Good Nah

After some not so glowing reviews, I can finally write about a restaurant without bitching non-stop. Now I know nothing about Filipino food and can't say if the food is authentic, but it tastes darn good. The restaurant is on Taphul Street; behind the Hotel de la Paix and next to the Salabai Hotel School.

Not exactly suitable for a 300-strong wedding party

The restaurant is very basic, as is the presentation. But then main dishes are only in the USD 2.50 to 4.50 range, with both soft drinks and beer at a Dollar; certainly value for money as far as I am concerned. They do have excellent music, not Filipino but contemporary stuff, makes a change from the Muzak so many restaurants seem to prefer.

The owner, who I guess is a Filipina, as well as the Khmer staff, are extremely friendly and helpful. The menu is only a couple of pages but I actually prefer that; restaurants with menus the size of the New York phone directory must have huge freezers in the back. And a small menu also means that the Missus doesn't take 2 hours to choose. Even with the small menu, do not expect your order to arrive all at once. The kitchen is tiny and they do a dish at a time. You don't want to be in a rush eating here. Oh, and don't use the face towels; they are so horribly perfumed that your sense of mell might take hours to get back to normal

Can't remember what that was. Adobo perhaps?

We have eaten there a number of times, but one of my favorites is the Kaldereta Baka, or beef stew with tomatoes and coconut milk. The meat is cooked to perfection and is so tender that a knife is not necessary. The deep-fried pork hocks, Crispy Pata, are also very good.

Pork stew: not suitable if on a diet.

The only thing I would give a miss is the draft beer. I guess they do not have enough turn-over and the beer tasted flat on the couple of occasions I tried. The other minor discomfort, which is no fault of the Hood Nah, is that the garbage truck does its rounds between 19:00 and 19:30; if you have a sensitive nose you may want to avoid that time.

If you are looking for an unpretentious but good meal, then I can certainly recommend the "Good Nah". As I am writing this, I am actually tempted to go back tonight.

Rating (out of 5):

Service: ****
Food: ****
Ambiance: ** (though not without a certain rustic charm)
Value for money: ****
Recommended: Yes