Falco C.
Google
I must have walked past the location 50 times but never saw a restaurant and was doubting the veracity of the listing. Well, we went to the indicated address but no restaurant, just a pharmacy. We walked around a bit, and I was about to give up when I looked inside an old staircase and sure enough, there was a well-hidden sign. Makes me wonder how much business they lose by not having a visible sign at the entrance.
The restaurant is actually quite nice, modelled after an old Khmer house. Lots of wood, rattan baskets, and chairs that weighed about 50 kilos. The menu is quite extensive. I saw a lot of reviews saying it is an authentic Khmer restaurant. It is not, and they do not purport to be one. Their slogan is “Food from the heart of the Mekong”, and as such there are many Vietnamese dishes featured.
We ordered a few juices, which were from $2.00 to $2.50. Drinks appeared quickly enough but then the restaurant was none too busy. Probably dozens of people that wanted to eat wandering outside but couldn’t find the entrance.
We were all hungry, so we ordered a fair bit. Namely Deep-fried Prawn with Minced Pork and Sesame ($7.20), Fried Quail Eggs and Grounded[sic] Fish ($7.20), Mother-in-law Eggs with Tamarind Sauce ($6.20), Grilled Beef with “La Lot” leaves, ($8.50), Beef with “Cang Cua” salad ($7.20), Wing Beans stir-fried with garlic ($4.50) and Shrimp with Pineapple Fried Rice ($8.80). Prices do include VAT but they do not include 7% service charge.
We had all the food within 25 minutes. Whilst we had ordered appetizers and mains, the food arrived haphazardly, as is the norm in Asian restaurants. The waitresses were not exactly talkative or overtly friendly. There was a manageress(?) who was friendly enough and passed our table a couple of times to inquire if all was in order.
The food came out very hot and was nicely presented. However, all the food was way too bland. I am not sure if they had run out of salt and other condiments in the kitchen or if the Chef doesn’t have tastebuds, but it wasn’t the most exciting meal I have ever had.
Take the “Cang cua” salad. I love that herb for its crunchy and mild flavour. Now, this was supposed to be a salad, but it came out as a stir-fried dish, which completely killed the flavour of the herb. The meat was on the tough side and the whole dish was bland. I could have killed for some salt or fish sauce, but neither was provided.
One of the better dishes was “Bo la lot” or grilled beef in betel leaf. Whilst the meat was bland, the betel leaves and accompanying herbs saved it. This is another Vietnamese dish, which doesn’t speak to well for the quality of Cambodian food.
Most of the fried items were well prepared but just lacked the flavour to make them good. The “mother-in-law” eggs were OK, though they were actually Thai “Son-in-law” eggs, or kai look keuy. Legend has it that a Thai lady made these for her son in law when she found out he treated her daughter badly. The not-so-subtle message: treat my daughter well, or your “eggs” are next.
The pineapple fried rice with shrimp was actually very good and would have been excellent with some seasoning. Crunchy fried rice, not the soggy mess that often passes as fried rice here. If only they had added the tiniest dashes of salt.
I saw a lot of reviews saying that the prices were exorbitant. I think that, whilst not exactly cheap for the smallish portions and bland taste, prices are actually fair enough, considering the interior of the restaurant and the efficient, if not exactly warm, service.
The one thing I did find annoying, and which resulted in a low score for service, was that the staff made it very obvious that they wanted to go home. The restaurant closes at 14:00 but it was 13:40 when they started to get itchy. Without us having asked for it, they came with the bill. A bill which, by the way, is in Khmer only even though there were two other tables with foreigners.
