Sala Baï Hotel School

The Sala Baï is not a "real" restaurant per se, rather it is an outlet of the Sala Baï Hotel School (more information here: http://www.salabai.com/html/index.php?p_lang=en) and is meant to give the students a chance to practice their newly learned skills. Thus, not only will you do a good deed when eating there, you will also come across lovely kids that try very hard to hide their trembling hands. I can sympathize with that; been there, done that. The restaurant is only open from Monday to Friday, opening hours are 07:00 - 09:00 and 12:00 - 14:00 and it is located on Taphul Street.

The restaurant interior. Nice enough.

As soon as you get there, you will be greeted by a very friendly hostess that will positively fuss over you. This attention continues; it can be a bit much at times but then do remember that they are still learning the ropes. The setting of the restaurant is nothing fancy but friendly enough (can a restaurant actually be friendly?). Lots of second-hand books in case the food takes a little longer, though I always found the service more than fast enough.

The menu is very small, but they do have a choice of an Asian or Western set menu that changes every week. The menus usually are between USD 6.00 and USD 8.00 for a three-course meal, I do think it is excellent value for money; I have eaten a lot worse for a lot more. Mind you, today I heard the next table complain that "c'est pas donné" (it is expensive), but then they were French and in my experience the French make everybody look like big spenders. Some people shouldn't travel, but maybe they were still pissed off at the dismal showing by the French national team in the World Cup. Drinks are USD 2.00 for fruit shakes, USD 2.00 for an Angkor can, and USD 3.50 for a glass of wine.

Watermelon Gazpacho! But the cheese was excellent.

We both had the Western menu, even though I am not a big fan of Gazpacho and even less of watermelon. I ordered it for the fresh cheese that came with it. I ended up eating my daughters Gazpacho, she likes it even less than I do. Bummer!

Pork chops with Mushroom Risotto.

The pork chops that came as the main dish were really good, as was the Risotto, though I would have preferred the latter just a little bit more "al dente"; it was a tad over-cooked. Like the service staff, the kitchen staff are also still learning; though they do better than a lot of the restaurants recommended by Lonely Planet....

I am on a chocolate diet.

The dessert was a highlight for me. According to the menu it was supposed to be a frozen chocolate cake; luckily it was more of a chocolate mousse and I will be damned if it wasn't one of the best I have had in Siem Reap!

This is certainly a restaurant I would recommend, but only to people that remember that things can go wrong. Having said that, in my 10 or so visits, this place has never let me down; no burnt food, no soup in my lap, just a bunch of extremely willing (if nervous) kids that would be a credit to many a regular restaurant out there.

Rating (out of 5):

Service: ***** (taking into account that they are trainees)
Food: ****
Ambiance: ***
Value for money: ****
Recommended: Absolutely; good food, good cause, what else could one wish for?