Phnom Penh, Street 278: a thriving little back road.

Part One: The Western Stop Offs, East of Monivong

Street 278 is part of my daily rat-run to the office and back. Four times a day I drive up and down its length from Wat Mohomontrei all the way to its conclusion at Street 51. It is less crowded and congested than the same stretch of Sihanouk Boulevard that it runs parallel to.

However, over the last few months there has been a noticeable increase in traffic on it and businesses along it, specifically along the stretch between Street 63 and Street 51, where several new cafés and restaurants have opened, plus it is that time of year again, when the $5 and $10 guest houses along it are beginning to fill up, most of them oddly enough being called golden something. So as I traverse its length, I occasionally stop off for a coffee, or small snack.

Near and Far; Bar and Restaurant
As I enter the restaurant for the first time, I warm to the waiter immediately, rather than the usual singsong greeting of ‘hello, hello sir, how are you’ the first thing that the waiter says to me as I stroll into the café is ‘wow, good bike; big and strong!”

As I sit down I order a strong Vietnamese coffee $1, and continue to peruse the menu while that is being dealt with. There is not anything on the menu that I would consider breakfast food – although some people might consider ‘black wheat pancakes’ breakfast material although these would probably be the same people that consider ‘granola’ edible by humans and claim that that is a breakfast food as well.

I did momentarily consider the pancakes (I assume that they meant buckwheat) as I read through the various fillings; ham $4, seafood $5, Veg $2:75, chocolate $2, honey and lemon $2 – but nothing really leapt out at me.

As my coffee arrived, with cup-top dripper, I scanned through the rest of the dishes on offer out of curiosity; spaghetti carbonara $3:50, Seafood Tom Yam $4

The restaurant itself is pretty enough, especially when compared with the others in this street. Terracotta floor tiles, a sea of colour coordinated greens tinting everything; ashtrays, cups, saucers, walls, cloth lampshades, light green mosquito nets tied back as drapes, even the thick, heavy, cushions on the wide hardwood stools had a green check to them. Giving the whole place a warm, organic sort of feel. I would guess that somebody had put a bit of thought into designing the interior.

While I had not found anything I fancied breaking my fast on I would have to conclude that it was a pleasant little stop for coffee and a scan through the newspaper – perhaps one to remember on a lazy Sunday morning.

EU Food Restaurant No. 11. Tel: 023 993 220Open at 07:00AM
Having failed the day before to find a substantial, non~rice, breakfast I thought that I would try again with this place. The sign outside proclaimed ‘American Breakfast US$2’ so I figured that this could be worth a try, having placed my order I mulled over the rest of the food on the menu, ever keeping an eye out for an interesting venue. London Fish and Chips for US$3:50, although why London was beyond the menus explaining. A set ‘Asian Lunch’ for US$3:50 looked like it might be worth a try, consisting of; vegetable soup, fish in palm wine, boiled rice and fresh fruit.

Further breakfast options were also on the menu, borrowing a little from everywhere; Cheese and Tomato Omelette $1:50, Toasted Ham Sandwich $1:50, Rice Porridge (chicken, pork or beef) $1:50, assorted sweet pancakes $1 (no savoury options)

The restaurant is just a typical hole-in-the-wall affair, but for some reason, possibly the rattan walls with fake tendrils of ivy, you get the feeling after a while that you are sat in a tunnel of some sort. The chairs were comfy though and at least they had proper cloth napkins, rather than loo roll in a box.

After a rather short wait my breakfast turned up; consisting of; two fried eggs, one small rasher of bacon, two hard chipolata sized German style sausages, two slices of tomato, two slices of toast and a quarter of a slice of a processed cheese square(?) Part of which had been used to arranged a smiley face on the plate with the eggs as eyes. Humm.

Still what can one expect for $2. Leaving at around 07:30 (late for work!) I passed the only other customer that had came in while I was there, a backpacker type from the cheap hotel next-door, drinking a fruit shake and perusing the establishments copy of the Cambodia (almost) Daily.

Khmer Angkor RestaurantOpen 06:30AM until 10:30PM
A few days later, having skipped breakfast that day, and then having been driven out of the office by a power-cut, I decided to have a spot of brunch somewhere.

The Khmer Angkor is a double width hole in the wall just along from the EU Restaurant and Bar.

As I entered I started to wonder if I had made a mistake in trying here, the place looked somewhat down at heel, to say the least, as I strolled past an antique looking Chinese motorbike – a Sym, since you ask – I parked myself down at a tin table and pulled up a plastic chair.

Over wanders an ancient and venerable looking Khmer gentleman who greets me with a smooth sounding ‘bonjour messier’ and a toothless grin.

Ordering a mug of coffee $0:80, I started scrutinizing the menu, it seemed to offer a little bit of everything; fried eggs and bacon $2, barbequed pork ribs $2, burger and fries $2:50, Thai green chicken curry $2:70, chicken porridge $1-$1:70-$2:50 S/M/L.

Feeling reckless, I order myself a Spanish Omelette and further contemplate the Anchor cans at $0:80.

The cloth napkins and table clothes, seemed somewhat superfluous, rather like putting a racing faring on a Daelim.

My meal turned up in good time, while it was not exactly a Spanish omelette, it was a pretty good folded ham, mushroom and cheese omelette.

New Bird Bar and Restaurant: No 4 Tel:012 42 95 42
Being set slightly back from the road front, gives the New Bird just a little more peace and quiet, not to mention parking space for the larger motorbike, I had almost overlooked its recent opening. Strolling into the salmon coloured walls and dark rattan bamboo furniture was a welcome relief form the warm sun and a fan was quickly switched on by the waitress. I ordered a coffee $1, and set about reviewing the menu, not quite sure what it was that I fancied. The reason for that may have been the fact that it was 10:30AM, I had neglected to eat the evening before, being far to busy consuming gins and tonic and had consequently arrived to late in the office for breakfast, so by this point of the morning my head had stopped throbbing, but my stomach had started rumbling.

The menu offered English / American breakfast $3, it also had a host of more luncheon orientated foods; cheese burger and fries $3, bacon cheese burger $3, Philly cheese steak sandwich $4, as well as more locally sourced dishes such as; Thai green chicken curry $3 and Tom Yam (chicken, beef or shrimp) $3:50. There was also a surprisingly large selection of Mexican dishes; enchiladas, fajitas, nachos $4. But I was intrigued by the breakfast burrito $3. Now I greatly enjoy Mexican food, except when I have had it in Tijuana, but the idea of a ‘breakfast burrito’ always seemed to me to be an Americanised version of something, although some of the best Mexican food I have ever had has been in San Diego, CA, where we often washed it down with large glasses of 15 year old, oak aged, tequila. Anyhow, having never had one, I cast caution to the wind, order one up and then settle back down with the newspaper.

I am halfway through reading about Chea Sovanna getting a slap on the wrist from the Iron Man for being ‘too sexy for her song’ when the little darling of a waitress reappears with my cutlery, place mat and napkin; I briefly wonder what One-Eyed Jack would think of her miniskirt and Lycra crop-top before she is gone again and I move on to an amusing article about journalists in Cambodia being reprimanded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for ‘dressing like tourists’ in flowery shirts or tee-shirts when covering the Prime Ministers events – and quite rightly so, sloppy attire is a social plague; I mean, what is to be next, low slung jeans and builders bum cleavage to cover the Khmer Rouge Trials ?

In the middle of all this digression, my meal arrives; two fried burrito parcels on a bed of lettuce, topped of with homemade salsa and sour cream. Cutting into the package, I find them filled with ground beef and refried beans, the tortilla flaky, yet firm, and quite delicious; although personally I could have handled some fresh chillies in the mix. The ground beef was particularly tasty, being tender, juicy and of infinitely better quality than I would have expected.