Kep Crab Market

Kep Crab Market is a beloved institution along the Kep waterfront, a long row of wooden seafood stalls and open-sided restaurants perched on stilts at the edge of the sea where local fisherfolk bring their daily catch directly to the cookpots. Kep is synonymous with its blue swimming crabs, and the market is the definitive place to eat them, served steamed or stir-fried with the town's celebrated Kampot green pepper in a combination that has become one of Cambodia's most iconic dishes. The crab sellers are mostly women in traditional checked kramas who weigh, cook, and serve the crabs with practiced efficiency. Prawns, squid, snapper, and other fresh seafood are equally available. The market is most atmospheric in the early morning when boats return and most lively at lunch.