Kambuja

Many of us are familiar with the vibrant cuisines of Vietnam and Thailand but Cambodian, or Khmer, food is still relatively unexplored territory in the UK. Kambuja in Marple is one of the country’s few dedicated Cambodian restaurants – and it’s a good one. It received rave reviews in the national press when it opened in 2017 under its former name of Angkor Soul.

Kambuja is on the pulse in more ways than one, with an extensive vegan menu making use of the original Asian ingredient tofu, and currently hip meat substitute seitan, which has been used for thousands of years as a protein-source for Buddhist monks in Asia.

Dedicated carnivores needn’t blanch, as there’s plenty of bone stock, lemongrass chicken and seafood to get stuck into.

Packed-out evenings led Kambuja to introduce a lunch option for locals who are lapping up the chance to try something truly different in a county that defines multicultural.

Sadly, they’re not serving fried spiders yet but you never know what will be hot in the north next year.