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vietnamese

Phở shops in Khan Chamkarmon district

2 May 2015 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

Phở is the most famous of Vietnam’s culinary repertoire. A lot of what goes in it depends on whether the cook is Hanoian or Saigonese, with the latter dominating in this area of Phnom Penh.

Its base is a murky broth of beef and chicken bones, boilded with some dried squid, garlic, shallots and other things. Thin slivers of raw beef are added to the bowl of noodle while the broth is still piping hot, and the phở is accompanied by a plate of vegetables and herbs: bean sprouts, onions, cuts of lime, rice paddy herb (ma-om), sweet basil (chee korhom), and saw leaf herb (chee bonla). It’s served with hoisin, soy, chili sauces, which can be mixed into the broth or into a small condiment dish for dipping the meat into. Everyone has their special recipe, and their unique chili sauce.

The area of St 95 between St 360 and Mao Tse Tung and its side streets is largely Vietnamese. There are a number of phở shops here in the Khan Chamkarmon area that come close to the steaming bowl you’d get in Ho Chi Minh. Here are three options below for good phở:

This corner shop (St 95 and St 376) whose name I can’t gather from their banner(…?) serves up a decent bowl of phở, along with other foods such as koko mee dom (beef stew with noodle) and chicken rice. They also have coffee and other milk syrup mixes (but the coffee at the St 360 shop is better!). The family is very friendly, and not only are they great with the kids the space is open and clean; their huge planters are filled with tetra fish and their little girl keeps my kids occupied.20150502_100449 Pho corner shop

Phở Tương Lai at House #49 St 95 (about two blocks south of St 360). Unfortunately they only serve phở (though it’s very good!). Coffee can be ordered from the shop next door, but it is a powdered type. There are three staff who go about their business unsmiling, appearing cranky in demeanor, but if you’re there when the crowd thins out they sit and talk and break out the occasional smile. It’s a cramped shop so it can be a tight squeeze for tall people during the busy mealtimes.

CAM02608 Pho St 95

Phở Long Ky at House #168 St 360 (north side of the street, just west of Monivong). This shop serves excellent phở and a decent iced coffee. The pot is manned by a Vietnamese man, and both he and the woman who serves the coffee are friendly and easygoing. They’re great with the kids too. There are just two fans but somehow whenever we go, we’ve luckily managed to get one of these tables!

 

 

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: Khan Cham Karmon, Khan Chamkar Mon, Khan Chamkarmon, Phnom Penh, pho, Phở Long Ky, Phở soup, Pho Tuong Lai, restaurant, vietnamese

Quick eats in Phnom Penh: Bánh hỏi for lunch

3 April 2015 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

This shop on busy Sihanouk Blvd has been serving fantastic bánh hỏi for years! They serve a set menu that includes sandwiches and meat skewers. It’s a picture menu, and easy to point to one of the two big platters of meats and vegetables. Before the food arrives, a small pan of water and slices of lemon is brought to the table for washing hands.

Bánh hỏi refers to the rice vermicelli noodle woven into a fine mesh, which looks like gauze. It’s paired with foods of different textures and richness – starchy green bananas, sweet pineapples, crunchy cucumbers, meats and fats – all to be wrapped into a fresh spring roll. These fillings are laid out on several platters.

One of these platters contains skewered pork meat sliced very thin and wrapped around a piece of fat. It’s accompanied by the pickled vegetables that’s served with many barbecued Khmer dishes (slivers of unripe mango or papaya, cucumber, carrot in vinegar, salt, sugar and chili).

Rice paper wrap is served dry and stacked on the plate; before rolling, a wrap is dipped in warm water to soften and make it pliable. It’s a bit tricky because once wet the wrap is fragile so it tears easily. But with a little practice it can be stretched expertly to roll an unwieldy amount of filling together. The dipping sauce, nuoc cham, is a delicate balance of spice, sweet, sour, and salty, and topped with roasted ground peanuts and chili.

Below is the process photographed step-by-step:

Wash your handsBánh hỏi20150324_114646 ban hoi smBánh hỏiBánh hỏiBánh hỏiBánh hỏiBánh hỏiBánh hỏiBánh hỏiBánh hỏiBánh hỏiBánh hỏi

On Sihanouk Blvd the small “hang bai” is easily lost in the mix of salons, retailers and other eateries on the north side of the street between Monivong and St 63. It’s about 7 shops towards Monivong if starting on St 63 –  look for the yellow awning with the address #83AEo St 274. Today they were sporting the famous (brightly colored) pajama apparel!

20150402_120254Bánh hỏiBánh hỏiBánh hỏiBánh hỏi

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: Bánh hỏi, cuisine, food, Khmer, nuam choc, Phnom Penh, Sihanouk Blvd, vietnamese

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