Num Banh Chok Wat BoTom · Sophath + Pho in Phnom Penh

Even though nowadays, finding places to eat is literally at our fingertips, I still get my greatest joy from eating by going out foraging blind. There's something about the joy of "own self" discovery, of unexpected delights. That's how I stumbled upon Nom Banh Chok Wat BoTom.

Stall name: Sophath + Pho

Address: # 78 Street 07 Sangkat Chaktomok, 12207

Tel: 092 250 778

Hours: 7:00am - 8:00pm

Cuisine Wat Damnak · Fine Dining in Phnom Penh · Authentic Cambodian with French Touch

Buddy Irene who is resident in Phnom Penh and is well plugged in in the local F & B scene, brought me to Cuisine Wat Damnak. Opened less than a year ago, Irene said Damnak is a must for any visitor interested in the fine cuisine of Phnom Penh. After last night's amazing dinner at Cuisine Wat Damnak Phnom Penh, I couldn't agree more.

Restaurant name: Cuisine Wat Damnak Phnom Penh

Address: 29 Samdech Mongkol Lem Street (228), Phnom Penh

Tel: 09 935 8520

Hours: 11:30am - 2:30pm | 6:30pm - 11:00pm (Sun off)

Num Banh Chok @ Central Market Phnom Penh

One of the missions I set for myself for this trip to Phnom Penh was to experience num banh chok, one of the dishes often mentioned as Cambodia's national dish. It is a noodle soup staple found along streets, corner coffee shops and markets.

Stall name: Num Banh Chok (cooked food stalls in Central Market got no signboard) 

Address: Central Market, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Hours: 6:00am - 10:00am (Num Banh Chok stall)

Mister Crab Seafood @ Russian Market Phnom Penh · Toul Tom Pong Seafood Street Food

My first dinner in Phnom Penh was not traditional Khmer food but seafood done contemporary Phnom Penh style. It's at the famous Russian Market. There's a row of at least three similar street side seafood stalls and Mister Crab was clearly the most popular.

(Cambodia is now post-pandemic. To enter the country, immigration will ask to see your vaccination status. Otherwise, clearance is the same as pre-Covid.)

Stall name: Toul Tom Pong Seafood

Address: GWR7+2RC, Phnom Penh (@ Russian Market)

Hours: 5:30pm - 10:00pm (opens at 8:30am on Sunday)

History of Cambodian · Khmer Cuisine · Ancient Food from Mekong River & Tonle Sap Lake

Khmer cuisine refer to the food of Khmer people. Cambodian cuisine refer to the food of Cambodia which includes several other ethnicities such as Cham, hill tribesmen, Lao, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. Cambodian cuisine has Indian, Chinese and French influences due to the country's history.

Some well known Khmer dishes include prahok, fish amok, pomelo salad, samlar kako, coconut pineapple curry (samlar k'tis), coconut prahok dip and num banh chok. Most may sound unfamiliar but I shall explain more later in this post.

Tangkak · Muar · JB · Johor 1-Day Getaway · Food Trail Itinerary July 2022

This day trip from Singapore to Tangkak was planned around eating durian at Mt Ophir Durian (a durian shop in Tangkak town with their own durian plantation). We set off from Singapore at 7am and arrived back in Singapore the same day at 10pm.

We had an itinerary but used it only as a reference and was prepared for changes as situation required or according to our whims and fancy (that's the flexibility and fun of a DIY trip).

Super Ngon Vietnamese Noodle Cafe @ 466 Crawford Drive · Awesome Beef Shin Slices

Chicken Pho

It was an impromptu meet up to try out Super Ngon Vietnamese Noodle Cafe, a highly regarded place for pho in Singapore.

Restaurant name: Super Ngon Vietnamese Noodle Cafe 

Address: 466 Crawford Ln, #01-08, Singapore 190466

Nearest MRT: 5 minutes walk from Lavender MRT station

Tel: 9152 6622

Hours: 11:00am - 8:00pm (Tues off)

Eat What? Seafood Steamboat Hawker Stall @ Serangoon Gardens Food Centre 食什么? 海鲜火锅

Buddy Jason has been going to this new, old school steamboat stall at Serangoon Gardens Food Centre. He liked it, so jio-ed us (rounded us up) to enjoy it with him. It's old school indeed, the way good steamboats were in the 1980s / 1990s. By old school I mean, the steamboat has no gimmicks, relying only on quality ingredients for flavour.

Stall name: Eat What? 食什么?

Address: Stall #43, Serangoon Garden Market & Food Centre, 49A Serangoon Garden Way, Singapore 555945

Nearest MRT: 15 minutes way from Lorong Chuan station

Hours: Lunch & Dinner

Like Mee Noodle House @ Mount Austin · Pork Soup Full of Soul & Flavour · 赞麵館 猪肉粉

Janet is a fan of the KL style pork noodle soup at the newly opened Like Mee Noodle House in Taman Mount Austin. We tried it together with Kim and we all liked it too - I especially like its thick cloudy, rich, robustly umami savoury porcine sweet soup.

Stall name: Like Mee Noodle House 赞麵館 猪肉粉

Address: 6, Jalan Austin Heights 8/2, Taman Mount Austin, 81100 Johor Bahru

Tel: +6012 722 4020 ☎ +607 358 0165

Hours: 9:30am - 9:00pm

Beach Road Prawn Noodle House @ East Coast Road vs Blanco Court Prawn Mee @ Beach Road · Which is Better?

Beach Road Prawn Mee

Beach Road Prawn Noodle and Blanco Court Prawn Mee are actually related, and they both have their own legion of long time, die hard fans (like Man City versus Man Utd 😬 ).

Stall name: Beach Road Prawn Noodle House

Address: 370 & 372 East Coast Road, Singapore 428981

Nearest MRT: 20 minutes walk from Eunos MRT

Tel: 63457196

Hours: 7:00am - 4:00pm (Tues off)