Babushka Siem Reap

Siem Reap Babushka Restaurant 

Type: International, Russian, Ukraine

Address: The Lane 

Tel: +855(0)77981002

Opening Hours: 07:00 until midnight

What do you know, a Russian restaurant in Siem Reap? Certainly something new on the local gastronomic scene and something worth checking out. Situated just off Pub Street in The Lane, the place proved kind of heard to find as there is no obvious sign.

Location is OK, interior is not: way too much Kitsch; supposedly inspired by the Grandmother (thus Babushka). First big disappointment when we got the menus with Pub Street staples such as Spaghetti, Amok, Lok Lak, Chinese Dumplings, etc. I thought this was supposed to be a Russian Restaurant. OK, they have Borscht (Ukrainian, not Russian) and "Salo" (another Ukrainian specialty), but not a single Russian dish. Seeing a menu full of spelling mistakes does not exactly inspire confidence either (Chocolate "muss" anyone?).

Cheap, but not really Russian.

Service was a bit naff as well. Ordered two bottles of water which came 15 minutes apart and the draft beer on the menu was not available. We got two forks and two knives between the three of us. They advertise draft beer but do not actually have any and on top of it I had to get my own beer a couple of times as staff seemed to be swamped with just the three of us.

Taboule?

I had ordered the pork cutlets with fried potatoes. The cutlets turned out to be minced meat patties and the fried potatoes were basically French Fries that were swimming in oil. Both were absolutely tasteless and could have been anything. Lucy had chicken with mushrooms sauce and she too proclaimed it to be completely bland.

The cutlets were hamburgers 

and the potatoes were swimming in oil.

A shame really, the owners could have found a niche here by serving Russian food. Instead, they are competing with all the other restaurants serving bland Western food. I guess the only thing the restaurant has in its favor are the fairly low places and the fact that one is not consistently hassled by beggars as The Lane is not exactly a tourist hot-spot.

Service: *

Food: *

Ambiance: **

Value for money: **

Recommended: No

Sushi Bar Koh Kong, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Pub Street

Siem Reap, Cambodia

(+855) 63 963 400

This is a fairly recent addition to the food scene in Siem Reap, but has already managed to garner a solid reputation among the expatriate crowd. Most of the Sushi comes from Koh Kong on the Cambodian coast and is darn good. So good in fact that I flaunt my personal rule of never setting a foot on the back-packer circus that is Pub Street. That is the only down-side of this Sushi Bar: seeing some of the unwashed freaks wandering along below is not good for one's appetite.

The Sushi Bar is located in the heart of Pub Street.

The Sushi Bar has outside seating downstairs as well as indoor seating on the ground and first floors. Our place of choice is the minuscule balcony though. It hardly seats 5 people, like birds on a wire, but is a great spot to hurl snide comments, derisive laughter, and the odd empty beer can at the banana pancake-eating crowd below.

Instructions on how to eat Sushi????

The menu is fairly small, but then this restaurant is all about Sushi. There are about twenty different Sushi Nagiri on offer, ranging in price from USD 2.00 - 5.00 for two pieces (though many were sold out on our last visit) and about 10 Sushi Rolls, the latter costing between USD 2.50 -4.50 for 6-8 pieces. There are a couple of Tempura selections at USD 7.00 - 15.00 and a couple of other non-Sushi items. Personally, I think the best choice is the Sushi and Tempura Deluxe at USD 14.00. A decent-sized meal and very good; with the Sushi fresh and the Tampura not an oily mass of batter but fluffy and light.

As usual I did not pay attention to the drinks prizes. There wasn't much choice but I seem to recall that, while a little more expensive than the 50 Cent draft beers available on Pub Street, the beers were reasonable enough.

Service is friendly enough, but a couple of the girls speak little/no English. However, with a little effort we have never failed to get what we ordered.

The Sushi and Tempura Deluxe.

There are only two things I like a little less about the Sushi Bar Koh Kong:

1. The place mat that endeavors to explain to the punters how to eat Sushi. I am a paying guest and will eat my Sushi any bloody way I like.
2. The staircase back down to the ground floor. Both very steep and extremely narrow this probably explains the meager choice of alcoholic beverages on offer; no way I could make it down with more than a beer in me.

Pitiful gripes really; the place is great for a quick Sushi fix and I do hope that they keep up the quality and do not end up with too many items "sold out".

The Sashimi is also very good and fresh.

Food: ****

Ambiance: *** + * for the balcony and the views it gives one of the circus below.

Value for money: ****

Recommended: Yes, great place for a quick bite before heading out for a beer.

Viva Mexican Restaurant, Siem Reap, Cambodia

• #697, Group 10, Mondol 1 Svay, (opposite Pub Street)
• (855)-63 96 31 51

Since the only other Mexican Restaurant in Siem Reap closed a year or so ago, Viva is the only place for that Tortilla fix. I have been there on a few occasions, not because I think the food is particularly good but as I do get these cravings for Mexican food every so often, including last week when I once again headed for the Viva.

The restaurant is opposite Pub Street and impossible to miss as it is pretty big and painted in a sickly orange.

The good news is that the food is pretty cheap with most mains around the USD 5.00 mark. The bad news is that prizes like that mean the place gets its fair share of obnoxious back-packers. Drinks are also cheap, with Margaritas USD 2.00 and draft beer USD 1.00 (USD 1.50 and 0.50 respectively during the low season).

It is admittedly cheap to eat here.

Service tends to be a mixed bag: some of the girls are really good whereas some of the guys tend to be preoccupied chatting to each other. Either way, the food comes fast, too fast: I specifically asked for the starters to come first but, once again, starters and mains came together. This is a pet peeve of mine as I would like to a) take my time eating and b) prefer my food hot and not have the main course go ice-cold whilst I am demolishing the starter. I also do assume that everything has been prepared in advance as otherwise they could not possible serve the mains in five minutes flat.

The Nachos were good but everything could have been a tad spicier.

Portions are big, with plenty of meat in my Burrito. However, the beef was overcooked and of poor quality (admittedly, I did not expect imported beef for the prize). The "salad" that is supposed to come with the Burritos was basically two salad leaves with a dollop of sour cream on it. What is definitely lacking is a good kick; I like my Mexican food spicy whereas at the Viva it is a really weak-assed affair.

Can't say much about the drinks as I do not like Margaritas, but the Coconut juice was good and cold.

The meat was overcooked and the "salad" is a bit of a joke.

A mixed bag really. Yes, the food is cheap, but also not extremely good. They do get a lot of rave reviews on TripAdvisor but either the posters never had good Mexican food or they had a few Margaritas too many. Having said that, I will be back as Phnom Penh is a little too far to go for some Mexican food.

Food: **

Ambience: **

Value for money: ****

Recommended: If there was a choice, I'd say "no". But there isn't any; if you want Mexican in Siem Reap, than this is the place you will have to go to.

Four Seasons Restaurant, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Four Seasons Restaurant

Sivatha Road

(opposite Pub Street)

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Four Seasons

Whilst there are many Cambodians of Chinese origin, and even more Chinese tourists these days, good Chinese food is not necessarily easy to find in Siem Reap. It is not just good Chinese food that is hard to find either, like many popular tourist destinations that started off as small sleepy villages there is a) not really a well established restaurant scene and b) many restaurants seem to approach business here with a sort of "our-customers-are-just-one-shot-tourists-that-never-come-back" attitude and not much attention is paid to good food.

Luckily, some things do not change; especially when it comes to Chinese restaurants: they are either called "Four Seasons" or "Ming Dynasty", the Chenglish is impossible to decipher ("Fried spared with bitter lemon" anyone?) and the interior is not very inspired.

Menu for Chinese Restaurants worldwide all come from the same factory it seems.

Who cares as long as the food is good though. The Four Seasons has a reputation of making very good noodle soup and is a popular place for breakfast. I went for dinner this time and, whilst ordering the soup anyway, I also wanted to see what else the menu has to offer.

The menu has a good 15 pages but from the taste I would assume that everything on it is prepared fresh. Prices are quite reasonable with most dishes in the USD 4.00 - 8.00 Dollar range for meat and vegetable dishes. Most seafood dishes have daily prices and some items need to be ordered in advance; I should think that these dishes cost considerably more (the prices for those are in Chinese). I have no idea what drinks cost as I never did get to see a drinks menu and subsequently stuck with the "Red Tea" that the staff kept on pouring.

The famous noodle soup; go for the pork thoufh.

Ordering is not too easy as the wait staff speak absolutely no English. However, the restaurant manager(?) was around and he spoke excellent English and I managed to get my order squared aqay. The couple of times I have eaten herepreviously I have had the Fried Dumplings. Stuffed with herbs and minced meat they are really delicious and I ordered these again. As I had very bad Sweet-and-sour pork in another restaurant a couple of days ago; I thought I'd see if they can do it better in this restaurant. With all the oil and fat I had Broccoli with oil sauce to add some more calories.....

The dumplings are great.

The soup came first and was really quite good. The noodles are hand-made and prepared to order and the broth is delicious. I would suggest that you stay away from the duck and order the soup with pork instead; the duck was pretty much bones only.

Nothing instant about the noodles here.

The Sweet n' sour pork came next. Much better than what I had had a couple of days earlier. The meat was obviously battered and fried to order, and it was meat; not just gristle and fat. The sauce was a tad to lemony for me; I prefer the "sour" to come from vinegar instead of lemon juice.

Sweet and Sour pork, no Chinese restaurant that does not have this on the menu.

The broccoli was excellent and luckily there was no oil in sight. Instead it was steamed to perfection, still crunchy, with just a little soy sauce. I love broccoli and I think the reason so many people dislike it because they have only had the cooked-to-death variety, leaving a great vegetable mushy and bland.

The dumplings once again did not disappoint. Piping hot and not oily at all. Not too sure what the herb is they use in the stuffing, but it certainly is good.

Portions are quite big and there is complimentary steamed rice with the main courses constantly being replenished by the staff. Service was good, apart from the communication difficulties. Actually, the service was almost a little to attentive; the waitresses would stand right by the tables and punce as soon as they thought there was something to top up. Well intentioned but a tad intrusive.

The restaurant can get very crowded during the high season and the lay-out of the restaurant can make dining a very noisy experience; especially if there are a couple of Chinese groups present. Not an issue during the current low season but you might want to come fairly late when Siem Reap is busy; the Chinese groups come early. Even when it is quiet the Four Seasons is not the place for a romantic tete-a-tete as the restaurant has absolutely no charme whatsoever.

No design awards to be won here.

I would not go as far as saying the Four Seasons has outstanding Chinese food but it certainly is one of the better choices in Siem Reap. If you know of any really good Chinese restaurant, or any good restaurant for that matter, in Siem Reap then do leave a recommendation.

Food: ***

Ambience: There isn't any.

Value for money: ****

Recommended: Yes.

Khmer Food, home-style

Off to the market.

OK boys and girls, something different today, I will not review a restaurant but talk a little about Khmer food. And when I say Khmer food I do not mean the "Fish Amok" or "Beef Lock Lack" served to tourists on Pub Street. This is more about where, and how, to eat real Khmer food.

Fried beetles.

Like all Asians, Khmer like their food fresh and thus the first hurdle to good local food is to get up early and visit the market. Forget Psar Chaa, or Central Market, this is just a tourist trap these days. The place to go is Psar Leu, a couple of kilometers outside Siem Reap along Route 6. Activity here starts around midnight when the farmers come in from the surrounding areas to sell their wares. No need to go that early, but 06:00 is a good time, both for the variety of goods, and to beat the heat.

Great veggies on sale.

The market would also be a good educational tour for Western kids that think all meat comes shrink-wrapped, chicken are born as McNuggets, and milk is something in Tetra packs. Nothing of that here, fish is so fresh that the vendors occasionally have to race after them and chicken are slaughtered on demand. Not for the squeamish but I believe in knowing where my food comes from. And I should think that the animals at least had a better life than the mass-produced stuff kept in tiny cages back home.

Pickled Fish.

The market is a riot of colors, smells, and sounds and usually very busy. Come with patience and good negotiating skills. It is totally acceptable to touch, prod, and smell the products before choosing, and the choice is vast.

Khmer herbs.

I am a big fan of Khmer herbs and vegetables as they taste much better than the stuff that comes from Dutch greenhouses. The choice of fish is also amazing, most of them from nearby Tonle Sap Lake and many of which I do not know. The meat and poultry can be tough as it is usually very fresh. If you have a fridge and the time, let it rest a little before using.

No Khmer meal would be complete without"Prahok". Often referred to as "Khmer Cheese" on account of its smell, it is actually made out of salted and fermented fish. A very aquired taste but, once one gets over the smell, it is actually pretty good with vegetables and barbecued beef. Psar Leu offers a wide range of Prahok, the difference being the quality of fish used (and obviously the price).

Prahok.

With all the regular shopping done, it is time to look for some more unusual ingredients not found at this market. Well, they do sell things like chicken ovaries and coagulated blood at the market, but in Cambodia this is not considered unusual.

Pretty much anything can be skewered.

To get an idea what can be thrown on a grill in Cambodia, get your butt out of Pub Street and head for Route 66 (it is actually Route 60, but I think 66 sound better). This is a very popular place with locals who will go there once the sun has almost set and have snacks and beer. Sit down on one of the Bamboo mats, grab a draught beer and then check out the different stalls.

Chicken ovaries and chicken blood.

Apart from regular skewers, you will come across the ovaries again, but grilled this time, fried frogs (so-s0), fried crickets (good), fried beetles (yuck) and "green eggs" (barf). The later really make my stomach turn, it is basically an egg due to hatch and the chick inside is pretty well developed. Certainly not for the faint-hearted....

"Green Egg".

I am sure pretty much everybody has heard of spiders being eaten. These are usually from Skuon, ca. 200 kilometers from Siem Reap. If you want to try, get live ones and prepare them yourself. I am not a big fan as the consistency is horrible, but here is a quick recipe:

They don't look it, but the spiders are alive.

Unlike these ones.

20 Spiders

Water

Oil

Lettuce

Kill spider by cutting through the back with a sharp knife (try not to get bitten). Clean well in water to remove the hears. Heat oil in a large wok until smoking and dump in the spiders. Fry until a nice golden-brown. Remove spiders, drain oil, and arrange on a lettuce leaf.

Like the spiders, insects are seasonal and are most easily found during the dry season.

Snake is available throughout the year, but it is actually illegal though this is not really enforced (like many laws in Cambodia). Unlike Vietnam, many of the snakes are caught wild and this is why I suggest you stay away from it. The same goes for all the other "bush meat" more or less openly available. There is intense hunting pressure and many of the animals served up are both protected and endangered.

A couple of tips for choosing am authentic restaurant: firstly, avoid anywhere within a 2-kilometer radius of Pub Street. Secondly, choose a restaurant that is filled with Khmer. Refrigeration is probably non-existent and you want to eat in a restaurant that has a high tuen-over.

Khmer BBQ.

Personally, I prefer to eat with a few friends at someone's home. So, after the market, it is time to get some (lots) of beer, order a whole cow on a spit, and head to the countryside. Khmer sure like partying and boozing, and there is nothing better than spend a Sunday afternoon lazying about, swilling a few cold ones and tucking into some beef.

Lunch with friends.

When it comes to barbies, basic is best. The cow will usually be already partially cooked and marinated, so it is just a matter of putting the spit over some hot coal and pass the time with a couple of Angkor Beers. Inevitably someone will jump (be pushed) into a nearby pond to catch some fresh fish. A word of caution: as a friend found out last time, catfish have a very nasty bite. With a bit of luck, a couple of frogs will get netted as well, they go on the grill too. Small fish go straight from the water onto the grill, the larger ones are gutted and cleaned.

Preparing the frog.

Whilst all this is going on, someone climbs a coconut tree for some fresh juice whilst the ladies are busy preparing Prahok (it is chopped and mixed with chillies, lemon-grass, garlic, and water to make a dipping sauce) and veggies to be eaten raw.

Once everything is cooked, it is time to kick back and enjoy. By now the traditional band will have gone through lots of beers and have found their tune. It will only be a matter of time before people start dancing; this will go on for the next few hours and I have had some of my best meals in Cambodia this way.

Give me a smoked ham anytime.

The Beef is pretty good after a week in the fridge.

Dried fish. ready to go.

The Chef stirring it up in a local restaurant.

Too many beers.

Entertainment during the barbie.

Ombrelle & Kimono

The low season has started in Siem Reap, and with it the same bad old habits. Figure this: Here I am as a restaurant owner and I have few guests. So what do I do? Try and attract the few remaining visitors and expatriates by making an extra effort? Nah, that would be to easy. How about reducing the quality of food and services instead? That's right; that is exactly what happens in this town every day.

Which leads me to the Ombrelle & Kimono on Wat Bo Street. After a couple of unsuccessful tries when the restaurant was closed either due to flooding (not their fault, of course) or being closed on Mondays (French owned and 35-hour working week I guess), we finally managed to have a meal there.

First impressions were rather favorable: a very welcoming waiter and an unusual design. The latter might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it does make a difference from all the other generic tourist eateries in this town.

Regrettably, things went downhill from there. I asked for a bottle, any bottle, of beer, but all they had was Angkor beer in cans. I don't know about you, but as far as I am concerned canned beer should only be drunk in emergencies. I guess it is better than no beer at all, but any decent restaurant should have bottled beer. On top of it, they charge USD 3.00 for a can of Angkor, even the Raffle's doesn't charge that.

Funky design

The menu sports some very imaginatively named salads such as "Zebra", "Giraffe" or "Panther". However, when I tried to order one of those, the reply was "no have", which brings me back to my opening statement. To all the restaurant owners in Siem Reap: stop not stocking things because it is the low season. You still charge the same prices as during high season, so I expect to have anything on the menu. Apart from everything, you might consider making an effort to attract people who stay here year round instead of going only after the tourists.

Spot the Steak.

Back to the food. The missus ordered grilled pork with lemon grass at USD 5.00 and I went for the grilled beef with "tapenade" (suggestion: get an English-speaking back-packer, buy him/her a couple of beers, and let them check your menu) at USD 6.00. It was with the food that things really headed South. I do not expect imported beef for that sort of money, but the cow that my meat came from had obviously died of old age; neither my knife nor my teeth got very far with what was essentially a piece of leather. This was not helped by the fact that the meat was raw, when I had ordered it medium. My wife's pork was just as bad. Not only was it tough as hell, there was also no sign, taste, or smell to be had of the lemon grass it was supposedly to come with. Basically, the food did not only seem to be old, it had nothing that even the most good-willing reviewer could call "taste".

Prices are decent enough. The salads sound great at USD 5.00, but as they do not have them I can't judge. Mains are between USD 5.00 and 7.00. Not expensive, but poor on the value for money front. As mentioned, the beer is outrageously expensive at USD 3.00 a can; I have never paid this much in Siem Reap. The house wine is more reasonably priced, at USD 2.50, and juices are USD 2.00.

Conclusion: wasted potential. Something could be done with this restaurant but the impression is that the owner doesn't give a sh*t. Yes, he was there that evening; but he was obviously not concerned about his business.

Rating (out of 5):

Service: ****
Food: *
Ambiance: ****
Value for money: *
Recommended: No

P.S.: Still don't know what "tapenade" is, and I cannot really be bothered to look it up; this is one restaurant we won't be going back to.

Angkor Palm Restaurant

This restaurant proudly advertises itself as having won the "Restaurant of the Year 2006", without actually going into details by whom the prize was awarded and for what reason. Reviews on other sites range from the ecstatic to the disappointed.

As the Missus and I felt like some Khmer food, we decided to give this place a try.

The welcome was promising enough, we were greeted by a very friendly waiter who quickly brought us cold face-towels; much appreciated what with the current heat wave. However, I could not help notice some very bored staff hanging around in the background.

A look at the menu confirmed what I had feared: yet another place catering to tourists on a budget. This seems to be a common problem in Siem Reap and, I suspect, in many other touristy places: what do we care about the quality if the punters are only here for a couple of nights anyway? Keep it cheap, have Beer Lao in the fridge, and put a big sign "Khmer owned" and guests will roll in.

Anyway, back to the menu: main dishes ranged from USD 1.50 to 4.50, soft drinks started at USD 1.00 and beers were anywhere from USD 1.50 to 3.50. We opted for the "Angkor Palm Platter for Two" at USD 14.00. I quote from their menu: "Combining the authentic taste of Cambodian country cooking with western attention to detail...."

This is what the platter looks like according to the menu:




In theory a dish with a lot of potential: Fresh Spring Rolls, Green Curry, Mango Salad, Fish Amok, Spare Ribs, Fried Water Spinach and Rice. All easy to make but a lot more difficult to make well.

The presentation was a let-down straight away:



Note to all restaurant owners in Siem Reap: dumping your food in banana leaf cups and throwing a couple of strips of Chili on top is NOT presentation; it shows a lack of imagination and care.

However, even worse was the fact that the food was cold. I can stomach a lot, but the only things I want cold on my table are beer and ice cream. No matter how good the food, serving it cold will just about negate any efforts made in the kitchen.

Though I must point out that it was not much of an issue in this case as the food was pretty tasteless anyway. Why do restaurant owners in Siem Reap think that only utterly boring and bland food is suitable for the tourists' palates? Even worse was that the dishes that MUST be fresh (Spring Rolls, Mango Salad, Water Spinach) were not. They weren't spoilt, but they had certainly spent a few days in the fridge. I understand that it is the low season; but inventory control is not really my problem.

At least the entertainment was good. The restaurant faces the Old Market/Pub Street Area and we had a steady stream of ill-dressed "travelers" passing by; at least they took our minds off the food.

Conclusion: If you are on a budget, you think you must have Beer Lao to go with your Beer Lao T-shirt, and if your taste buds are fried from too many Banana pancakes on Khao San Road then this restaurant is for you. Anyone in search of a decent Khmer meal: steer clear.

Rating (out of 5):

Service: ****
Food: *
Ambiance: *
Value for money: *
Recommended: No

Got to love the color-matched Bandana and singlet....