pinaywifespeaks » Cambodia Restaurants

Food Trip Friday: Cheap Buffet at Thansur Bokor

Lui — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:09:47 +0000

Two weeks ago, we went up Bokor Mountains to check out the new road and the new resort/casino as well as some sights there. Whenever we go on road trips like this, we usually don’t pack a lot of food, just the basic snacks. The kiddo doesn’t like eating ‘old’ cold food and we always try to eat somewhere local.

We did the same thing this time, but I was also apprehensive if there was any food places up there coz as far as I know the casino has just had its soft opening and not all facilities are operational yet. But I needn’t have to worry as we found out when we got there coz they have a coffee shop as well as an Asian buffet. Check out their web site – Thansur Bokor.

Hungry as we were, it was no brainer that we opted to go buffet. The whole spread cost $6 only. Which was a great great deal coz it was not a measly spread. There were a lot of options, vegetable salads, fruit salads, vegetarian dishes, Asian and stir fried viands, soups, porridge, plain and fried rice, drinks plus lots of breads. I didn’t take photos of the buffet table as there were a lot of people there and I think it would be rude.

I took snapshots of our plate though. Here’s what hubby and I shared:

my veggie salad. their dressings are really good.

fish fillet with shredded mango salad, pork and tofu saute, some pastries.

my fruit plate. I had two servings of this. It was that good.

I also love the bold decor. I usually think too much color like this becomes an eyesore, but they somehow managed to keep it together. And it was an easy guess that I would beeline for this purple seating. Of course, I could never resist anything purple. Ha!

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Food Trip Friday: Khmer Stilt & Hammock House

Lui — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:04:00 +0000

A friend told me a few weeks ago that I’m lucky, I’m in the front row seat when it comes to experiencing Khmer cuisine. I mean real Khmer food. The one’s cooked at home, not those delicious but often ‘fusion’ or tweaked food to suit the visitor’s palate. I never really thought about it, but then most of these things I consider ‘normal’ or a daily routine. I eat mostly Khmer food now, so I guess I took it for granted.

Sure there are a lot of Khmer restaurants around, but those catering specially for tourists don’t really offer the real Khmer food. More like a semblance of Khmer food. I think its a bit hard to find, authentic Khmer food in those restos. Probably, the most usual Khmer fare that tourists and some expats taste would be amok and lok lak which is a shame coz the country has a lot to offer in terms of food. Take for instance, their wide variety of samlors (soups), its a must try but they are often hard to find. That’s why if you have Khmer friends and you get invited to their homes to eat, I would suggest jump at the offer (I know it sounds mercenary but..) you might be in for a little palate adventure.

While its a bit hard to find authentic Khmer fare in most city restos, you can still find something close to it across the Japanese bridge. I’ll let you on a little secret: this place is my favorite place to relax during weekends – those little stilt huts with hammocks along the river! Mind you, these places aren’t posh, and not for those who prefer their napkins to be sparkling white. But its an experience you’d find in no other place. This is an entirely Khmer affair and celebrates the Khmer love for lounging around on mats, hammocks and food.

There are a couple of places like this a few minutes drive away from the Japanese bridge, but the ones we usually go to are the one’s near the Chinese temple. I’m not sure exactly about the directions and the restaurants usually have Khmer names. But these places are a fantastic places to relax, be with family and friends. The food is also cheap and really really really delicious.

Just a few weekends ago, we went there again to enjoy the food and some quiet time. Here’s some pic spam..

The food..

grilled shrimps with garlic-chili sauce, served with herbs, cucumbers & tomatoes

chicken stir-fried with ginger & spring onions

samlor koh kor – veggies, fish, spices and flavored with roasted rice..this is super delicious.

Nice, relaxing place..

fabulous river views..

little huts for some privacy

the super happy to be there kiddo. she loves the hammocks obviously.

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Food Trip Friday: Spicy Sausage Pasta

Lui — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:34:40 +0000

A few days ago, I was just tagging along with hubby and the kiddo. They were on a date, and I was the third wheel hahaha. Yes, we do have this ‘date’ time with our daughter every once in a while. During the ‘date’ it was our kiddo’s choice that’s usually followed (within reason, ok?). That day, she wanted to eat pizza and pasta (sigh, what else is new?) and she picked Pizza Company.

She chose this: Spicy Sausage Pasta. This pasta is serious about being spicy. There were about 5 large dried red chilies on it, not counting the chopped/sprinkled chili. It was just WOW!! Since she can’t eat much of it, I had to finish it but it was good and I managed to eat all of it along with almost a pitcher of soda. LOL.

We also had this sausage-stuffed crust seafood pizza, which was okay. At least it wasn’t spicy. The taste I think has been adjusted to suit Khmer palates, its a bit sweet and not too much tomato sauce on it.

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Food Trip Friday: Tasty Khmer Food at Neth Socheata Siem Reap

Lui — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 04:14:37 +0000

We were really hungry by the time we arrived in Siem Reap at around 2 pm. After dumping our backpacks in our hotel we wandered about in search for food, and we chanced upon a small alley near Pub Street. We picked out this resto called Neth Socheata on a whim. We had no idea about what they served but it looked like food and yes, our prime concern was to be fed. We were that hungry. Haha. The nice colorful interior also looked inviting enough.

We ordered Fish Fillet in Olive Oil and Herbs, Beef with Veggies and Basil. I also got a refreshing drink of watermelon shake.

And one word about what we ate: Delicious!

Neth Socheata Hotel and Restaurant
84, 2Thnou Street, directly opposite the Old Market, Siem Reap

you can enter the small alley from Thnou Street (near Old Forest shop) or you can also enter via Pokombor Ave. (alley right next to Body Tune Massage)

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Food Trip Friday: Steak Kitchen Again

Lui — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:52:22 +0000

My first dining experience in Steak Kitchen with the Queen of Wishful Shrinking wasn’t exactly a very impressive experience, so I was really surprised that I gave the place several more chances. It could be that there are only a few places you can eat in Sovanna Mall that isn’t so crowded and maybe because my daughter became a huge fan of their Seafood Crumbed Platter (huge platter for less than $5!).

Now Steak Kitchen has become a family favorite. And luckily the first time lackluster dining experience was not repeated and all subsequent meals we had there has been really good. They have an extensive menu and very very affordable prices.

Here’s what I had last time.. Grilled Chicken Breast with Pepper Sauce and Grilled Pork Chop.

An entry for

Steak Kitchen is located at 5th Level, Sovanna Shopping Center, Phnom Penh Cambodia

Food Trip Friday: River View Cafe, Siem Reap Cambodia

Lui — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:11:19 +0000

This is one gem of a restaurant find among the huge number of restaurants in Siem Reap. My sister and I were just looking for a cup of coffee after a leisurely stroll in Old Market when we came across a cozy little cafe along the riverside called River View Cafe.

We sat down on one of their comfy wicker chairs and ordered coffee. It was good, so my sister checked out their menu and ordered a serving of ‘River View Sandwich’ – bacon, grilled chicken sandwich. She thought it would be something light and small, but what we got we could barely finish between the two of us and it only cost $4. It was really really good. Served with coleslaw salad and fries.

Further scanning of the menu revealed that they had some Filipino food, so we asked the friendly waitress why is that so. Turns out the wife of the owner is a Filipina. We got introduced, they were both friendly and we promised to come back for breakfast. Their breakfast was just WoW! Huge servings. And to think we ordered the ‘smallest’ breakfast in the menu but we can’t even finish half of it. Breakfast prices range from $3 (for pancake set – 2 big pancakes, 2 eggs cooked any way you want it, potatoes ‘n onions, fruit bowl and orange juice) to $5 for the BIG breakfast. And its worth every penny.

And oh, the breakfast in photo is served with a bowl of sliced fresh fruits and orange juice I just forgot to take photos coz..well I was overwhelmed. Lol. Our small table was overloaded with plates and it was enough to feed a small army.

I would recommend this little restaurant and I would be going back there whenever I’m in Siem Reap. I think their breakfast has me hooked. It’s right along the riverside (beside Body Tune Massage and Kampuccino Cafe), a block after Old Market, central but away from noisy Pub/Alley Street. Just the right place if you want some quiet.

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Food Trip Friday: Malaysian Food @ D’Nyonya Central Market

Lui — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 02:27:58 +0000

I love Malay food. It’s one of the cuisines I constantly crave. Thankfully, there are lots of restaurants here in Phnom Penh serving Malay food so my cravings are usually easily catered to. There’s the Singporean versions, there’s the authentic Malaysian food, Penang curries etc.. And you can also find places catering to different budgets. You can actually be spoiled for choice.

One of our favorites would be D’Nyonya Restaurant. It’s centrally located, right next to Central Market and the best place to grab a bite of Malay food after shopping. Prices are good, and the food is really good. It’s Malaysian owned and quite popular with their community here in Phnom Penh judging by the constant stream of patrons during lunch hours.

Just a few weeks ago, Sreisaat and I had this really bad craving for Char Keuw Teuw so we met up there to have our fill.

Its was soooo good. I only ended up craving for more when we were done eating. I don’t know but Char Keuw Teuw for me is just super yummy! It’s a riot of flavors and I like it a bit spicy with a smoky/burned aftertaste. And this one just hit the right notes.

I love fruit juices and this one’s pretty special ( I know it looks weird for some..lol!) . Passion Fruit Juice aka Markissa Juice in their menu. It’s a bit sour-sweet, just the way I like it.

An entry for

Restaurant D’Nyonya (also check out their website)
No.91Eo ,Street 126 Central Market , Phnom Penh -Cambodia
Phone : 023998408

Food Trip Friday: Phnom Penh’s Napoli Pizza

Lui — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:29:06 +0000

Yes, you all already know me, hubby and the kiddo are really just pizza eating machines pretending to be human. Lol. And a few Saturdays ago, we were just driving around when we thought of refueling out tummies with what else but pizza. So we headed over to Kampuchea Krom Blvd, thinking of just grabbing a pizza at Pizza Company. But parking there is like expecting to find a 100 dollar bill on a crowded sidewalk so we just drove on.

A few blocks after, my daughter screamed, ‘ I see PIZZA!!’. She was pointing at a resto called Naples Pizza. So of course, we had to go try it. And thank God we did. I think I have a new favorite pizza place here in Phnom Penh!

I like the huge variety of pizza’s you can choose from on their menu. They also have Greek, Canadian pizzas and lot and lots of other choices. But of course, we had to try out first the thin crust, sausage stuffed seafood pizza. And it was soooooo good.

I had iced coffee..

They also had free desserts (taro and tapioca pearls in sweet coconut milk) which was nice, though I forgot to take photos of that.

The service was also efficient and friendly. Prices are affordable, and they also have free pizza promotions during weekdays. Let’s just say, I’ll be going back there again soon to try the other pizzas. I do wish they’d have more branches closer to city center..

Food Trip Friday: Bopha Titanic Restaurant

Lui — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:47:06 +0000

Bopha Titanic Restaurant along Sisowath Quay, Phnom Penh is popular with the tourist crowd. And its not really that surprising, it has great location – riverside, extensive menu (Khmer, Thai, and western fares) and the place is spacious.

We love going there for Khmer food, and just to relax and take in the river breeze. Hubby and I both like Khmer and Thai food, while the kiddo prefers pastas and we get all of this in one place. We also love the ambiance, the attentive staff and of course, the food is yummy. Prices are mid-range.

Here’s what we had last time we went there. Khmer Seafood Ma-am Stew- I can’t get enough of this! Its sooo delicious and you’d need unlimited servings of rice with this one. They serve this with lots of veggies to tame the strong salty flavor.

We also had seafood glass noodles which was also great but my camera’s battery died on me so no photos of that..The kiddo as usual ordered her Pasta Bolognese with Garlic Bread. Yum. And the serving is huge.

I’m sooo looking forward to going back there again. Soon.

An entry for:

Food Trip Friday: Pizza World’s 1+1 Free!

Lui — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 03:35:32 +0000

Here’s one of our favorite foodie deals here in Phnom Penh. We always give ourselves a pizza treat every week and this is not hard to do since Pizza World Phnom Penh has some really great deal. Buy one medium/large pizza and get 1 free! So two large pizzas would just cost about $11+. A sublime deal for pizza gluttons like us, hahaha! This is not available for delivery though. You have to be at their store, but you can eat your pizza there or take it out. Right now they have this promo every Friday ( I wonder if they still have it on Tuesdays too?) so Phnom Penhois head over there for some pizza love. Be prepared to wait your turn though.

Here’s what we had for last week..

Meat Lovers Pizza

+ 1 Seafood Pizza (the kiddo’s fave and the only pizza she eats. Lol. She ate almost half of this!)

Yum! I’m getting for another load of this tonight.. Lol. Pizza glutton, indeed.

Food Trip Friday: The Steak Kitchen Seafood Platter and Grilled Fish

Lui — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 09:51:46 +0000

Two Tuesday’s ago, the Queen of Wishful Shrinking and I tried out The Steak Kitchen @ 5th Level Sovanna Mall, Phnom Penh. The food was okay, really nothing to write home about. We had combo meat and chicken steak platters that time. It was not bad, just on the average scale. The great thing was the serving (it was huge!),the price was low considering the heaps of food you’ll be getting and the panoramic view of this side of Phnom Penh is a definite plus to this resto. Anyway, I’ll do a full review of that lunch on another blog.

Last weekend, Chinks and I decided to give their fish a try. You know after the Christmas parties and the food mostly meat and greasy, I was really wanting to eat fish. Preferably grilled. So off we went to The Steak Kitchen. And we ordered this:

Crumbed Seafood Platter – $4.90 – this was really good. Fish, Prawns and Scallops. The kiddo loved it soo much she managed to finish it all.

Grille Fish Fillet – $3.50 – Grilled just the way I like it. This was served with coleslaw and a plateful of french fries.

Hmm, great value for money. Would try out other combo’s next.

Food Trip Friday: Mouthwatering Food @ DM Dimsum

Lui — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:22:23 +0000

I have always been partial to Chinese cuisine. I could eat dimsum/noodles all day. And I’m not kidding you. Thankfully, Phnom Penh has its share of restaurants offering dimsum on their menus. We’ve tried out several places near Central Market and recently we have discovered another dimsum place near Olympic Market. I’ve been passing by this restaurant called DM Dimsum Restaurant for some months already but it was only last week that I got to try it out.

We attended the media screening for Puss in Boots at Legend Cinema in City Mall and afterwards, Sreisaat and I can’t quite make up our mind about where to grab our lunch. Then I remembered that this place was just a few minutes walk from City Mall so we tried it..

And had a yummy whale of a time. And no we did not go binge eating. Not really. Hahaha. {Defensive much!} But it was tempting. They serve unlimited rice!?#@

pickled appetizer..

very very tasty siomai..

lemon chicken.. very subtly flavored.

sticky rice with fillings. super delicious! and to think we already ate rice. hahaha.. yeah were gluttons.

PS. We’ll be doing full restaurant/travel reviews on another blog – Go. Eat. Write. So you can read about our future food hunts there.

Food Trip Friday: Vietnamese Food @ Magnolia

Lui — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:57:01 +0000

A few months back, Sreisaat and I went to this Vietnamese restaurant called Magnolia. In fact, I already featured one dish we ate there here on Food Trip Friday – a dish called Banh Chao. I was feeling lazy that time and I didn’t include the full review of the resto. Now that I’ve got a bit of time, here’s the rest of the photos of the resto and the rest of the meal.

Magnolia is housed on a lovely old French-Khmer villa along St. 51, Phnom Penh. They have some outdoor seating as well as some indoor seats. I kinda like the garden setting, it was breezy and the place evokes a very homey feeling and would encourage you to linger and enjoy the food.

We wanted a light meal so we ordered a salad – Beef Sesame Watercress Salad(I forgot what they named this on the menu..lol!). This was really yummy. And the serving was huge we couldn’t even finish it! The beef was really tender and the watercress so fresh and adding a crunch in each bite.

Our Banh Chao..

And of course, we just had to have iced coffee milk.

Hmm, we had some really healthy, value for money food. This is one affordable restaurant, the servings were really big and good enough to share for 2-4 persons, the casual ambiance and cheerful service an added plus.

Food Trip Friday: Boran’s Pad Thai

Lui — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 05:44:44 +0000

I’ve been passing by this little restaurant called Boran, along St. 51 and I keep telling myself I wanna try the food there. The place looks homey, the food they offer looks home cooked and they are always packed full during lunch hours. So I figured they probably have good food. So Sreisaat and I went over there yesterday and my hunch was right on. Affordable (most items on the menu were priced below $3) and sooo yummy Khmer-Thai food. They also have unlimited rice servings.

I had Pad Thai. Love the big serving, how its arranged on the platter. You get to mix it yourself which is a great way to serve it coz say some don’t want bean sprouts or peanuts.. But I do love everything on my Pad Thai and this one exceeds expectations. I love the subtle flavor, its not too overwhelming. Just yummy. Were definitely going back to this place and try out their other offerings.

Food Trip Friday: The Noodle House Phnom Penh

Lui — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 01:45:19 +0000

This ‘feature’ is long overdue. Sreisaat, the Queen of Wishful Shrinking and I actually went on this ‘Noodle House’ food trip a month or so ago. Lol. But life happened and I also forgot to download the photos from my camera. I should really just stick to using one camera for blogging coz I always forget where I stuck the photos.

Anyway, we were invited to a movie screening by the ever generous Legend Cinema Phnom Penh and afterwards we were starving. Yes, popcorns and cola weren’t enough for us. You know, we do have a big appetite hahaha.. So we checked out our Phnom Penh Drinking and Dining guidebooks and picked out The Noodle House. I guess we were in the mood for some noodle goodness. It’s located a few blocks down from the riverfront in a lovely old colonial house.

Love the simple decor, the really friendly service and the food. The drinks menu was really interesting too. Here’s what I had.

Keuy Teuw in Spicy Coconut Soup.

Fruit-Mint Shake – the exact name on the menu escapes me now but you can bet it was a really interesting name.

Vegetarian Steamed Buns

Yummyness and very very affordable too! This was definitely a treat, and I must say I would prefer treating myself to this than buying myself call of duty modern warfare 3 xbox 360. Yes, that should tell something about moi. That.. my stomach comes first.

Noodle House

32A, St. 130

Tel. 077 919 110

Food Trip Friday: Nyonya Phnom Penh’s Nasi Lemak

Lui — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 02:33:12 +0000

I haven’t been out with friends in a while. Hmm, chores really has a way of keeping me too occupied. Thankfully, Phnom Penh’s Legend Cinema are ever generous with their screening invites so we took the chance to go see the advance screening of Johnny English. Perfect excuse to go out for me. I think I needed that break, I need a life I know hahaha, outside of cooking, doing laundry, cleaning and researching Wholesale Insurance. After the movie, my friend and I decided to try out a new Malaysian restaurant near Central Market. I don’t know which side of Central Market as I always get confused with this area. But a landmark would be PTC Computer store, the restaurant is a few doors down PTC.

Restaurant’s name is Nyonya and its good. Everything we tried was good. Here’s my pick: Nasi Lemak.

I love how Malaysians use chili and spices. It’s there but its not overpowering. Just the right amounts to add a zing and more flavor to each serving. For some reason when you look at the photo, it seems like the serving is small, but its not. I actually had a hard time to finish the rice. It would be great if they added more roasted dried fish {my fave!!!} but overall this Nasi Lemak from Nyonya gets my thumbs up.

Also loved the drink I ordered – Three Layer Tea. And the price? All these yumminess for less than $5. Will be doing a more thorough food trips review on our new collab-blog called Go Eat Write. And this resto’s definitely going to be featured there. Soon.

Food Trip Friday: Banh Chao

Lui — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 02:46:52 +0000

Yay! It’s Friday. Food Trip Friday time and its weekend! So what’s on the ‘blog table’?

This is a popular Vietnamese/Khmer dish called Banh Xeo. Khmers refer to it as Banh Chao but I personally called this Khmer pancakes. Lol. And its delicious. A must try. A few weeks ago a friend and I went to a food trip and decided on dining in at a Vietnamese-Khmer resto, Magnolia. We ordered Banh Chao and its was yummy. The serving was huge and very affordable too.

Banh Xeo/Banh Chao is made of rice flour crepes filled with ground pork, shrimps, and lots of bean sprouts. Its served with lettuce and whole smorgasbord of veggies. How is it eaten? Get your portion of the panacake, the fix your lettuce + veggies, then add in the pancake, wrap it with the lettuce, then dip on the sauce. And how does the Khmer version differ with the Vietnamese version? The sauce. Khmers love their pancake dipped in sweet-sour sauce with lots of ground peanuts.

Food Trip Friday: Fiery Khmer Salads

Lui — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 06:35:07 +0000

Last week, hubby and I were in a ‘let’s take the plunge’, who cares mood that we decided on eating really spicy salads for lunch. We picked Cafe Ekareach, a Khmer-Thai restaurant along Norodom Blvd. and ordered Seafood and Glass Noodle Salad and Spicy Beef La-ap.

Squid, Shrimps, Glass Noodles, Herbs and lots and lots of chili with sweet sour sauce..

Ground Beef, Herbs, Veggies and also a crazy amount of chili

And whooooooah! It was sooo hot and spicy, don’t ask me how many liters of cold tea I drank. Forgive the grainy photo of the La-ap I think I was already out of sorts because I already tasted the seafood salad and it was very spicy. But it also tasted sooo good.

Food Trip Friday: Cheesy Nachos

Lui — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 14:38:30 +0000

Nachos in a Korean fast food restaurant? Yup! This actually surprised me but I’m not complaining since I loooove this. Perfect appetizer, don’t you think? Cheesy nachos with sour cream and tomatoes. Where from? BBQ Chicken, a Korean fastfood resto located at Sorya Shopping Center, Phnom Penh..

Food Trip Friday: Mee {Noodles} on a Claypot

Lui — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 05:32:57 +0000

Errr, I did just post a \’noodle\’ feature last Friday, but you know what I’m posting another one this time. Hahaha. I know I’m not so original but what can one’s tummy do when its craving for something hot, steamy? This is my usual fare when I go to Sovanna Mall’s food court. Mee {yellow noodles} in claypot, seafood flavor. I specially love this when its raining and the weather here has been just that dreary since last week.

This is definitely good old comfort food for me. And I love the herbs and mint they put in the pot. I feel like it just vanquishes the cold virus threatening me. And best of all, its so cheap. 6000 Riels {about $1.2} for one pot including several slices of garlic bread.

pinaywifespeaks » Cambodia Restaurants

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