Big MaMa — Restaurant in Khan Chamkar Mon

Stay tuned for three updates My experience with this restaurant is still very limited, so take this with a grain of salt. My three times eating Big MaMa’s food varied wildly. My ratings moved in this order: 3.7 to 5 to 4. This first portion of the review is entirely specific to the lasagna.

On my first trip to Big MaMa I had the lasagna. While it was prepared well and had a nice flavor, the portion was truly wimpy for a $10USD plate of lasagna. Even in the United States this would be a rip off, as most Italian restaurants generally offer you twice the portion I received.

Like I said, I liked the lasagna, but I was still quite hungry afterward. It felt like an appetizer to a meal that never arrived. I do also want to say that the hostess and chef (owner?) were very friendly people, so I’m not knocking the service or their soft skills at all.

UPDATE 1: I was recognized by the owner when walking by two weeks later! He brought me a plate of free lasagna that was 2 to 3 times the original portion I received. I was amazed that he remembered me and took it upon himself to rectify the situation and give me a very pleasant surprise. That’s a level of customer service I’ve never received in my life. Big MaMa is the real deal! Update rating: 5/5 stars

UPDATE 2: I bought a pepperoni pizza and had a very odd experience. I’ve concluded that Big MaMa is inconsistent.

First, the pizza itself was quite good once I did finally eat it. The crust was the right combination of crispy and fluffy, the pie was sufficiently sauced, and the pepperoni tasted like quality meat. Let me explain where things got a little weird.

I came to purchase the pizza at about 3pm. I talked to a person who I believed was a manager and they told me to give them 20 minutes. I came back 20 minutes later and the pizza was being prepared. I came back again 15 minutes later and the staff told me the manager had taken the pizza I ordered and left. I was very confused. They made me another one, so one hour after initially ordering I received my pizza. I’m still not 100% sure if the “manager” was a manager, or what exactly happened. It was quite odd. I think his name was Aaron. Updated rating 4/5 stars.

UPDATE 3: It’s been about a year since my last update. I was in Phnom Penh last week and ate at Big MaMa twice. I had a good experience both times! The first time I just had penne pasta cooked with mozzarella (I forgot the specific name). The second time I had caprese salad and lasagna. Everything was really tasty, came out quickly, and there were no issues at...

Big Mama is a Turkish restaurant on the bustling dining area of Bassac street in Pnom Penh. I liked the kind inviting nature of the staff at this restaurant and I dropped by for breakfast one morning on a return visit to Bassac Street, after I first saw the Big Mama restaurant. They open early unlike other outlets in the area.

I found the food really fresh and flavourful. The dish “The Menemen” was recommended to me. It is a Turkish breakfast dish made of very crisp bread (almost like pita or naan bread) cooked in an outdoor tandoor oven at the front of the dining premises. Its accompanied with a dip made out of fresh tomatoes and green peppers with softly scrambled eggs. Each bite offers a taste of some healthy and rich flavors. Simply delicious. It was a value for money item at only USD 5.50 dollars. Most breakfast menus at Big Mama range from USD 5.50 to USD 7.50 dollars.

I was also delighted to find that the Big Mama restaurant offers a roof terrace quite high up. I felt the deck area would make a lovely spot for sunset drinks or a sunny weekend brunch. The structure and ambience of the dining spot with several floors is kinda like a shop house with some unique character. Its will make for a very romantic at night indeed ...

The restaurant has a lovely wine selection as well.

I recommend the Big Mama for its kind staff service, unique menu and amazing ambience. It makes for a very romantic dinner date location, a cosy lunch meeting spot or nice venue for refreshing sundowners after work with colleagues on the roof...

Was lured in with a sign outside offering 4 dollar Pizza Margherita's, I mean who can pass up on opportunity like that? Little did I know that was for take out pizza's and the pizza I had sitting down was double that - a little bit of a buzz kill and somewhat cheeky I think from the owners, as not everyone will know that. And I did make it obvious I was here for the 4 dollar Pizza's!

Anyhow went upstairs to the top deck - and sat down, enjoying the great views of the city you can get from this classy restaurant Nice décor and good views, easy to get a comfortable seat, owner and staff were friendly and chatty too.

Pizza came and it was pretty good, very decent, and with the one beer I had the bill came to ten dollars. About half of what I was expecting to pay - he he - but still it was a pleasurable experience, and I had a good hour enjoying my time here, soaking in the atmosphere and relaxing over good, well cooked food, with the lovely views and all.

Staff were so friendly I decided to give them a small tip - showing how by the end of the meal I had lost the run of myself in the excitement of having a...