Haven Training Restaurant - Siem Reap

Voted #1 on Tripadvisor, we have got to try this restaurant smack in the middle of Pub Street in Siem Reap.

Although I have been raving about street food and the awesome Khmer cuisine in Cambodia, it really got a hold on me just the second day in Cambodia. I was craving badly for my international cuisine.

Haven Training Restaurant is raved all over the internet and we knew that we had to head over to try our luck even though we weren't lucky enough to make any reservations over the phone that morning. Fortunately for us, we managed to get a sofa seat by the side of the restaurant for our dinner that weekend!

The restaurant boasts of its Social Enterprise twist where it has a touch of help to aid disadvantaged youths to walk out of their troubled lives and find a new career in the hospitality industry. In Haven, they help these youths to grow into fine waiters and waitresses, chefs and sous chefs, and future restaurateurs. Find out more at: http://www.haven-cambodia.com/en/about-haven/

What we realise about the restaurant is that everyone works seamlessly together with gleeful smiles on their faces as they are running the restaurant together with passion and love for the restaurant and the people in it. They display great teamwork and it really reflects in the warm welcome we felt during our short visit there.

They serve a variety of food from Swiss classics, to local Khmer and Asian cuisine and they even have a good selection of vegetarian choices.

Between us, we opted for the Chicken Cordon Bleu, as well as the Veal with Blue Cheese sauce to share.

Both mains came along with salad sides as well as fries to share. I really love the blue cheese sauce on the veal, which is complemented really well. The Veal was cooked medium, juicy and succulent with an authentic Swiss touch which contrasted the strong Asian flavours we had during our two days in Cambodia. The Cordon Bleu was cooked as it was planned along with the cheesy mozzarella oozing from the chicken thigh meat. It was a refreshing change to my palate and I really enjoyed my mains.

To end our meal, we had the classic chocolate cake which was a rich chocolate ganache recipe, sprinkled with some confectionery sugar, simple and delectable. Rich chocolate with a chunk of creamy goodness to really complete our savoury experience a wonderful way as we will be in Haven.

Haven Training Restaurant
Sok San Street, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia
http://www.haven-cambodia.com/

Street Food in Cambodia

I would say, please eat street food to have an authentic travel experience!

When you tour the countries in South-east Asia, you tend to be skeptical of the food you partake on the streets. I have a weak stomach, so I am extra cautious of the food that I eat, especially on the streets.

But with an adventurous mind, I took some calculated risks and ate some of the food along the streets of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. I did not have any stomach upset of any sort throughout the entire journey and I was really grateful. :)

I think that as long as you avoid exposed food, weird insect-infested food and always insist on having food that is cooked on the spot, you are pretty much on the safe side.

That is also because I went to the trip with lots of precautionary measures this time...

I made sure that I took 2 probiotic pills in the morning and a multi-vitamin. And after any street food that I ate, I made sure that I take my probiotic drink. It really worked wonders for me! 

Back to the street food I had in Cambodia, our first dinner for the trip was spent along the streets at the junction just outside our hotel where there are a few stalls selling grilled food and we picked one of the crowded ones:

We sat on one of these tables with very small stools and ate along the locals. The locals were able to converse in English and we quickly settled in for dinner.

Cambodia food is pretty similar to its neighbours such as Vietnam and Thailand where they serve us many condiments such as salt, pepper, lime and yummy garlic chilli.

We asked for recommendations and had the grilled beef, grilled pork and grilled snails to share. They also served complimentary vegetables and rice to go with it.

The food is grilled on a roadside BBQ station with charcoal and it is char-grilled to perfection, much to the likes of Korean BBQ meat. The total cost of the meal came up to USD$2 which included the drinks we had. It was such a sumptuous and hearty meal for the price.

I did not feel that the food was unclean of any sorts. It was a good local meal that all tourists should enjoy seating in the midst of the young Cambodians. (;

Phnom Penh 

Near Teahouse Asian Urban Resort

Sangkat Chaktomuk, Khan Daun Penh, Daun Penh.

On and off the streets of Siem Reap's night market, we tried some of their local delicacies as well. 

We had this sausage filled with vermicelli and meat. I think I ate something similar to this in Thailand. It is grilled along the streets and costs a few cents.  

I really love this passion fruit juice that I had at Siem Reap's night market. I asked her to add the passion fruit along with honey and it was so good I had it on the both nights we spent in Siem Reap.  (;

We also had this sweet savoury dessert with coconut shreds and brown sugar. It tasted weird at first but I got kinda hooked on it after awhile. It had a pretty unique taste!

Even at night, the temperature in Cambodia was unbearable for us at 40 degrees Celsius. We had to get some ice cream to cool us down. We had the Korean ice-cream with twirly cones!

That kinda summarizes some of the street food we had at Siem Reap. We did not try many of the food along the streets because we packed our itinerary with restaurants and cafes to try out, so please look out for my other posts on that!

Siem Reap
Ang Kor Night Market
Khum Svay Dangkum, Cambodia

http://www.siemreap-nightmarket.com/

http://www.angkornightmarket.com/

We also had street food on our last afternoon at the Central Market in Phnom Penh. 

The famous fried insects that many locals rave about. But due to the influx of tourists and the massive amount of photo-taking, the stalls do not allow photos but I sneaked a photo here. And no, we are not gutsy enough to try them. 

As we only had 1 hour left before our departure to the airport, we were trying our luck to satisfy our craving at the Central Market. Fortunately for us, we made our way to the food section and we saw something similar to that of the Pho there!

The taste of the noodles resembled that of the Pho in Vietnam, but it was slightly lighter in the taste. They also had the various spices and herbs that is similar to the Pho noodles. 

We also tried the fried bee tai mak or rat noodles, which is the silver needle noodles. It tasted real good with an egg topped on it. For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_needle_noodles

The noodles were priced at approximately USD$1-2 each. Apart from the noodles, we also ordered the grilled fish to try. But it did not taste that good. It was heftily charged at USD$5 even though it was the bargained already. It was much of a tourist trap at the central market and we should have bargained more even for the food, but we were out of time. 

Phnom Penh

Central Market

Neayok Souk, Phnom Penh 855, Cambodia

http://www.phnompenh.gov.kh/phnom-penh-city-central-market-141.html

That concludes my post on the street food in Cambodia. We have had a variety of different food of all sorts and a foodventure to share about the streets of Cambodia streets and they food they offer. A highly-raved experience I would recommend!

Our Cambodia Adventure

All you need to know about Cambodia - Phnom Penh & Siem Reap 

My friend - Chuan and I are lovers of the lesser developed countries. Although there is a stigma on how unsafe Cambodia is as compared to your developed countries. Nonetheless, we decided to take a leap of faith and ventured there. It was an adventure of our lives. One good trip worth remembering. Cambodia is nice and rustic, a place to dwell, to slow down, to enjoy and to live well.

Without much planning and some very hasty decisions, we whizzed ourselves away to a 5 days 4 nights adventure to Cambodia covering Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, spending 2 nights in each destination. 

The trip started with our matching bimbo looking Kate Spade passport covers. We were already feeling the travelling buddy camaraderie.

1. Flight

We took budget air to Cambodia - Phnom Penh, Tiger air there and Jetstar air for the return flight, the total cost is $140SGD, a good price for an impromptu trip booked in 2 weeks. The flight was a very bearable one with the planes albeit small, but short ride of 1 hour 45 minutes. Our flight was at 3pm, so in a short nap's time, I woke up feeling refreshed at our destination. Time check 4.15pm Cambodia Time. No taxes or additional costs needed to enter or exit Cambodia.  

The Phnom Penh international airport is a well-developed one with many DFS and food selections. When we checked out of the airport, we were immediately greeted by their Telcom service.

2. Services 

Cambodia, although taking flight in its developing process, is a very tech-savvy country. The cost of internet services is kept low and affordable for both locals and tourists alike. I would not say that it has a fantastic network comparable to Singapore, I was able to use whatsapp and surf the net at most places we travelled in Cambodia.

We each spent $3 for a new sim card and 5 days worth of 3G services, SMS and phone calls!

We also managed to change some local currency, Riel, at the airport for ease of travel. But in Cambodia, USD is king. Most of the shops are priced in USD. And it is pretty impossible to find a money changer who will buy Riel in exchange back, so please remember to use up your Riel in Cambodia!

3. Transportation

When we headed out of the airport, there were many Taxi and Tuk tuk drivers flagging for our patronage. They were priced at $7 per Tuk Tuk, and $15 per Taxi. We managed to negotiate our fare down to $10 for the taxi ride downtown. I would recommend the Taxi as the route from the airport downtown is a pretty long and dusty one. With your luggage or backpack would be a little inconvenient for a long tuk tuk ride. For Taxi contact, you can call Mr Men Sophan @ 012 442785/069 565765, but the second driver on our way back tried to charge us $12 instead of the $10 that we agreed upon, so be sure to agree on the prices with him.

As for transportation means around Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, we travelled mostly by Tuk Tuk or walk. I do not feel unsafe walking although the street lights were spaced far apart and it does get abit eerie and uncomfortable walking along the streets at night. We were acquainted with the Tuk Tuk driver at Phnom Penh who brought us around Phnom Penh on our last day. He has a fancier and more comfortable Tuk Tuk. Most Tuk tuks costs USD$1-2 depending on the distance. The tuk tuk driver we were acquainted with is Mr Chonnei (Johnny), he is a nice man that is honest and really goes all out to help you. His contact +(855)15648164, +(855)975880404, or you can find him on skype @ Mel - chanmorny.

For the long ride to Siem Reap, we travelled there by coach - Giant Ibis which was a tourist catered, fully air-conditioned bus. The bus was similar to the ones in US, the greyhound with electronic plugs where you can charge your electronic devices. The price of the bus is USD$15 for one-way, and you can book your coaches with most of the hotels that you reside in. The prices are competitive so dun you worry!

The route was a long 7-hour duration with only 2 stopovers, and we had lunch at a place known as Banyan Tree. The food is really mediocre and expensive there, so if it is possible please pack for your bus ride along the way.

  

4. Accommodation 

As for our accommodation, we stayed in very decent 4-star hotels with swimming pools. Our first night at Phnom Penh is at a boutique hotel - Teahouse Asian Urban Resort.

The boutique hotel is very comfortable and homely considering that we only paid $32USD for a night's stay with an international breakfast inclusive in the price. They gave us a free upgrade to a deluxe room as well.

There is a a nice lobby area but unfortunately, they were renovating their pool which was pretty devastating to us. Cambodia's average temperature is at 40 degrees Celsius which makes swimming a necessity for us. They tried to make it up with complimentary sangria which we requested to enjoy it by the patio of the restaurant.

The room is a basic one with a queen-sized bed and a single bed, perfect for a family of three. I opted to sleep on the single bed but the air-con was blowing directly at me the entire night and I was freezing. So I crawled on my friend's queen size for the night. Haha!

My only complain about the hotel is that it is not exactly soundproof, so as light-sleepers, we find ourselves waking up several times in the night due to noises outside.

The international breakfast was a decent fare which we filled our tummies in the morning. There was even an egg station where you can choose your favorite choice of eggs. I really love the Cambodian porridge, it was so flavorful! For $16 USD per pax per night, its really worth it!

  

The hotel staff are all hospitable and always ready to help us in every way. To top it all, there was no language barrier as they are all able to converse in English. As for location, it is pretty secluded but not too far from the city-centre. It is a nice and budget accommodation that I would recommend. We made our booking via the trusted booking.com without any additional taxes or service charges. 

Teahouse Asian Urban Resort

# 32, Street 242, Sangkat Chaktomuk, Khan Daun Penh, Daun Penh

http://www.booking.com/hotel/kh/teahouse-asian-urban-resort.html

Our next accommodation in Siem Reap is the best of the three different hotels we stayed in for our trip. It is a boutique hotel known as the Landing Point Hotel. It is centrally located, approximately 15-minute walk to the central market. We had a free upgrade as well, and our room was just by the pool side. 

  

  

We also called to arrange with the hotel for a free tuk-tuk pick up at the bus station where the tuk tuk driver picked us up with a big placard with Chuan's name on it.

We settled in quickly when we arrived at the hotel. We had our complimentary pineapple juice while the hotel staff slowly explained to us about the check-in, what we can do in Siem Reap and how to go about to book our Ang Kor Wat day trip for the next morning. We also made friends with two Malaysian girls there where we toured Ang Kor Wat together.

The room was very spacious with a Queen size bed and additional single bed. There was an open bath tub for couples who wants some saucy time together. The decor of the place resembles that of a nice beach resort with the rounded pebbles. Full hotel facilities was provided with a nice salt water pool where we would lounge around every afternoon.

The breakfast was also very well-prepared. For one early morning where we had to get up at 4am to catch the sunrise at Ang Kor Wat, they prepared pastries and tea for us. The next morning, there was a selection of all-day breakfast suited to accommodate for any time of your arrival. We opted for the omelette which was delectable. 

I really enjoyed my stay at the Landing Point Hotel. It costs $79 USD for 2 nights inclusive of GST and service charge. It is a really affordable and awesome place to stay if you are at Siem Reap and I would highly recommend. My only complain would be the pretty dark and secluded road prior to arrival at the hotel entrance, but overall the location is safe and good.

Landing Point Hotel

Wat Bo Road, Street 22, Cambodia

+855 17 561 615

http://www.landingpointhotel.com/

Our last hotel was the most expensive of the three accommodation - Frangipani Fine Arts Hotel. The Frangipani chain hotel is successful chain of local boutique hotels. It was the most expensive of the three, priced at $49.50 USD per night. 

  

 The hotel also has complimentary free drinks with free bicycles for our usage. But, it does not have a swimming pool for our use. Being swimming enthusiasts, we were super disappointed. We had to walk about 300 metres to another Frangipani Royal Palace hotel for the swim. But the staff there were really helpful with our many requests which made up for it.

The room was decent as seen in the photos with two single beds. As all Frangipani hotels, there is a hint of flowery scent in the room which feels very adequate. 

Frangipani Fine Arts Hotel

#43, Street 178, Sangkat Cheychumneas, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

http://www.frangipanifineart-hotel.com/

Please look out for my in-depth posts on Cambodia soon!