The last time I went to Phnom Penh was a year ago, you can read about it here. I was very impressed by the fried chicken wings and had a good dining experience. In contrast, this time wasn't as great. Everyone who has eaten here knows there's almost always a line up to eat here. We went during dinner time and was told that it would be a 45 minute wait. The 45 minute waited turned into 1 hour and 5 minutes. I would wait 30 minutes for food here but I would not wait for over an hour again.

Finally we were seated at 8pm and fortunately the food came quickly. I heard the beef carpaccio is well known here so we ordered that. It was different looking than the ones I tried at Joe Fortes, at Hapa Izakaya and at Ebisu. At the other restaurants the slices of meat were separated and could be picked up one by one but this one the meat was a big round piece. There was a lot of vinegar and cilantro on top which overpowered any taste of the beef. Though the beef was thinly sliced and tender in itself.

Beef carpaccio

When I went to Vietnam I loved the banh xeo there. I was excited to see that it was on the menu so I ordered it and it was very disappointing. It didn't even compare to the streetside ones with minimal ingredients that I tried in Vietnam. The egg and flour batter was too thick and the whole thing was generally bland tasting. There was some shrimp and too much bean sprout wedged inside which made the entire banh xeo soggy and falling apart. Do not recommend if you've tried authentic ones.

Banh xeo

Another thing we tried that was only mediocre were these steamed buns with pork, radish and dried shrimp inside. It was like a larger, rounded version of dumplings you can easily find at dim sum restaurants. The vinegar accompanying the dish was quite strong.

Overall I'd stick with what's popular on the Phnom Penh menu which are the chicken wings, the noodles and the rice dishes. The other menu items we tried that are famous in the home country weren't good here.

First blog post in 4 months! I was in Southeast Asia and food was delicious there, of course, but it's good to be trying different delicacies in the Vancouver area again.

While away I went to Vietnam and got to try the cuisine beyond pho. My favourite new food that I tried there is called banh xeo and I will be on the lookout for it here.

In the meantime to fix my Vietnamese food craving I tried a relatively new Vietnamese restaurant in Richmond. Pho Ho Vietnamese Noodle Soup is located in Continental Plaza on the side facing Cambie Road and not inward facing where the Pearl Castle is. There is generally less business for restaurants on this side of the plaza which is unfortunate because I had a great experience at Pho Ho!

They opened at the end of 2013, taking over a previous hot pot restaurant. The owners were very friendly and kept the place clean. Prices were affordable and portions quite large.

We ordered:
1) A large beef pho (about $9) which came with a free iced lemon tea
2) A chicken banh mi combo (about $12) which came with fresh spring roll, fried spring roll and a red bean drink (not pictured)

The beef pho was very large and flavourful. I enjoyed a mix of beef briskets and tendons. Comparable to beef pho I tried in South Vietnam (North Vietnam pho broth is different!)

L to R: Fresh spring roll, fried spring roll, beef pho, lemon tea, bean sprouts

I had really really delicious banh mi in Ho Chi Minh City for USD$1.5 that was the size of a footlong. I don't think I can ever find anything comparable in Vancouver because of the ingredients but this banh mi still tasted good to me. The chicken was slightly sweet and juicy and I love the crunch of the vegetables in banh mi.

Chicken banh mi

Special mention for the fried spring roll because it was hot and crispy. I believe there was some pork type stuffing inside. To be honest I didn't pay attention to the stuffing much because I was focused on the crispy wrapping!

Closer look at the banh mi combo side dishes

Overall I enjoyed my meal here and will return whenever I want Vietnamese food again. Food and service were both great.

Inside of Pho Ho

It was definitely a foodie kind of day because we went to Cafe Medina for breakfast and then Phnom Penh for lunch! Although the restaurant was full when we were there at 2pm on a weekday, we were seated within 10 minutes because we shared a big round table with 3 other people.

Fried Chicken Wings (small order): The fried chicken wings at Phnom Penh are well known and rightly so. This small order had 12 wings in it! Each wing was coated in this peppery five-spice flavour and fried until crunchy but not overly oily. All the fried wings were then pan fried tossed in garlic and spices to make the outside even more flavourful. The dipping sauce is made of lemon juice and white pepper powder.

Dipped into the sauce, each wing was slightly sour, sweet, savoury and spicy at the same time which is why everyone loves them so much.

Fried Chicken Wings

Beef Pho Noodles: The bean sprouts didn't come with basil like other Vietnamese pho places. Maybe that is because Phnom Penh is more Cambodian. Anyways there was plenty of noodles inside the bowl and beef balls, beef tendon and beef slices. A hearty bowl of pho is a good combo with fried chicken wings.

Beef Pho Noodles

Lychee Moo Moo: I am not sure why they call it "moo moo" but essentially it is a finely blended slushie with lychee flavour. It tasted pretty refreshing.

Lemon Jelly Drink: This drink was a bit too sweet for me and had strips of jelly (like coconut jelly) in lemon flavouring. I probably wouldn't try this drink again.

Lychee Moo Moo

Lemon Jelly Drink

Although the servers were very busy with the never ending customers, they tried their best to be attentive and were friendly so props to them.

Phnom Penh interior

Overall, I never go to eat in Chinatown but Phnom Penh has changed that perspective and maybe I will go try more things there.

I've had bad service at New Asia Deli before and I've read many reviews online commenting on the bad service here but when I went today it wasn't bad at all. It was just normal, quick service that one would expect from an Asian restaurant. Plus the price is inexpensive so you can't expect too much.

Between the two of us we ordered the following food:

Chicken Banh Mi: This is only $3.95 and tasted good every time I ate here. There is pickled radish, carrot and cucumber with marinated shredded chicken in a crispy baguette. Yum.

Chicken Banh Mi

Beef Brisket Noodles: I usually order pho when I eat here but this time we tried a different noodle soup. The noodles are the same as pho ones and the beef brisket was quite tender. The soup is more flavourful than pho but left me thirsty after so there was probably MSG in it.

Beef Brisket Noodles

Red Bean Ice Drink: This drink is also $3.95 and pretty refreshing in the summer heat. I requested less ice for mine because I don't like the ice taking up all the space in the drink. It's not the best red bean ice I've had but pretty good. I prefer when they give a scoop of vanilla ice cream :)

Red Bean Ice Drink

Overall for the price and efficiency but spotty service I would come here sparingly when I crave the banh mi.

I went to Walmart today and probably overbought line paper because they were only 17 cents for a 150 page pack! They're only ever this inexpensive and in stock around this time of year.

Back from shopping at Queensborough Landing we went to eat at a Vietnamese restaurant called Green Lemongrass. There's a patio out front which would be ideal on a summer day if not for the noisy and exhaust filled road it faced.

The front door is actually on the side where the parking spots are.

Honestly I think the decor of this restaurant looks better in photographs than in real life. As I was waiting for the food to arrive I couldn't help noticing the smaller details, or maybe I'm just being picky but these things certainly did not help with my appetite. For example, I sat next to a bike decorating piece and it was extremely dusty with some cobwebs. As shown in the photo, this dusty piece was directly above the condiments and utensils area. There were also a few flies swarming around empty tables which is understandable since the doors to the patio were open.

Bike piece which looks less dusty than in real life

Cleanliness aside, I have to say that I liked the food here. We ordered a large house special pho noodle, beef submarine sandwich, and shrimp Viet spring rolls.

The rice paper on the spring rolls were still slightly warm when the dish arrived. Inside were vermicelli noodles wrapped with thin pork slices, lettuce, and shrimp. Hoisin sauce was served on the side for dipping. I liked how appropriate these fresh rolls were for a warmer summer day.

Spring rolls

 The large pho bowl was very large indeed but it was mostly filled with noodles. The broth smelled pleasant as it came steaming hot to our table. The house pho had a little bit of everything including beef balls, beef slices, and beef tendons. This wasn't the best pho I've ever had but it still tasted good.

Beef pho noodles

 I've tried the chicken sub sandwich from Lemongrass before so this time I opted for beef. I have to say that I prefer chicken better because it is more juicy. However, this beef sub was still solid. It was about the size of a Subway foot long with a crunchy baguette bun and sliced beef, carrot, and cucumber. The sub lacked the sour white radish which I prefer in my Viet subs.

Beef submarine

 If you have a Qooway card you can get 10% off here!