Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Street 172
, or a little more upmarket (but much more laidback than the riverfront),
Boeng Keng Kang
- broadly Street
278 from streets 51 to 63, but extending to the area around 294 - packed with swish cafés, refined but reasonably priced
restaurants and bars. A further clutch of classy cafés and gastro-spots are found on
Street 240
between streets 7 and 19.
1
meat and vegetables in a pot of stock at your table,
there are plenty of establishments on Monivong and
Sihanouk blvds.
ESSENTIALS
Prices
You can easily eat for well below $5 if you stick to
market stalls, unfussy Cambodian restaurants and some of
the Indian and Chinese places. In backpacker guesthouses
you'll be able to eat for around $4, but once you venture
into tourist-centred and Western-oriented establishments,
prices rise and you'll be looking at around $4-7 for a simple
main course. In slightly plusher places, and those with a
prestigious location, expect to pay upwards of $6-10 for a
main, maybe slightly more. The most expensive places to
eat are in the restaurants of the premier hotels and in a few
independent establishments (many of them French),
where you could easily pay $15-20 and above for a main
course (especially if it involves imported meat), with extra
for vegetables and accompaniments.
Markets
The markets are great places to fill up on traditional
Khmer dishes: try the Central Market (see p.75) and Psar
Kabkoh, a few blocks southeast of Independence Monument,
where dozens of sellers cook into the early evening.
Street food
Stalls and roadside vendors sell simple
takeaway noodle and rice dishes for roughly 4000 riel,
while fresh baguettes and rolls are sold in the markets in
the morning and are available all day around the city from
hawkers with handcarts.
Self-catering and picnics
It's easy to buy fresh produce
and tinned goods from the markets; to buy Western
provisions such as cheese, yoghurt, chocolate and brown
bread, you'll have to go to one of the supermarkets (see
p.91). Fresh fruit can be bought from markets and at the
specialist stalls on Monivong Blvd south of Sihanouk, and
on Sihanouk Blvd itself southwest of the Olympic Stadium.
THE RIVERFRONT AREA
Bopha Phnom Penh (Titanic)
Sisowath Quay, just
south of the Tourist Docks
T
023 427209,
W
bopha
-phnompenh.com; map p.66.
A huge, decadent
restaurant and lounge bar with an open front looking over
the Tonle Sap. Gilt furnishings, wide wicker chairs and
ornamental water features abound, and the food is
perfectly good (fish fillet papillote $9.75), but the main
draw is the nightly apsara performance between 7 and
9pm.
Daily 6am-10pm.
Chi Cha
27 Street 110, near Psar Chas
T
023 220442;
map p.66.
Excellent, budget Bangladeshi-owned
restaurant in a seedy part of town: opt for the good-value
thali
(set meal) for $4.50.
Daily 7am-10pm.
Happy Herb Pizza
345 Sisowath Quay
T
097 994
3225,
W
happyherbpizza.com; map p.66.
This long-
running place still serves up a decent pizza (and good
vegetarian choices). Pizzas start at $4.50 and can be made
“happy” - with a marijuana-infused butter baste - for $1
more. Also tasty pasta, plus omelettes, pork chops and
steak for a moderate price. Call for free delivery.
Daily
8am-11pm.
Khmer Borane
99 Sisowath Quay
T
092 290092,
W
borane.net; map p.66.
In a prime riverfront spot, this
unpretentious restaurant serves up great Khmer food (the
fish
amok
is superb). Staff are attentive, prices economical.
Daily 11am-11pm.
Pop Café da Giorgio
371 Sisowath Quay, near the FCC
T
012 562892; map p.66.
This tiny Italian restaurant is
where the expats come to eat authentic pasta (from $6),
pizza (from $8) and gnocchi ($7.50). What it lacks in size, it
more than makes up for in atmosphere and the quality of
its food.
Daily 11.30am-2pm & 6-9.30pm.
River Crown
1 Street 178
T
023 555 2599; map p.66.
Second-floor restaurant with views of the river and the
FCC
.
Staff are attentive and the food well priced (burgers from
$5.50, chicken fettuccini $6.50). It's also a good spot for a
sunset drink, with a 4.30-7.30pm happy hour on draft
beer and cocktails.
Daily 9am-11pm.
★
RESTAURANTS
Street 136, west of Psar Thmei, is home to a cluster of
inexpensive - and roaringly popular - Chinese places, and
for a slap-up meal, several of the deluxe hotels have
excellent Chinese restaurants. There are also plenty of
Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi restaurants, which are
especially popular with the expat community, and a
staggering variety of Western establishments - you could
eat something different every night for a week, from pizza
and pasta to grilled steaks, pork belly and crunchy salads.
For fine dining on imported meat and wine, there are some
noteworthy French restaurants as well as some fancy
fusion places - expensive by Cambodian terms, but they
charge a fraction of what you would pay in the West. Near
Psar Kabkoh, south of Independence Monument, are a few
barbecue restaurants beloved of the Khmers. Most
Cambodians come here to take away, but you can eat in at
small plastic stools. For
sop chhnang day
, where you cook
Tepui
Sisowath Quay
T
023 991514,
W
chinesehouse.asia; map pp.58-59.
Dining at this
atmospheric French-quarter villa, known as the Chinese
House (see p.89), is a must. The Mediterranean- and South
American-influenced menu is a treat; options include
veggie
empanadas
with pesto ($6), pepper-crusted
Brazilian beef tenderloin ($19) and a black-ink seafood
