ZZO LAB — Restaurant in Khan Boeng Keng Kang

The restaurant looks stylish from the outside, in a minimalist sort of way, and has plenty of parking in the front.

The lady led us to a table, but it was right under the A/C and had snow on it. The waitress graciously set up another table for us and killed all fans. I had read a few reviews that pointed out that the restaurant was always empty, and it was certainly the case for us as we were the only guests.

Both the food and drink menu are quite small, but I already knew what I was going to order for Thao and myself: the Portuguese seafood rice stew, a dish that popped up in half the reviews I read. A dish for two people, $15.00 seems a fair price. The boy went for the smoked duck breast which, at $9.00, also seemed reasonably priced. As a starter, I ordered a small plate of sous-vide octopus carpaccio at $7.00. Not sure how it can be a carpaccio (raw) when it was sous-vide (cooked), but whatever. I also ordered a Belgian Vedett Extra White beer ($3.50) whilst Thao and HA stuck to water. Prices do not include 10% VAT but there is no service charge.

We were served warm, fresh bread with an excellent truffle butter. We were also given those magic napkins that unfold when water is poured over them. I first came across those in Vietnam a few years ago when Thao and I went to a very funky restaurant. So funky in fact that I thought the napkin was some sort of starter, much to the merriment of Thao.

The minimalist theme from outside continues into the restaurant. The predominant colour is white, there is little decoration, but it is absolutely a style I like. No bling-bling, no weird pictures or pink deer (read the Min Min review), just focus on the important stuff.

The starter arrived after 10 minutes or so. Octopus is not an easy thing to cook, and I have had my fair share of what felt like tennis balls. Absolutely not the case here, the octopus was very tender. Thao had braces fit yesterday and has a very sore mouth, but she still managed to eat it.

The first main course was the duck breast. I tried a small piece, and it was very, very tasty and the meat, whilst not quite melt-in-your-mouth, was tender enough. I did not try the sauce that came with it, but HA said that it was excellent. Good French fries and vegetables too, not sure why they thought they had to add a sachet of ketchup to the whole thing.

Then came our order and boy, did it look and smell good. A very large portion and certainly not stingy on the seafood. Lots of clams, prawns and squid, with a few mussels thrown in. The stew, more of a soup, was well seasoned, with a rich tomato flavour. If there was to be a very small criticism: the seafood could have been dropped into the stew a minute or two later. I understand it is a challenge as the seafood will continue cooking in the very hot stew. I think they could chuck it in at the table, and it would be perfect.

And there you have it. A real jewel of a restaurant and they deserve to have much more clients than they do. Everything was near perfect, with friendly service, great food, and a pleasant atmosphere. Prices are more than fair and even fairer at lunch when they give a 50% discount on their pasta. Are we going back? Too right we are, more likely than not within the week. Ok, the name ZZO is stupid ;-). The owners are Korean and they apparently have a few more...

I've always wanted to try this restaurant, but when I had the time it was under renovation. Finally, I managed to come with a friend for lunch there and we ordered their Carbonara and a limited edition of Rose Crab pasta, which comes with a free tea/coffee. Tempted by the desserts (3 options), we ordered a dessert each to try as many dishes as possible: tiramisu and molten chocolate cake.

Starting with the service was actually very decent, seems like the staff there are quite new and shy. We were given the dried towel cubes, but weren't sure if we were to pour the complimentary water with lemon in it or not, which we eventually did as there was no one to be seen😅. In fact, we were not sure if we were to have desserts in the midday, but we did as we thought we could catch a glimpse of what they look like in the fridge. But they don't actually have a display fridge, so we ended up confusing the chefs in the kitchen as to why we would like to have a look at the unplated desserts 🤣

Going to the pasta, freshly made and I'd say very very nice, esp. given they have discount! If not, I might think twice.. decent,Carbonara is creamy and rich, but not the authentic one with only egg yolk and cheese. The meat is like lardon and not the supermarket bought sliced bacon, decent, but not the best Carbonara in PP. Rose Crab pasta, if you look at the Pic, it's absolutely stunning, it also comes with some shrimps, but it was actually creamy and spicy, like the rose teobboki at Korean restos, so be warned if your spice tolerance is low!🌶️We felt that the menu could actually offer hints for customers, which ones are spicy or adapted into vegetarian version, best sellers etc.

Desserts are very very nice! The mascarpone cheese in the tiramisu seems to have overpowered the dessert. The coat of cocoa powder at the top was a nice and fluffy 🥹 it's a nice dessert, but again not the best one I've tried. My friend's molten chocolate dessert is a definite winner, we were so satisfied as the molten chocolate oozes out of the dish 💯

Will...

Who would have thought this unassuming place would serve one of the best fusion European food in Phnom Penh!

I really appreciate that despite it being a small boutique style restaurant, they put in the effort to create a seasonal menu and change things up every 3-4 months. There are some key dishes that stay on the menu all the time but there will always be 3-4 new additions to the tapas menu and another 3-4 new additions to the mains menu.

I've been here 3 times so far and tried most of the dishes. If there is one thing you must get, it is the gambas pil pil. One of the best gambas I've ever had, especially if you are a fan of garlic. They pile up the entire dish with so much sliced garlic like there's no tomorrow.

Other dishes I highly recommend: Baked brie cheese with honey & nuts, creamed spinach, shakshuka with lamb sausage (seasonal), mondulkiri avocado pasta (seasonal), mustard chicken thigh with cripsy kailan (seasonal), tomatoes spicy chilli spaghetti.

Atmosphere wise it's a small place with only 3 tables on the first floor and a room on the 2nd floor for bigger groups. There is definitely room for improvement on the harsh cool white lighting..The times I've gone we are the only people occupying the tables on the first floor so I always politely ask the staff to turn it down a notch by switching off 1 of the lights and they always...