Kep Crab Market: Buying and Eating Fresh Crab

What the market is for

Kep is a small seaside town on Cambodia's southern coast, and its reputation rests on crab. The market is where that reputation plays out in practice: a working seafood stop where you choose your own catch and have it prepared on the spot.

The local twist is the seasoning. Crab here is cooked with Kampot pepper, a regional speciality with a strong, distinctive flavour. Many visitors come to Kep for this single meal.

How buying and cooking works

Expect vendors to approach you with fresh crabs as soon as you arrive. You buy from them directly, then pass the crabs to the market's cooks to be prepared.

The cooking service costs around $2 per bag. You can watch it being done, which is part of the appeal.

1. Choose and buy your crabs from a vendor.
2. Hand them over to the cooks at the market.
3. The crabs are quartered into smaller pieces.
4. They are seasoned with Kampot pepper.
5. They are cooked until the meat is tender and juicy.

Practical tips

• Vendors come to you, so decide beforehand roughly how much crab you want rather than buying on the first approach.
• The $2 per bag figure covers the cooking, not the crabs themselves, so ask the vendor for the crab price before you agree.
• Stay near the cooking area if you want to see your crabs prepared.

Combining it with the rest of Kep

The market sits well within a day trip or overnight stay in Kep. Other things nearby include Kep Beach, the Kep Blue Crab Statue and Kep National Park, so you can plan a walk or a swim around the meal. A map link is provided below to help you find the market.