Good Food, Good Cause: Epic Arts Cafe: Kampot, Cambodia

Hummus & olive bagel bursting with veggies

When we travel to a new town, we usually like to visit several different eating establishments, trying a little bit at many places.
Sometimes, however, we find ourselves patronizing the same joint when we like a place enough. There's something comfortable about frequenting a place enough so the staff recognizes you. It makes you feel a bit at home.
In Kampot, Cambodia, Epic Arts Cafe is where we often found ourselves for breakfast. Not only do your dollars get you high quality clean food, they fund an important mission as well. 

The name derives from Every Person Counts. The organization, founded in the UK, strives to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities around the world. Here in Asia, people tend to look away from people with disabilities. At least in our classes in Korea, students with developmental delays would often get ignored. As a teacher, it was difficult to watch how these students were treated. Even if we made efforts to include them in the lesson, we knew that they were left to fend for themselves the rest of the week in their normal classes. We're not sure if it is a similar situation in Cambodia, but from what we gather, there are a handful of organizations aiding this population.
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Epic Arts is one of them. The organization helps provide opportunities for disabled people to work and have a  safe spot to hang out. They’re valued and respected individuals in an inclusive society. Epic Arts encourages people to express themselves through art and creativity.

The cafe is just one of many ways Epic Arts outreaches its mission. Most of the employees at the cafe are deaf, so you should order by writing it down the provided paper. If you’re feeling confident, you can use some sign language as instructed in the creative menu.
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There are also workshops for people to express themselves through art. In the gallery a few doors over, one can find handmade crafts for sale. Individually drawn greeting cards, high quality scarves, and They make for unique souvenirs far superior to keychains and magnets.

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The cream cheese and roast vegetable bagel comes with an overload of veggies bursting with flavor. We also ordered the hummus and olive oil bagel, which was served with a fistful of fresh vegetables laden with Kampot pepper. The hummus was delightful as well, a rarity in these of the world. 

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Roasted vegetables bagel

Humms & olive bagel

The couscous and chickpea salad with tzatziki sauce is not to be missed. It filled me up for hours. The crunchy Kerala salad was served on a wooden cutting board. It’s hard to come by super fresh vegetables in Asia and when we do, we worry a bit about the water in which they are washed. Epic Arts Cafe washes their vegetables in clean water, so there won’t be an issue if you have a sensitive stomach.

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​There are plenty of desserts to satisfy your sweet tooth. We only tried the apple pie, which we would recommend. Make sure to request them to warm it up! We eyed the ice creams and giant cookies, but were too full each time to even consider.

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You convinced me. How can I visit the cafe and gallery?

 cafe is near a park, but easy to miss. The blue awning has a nondescript sign, so be on the lookout. You can sit outside, but don’t forget to check out the relaxed upstairs. Have a look at the menu and try not to drool or get overzealous and order too much. You’ll probably be back again. We were. Several times.

Address: #67 Oosaupia Muoy | Sovann Sakor, Kompong Kanda,Kampot, Cambodia (look for the corner restaurant with a blue awning. Across from the park)
Phone Number: +855 92 922 069
Hours: 7:00 am – 4:00 pm
Facebook Page

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​Did you visit Epic Arts Cafe? What did you think? Comment below!