith family today. We had a wonderful experience. The family are lovely and welcome you into their home with open arms.... read more

    V6878AVfredw
    11/27/2019

  • It was very fine. The cooking was really perfect.

    ROBERT Schm Avatar ROBERT Schm
    12/29/2022

    Dary and her family are extremely friendly and nice. the joint preparation of the dishes was professional and humorous at the same time. Our group wishes the family all the best for the future. It's a must have

    Reinhard Neuwirth Avatar Reinhard Neuwirth
    12/15/2022

    Ms. Sokvy and Mr. Chantry were so lovely and warmly invited us into their home. Together we prepared and cooked three Khmer dishes and they were delicious! They were also conscious about dietary restrictions that I had communicated to the staff at Dine with the Locals. Mr. Chantry was able to tell us so much about Cambodia’s rich history and culture. I would recommend this experience with Mr. Chantry and Ms. Sokvy to all of my family and friends. Thank you so much for this fabulous experience!

    Brittini Avatar Brittini
    11/19/2022
  • Great experience!! 🙂

    Bianca Gschiel Avatar Bianca Gschiel
    11/18/2022

    Great concept and for me personally a great experience! Can absolutely recommend to try it out for everyone coming to Siem Reap. Not only are you doing something good for some Khmer locals but also you will find it is a great treat for yourself 😉

    Eric Avatar Eric
    11/06/2022

    Andy Sim Avatar Andy Sim
    11/20/2020
  • Meet locals and enjoy homemade Khmer food. Never had such a great culinary and local experience. Truly authentic, and so many hosts all over Cambodia to choose from

    Thomas G. Wanhoff Avatar Thomas G. Wanhoff
    11/20/2019

    Great authentic food and meet nice people

    Nhim Sorida Avatar Nhim Sorida
    11/20/2019

    seng picheth Avatar seng picheth
    11/20/2019

Recent Blog Posts

We love to share our stories about food in Cambodia, cooking with locals and our food tour in Cambodia.

Best herbs in vegetarian Khmer food

14:14:24How many kinds of herbs do you know? There are many kinds of herbs in Cambodia, in particular when it comes to vegetarian Khmer food. They are an important part of an ingredients in cooking and used differently depending on the food. Herb plays a role in cooking for decoration, taste and add ...

Handing over a great project

Dear all, there is rarely a good time to say Goodbye. For me, the best time is when things are doing well. Dine With The Locals was founded by me, Sorida and Phy four years ago to support local families and women as well to promote Khmer food. We started very well, until Covid-19 hit. Phy and me de ...

The best hidden food secrets of Cambodia in 2022

Angkor Wat and its surrounding temples have been the center of an vast empire for hundreds of years. We do know who ruled the Khmer Kingdom, but we know little about the daily life of average people. For example the food secrets of Cambodia. The only clues we can get are from the carvings at the tem ...

Rainy season in Cambodia: Best time to travel in 2022

Asia is well known for its hot weather, beaches and lush landscapes. A common misconception is the rainy season: We call it the green season here, because Southeast-Asia will look much more beautiful.    [caption id="attachment_2765" align="alignnone" width="300"] The rainy season in Cambo ...

Unique Experiences

We are not just about food adventures, but also promoting Khmer culture. Learn about Khmer cooking, fishing, gardening, silk production and the daily life.

Little gifts made from palm leaves

In a poor country like Cambodia parents can't afford to buy toys at the shop regulary. You may remember from your own childhood that nature is a pretty good source to make some small gifts and toys. Our host Ms. Dary will teach you how to create lovely hearts from palm leaves – which you have to p ...

Khmer waffles – Num Poum

You won't find this dessert in the supermarket or at a bakery. Nom Poum have to be made fresh. They were inspired by the French occupiers - hence the waffle irons – but Cambodians made their own recipe. Our host Ms. Laum is a waffle seller, and she will show you the technique and her secret recipe ...

Traditional fishing

Fishing is an important part in the everyday life of people outside big cities. Fish is a main protein source for most, usually caught in ponds and rivers. With our host in Siem Reap you can learn how to throw a traditional Cambodian fishing net – even without the need of actually catching some.  ...

DIY Cambodian street food

Ms. Hong Ginlai is a women in her 40s and the proud owner of a street food restaurant in Siem Reap. Previously she worked in a restaurant with her mother, from her she learned cooking. She is passionate about food, and that why she offers up to 15 dishes during the day. Every morning she goes to the ...