There’s a healthy selection of restaurants and cates in Sihanoukville. Most are open from about 7am for breakfast and close after dinner at around 9pm or 10pm. The backpacker area on Weather Station Hill claims a dozen or more restaurants, plus decent food at many of the guesthouses. The centre of gravity has definitely shifted to Serendipity Beach, which is also a good spot for beachside barbecues. However, other beaches around town have a couple of seafood restaurants, while the centre of town has a few places that can be useful for before or after a bus trip or during a night on the town. Most beaches attract vendors selling everything from pineapples and quail eggs to freshly grilled prawns and fish. You may find it all a bit of a hard sell if you are just trying to relax on the beach, but provided you bargain, this can be an inexpensive way to snack your way through the day.
Weather Station Hill
The original budget-dining centre of town. Places here offer a good range of tasty and inexpensive cuisines, served out of basic wooden shacks.
Mealy Chenda Restaurant
Mains US$1-3
The rooftop restaurant at Mealy Chenda Guest-house draws a mixed crowdat night, including local Khmers. The menu includes an evening seafood barbecue as well as back- packer breakfasts, but service can be slow if it’s busy. A good spot for a sunset beer.
Romduol’s Restaurant
Main 3000-5000r
The menu here is uncannily like that of Mealy Chenda, as it was set up by a former employee of the guesthouse. Located just across the road, dishes are competitively priced in riel rather than US dollars, and it fills up most nights.
Sam’s Restaurant
Mains US$1-3
One of the original guesthouses in town continues life as a small family-run restaurant. The menu strikes a nice balance between Khmer and Western food and it is a friendly place to hang out.
La Paillotte
Mains USS3-7
Bringing a touch of class to an otherwise budget backyard, this new restaurant is set under a giant thatched roof at the end of a winding path. The accent is predominantly French, with a good range of local seafood soaked in sauces. Out the front is a laid-back liar with a pool table.
Snake House
Tel: 012 673805 – Mains US$2-5
‘Unique’ is a used and abused term in tourism circles, but for once it is justified at this restaurant, near the guesthouse of the same name (opposite). The tables are set amid a flourishing reptile house with snakes from all over the world. The food, well, that’s incidental when there’s a python to your left, a cobra to your right and snakes right underneath your plate… yes, the glass-topped tables include snakes inside.
Tags: Eating in Sihanoukville