The Bachelorette’s Guide to Eating in Phnom Penh

For those who try to avoid street food and don’t like noodles (and if for you, like me, cooking means standing over a hot gas range on the third story with no a/c while being eaten alive by mosquitos) you might not be very motivated to cook for yourself after a long day at work. Eating cheap in Phnom Penh becomes a challenge for those who avoid street food, don’t like noodles or fried rice, and are trying to watch their girlish figure.

Well, you have a reason to rejoice, thanks to the Door to Door restaurant guide of places that now deliver, with full menus! Delivery service is a relatively new concept here in Phnom Penh, but is catching on like wildfire thanks to people like me. Even though most places say they have a $5 minimum order, they don’t all mean it. Java Express bakery and Café is one of them, and I order from them all the time. The Shop, another of my faves, only has a $3 minimum. Be sure to keep a copy of D2D at your desk. It’s a lifesaver.

For breakfast, I either skip it and have big mug of black coffee just like I shouldn’t do, or on better days I have a yogurt (the little square ones from Vietnam at Lucky are my favorite, they are around 30 cents each), cereal with canned milk (buy a whole case of canned milk for around $5 and keep them in the fridge. Yes, it’s pretty gross but if it’s ice cold and over cereal it’s at least tolerable. Good for cooking, too.) Regular milk goes bad before I can drink it all, which equals tons of wasted money. I also love toast and peanut butter or bagels and cream cheese (bagels from TT bakery are best - 012 374 128 for delivery), cream cheese you can find at Bayon Market on Monivong Blvd. near Psa Thmei). I tried the all natural, healthy peanut butter made here in Cambodia and sold at most supermarkets, but it was gross so I just buy the unhealthy and expensive Skippy instead. Fried eggs and bacon are good on Saturday morning, you can get real bacon at Dan Meats (51a St. 204, 012 906 072) you can also get it at lucky but make sure you are getting the kind that is imported and actually tastes like bacon, not a thinly sliced pork chop. Eggs are actually cheaper at Lucky than the local market, believe it or not…at least last time I checked.

If you are wanting to go out, I love the breakfasts at Jars of Clay (Cinnamon rolls, French toast, muffins….mmmmmm), Sisters Café (Omelet), Java Café (bacon and eggs, pancakes, good coffee), and there are tons more good ones out there but because I’m not much of a breakfast person I couldn’t tell ya. Also, if worse comes to worst just take an extra 30 seconds to grab a mini French baguette on your way in the morning (every street side noodle shop sells them) and keep some butter and jam on hand at your office.

Lunch: More and more these days, I end up ordering something to be delivered and end up working at my desk, but if I do chance to go out, it is usually to Hagar Chegnan on St. 163, just after Wat Sampeou Meas, where there is a small buffet that only costs $1.25 for a ton of food. They also have fruit shakes for only 75 cents. I also sometimes go to the Sovanna Mall food court and order stir fried chicken with Thai basil and white rice (Mo-un gee cha) for about $1.50. I also love the Taro shake, only 75 cents. If it’s salad you’re wanting, hit up Java Café (my fave is the California salad with chicken), Equinox has an excellent goat cheese salad, and the Shop has all sorts of healthy salads.

For Dinner, I will either go home and have quick and easy bachelorette solutions such as scrambled eggs, cereal, leftover rice made into rice soup with chopped veggies, or a quick stir fry if I remembered to pull the meat out of the freezer the night before…or, more often than not I just go out to eat with friends since that is just about the only form of a social life I manage these days. You can find a list of my favorite restaurants here.

Some of my favorite random things to eat are: boiled pumpkin cut into wedges, sprinkled with sugar and just a little butter; steamed corn from the street vendors; BBQ chicken at Orrussy market; frozen yogurt from Snow Yogurt across from Sovanna Mall; kettle corn from street vendors; dried jackfruit chips; tamarind fruit; sticky rice with mango; fried string beans with garlic. When dieting, I pretty much stick to tofu/chicken and veggies. Boring, I know, but does the trick. Well, that about sums it up…I hope you found this list useful. Please post your own favorite things to eat in Phnom Penh, and if you know of a good restaurant, spread the word!