Cheap and Cheerful Places to Eat, Cambodia Style

Further down on Street 51, on the corner of Street 200, is a great find for vegetarians, who are often stuck for choice in this carnivorous country. At Mercy House, you’ll sit in a courtyard under large trees and find a menu with such dishes as Frying Rice with Ham or Hamburger with Cheese (all of which, believe it or not, are vegetarian). They also have terrific fruit smoothies and sand ice special desserts (frosty ice-cream-like concoctions). Open only until 5:30pm.

While I’m particularly partial to the food vendors inside the Russian Market, there’s a new place outside the market with something a little different – Japanese. Spring Vale (on the corner of Streets 450 and 135) may not sound very Asian, but the owners are recent imports from Japan and serve some delicious items, many of which I’ve never heard of before. Okonomiyake is a puffy pancake topped with a sprinkling of scallions, tasty sauce and your choice of shrimp, squid or pork and is extremely delicious. The tempura is really good too.

And for the grand-daddy of all local places, there’s Heng Ley. Drive across the Japanese bridge and stop when you see the enormous cut-out statue of a fellow who looks like Charlie Chaplin, embracing a cut-out mannequin. While everything we’ve tasted on the 60-plus page menu has been delicious (don’t miss the fried shrimp with cashews), it’s the entertainment which makes it truly supreme. Located in a space the size of an airplane hangar, the restaurant provides a showcase for a host of performers dressed in fancy gowns (the women, that is) emerging from behind a giant backdrop, singing along to a really cool Cambodian cover band, and providing quite the unforgettable Cambodian experience.

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