Phnom Penh
244 E Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC
Phnom Penh… I am not sure what else I can add about this place. Visited (and “approved”) by Anthony Bourdain, considered on the best restaurants in Vancouver, given thumbs up by almost all bloggers here, is there something else I could add? The only way to find out would be visiting it, right?
Anthony Bourdain approves!
I arrived on an odd time: around 4:30 p.m. That day, I had a crazy schedule and got off work early. Since I was planning to do something not that far from there, it gave me a good reason to grab an early dinner. Even then, there were other customers in the restaurant and people kept on walking in… That means something good, right?
Given this screenshot, you should have a really good idea of what comes… Yes, pho. Given this is a Vietnamese and Cambodian restaurant, from the Vietnamese side, I had to order it… However, I did not touch it, as I ordered a lot of food (more in a moment).
I don’t remember the exact name but it had beef, beef tendon, chicken (!) and meatballs. One thing that distinguish this one from the others is the usage of fried garlic pieces. It gave it a different level of flavour. However, and here comes the “bad” part, the rest of the dish was bland. The broth was watery and the beef tendon was a bit too tough. And the beef, well, usually I would have expected thin slices but here they were chunks. Not necessarily good…
Here is the other dish: a small order of fried chicken wings. This is one of the dish Phnom Penh is known for. And it did not disappointed. These wings were to die/kill for! It had some pepper-y and garlic-y flavour at first but, after a moment, other layers of flavours I can’t described started to kick in. And I couldn’t stop eating them piece after piece! In the small bowl is a acidic/lemon-y dip which added yet another layer of flavour. How good? Colonel Sanders, move aside because these are finger licking good! ^_^
Overall, had I ordered only the pho, it would have ended up as a case of ordering the wrong dishes and, as a result, would have given a thumbs down. However, the key dish is the wings. I would certainly come back and would order a big order just for myself. Huahahahahaha!!!!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
- Colonel Sanders, move aside because these are finger licking good! –
LOL, that is awesome! Your picture makes the wings look even more fantastic I think.
oh that photo of the bar is so pretty!
Pearl, which is quite interesting considering that your average Chinese/oriental restaurant bars look really bad!
Raidar, next time you are in Vancouver, I think you better schedule for 2 weeks if not more!
Yes, those wings are awesome. I’ve been to Phnom Pehn many times and there are indeed some dishes that are pretty average at best. The pho you got is one of them. So it’s a good restaurant for sure, however, not everything is good.
you should try the butter beef next time! it’s so addictive…
Hey bro, I’ve been addicted to your website ever since I found it. I’ve been spending the last few hours reading and going through over your past food experiences. I haven’t found a better food blog site than this. Keep the good reviewing up, I bookmarked this page.
And yeah man, that pho doesn’t look too good. From all the time I spent reading your entries, it seems like there isn’t a lot of good Pho restaurants in your area. You should come visit where I live sometime, they got some good sushi restaurants, Vietnamese restaurants, and more.
Kira, LeDave, welcome and thanks for your comments!
I have butter beef in my to-try list; however, that day, I could only eat that much. Will try that next time!
LeDave, where would that be? Since my job sends me travelling around once in a while, who knows, I might end up in your city! In the case of Vancouver, I think good/really good/excellent sushi can be found, it is a matter of wanting to spend the $$$ instead of going to generic places. For example, check this one or this one). As for Vietnamese/pho, there is still a lot of places I have not gone yet but, so far, I think one of the “best” have been Pho Thai Hoa.
You must log in to post a comment.
{ 1 trackback }