The Blue Pumpkin

The Blue Pumpkin is one of the few Cambodian founded café chains in Phnom Penh, the founders is a couple from France and Thailand. They started as a small bakery in Siem Reap and have later turned in to a chain that is both a bakery and a restaurant.  Today they have outlets both in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. In Phnom Penh you will find them on Riverside and on the first floor of Monument Books. 

The Blue Pumpkin on Riverside is a really popular place among both locals and tourists, and some expats. Some expats tends to think it is a little crowed and noisy.  

I normally go to The Blue Pumpkin to buy bread or cakes, but some weeks ago I went there to have dinner. I had the Chicken Satay ($5) and my friend tried the Goat cheese and pumpkin dumplings ($6.75). The Satay was ok but far from the best one I have tried. The dumplings were a bit disappointing, the combination of too much dumpling dough, pumpkin and cheese became a little mushy. 

Since I really like their pastries and cakes, I decided to give them one more chance when it came to their food. So last week I went for lunch at Blue Pumpkin in Monument Books. It was the perfect place to have lunch alone, there was almost no one there and I could sit work without getting disturbed by screaming children or loud conversations. I tried the Vegetarian Quiche ($2.75)this time but I’m sorry to say I was disappointed again, it was dry and had almost no vegetables just a lot of quiche. 

I can really recommend their cakes and some of the bread and even their breakfast but their food has not impressed me so far. 

Food: + +
Service: + + +
Atmosphere: + + +
(Scale 1-5, 1 is really bad and 5 is excellent)
Price: $ $ $
(Scale 1-5, 1 is really cheap and 5 is very expensive)

Lunch at Brown Coffee

Brown Coffee is one of the few places in Phnom Penh where you really do not feel like you are in Phnom Penh anymore, in a good way. The decor, combined with powerful air conditioning, and how staff is trained makes it feel as if you have entered international ground. Brown Coffee has four outlets in Phnom Penh and most of them are crowded all the time. It is obviously a popular place for students and people working from their own computer

    

We had lunch at Brown Coffee on Street 57, their food menu is what you can expect from a coffee place; some sandwiches, salads and pasta dishes. The food prices are pretty ok, ranging from $3.50 to $4, but the sizes of the portion are quite small compared to other restaurants. One of Brown Coffee’s advantages is that they are consistent in their food quality and service, and the standards are high. It doesn’t matter when or which of their shops you go to, the same dish always taste the same.  

  

Two of my favorites are Spaghetti Bolognaise and Steak Sandwich, and I also like their Vanilla Milkshake on a hot day. 

Food: + + + +

Service: + + + +

Atmosphere: + + + +

(Scale 1-5, 1 is really bad and 5 is excellent)

Price: $ $ $

(Scale 1-5, 1 is really cheap and 5 is very expensive)

Order Online from Friends the Restaurant

I had to try the new online ordering at yourphnompenh.com, and I was happy when I found that Friends the Restaurant, which is one of my favorite restaurants in Phnom Penh, had online ordering.

I use to order online all the time when I was living in the States, so easy and convenient. It is especially convenient here in Cambodia when it at times can be hard to understand the restaurant staff on the phone. 

Anyway, I decide to order No. 28 Dara’s favorite Beef Tacos with Tomato Salsa, No. 1 Sundried Tomato Hummus on Crispy Wonton Wrappers, No. 4 Grilled Vegetables with Lemon and Olive Oil, and No. 15 French Fries Sweet Potatoes with Curry Mayonnaise. 

The tacos were great probably among the best tacos in Phnom Penh. The hummus and the grilled vegetables were good but not anything over the ordinary (I would still order them again). The Sweet Potato French Fries with Curry Mayonnaise is also one of my favorite, I really like the mayo in combination with the sweet potato. It is also an interesting twist of Cambodian food, in Cambodia you can find deep fried sweet potato among the street food but it is normally served with sugar, and the curry is also used in the Cambodian kitchen but never mixed with mayo. 

The online service was really easy and intuitive to use, I also liked that I could pin my house on the map so they really understands where I live. It took 36 min from the time I sent the order until I receive my food. 

You can check out the prices yourself on their menu here: http://www.yourphnompenh.com/orderfoodonline/friends-the-restaurant/

Food: + + + + +
Service: + + + + +
Atmosphere: I ate at home, so great atmosphere ;)
(Scale 1-5, 1 is really bad and 5 is excellent)
Price: $ $ $
(Scale 1-5, 1 is really cheap and 5 is very expensive)

BBQ Buffet at Samba

Samba Brazilian Steakhouse is one of the latest additions in the Phnom Penh restaurant scene, they opened in the beginning of 2012. The owner is from Singapore but they serve Brazilian inspired food. They are definitely trying to target the richer Cambodians and foreigners with their modern, Asian-chic décor and their high-end prices. In the evening they have BBQ buffet for $26,90 per person, not including drinks. The Buffet consists of a salad buffet, a warm side dishes buffet, a cheese, ham and fruit section and last but not least a BBQed meat buffet. The waiters and the chiefs walk around in the restaurant and serve you the BBQed meat by your seat so you do not need to leave your seat to get the meat.  The other parts of the buffet you will have to go and get yourself by the buffet table.

It is definitely worth a visit if you are a meat lover but I wouldn’t recommend the place to a vegetarian even though I thought the salad buffet was really good. The expectations on a restaurant with these prices in Phnom Penh will be higher. The food surely lived up to my expectation, but the seating was way too narrow for a buffet restaurant. Every time someone from our company wanted to go and get more food the rest of us had to squeeze in so the person could pass.

My only real complaint is that did not serve free water to the wine, which I think all high-class restaurant ought to do. With drinks (wine and water) and the buffet the bill ended at $40 per person.

Food: + + + +
Service: + + + +
Atmosphere: + + + 
(Scale 1-5, 1 is really bad and 5 is excellent)
Price: $ $ $ $ $
(Scale 1-5, 1 is really cheap and 5 is very expensive)

Quick lunch at Pho24

Today I had to grab a quick lunch at Pho24. Pho24 is a Vietnamese fast-food chain with a big variety of Pho soups (Vietnamese noodle soups). It’s one of my favorite fast-food places in Phnom Penh but unfortunately they only have one restaurant in Phnom Penh city (they have one more at the airport).  The restaurant in the City is located on Sothearos Blvd opposite Meta House.

I like the place because it is quick, fresh and not too expensive, and I also think they have the best Pho soup in town.  My choice of pho is Pho soup with sliced beef ($3,2).

Food: + + + +

Service: + + 

Atmosphere: + + 

(Scale 1-5, 1 is really bad and 5 is excellent)

Price: $ $ 

(Scale 1-5, 1 is really cheap and 5 is very expensive)

Set lunch at The Latin Quarter

The Latin Quarter offers set lunch for 15$, the set lunch includes appetizer, main course, dessert and a glass of wine/a beer, or a soft drink. It’s a pretty good price given that it includes the drink.

The restaurant does definitely have a South American feeling to it both the decoration and the music that they are playing. The menu on the other side feels more like it is inspired by South Europe food, especially Spanish. Could be that the Manager originates from Uruguay but has lived most of his life in Europe.

In the set-lunch menu they offer you can choose from three different alternatives for each dish. I do not know how often they change the lunch menu, but the item on the lunch menu you will also be able to find as individual items in the á la carte menu.

We had Gazpacho Soup and Green Pea and Mint Soup as appetizers, both of these soups are served cold. Both the soups were delicious and beautifully presented. For mains we had Duck breast served with Port Wine sauce and fried potatoes and mushrooms, and Salmon fillet served with sweet mustard sauce and fried potatoes. The potatoes and the sauce were great but both the duck breast and the salmon fillet could have been cooked a little bit longer. Which was a little bit disappointing since it is the main part of the lunch. But the disappointment did not last long because our desserts were superb, we had Cheese cake with Mango and Passion fruit, and Crème Brulée.

All in all I would say that the presentation of the food and the atmosphere of the restaurant were great, but there was still room for improvements when it came to the service. 

Food: + + + 

Service: + + +

Atmosphere: + + + + +

(Scale 1-5, 1 is really bad and 5 is excellent)

Price: $ $ $ $

(Scale 1-5, 1 is really cheap and 5 is very expensive)

Afternoon tea at The Shop Too

The shop too is one of my favorite coffee shops in Phnom Penh when I have the time to take a longer coffee break. It is located in Toul Kork, so if you do not live in Toul Kork, it can feel a bit off but I still think the place is worth a visit once in a while. The streets in that part of Toul Kork is much calmer than central Phnom Penh and the The Shop too is placed in a big villa with a big garden in front of the house so the atmosphere is definitely relaxing, which is highly appreciated at times.

The Shop Too is a sister restaurant to The Shop on Street 240, but The Shop too is much bigger with both an air-conditioned indoor area and two outdoor areas. They also offer a bigger select of food, with pizza section on their menu.

I went there, a while ago, to enjoy a relaxing Sunday afternoon tea with my wife. We had Earl grey tea and “breakfast smoothie” to drink and carrot soup, a chocolate mousse cake and an éclair to eat. The bill ended around $13-14.

They also have great selection of bread but it might be finished in the afternoon.

Food: + + + 

Service: + + +

Atmosphere: + + + + + 

(Scale 1-5, 1 is really bad and 5 is excellent)

Price: $ $ $

(Scale 1-5, 1 is really cheap and 5 is very expensive)