“We’d had lots of good meals in Siem Reap and expected Phnom Penh to be much the same. Well, not having Angkor Wat just down the road meant comparatively fewer tourist destinations. Still, we found plenty of good things to eat and only a couple of disappointments.” Kay and Dave review some of Phnom Penh’s places to eat.
“This was our first trip to Phnom Penh and we had decided to splash out a bit. Billed as ‘Phnom Penh’s most comfortable hotel’, the Bougainvillier seemed like a good bet. At $83 per night for a suite we were expecting something seriously good.” Kay and Dave look at some of the places to stay along Phnom Penh’s Sisowath Quay.
“On our first visit to Siem Reap in April 2006, we went to the Ivy just to play pool and drink beer. The next time, encouraged by a look at the menu, we thought we’d try eating there too. It seemed a popular choice; on the Saturday evening when we decided to eat there, there were only two empty tables in the place.” Find out how we fared in the Ivy during our July 2006 visit to Siem Reap…
“The wood-fired oven was producing a fair amount of both heat and smoke, so we hesitated to sit down there. Fortunately they’ve got tables out at the back, in a little alleyway running parallel to Bar Street. Sitting out there was surprisingly pleasant, with more of the air of a Mediterranean town back street than a South East Asian one.” Kay and Dave go for pizza, pasta and more besides at Siem Reap’s Pissa Italiana.
“The houmous was liquid; you needed a spoon to serve it, and it refused to stay on the pitta bread. The moutabel, on the other hand, was too dry and stodgy. Considering that you can get bigger, better quality portions at Molly Malone’s just down the street, we felt rather cheated.” Kay and Dave relate their very variable experiences at the Soup Dragon in Siem Reap.
“We like to sample a variety of things if we can, rather than wade through a plateful of a single dish each. So we ordered five different dishes. Neither of us had ever had banana flower salad or palm heart salad before, but we were intrigued at the prospect.” Kay and Dave have a gourmet experience at the Carnets d’Asie restaurant in Siem Reap…