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Marum Siem Reap: Our Review of the Tree Alliance Training Restaurant

Strengths, what to know before you go, who it's for, verdict.

Lifestyle

Updated 2026-08-02 5 min

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In short

  • Marum serves creative Khmer tapas in a two-storey wooden house near Pub Street, with more than 1,500 Google reviews at 4.7/5.
  • Strengths: an inventive local menu, a garden courtyard, and a Tree Alliance training programme for marginalised young people.
  • Good to know: prices sit above the neighbourhood eateries, and the tapas format means ordering several plates.
  • Verdict: the most adventurous Khmer menu in the city, in the service of a cause that has been running for years.
4.7/5
Google rating
1,500+
Google reviews
Khmer tapas, shared plates
Format
Tree Alliance
Run by

At a Glance

  • Type: Training restaurant, creative Khmer tapas.
  • Location: Taphul Village, near Pub Street, in a two-storey wooden house with a courtyard garden.
  • Kitchen: Stir-fried red ants with prahok sauce, Siem Reap fish soup with tamarind and galangal, red sticky rice with mango and pandan.
  • Google rating: 4.7/5 across more than 1,500 reviews.
  • Model: Tree Alliance, the training network that takes young people off the streets and into hospitality careers.

Strengths

  • The bravest Khmer menu in town. Stir-fried red ants with prahok is not a dish most tourist kitchens will put on a card. Marum does, and makes it work.
  • Tapas format, contemporary approach. Vegetarian, seafood and meat plates designed to be shared — the easiest way to taste six Cambodian ideas in one sitting.
  • A setting that earns the detour. A two-storey wooden house wrapped around a garden courtyard, minutes from Pub Street yet entirely calm.
  • A name that means something. Marum is the moringa, the tree of life — fitting for a kitchen whose output is trained young Cambodians as much as dinner.
  • A network, not an experiment. Tree Alliance runs training restaurants across the region; Marum benefits from a method that has been refined for years.

Good to Know Before You Go

  • Above local prices. Higher than a neighbourhood eatery, and reviewers judge the cooking worth it.
  • Tapas means several plates. Budget three to four dishes per person rather than one main.
  • Adventurous by design. If red ants are a step too far, the fish soup and the curries are firmly in classic territory.

Who It's For

Marum is for diners who want to taste Cambodia properly and fund something while doing it.

  • Curious eaters: the only easy way to try red ants and prahok in a comfortable setting.
  • Groups: the tapas format is built for a shared table.
  • Social enterprise supporters: Tree Alliance is among the most established names in the field.
  • Garden diners: the courtyard is one of the nicer rooms in Siem Reap.

Practical Info

ItemDetail
AddressTaphul Village, near Pub Street, Krong Siem Reap
Phone+855 12 363 284
Google rating4.7/5 — 1,500+ reviews
Price range$$
Signature platesStir-fried red ants with prahok, Siem Reap fish soup, red sticky rice with mango
SettingTwo-storey wooden house with courtyard garden, indoor and outdoor seating

Verdict

Marum is where you send a visitor who says they want to try real Cambodian food and means it. The red ants are not a stunt — they are a regional dish, served by a kitchen confident enough to put it in front of foreigners.

The garden, the wooden house and the training programme are the reasons you stay for a third round of plates.

Frequently asked questions

What is Marum best known for?
Creative Khmer tapas — including stir-fried red ants with prahok sauce and Siem Reap fish soup with tamarind and galangal.
Who runs Marum?
Tree Alliance, a network of training restaurants that prepares marginalised young people for careers in hospitality.
Is Marum expensive?
It sits above neighbourhood eatery prices. With the tapas format, budget three to four plates per person.
Does Marum have vegetarian dishes?
Yes — the tapas menu is built across vegetarian, seafood and meat plates.

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