There are tons of benefits when it comes to living in a touristy city like Phnom Penh. The first one obviously are the tourist attractions themselves. Another can be the night life ,countless bars, pubs and clubs to keep your evenings entertaining whether you’re out dancing with your girlfriends or drinking and watching the football match with your mates.Last but certainly not least are the countless restaurants that you can find here. Be it an expensive ritzy eatery or a humble food cart serving noodles you can find almost anything in this town to satisfy any craving. Id like to formally introduce a new series of articles I will be writing focusing on specific restaurants and social establishments that I believe are of note in Phnom Penh. Think of it as a spotlight, Sash’s Spotlight. For the first ever Sash’s Spotlight we will be focusing on food,more specifically Mexican food.
Mexican food in Phnom Penh, Cambodia!
So you might be thinking to yourself Mexican food in Cambodia!? Is it any good or it must be pricey. To which I would reply hang on and read the article. Driving on the riverside near Phnom Penh’s Night Market I see Viva! Khmer and Mexican cuisine. I think to myself why not go and try to see if their Mexican food is any good. Not to mention its one of the few places that still has 50 cent draft beer. So I walk in with my girlfriend and the first thing you notice are all the sombreros around the restaurant. The next thing is the beautiful mural on the wall which is a depiction of an eagle eating a snake whilst on top of a prickly pear cactus. For those of you who aren’t savvy with Mexican culture this is the Mexican coat of arms and its on the center of the Mexican flag so points to them for getting that. Service was good as well, the Khmer staff spoke English well enough to understand our order and their were no mix ups or mistakes when it came to said order. My girlfriend decided on getting the Viva steak and cheese which was essentially a Philly cheese steak and I decided to test their Mexican food and go for a quesadilla with beef.
Now when it comes to the Philly cheese steak it looked pretty good and authentic but when it came to the taste from what I was told by my girlfriend it was average. Had a lot of green peppers and the beef and the fries on the side left a lot to be desired. So all in all out of 5 stars she gave it a 2.5. But on the other end of the table my quesadilla was amazing. The tortilla and cheese were good but the beef itself had an authentic flavor to it. I believe it to be on par with Mexican restaurants back home in the states and im sure any Mexican would approve of this quesadilla. The salad your given on the side was okay and the salsa was acceptable but its clear the star is the quesadilla and the beef itself. Out of 5 stars I would give this a solid 4 .The price was right in the middle I would say at $5.50 for the Viva Steak with a side of fries and $6.00 for the Quesadilla with a small salad on the side. Add the fact that you get 50 cent draft beers and certain mixed drinks that were only $1.50 plus good service I would confidently recommend Viva! to any person who is staying in Phnom Penh especially if you love Mexican food.
Here are some prices
50 cent draft beer
$1.50 Mojito
$1.50 Margarita
$1.50 Tacos
// Written by Sash Mojica, Cambodia
