Back in 2001 we stumbled across a fantastic restaurant in the back streets of Phnom Penh in Cambodia. It was run by former street youth in training, by a charity called FRiENDS International. The more we learnt about the charity and the amazing work they do, the more we knew we wanted to get involved, so here we are…..

FRiENDS International works with marginalised urban children and youths to give them exciting opportunities to build their future. They now run and support projects for these children and their families in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar.

FRiENDS International has three restaurants in South-East Asia run by former street youth training – Friends the Restaurant, Romdeng and Makphet Restaurant. These are fantastic businesses that help students gain the skills and confidence to work in the hospitality industry. We have been to them all, and highly recommend a visit on your travels!

It was at Romdeng that we discovered a new favourite beer, Kingdom Pilsner. As soon as we tried it we knew we had to bring this discovery home with us. 20p from every bottle of Kingdom Pilsner sold will go to friends-international.org.

Alongside Kingdom Pilsner we will be doing events throughout the foodie year to raise money for our FRiENDS.