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Eating out in Phnom Penh


KenW

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Phnom Penh is a small city compared to what Thailand residents or regular travelers are used to. Nevertheless, it has a variety of dining events that grant it the status of a decent place to be stuck in.

Khmer food remains a mystery to me. On all my trips there (5 I think in all now) I have sampled so-called Khmer nosh, only to be convinced that it is some mish mash of Thai and Vietnamese cuisines. Rice with fish is a staple meal, while noodle soups and fried noodles abound. Tom yum and other well known dishes are standard fare.

I don't know if there is any defining Khmer dish or dishes. Obviously I have no idea what people eat at home.

But for a foreigner, there is plenty to choose from, and I have yet to have a bad meal in the place, so it bears up under belly scrutiny.

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My favourite PP restaurant is called La Dolce Vita, obviously offering Italian fare.

It is conveniently located about 100m down the street from Rainbow Bar on 178St, so forms a perfect location to wine and dine before heading up the road to take in the Rainbow LB Cabaret.

Pasta dishes are like 3.50 USD, starters a bit less. Beers cheap (I USD) and carafes of wine, Tel, are 5 dollars for half a litre. (How does that compare with Wan Cafe? I forget.)

Their pasta is genuinely delicious. Though run and chefed by Cambodians, it has not run down in quality as many so-called European eateries in Asia do once the initial involvement of the Italian, French or whatever owner leaves off. La DV continues to be of excellent quality and good value.

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My favourite PP restaurant is called La Dolce Vita, obviously offering Italian fare.

Beers cheap (I USD) and carafes of wine, Tel, are 5 dollars for half a litre. (How does that compare with Wan Cafe? I forget.)

That's a great price Ken, 5 dollars is approx 160 Baht, we were paying 200 Baht including tip per carafe. :drinks:

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Has anyone tried the NEW LATITUDE wines made in Thailand?

When I was in Hua Hin last December I stumbled upon a wine store that had a fairly large selection of Thai wines. I was always reluctant to buy Thai wine thinking it would be terrible. However this store was well appointed, decorated, and the staff were very helpful and seemed to know what they were talking about. I asked them many questions and they answered intelligently and appeared to be well informed about the product they were selling. They were offering a test sampling of 6 of their wines, 3 red and 3 white. I was impressed with them all and found the whites excellent. So much so I returned many days afterwards to indulge and bought a number of bottles of my favourite white to bring back to Canada. They are called "New Latitude" wines and can be surprising in taste.

BigTel,

Next time we meet in LOS we'll share a bottle (or two). Goes for you too Ken. :drinks:

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The main part of Phnom Penh is built adjacent the Tonle Sap, a large waterway, that just down from the main drag meets the mighty Mekong. Along the Tonle Sap side lies the so-called riverside, the strand, the esplanade, the quay, officially named Sisowath.

This is the Tonle Sap:

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Sisowath Quay is one continuous feast of eateries and drinkeries, punctuated by the occasional travel agent, bank or souvenir shop. I don't have any particular favourite place in the area, for there are so many. Most have extensive happy hours where you can get excellent prices for your beer. My mate bubba and I drank at one last week, for instance, where you get a jug of Angkor draft for 3 USD. And happy hour was buy one get one free. Each jug boasted 4 handle glasses. So we drank 8 beers for 3 bucks. How good is that?

Most of these places have fair to good nosh as well, and I have over the years eaten some delicious meals looking over the water, enjoying the breeze off the river and watching the world go by, ensconced in a comfy wicker chair.

Here I am enjoying lunch with PP LBs Lisa (back before she went crazy) on the left, and Lily, at one such bar:

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For us old farts who aren't out all night so need some sustenance reasonably early in the morning, it helps to stay at a joint that provides breakfast. In my case this was Golden House Hotel on 136 St, at 30 USD/night.

Now at first blush this sounds a tad expensive, but apart from its ideal location, the establishment offers a good brekkie, worth at least 5 or 6 bucks if bought at one of the adjacent eateries. So that kind of reduces the overnight tariff to something much more reasonable.

The brekkie is a wide choice menu, most offerings being standard Southeast Asia B&B fodder: eggs, bacon/ham, toast or baguette, coffee/tea and orange juice. Some menu items offer other things like jam or muesli. You can also get chao soup (rice gruel) if you want to go Khmer.

I found it a useful way to start the day.

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Thanks BB, so that's where Viva is in PP! ~ I must have walked past it a dozen times and not noticed.

I've eaten at their Siem Reap restaurant several times and always enjoyed it, you can't miss it up there. Mexican is one of my favourite foods but a bit of a rarity where I live the UK for some reason.

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Thanks BB, so that's where Viva is in PP! ~ I must have walked past it a dozen times and not noticed.

I've eaten at their Siem Reap restaurant several times and always enjoyed it, you can't miss it up there. Mexican is one of my favourite foods but a bit of a rarity where I live the UK for some reason.

Don't mention it DC. There is also a Kebab restaurant beside the Indian Delight that looks promising although I never tried it. Great to have a kebab, Indian and Mexican so close together, and Street 104 next door to top it all off.

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Don't mention it DC. There is also a Kebab restaurant beside the Indian Delight that looks promising although I never tried it. Great to have a kebab, Indian and Mexican so close together, and Street 104 next door to top it all off.

I've found online reviews for you of all three places.

http://www.khmer440.com/k/2012/03/phnom-penh-restaurant-reviews-beirut/

http://www.khmer440.com/k/2012/03/phnom-penh-restaurant-reviews-indian-delight/

http://www.khmer440.com/k/2011/12/phnom-penh-restaurant-reviews-viva-mexican-restaurant/

Go back a block (a two minute walk) and there's also a very comfortable sit down Khmer place

http://www.khmer440.com/k/2012/03/phnom-penh-restaurant-reviews-sophys-restaurant/

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For tasty, reasonably priced ... Mexican food ... just before you arrive at Street 104.

Soc999, bubba and I ate a very enjoyable lunch at Viva. I had a chicken burrito which was the real deal, served with the usuals and a salad. As I recall Soc also ate mex while bubba ate a Thai curry dish. Highly pliable eatery.

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Another of my favourite eateries in PP is Lyon d'Or, at # 12-14 on 110 St. French cuisine with bits of other European fare added on. Expensive, but for one or two nights on a trip, what the hell.

The food is excellent, the service attentive and close by, with some staff having top English. The owner appears to be a Chinese Khmer (judging by his looks), and I gather he is rolling in dough. Good luck to him.

I took Lulu there one evening back in January, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. I recall Lulu tackling a spaghetti bolognese, which I had to help her finish. Large serves.

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'Beirut', which is owned by Christian Lebanese, is fantastic and it's well worth having a plate of mixed mezze before you start on the kebabs.

Any address details PPB? I can't find it in my PP eating guide.

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Another delightful French joint: La P'tite France, at #8, 118 St.

For some reason my January notes show this as Francais rather than France, but the Trip Advisor website gives it as I've first put it up here. Maybe I was just too drunk and hallucinating about the spelling.

A no fuss bistro with good nosh. Trip Advisor reviewers rate it #8 out of 300-odd eateries for PP listed.

Here's Lily eating with me back then:

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I seem to have slipped (unintentionally) into a French mode, so I may as well continue that for one more post.

It's Bougainvillea on Sisowath Quay, number 277G, down towards that big frightening gap in the road heading for the Foreign Correspondents' Club and all the eateries at that end.

I only went there once, back in my earliest visits to PP when I went with a straight mate from Saigon. He would go to the casino some evenings whence I would zip round to Blue Chilli or wherever. I enjoyed those visits, for he was good company, even though I couldn't be the real me in his presence. But he loved (loves) French cuisine. His favourite. So on the final night of that one visit he asks me, where shall we spend out final evening in town?

Bougainvillea I said, you love French so much. I had read about it, so I added: bring your credit card.

Well, we needed to. It was rather expensive. But good (I recall eating lamb; don't remember what he had). The bill was one scarey number. His crestfallen demeanour told it all - he didn't like spending money.

O well I told him: you do so adore French tucker.

I'd recommend it. The sort of place to go if you're invited by your boss (and he's paying).

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If pressed, I would rate La Dolce Vita (post #2 pic by Ken), as my favorite PP restaurant. Not high end dining but rather cheap delicious Italian food.

The establishment I most often frequent would be Mekong River. They have a buffet breakfast for 2.75 plus a 25 cent tip makes it 3 bucks or 90 baht. What makes the brekkie work for me is unlimited coffee that's quite good. And I also have a couple rolls with butter and some rice, sometimes a Danish too, and perhaps some watered down OJ.

I'll sit there for quite a while sipping coffee and reading the Cambodia Daily or Phnom Penh Post from the magazine rack.

There's a pic by Ken in Post #6. Note the all u can eat does not include Lily or Lisa's dark girltool.

BB and I used to go there and drink 3 bucks (90 baht) jugs of draft beer which compares favorably with the Pattaya Beer Garden. Or u can buy by the glass for 25 baht.

I also like The Laughing Fatman on Street 172, a mellow place for burgers etc. Good vibe. Same street as Rainbow Bar, La Dolce Vita, and right next Bohr's Books, an excellent bookstore.

I like Mexican food but am not a fan of Viva which it seems like everyone else likes so maybe I was in a bad mood or caught the chef on the wrong night.

Whatever I ordered, maybe an enchillada or burrito was cold on the inside so it wasn't in the microwave long enough.

The place was empty, but one of the waiters decided to stand like a sentry within earshot of our table. I hate when my space is invaded and don't want to tell a waiter to go away.

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The establishment I most often frequent would be Mekong River. They have a buffet breakfast for 2.75 plus a 25 cent tip makes it 3 bucks or 90 baht. What makes the brekkie work for me is unlimited coffee that's quite good. And I also have a couple rolls with butter and some rice, sometimes a Danish too, and perhaps some watered down OJ.

I'll sit there for quite a while sipping coffee and reading the Cambodia Daily or Phnom Penh Post from the magazine rack.

There's a pic by Ken in Post #6. Note the all u can eat does not include Lily or Lisa's dark girltool.

BB and I used to go there and drink 3 bucks (90 baht) jugs of draft beer

Yes, you can't argue with 3 bucks for a jug. That's 4 big handle style glasses at 75 cents a glass. Good drinking. And, I might add, in my opinion that Angkor draft is a fine beer to guzzle.

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Speaking of breakfasts, one of my other favourite places is Noodle House at corner of 130 and 5 Sts.

Has outdoor and indoor seating. The guy stands outside the front door early in the mornings, making his own noodles. Interesting.

The soups are reminiscent of VNese styles, but are definitely not VNese soups. Similar but engagingly different. Big bowls, a full brekkie for one such as I am.

Here's Lily noshing with me there one morning:

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A cool quiet place to lunch is called Leafage. A small cafe with a few indoor tables and an L shaped outside area (it's on a corner) with tables accompanied by more of the grandiose PP wicker chairs.

Location is down in the Rainbow Bar area, but as I failed to take exact notes, and it's not in my eating guide, I can't be sure. Help, you local guys. It's on one of the streets parallel to the RB street, which from memory makes it a 160-something street. It's at the corner with 19 St, or one of those teen streets anyhow.

I recall meals like tuna salads which were refreshing in the humid climate. Very relaxing place to have a long iced tea or other cold drink, and enjoy the peace and calm which would only be broken when one of the small set of PP jerks - expats who desperately need attention, and to be seen & heard - would roar around the corner at a squillion decibels and 5 miles an hour on their big pumping unnecessarily loud movieset motorscooters.

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