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)