Shinta Mani Siem Reap
Junction of Oum Khun and 14th Street,
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Tel: +855 63 761 998
Fax: +855 63 761 999
This is the latest addition to the Siem Reap food scene, located inside the recently re-opened Shinta Mani. Their take on the food is "a modern interpretation of Khmer food and I had the pleasure of dining there 2 times within a couple of days.
Arriving at the Shinta Mani, the first hurdle was actually finding the entrance. The hotel reminds me a lot of the De La Paix, but then it does belong to the same owner. With the help of the security staff, we eventually found the way in. The restaurant has used many of the same design elements as the De la Paix, including having beds instead of chairs around the dining tables outside. I am not a big fan of those, my legs tend to go numb after 2 minutes, so we chose a table inside.
Beds on the outside, I find them less comfortable than they look.
Staff were all over us immediately. They are all very friendly and helpful but English is not exactly their strong point. We were presented with the (rather limited) menu as well as a wine list. Some good wines on there, but when we tried to order a bottle, we were told that only the house wines (South African Obikwa) were available as the supplier purportedly had not delivered. Not really an excuse 3 weeks after ordering and considering there are a number of wine suppliers with plenty of stock located in Siem Reap. The staff should also mention the fact when handing out the wine list, would have saved us quite some time agonizing over which wine to choose.
The menu is not very large and it is not cheap.
All the food items looked very interesting, with a lot of unusual combinations of spices, fruits, and accompaniments. On my first visit, I had the "Herb and Chili Cured Salmon" as a starter and the "Pan-roasted Chicken Crepinette" as a main. The bread they served was warm and fresh but with only one choice. The Salmon was very good and went very well with the Papaya Salad. The chicken was also very good but just a tad bit dry.
Chili Cured Salmon
Presentation was excellent though every dish came with the same sesame cracker decoration. My friends also thought that their dishes were very good and there is not certainly much to complain about food-wise. As mentioned earlier, service staff are certainly trying but there seems to be lack of supervision. What was less impressive was that they started to turn off lights when they thought it was time to leave; not something I would expect in a restaurant that is trying to sell itself as up-market.
There are also a couple of design flaws with the restrooms being on the 1st floor (2nd floor for our American friends) and with a couple of small, but dangerous, steps on the way.
All this is minor stuff and did not stop me from going back a couple of days later. At least I did know where the entrance was and I did know to tell my wife not to bother with the wine list as there was no choice (I checked, the "supplier still had not delivered").
This time I ordered the "River Prawn Fricassee". Excellent taste and very well balanced, but a minuscule portion at USD 12.00 (all prices are plus 10% VAT and 5% service charge). Two prawns and 3 spoons of soup (I would call the dish a Consomme and not a Fricassee) is not exactly good value.
The River Prawn Fricassee was good but
for USD 12.00 a bit small.
My wife opted for the "Roasted Duck, Five-spice Orange Jus". Very good duck though we would have both liked the skin to be a tad crispier and for the fat to hast have been trimmed a little. The accompaniments were once again very good and on that evening nothing came with sesame crackers.
Duck was good and the accompaniments were interesting.
I had the "Grilled Spiced Beef Medallions". The meat was extremely good, but then at USD 25.00 I do expect good meat. I am not so sure about the salad. It is a herb I really like, a kind of Asian watercress called "Cang Cua" in Vietnam, but it has a very strong taste and was overpowering some of the other flavors; something I noticed on my first visit.
Excellent meat, but the "Cang Cua" tends to overpower everything.
I am not quite sure how to rate the restaurant. Food is pretty good but does not quite live up to the prices charged. Dinner set us back USD82.00, with starters ranging from USD 7.00 to USD 12.00, mains setting you back USD 19.00 to USD 25.00 and desserts between USD 7.00 - 8.00. The Obikwa is not a bad house wine but too expensive at USD 5.00 a glass, whilst USD 3.00 for a Kingdom Beer is acceptable (just). Again, there is 10% VAT and 5% service charge on top of all these prices.
Chicken Crepinette. On our first visit virtually all dishes came
with the sesame rice crackers.
The setting is nice though, like at the Hotel de la Paix, it is a case of love it or hate it. A lot of concrete and cement and I am not convinced with the oil lamps sooting and smoking up the entrance. It would also be nice to actually having a sign leading the way to the entrance.
The staff are extremely friendly but seem to lack some guidance and could certainly benefit from some more English classes.
I will go back as the food is quite different from the run-of-the-mill crap served in many restaurants in Siem Reap but currently neither food nor service quite match the prices charged.
Food: ****
Ambiance: **** If you are a fan of modern design.
Value for money: ***
Recommended: Yes
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