Madam Moch Khmer Restaurant — Restaurant in Siem Reap

I’ve been in Siem Reap for two weeks now and eaten at a number of restaurants, most of them good. So far, though, Madam Moch is the best. It’s a clean, pleasant, comfortable environment with charming and helpful staff. Then there’s the food. It's budget friendly with the quality way higher than the price. I went there a couple of days ago and had very tasty noodles with beef and vegetables. Yesterday I returned and had simply the best meal I’ve had in Cambodia: pork ribs with rice. When it arrived, I thought, this could get messy, anticipating having to break up and eat the rack of ribs with my fingers. In the event, they were easily separated by a knife, with the meat just falling off the bones. The pork was perfectly cooked, browned on the outside, tender underneath and with just the right amount of fattiness. It was served with rice, a little salad, and some kind of lime-based dip. (The dip was wonderful and complimented the meat really well. The staff were happy to give me a second bowl when I asked for one.) I also got free iced water. So, a top meal, in nice place, with great service, and all for $6.

On my birthday, I chose to go to Madam Moch's again and to again have the pork ribs. I was not disappointed. If anything, they were even better than on my earlier visit. The second and third pictures tell...

Food great, price great, staff friendly and smiling all the time. BUT this place is terribly short of staff, only two waiters taking care of everything, therefore they forgot almost EVERYTHING!

After we were sitted, there was a 5mins wait just for the menu because they forgot about it and all two of them are too busy to notice our call. Latter one, after the first dish is brought to us, we realize that they also forgot to give us knife and forks, and again, all two of them are too busy to notice our call, so here goes the wait again. Finally, when we finished the food and were eager to go, because there are a bunch of mosquitoes feeding on us(probably because we were sitting at the outest table with some plants beside us), we ask for check. And 5mins latter we are still waiting for that check, we couldn’t stand it anymore so we asked again, the waiter realized that he forgot about it AGAIN, then quickly brought it to us.

Can’t blame the waiters too much for lack of staff resulting to this disappointing experience, but we won’t consider going there again before they better...

Plein air rattan traditional-decorated, with wood tables and padded rattan chairs and a very affordable, organized, thoughtful and clearly presented menu to match, a general survey of popular Cambodian cuisine. I had the tofu amok and green papaya salad - and both had fresh herbs and peppers, piquant taste and fresh bite/crunch, and layered textures of food made by a chef that knows and appreciates food regards their work with love and pride! The staff also seemed actually happy, joking around and responsive. I’ve found it really hard to eat at most tourist friendly restaurants (no matter the Google rating) because they make the food super sweet and bland and the food and service feels steely and robotic - here the food was tourist-friendly ie not spicy (I wish there were an option to make it more so!); and yet there was still felt a great fidelity to including authentic ingredients and ensuring an enticing, enjoyable eating experience. Amazing price point for a place in which I felt someone cares - and not just for tourist...