Chinatown Archives - Page 4 of 4

When DesignGirl told me that we were meeting up with MadamMilton, BaguetteGirl, and DermaMan for Vietnamese food, I thought we were just going to get pho. Boy, was I mistaken! We headed to Phnom Penh, where the menu items are as diverse as our pronunciations for the restaurant name.

Phnom Penh is tucked away in Chinatown, and its tasty treasures are masked behind its ordinary exterior and red and white sign board. But inside the restaurant, things were hustlin’ and bustlin’. DesignGirl had dined here previously, so she knew all the right things to order.

With most meals, you get complementary soup, sprouts and hot sauce.

We started off with the Rice Special A – a Vietnamese hodpodge of rice, grilled chicken, Vietnamese ham, egg, and sides of lettuce. This reminded me a bit of Korean bibimbap, as you have to get a little bit of everything and mix the rice all up in it. I drizzled a bit of their mild vinegar over my bowl, and it sure was delish! DermaMan said that this was his favorite dish of the day.

We then ventured onwards to try the phnom papaya salad, which BaguetteGirl ordered since she loves papayas. I couldn’t quite taste the papaya here, as it felt more like radish. It consisted of ‘papaya’, peanuts, hot peppers, shrimp, and mint. It was definitely refreshing and crispy, but because it was so rainy and cold outside, it was more difficult for me to appreciate a cold dish.

Up next was the phnom 2 noodle. The “2” in the name is for the two types of noodles in this bowl. Upon a first glance, you would think this was another ordinary bowl of pho, but it sure wasn’t! The broth was not msg-ridden compared to other pho places, and the noodles were delicate and cooked perfectly. There was also shrimp and other Vietnamese hams and meats in it. You can eat this with the side of bean sprouts they brought. I liked this dish so much, I had two bowls.

What’s a trip to Phnom Penh without ordering their famous wings? Each table in the restaurant had an order of their wings, which were tossed in chilli pepper flakes and came with a side dipping sauce that was slightly tart and peppery. Wow! I was so surprised when I bit into this chicken – it was moist, and juicy, but incredibly flavorful, especially with the dip. I will definitely order this again.

Finally, the moment we were all waiting for arrived: the butter beef. The butter beef is akin to a beef carpaccio in that it features raw beef (slightly cooked around the edges) in a mild soy like sauce, overlaid with ample cilantro and peanuts. This was an incredible mélange of flavors and textures. MadamMilton was very skeptical about eating raw beef and kept telling us she was waiting for “20 minutes to pass” to see if any one of us would rush to the bathroom. None of us did and she gobbled down the butter beef happily.

By then, we were stuffed. DermaMan had ordered a moomooshake, which was a strawberry iced milk shake. It looked very…cold, so I didn’t not sample it. But everyone else that tried it liked it quite a bit.

DesignGirl also ordered an iced Vietnamese coffee, while I got a hot Vietnamese coffee. The Vietnamese coffee came in an espress drip tin, and a cup with condensed milk (your creamer + sugar, essentially). It was so delicious and rich! However, the caffeine concentration in this drink really messed me up and I was dizzy and had heart arrhythmia for the rest of the day.

Phnom Penh is located in Chinatown. We left around 2pm, and the restaurant was still packed and had line ups for lunch diners.

Words of Wisdom:

Very busy during peak hours…line up for sure!
Marinated Butter beef, Chicken Wings, Deep fried squid!!! Order it now!
Metered parking on street
Kinda sketch looking area….near chinatown

We Rate Phnom Penh:

Address:

244 E Georgia St
Vancouver, BC

I was really excited to finally check out Phnom Penh because it is Vancouver’s most famous vietnamese food. They have won countless awards….. year after year…after year!

When InsecureGirl, M and I came at 6:30, this place was packed! The line up was almost out the door!

The inside has tons of chairs and tables, but most of the time they were occupied. The interior is not anything special…usual asian restaurant.

Tea!

We ordered 3 of the Condensed milk vietnamese coffees. I’d rather have this than a regular latte! It’s really strong and tastes great with the addition of the condensed milk! When you were a kid, i’m sure you had a can at home…so you would take a spoon and just eat it from the can.

These additional sides came to our table along with out meal. Bean sprouts, chilli sauce, lime, and then this really delicious broth. I don’t know what is in it, but it was very nice and refreshing.

Dry Noodle ($6) looked really good, it was loaded with different types of seafood and meats. Underneath the meat and the cilantro and green onions were the dry noodles and this dark sauce. To eat this dish, you should mix everything together so all the noodles get a good coating of the sauce.

After having it all together, it was alright, but not the best.

Marinated Butter Beef ($12.85) was TO DIE FOR! It is essentially a plate of thinly sliced beef that is almost rare. It is loaded with cilantro, garlic chips, ginger, and an amazing sauce. This also one of their famous dishes.

Deep Fried Squid ($8.95) were also amazing! Battered, fried, seasoned with garlic, onion and other ingredients. You also get side dipping sauce that has a lemony taste to it.

Very good and highly recommend!

Deep Fried Chicken wings ($12.50) was really good! It’s one of their most popular dishes on their menu. Very well made and super delicious! One thing I started to notice was how the squid and the chicken seemed so familiar….but maybe it was just me.

There was also the same dipping sauce as the squid. Worked well since it was a nice accompaniment with acidic sauce matching with fried taste.