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Review: Rosana Broadway, Siem Reap

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Lina Goldberg

In Southeast Asia the term “cabaret” almost always means some sort of gender-bending performance. Siem Reap’s Rosana Broadway bills itself as an “international cabaret show” but it could more accurately be described as a “Bangkok-style ladyboy cabaret show,” and it’s one of Siem Reap’s most underrated nights out.

Hello, Broadway! Rosana Broadway is Siem Reap’s most extravagant cabaret show.

Rosana Broadway has dozens of dancers and performers and the choreographed show is filled with impressive sets, extravagant costumes, singing (well, lip-syncing), dancing, and general merriment. The show is partly cultural and and partly outlandish — while it is widely known that all of the cast members are or once were boys, the website gives no hint about the performers’ transgender status, and many of the TripAdvisor reviews seem to miss the point entirely. In Siem Reap, Rosana Broadway is known as the biggest ladyboy (katuoey in Khmer) show in the country. Both terms are not particularly polite, but it’s hard to describe one of the show’s main draws without using them. Continue reading →

Phnom Penh street tacos

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Lina Goldberg

If you’ve been wandering Street 136 at night, you may have noticed a new street food cart selling tacos and burritos. Now it is true that the menu at Phana’s Hot Tacos is an exact reproduction of Annabella’s Hot Tacos, the hipster taco truck that cruises around BKK1 slanging mediocre tacos at inflated prices. And it is also true that the lone employee of Phana’s Hot Tacos was formerly an employee of Annabella’s Hot Tacos who left, apparently taking the recipes with him. This, my friends, is no less than a taco war.

Phnom Penh’s first taco truck, Annabella’s Hot Tacos.

My complaints about Annabella’s Hot Tacos are two-fold. Or maybe three-fold. First, they are completely non-authentic tacos. An authentic taco has meat — preferably carnitas or al pastor or luscious, luscious lengua — onions, and cilantro. Salsa and hot sauce is served on the side. That is it. Tacos do not have cheese on them. Tacos do not have avocado on them. Look, I get it. You want to be creative; you want to express yourself. So put cheese on your tacos. But for the love of god, if you are billing yourself as “authentic,” have at least one traditional taco on the menu for purists like me. Continue reading →

Keeping fit in Sihanoukville

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Sharlie and Ed

Sihanoukville has plenty of fitness options if you need to work on your beach body or just work off some of those sundown cocktails, from gyms and classes to yoga and informal kickabouts, there’s something to suit most fitness levels and budgets in Sihanoukville.

Wonder Sports Club is a Cambodian-style gym that costs just 5,000 riel ($1.25) per visit.

If you’re looking for a gym there are several in and around the Downtown area offering a variety of facilities. Continue reading →

Eating crab in Kep: The crab shack face-off, Part 3

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Lina Goldberg

Kep’s crab shack row continues to expand with new offerings, and previously ignored hole-in-the-walls are now getting our attention as we attempt to eat at every crab shack in Kep. If you haven’t read our Kep crab shack face-off part one and part two, start there. We’re just back from a business trip to Kep (read: we were hungry for crab) and have more crab shack reviews to add to our growing list.

They may all look the same, but some of Kep’s crab shacks are better than others.

Maelis

This slightly more sophisticated crab shack is French-owned and it shows. The lighting is better, for one, there is art on the walls, and there’s a proper bar up front, usually with a few Kep expats hanging around. The menu is smaller than the average crab shack binder full of 60 dishes, but they still have most of the usual favorites, steamed crab, crab with Kampot pepper, crab with curry sauce, battered prawns, stir-fried squid…you get the idea. They also have French dishes, including a very nice fish tartare, plus other Western dishes like steak and hot dogs. If you’re with someone that is sick of seafood (it does happen after a few days) but you aren’t, this is a good place to go. Continue reading →

Exploring Chinese cuisine in Phnom Penh

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Lina Goldberg

It’s Chinese New Year this week and everyone in Phnom Penh is celebrating. Head to the market and get your fake $100 bills and a cardboard Lexus, and then out to dinner to try some authentic Chinese cuisine. Here are our favorite Chinese restaurants in Phnom Penh:

Celebrate Chinese New Year with a dinner at Xiang Palace.

Xiang Palace at The Great Duke

Xiang Palace is the upscale Chinese restaurant at the swish Great Duke (formerly InterContinental) Phnom Penh. They serve refined Cantonese fare, including a wide selection of dim sum (yum cha for you Cantonese speakers). The menu is authentic according to my Cantonese-speaking friend that I dragged along to try the dim sum. On a more recent visit, we loved the Chinese roasted duck and sweet char siu pork belly. They’re having a Chinese New Year special menu for the entire month of February with delicacies such as Yoshihama abalone and scallops with X.O. sauce (a personal favorite of mine), plus their regular menu of dim sum, Cantonese specialties, and specialty Chinese teas. If you’re looking for a high-end Chinese New Year meal, this is the place to go.

Open daily, 6:30 a.m. to 10.30 p.m.
296 Mao Tse Tung Blvd, Phnom Penh
T: 023 424 888 extension 3562
phnompenh.intercontinental.com/xiang-palace

Man Hao Ji Noodle Shop

This Taiwanese-owned noodle shop serves a small menu of Chinese noodle dishes and side dishes. The place doesn’t have much in the way of ambiance — a few tables and nothing decorates the walls other than a few copies of a glowing review of the place — but the food is authentic, delicious, and cheap. Their specialty is noodle soup, cooked in the Chinese style with red braised beef flavored with star anise and Shaoxing wine. At $5, it’s the most expensive thing on the menu, but well worth it. If this sounds appealing, read our full review of Man Hao Ji Noodle Shop on the blog.

Open daily, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
39 Street 118 (at Street 17), Daun Penh, Phnom Penh
T: 089 265 065

Called Chinese New Year’s cake, this savory dish is a cheap and delicious way to celebrate the holiday.

Chinese Noodle Restaurant

Expat favorite Chinese Noodle Restaurant is known for their cheap, hand-pulled noodles and homemade dumplings. This is one of those places that is often referred to as a “little-known secret” but is actually very widely known and you’ll always see at least a few English teachers enjoying their delicious fare at ridiculously low prices — a bowl of noodles can be had for less than $2. One of their specialties is Shanghai-style nian gao, also known as Chinese New Year’s cake. The dish consists of slices of chewy rice cakes, stir-fried with wilted lettuce and shiitake mushrooms in an addictive savory sauce. If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to celebrate Chinese New Year, at $2 this dish is the way to do it.

Open daily, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
545Eo Monivong Blvd, BKK2, Phnom Penh
T: 012 937 805

Chinese dumplings and hand-pulled noodles

On Street 136 between Monivong and Central Market there are a row of unassuming Chinese restaurants, all serving hand-pulled noodles and homemade dumplings. If you’re craving Chinese food or need a carb infusion, this is the street to head to. Our favorite of the bunch is Herk Fung, but it doesn’t matter which one you choose — they’re all pretty good. Read our full blog post about the Chinese restaurants on Street 136 with reviews and details for individual restaurants.

The best of both worlds, dim sum and Cantonese specialties at Emperors of China.

Emperors of China

Another upscale Cantonese restaurant, Emperors of China has a full menu of reasonably priced dim sum. The dim sum menu is so good, in fact, that I’ve tried very little else on their menu, although I have heard it is good. My favorites are the “carrot cake,” actually small radish cakes with X.O. sauce, prawn shui mai topped with tiny orange flying fish roe, and har gow, steamed shrimp dumplings with a chewy rice wrapper. Although it’s a lovely restaurant, the service at Emperors at China can be mediocre, because allegedly they only hire leggy models with no waitressing experience, which can make for a frustrating, if good looking, experience.

Open daily, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
19 Street 63, Olympic, Phnom Penh
T: 023 637 6663
emperorschina.com

Dim Sum Emperors

A spin-off restaurant of Emperors of China, Dim Sum Emperors is a more casual, slightly less expensive restaurant that serves primarily dim sum. The menu features 19 types of dim sum as well as inexpensive rice and noodle bowls. My favorite dim sum here are the crab meat and coriander dumplings and xiao long bao, also known as soup dumplings, and steamed pork ribs with black bean sauce. The service at Dim Sum Emperors is far less infuriating than at their sister restaurant and their service is fast and capable. We’ve got a full review of Dim Sum Emperors on the blog if you want to know more.

Open daily, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Corner of Street 130 and Street 53, next to Central Market, Phnom Penh
T: 023 650 7452
dimsumemperors.com

Do you have any favorite Chinese restaurants in Phnom Penh? Share them in the comments.

The InterContinental is a Move to Cambodia advertiser and we ate at Xiang Palace recently for free. We’ve also paid to eat at Xiang Palace in the past (and went with a Cantonese speaker who deemed it authentic!). For more information on how we deal with freebies and advertisers, please read our disclosures.

Siem Reap’s Giant Puppet Project parade

Posted on February 5, 2016 by Lina Goldberg

Tomorrow night the streets of Siem Reap will be taken over by giant, glowing puppets in one of the most popular yearly events in town, the Giant Puppet Project parade. The puppets, some of which are as much as fifty feet long, dance down Pub Street and through town in the hands of their young creators.

Giant puppets taking over Siem Reap’s Pub Street in last year’s parade.

Giant Puppet Project, Cambodia’s largest community arts effort, is a local NGO that brings together local talent, foreign volunteers and disadvantaged Cambodian children for a month of art workshops that focus on puppet-making. The puppets are made using techniques that are seen throughout Asia in the form of flying lanterns or sky lanterns. The result are giant paper puppets lit with an ethereal glow that is thrilling to locals and tourists alike, who come en masse to see the parade.

In fact, while it may not be apparent as the parade winds its way down Pub Street, the event is most popular with Cambodians, who flood the streets to see the spectacle. Along the way, donations are collected for next year’s parade, and you’ll see children eagerly dropping 100 riel notes into the collection baskets, which is perhaps the best evidence that this is an event that is cherished by the local community in Siem Reap as much as it is by tourists and expats.

The Giant Puppet Project works with more than a dozen NGOs and hundreds of local children to make the puppets.

The Giant Puppet Project teams up with more than dozen NGOs to both fund the making of the puppets as well as well as identify local children who would benefit from the experience. In addition to the arts training they receive, the puppets are educational, focusing on endangered Cambodian wildlife, Cambodian cultural figures and more. This year, more than 600 children participated in puppet-making workshops and will be part of the parade to show off their work.

The Giant Puppet Project parade will be on Saturday, February 6th in Siem Reap. You can either catch it on and around Pub Street at 7 p.m. when the parade starts, or check this map for the complete route. There is usually acrobatics performance on Pub Street by Phare until the parade starts (unclear if it will be the same this year) and children’s entertainment in the Royal Gardens Park (opposite the Grand Hotel d’Angkor) after the parade finishes. For more information, check out the Giant Puppet Project Facebook page.

Khmer speakers can find out more about the parade with this Khmer-language TV ad.

Sihanoukville cheap eats

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Sharlie and Ed

Even if you are on a shoestring budget in Sihanoukville it’s possible to find decent quality meals if you know where to look. You can, of course, find fried rice or noodles at many local vendors for a dollar or even less, but if you fancy something different, here are a few of the best of Sihanoukville’s cheap eats where we’ve enjoyed a tasty meal or two.

Cheap but delicious eats can be had in Sihanoukville, starting at Cafe Mango.

In the Serendipity Beach Road area, Cafe Mango offer a menu of the day deal for $5.50 which includes a starter, main and a drink; it’s good value as you can choose from several pizza and pasta dishes including penne amatriciana and pepperoni. It’s available 12 p.m. to 2.pm. and 5 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.

Cafe Mango

Open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Serendipity Beach Road, Sihanoukville
T: 013 842 169
facebook.com/cafemangosihanoukville

Nice foods at a nice price.

Up the road from Cafe Mango is Nice Foods, an unpretentious locally owned restaurant that offers a varied menu of western staples such as burgers, fries, and pizzas as well as more authentic dishes such as Khmer curry, noodle soup and fried rice. Prices start from as little as $1.25 (or 50 cents if you just want a plain baguette or steamed rice) which will get you a burger, noodle soup or a pad thai. Draft beer at Nice Foods is always 50 cents a glass and is served in frosty glasses which go down far too easily.

Nice Foods

Open 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Serendipity Beach Road (near Led Zephyr), Sihanoukville
T: 070 7878

Ochheuteal Street is home to a plethora of BBQ restaurants all offering a similar menu; all that competition means prices are pretty low and you can enjoy a hearty dinner with a drink for around $3.50. Most offer a selection of meats and seafood including pork steaks and ribs, local beef steak, marlin, and fresh tuna cooked fresh to order. If you want to spend a little more you can have imported Australian steak for $9 or whole fresh snapper from around $7. Meals are served with a choice of rice or salad and either baked potato or fries, and most places will throw in some free garlic bread.

The meat and fish will be on display so take a look first to make sure it looks fresh. There isn’t too much to choose between them in our opinion; we’ve eaten at Lucky Pizza a couple of times and found it nice.

Lucky Pizza

Open 10 a.m. to 12 a.m.
14 Mithona Street, Sihanoukville

Snooky’s Bar and Bistro have $3 daily specials with generous portions and a draft beer.

In the Downtown area there a few places that have some great deals. Snooky’s Bar and Bistro have a daily special served from 5 p.m. for $3 including a choice of drink (draft beer or glass of wine). The menu changes monthly, but some recent dishes on offer included chicken tacos, BBQ chicken, and a huge fish and chips. It’s popular with local expats and it has a reputation for providing large portions.

For a couple more dollars they also have regular BBQ nights with dishes starting from $4.75, all dishes are served with a jacket potato or potato salad and their signature garden pasta salad — carb heaven!

Snooky’s Bar and Bistro

Open 12 p.m. til late
87 Makara Street, Sihanoukville
T: 034 677 3444
snookyscambodia.com

Also in the Ekareach vicinity, Spaghetti House is a little Italian-run restaurant that offers dishes from a very reasonable $2. Their menu includes traditional pasta and pizzas and they offer fresh pasta daily. We enjoyed a delicious parmigiana and lasagna here. No draft beer, but their espressos are only 75 cents.

Spaghetti House

Open 11 a.m. til late
Just off Ekareach Street, next to the Pizza Company, Sihanoukville
T: 097 736 0262

It’s no KFC, but CP Chicken has cheap eats on Ekareach.

If you fancy something finger lickin’ good but don’t want to visit Sihanoukville’s new KFC, CP Five Star on Ekareach Street is the place to go. It doesn’t look like much — it’s just a stall but they have some seating behind — but their fried chicken is delicious and incredible value at only 3,500 riel (around 80 cents) per generously sized piece. You can choose from original or spicy coating (we go spicy every time), and they mostly cook to order so you know it’s fresh. They also have several other dishes such as hot dogs and meatballs which look intriguing but we haven’t tried them yet.

CP Five Star

Open 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Ekareach Street, next to Orange Supermarket, Sihanoukville

Heading towards the Vietnamese Consulate on Ekareach Street is Va Restaurant, a Danish-run restaurant with several different daily specials that are excellent value as well as being delicious. They offer different meals depending on the day, including a beef rib sandwich (our favorite) and a Danish-style roast beef sandwich. Prices are $3.75 including a free drink.

Va Restaurant

Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Ekareach Street, opposite the Vietnamese Consulate, Sihanoukville
T: 016 915 906
facebook.com/VaRestaurant

Review: GreenHouse bungalows, Kampot

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Lina Goldberg

Located 5 miles (8 kms) outside of town on the banks of the Kampot river, laid-back GreenHouse bungalows cater to a slightly more sophisticated audience than many of the other nearby stoner hangouts. With 12 bungalows priced between $12 and $40, GreenHouse is a tranquil Kampot weekend retreat set in a lush tropical garden.

GreenHouse is a relaxing river hideaway just outside of Kampot.

GreenHouse’s restaurant is an old Khmer wooden house, formerly Maxine’s AKA Snow’s, the most iconic bar of Phnom Penh’s old guard, back when the city was rough and ready and filled with characters. Ian “Snow” Woodford, who had been in Cambodia since the early 90s, was one of those characters, and when he was evicted to make way for a new luxury hotel, and his health caught up with his age, Snow packed up shop and moved back home. GreenHouse stepped in and bought the beautiful building that was home to so many expat memories. It was dismantled and moved south to Kampot, where it’s been lovingly restored and the balcony extended to give more space to enjoy the views of the river.

Formerly Snow’s of Phnom Penh, the iconic bar is now Greenhouse in Kampot.

Snow’s is now the GreenHouse hangout and restaurant, where they serve an array of surprisingly good French and Cambodian dishes, as well as small plates and Western classics at reasonable prices. We liked the fish tartare made with fresh local fish, spicy Kampot pepper, and sweet pineapple — “you know it’s raw fish, right?” the waitress asked when she took our order — and their substantial house burger was also tasty. At a place like GreenHouse, decent food that’s not overpriced is crucial, because you can easily spend a whole weekend there without venturing into Kampot.

There are kayaks and paddle boards for rent, as well as a deck area for jumping into the river and swimming. If you do want to hit the town, GreenHouse rents motos for $6 per day or mountain bikes for $3 per day. Trips into town on a tuk tuk cost $5 each way, so if you’re planning on going back and forth a lot, it makes sense to do a rental. They have decent WiFi, but it’s only available in the restaurant and the nearby bungalows — the majority don’t have Internet access.

A tasty fresh fish tartare at the GreenHouse restaurant.

GreenHouse has five classes of bungalows, ‘Riverfront’ bungalows that look out over the river and have and hot water for $30, ‘Deluxe’ bungalows that are the same but without the river views, slightly smaller ensuite bungalows with cold water that are situated back from the river for $20, and bungalows with a shared bathroom for $12. They also have a family room with hot water and two bunk beds for $40.

If you’ve seen one wood and thatch bungalow in Cambodia you’ve seen them all, but the GreenHouse bungalows make an effort to improve on the usual design, and the place this is most obvious is in the bathrooms, which have proper toilets, a large mirror, sink and counter, and fully enclosed showers, all features that are lacking in the super-budget bungalows. Each bungalow has a balcony with a hammock and benches and most have a small table and chairs. Inside, there’s an overhead fan, mosquito net, and the thatch ceiling is covered by a protective cloth, which makes for a much tidier bungalow than the ones with fully thatched ceilings, which tend to shed and leave dust all over the bed and rooms. Despite the fact the bungalows are nicer than most, the place still has a very rustic feel, so if you’re looking for something swish, this isn’t the place to go.

Relax at one of the GreenHouse bungalows.

The grounds of the guesthouse are lovely, with a well-tended garden and lush tropical plants and trees along all of the bungalows paths. A large friendly dog named Momo patrols the grounds, keeping an eye on the chickens that strut around the place. GreenHouse requests that all guests wear headphones when playing music or watching movies, and the place is mercifully quiet and relaxing, which is a blessing in bungalows with thatched walls that aren’t much help in blocking out noise. We were surprised by what a good sleep we had, in fact. Greenhouse’s dedication to quiet is seriously enforced — children under 12 and pets are not allowed.

Overall, we thought GreenHouse is a lovely, unpretentious weekend retreat with excellent river access and lush greenery. They certainly live up to their name! Prices are between $12 and $30 ($40 for the four-person group room). Bookings can be made on the GreenHouse website.

GreenHouse

Teuk Chhou Road, Kampot [map]
T: 088 886 3071
greenhousekampot.com

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