the basil — Restaurant in Khan Daun Penh

On my way home from outskirts of Phnom Penh, I dropped by at this "The Basil" Thai restaurant, in down town Phnom Penh, for lunch.

I am interested in this Thai restaurant, especially because I read many good review before. And yes, exactly, I wanted to prove whether their reviews are true or not.

I arrived at this restaurant around 13:00 PM, right at lunch time. I expected a busy restaurant with many people having lunch. But guess what?

No people inside the restaurant, except two waitress. I myself was doubtful, whether the restaurant open for business or not. Only after I asked the waitress and she said: "Yes. we are open", then I was sure to went in and chose my table. Literally, no single guests, except me and my wife. This triggered my mind, curiously asking whether their review were correct or not?

After seeing the menu book then I chose Fried Sea Bass with Sweet and Sour Sauce (1), Stir-Fried Shrimp with Brocoli (1), Thai Ice Tea (2) and Steamed Rice (2). That's for trial as we are the first time ever patronizing this restaurant. All cost me $33.22, including 10% VAT. (See the copy of my invoice).

Well... I must admit that the appearance / plating of the food, are great. The vegetable are also fresh. So, I give 5 stars for the food's appearance / plating and freshness.

Now, come to the taste. Again, I must admit, again, that the taste was just perfect. The taste was just as good as the same food in Bangkok, Thailand. As a former resident of Bangkok for almost four years, I know how Thai food should taste. And this "The Basil" restaurant, just do a great job in delivering Thai food with original taste.

Frankly, I don't know the taste of other food, such as Tom Yam Gong, Green Curry etc., because I haven't tried yet. At least with those two menus, I can safely say that this restaurant is recommendable for your future food adventure in Phnom Penh.

Finally, when I finished my lunch, I just noticed that this restaurant is one of Thai restaurants that got "Thai Select" status, a short of recommendation from Thai Ministry of Commerce for serving Authentic Thai Cuisine.

Well for sure, I will revisit this restaurant, when I...

Pretty darn good Thai food. Had the green curry with chicken which was excellent. The red curry was also nice and the tum yum soup didn't let us down either. A little bit hard to find as it's set off the street and the signage isn't very prominent. They added 10% extra for vat which was a surprise, maybe I just didn't see it in the menu. Service was pretty good too and they...

Very tasty food. Expect to pay around 6-7 usd. Entrance can be difficult to find at night as reflection in the windows make it look closed and there is no sign that's lit up. Thankfully there was a recent review that made us aware the place is still open.

This is northern style Thai curry that doesn't use any coconut milk which I...