The Holy Cow Restaurant

In our continuing mission to find the best (and safest) places to eat in Sihanoukville, our quest has led us to the Holy Cow Restaurant, Bar and Café on Ekreach Street, just about half way between the town centre and the Golden Lions.

A good friend has recommended this place during a previous visit to Sihanoukville and we did plan to pay a visit, but as always ‘plans’ just don’t go down well in towns like this. Somehow the ‘laid back’ attitude and ‘go with the flow’ nature of the place grabs you and you feel quite happy to be casually guided by instinct.

Plans are for Big City’s and ‘back home’.

Our instinct tonight, led us to a last minute decision to visit the Holy Cow and we strolled over to the two nearby ‘Tuk Tuk’ drivers. The first one seemed cheerful and spoke great English. I said “the Holy Cow, please. Not far”, “wow, very far …… have to go up the hill” he exclaimed.

Since I already knew that, from the centre of town, the Holy Cow is actually walking distance and infact ‘downhill’, I decided to move on to the second ‘Tuk Tuk’ driver. “You know where the Holy Cow is? Far or not far?” I asked, “Not far” he replied and we climbed aboard.

Lesson there, try to familiarise yourself with the town before you trust the ‘Tuk Tuk’ and Motordops here. Like many ‘tourist towns’ they will make an attempt to ‘prey’ on the unwary. However, in Sihanoukville there are fortunately many maps and guides available from just about every bar, guesthouse and hotel. A little research can save a lot of ‘hassle’.

3 or 4 minutes later we’ve arrived at the Holy Cow Restaurant. It’s a very inviting place and the discreet lighting radiates a ‘warm glow’ from the roadside. It looked expensive.

We were met by one of the waiters as we approached and we looked around for a free table. The large tables inside were empty, but most of the downstairs ‘outdoor’ tables were occupied so we said we’d like to sit upstairs. Sadly, after climbing the wooden stairs, we found that the upstairs was actually the ‘bar’ side of the business, so we bashfully made our way back down the stairs and to the smiling waiter. “We would like to sit here please”.

The service was very polite and attentive, with very good English spoken. He explained the ’specials of the day’, a “Chicken Kampot with pepper sauce”, “Tom Yam Prawn”, Chicken in Oyster Sauce” and “Fried Chicken with Rice”. Sounded good.

To the honest, the rest of the regular menu wasn’t really ‘inspiring with a small selection of Western food (Shepherds Pie, etc), Italian (Spaghetti Bolognese, etc), a single option of Khmer food (though with a choice of chicken, beef or pork) and a selection of ‘breakfast’ and ’sandwich’ type dishes. Though they do also offer a small selection of Vegan / Vegetarian main courses and deserts too.

We decided on the “Chicken Kampot” and “Tom Yam Prawn” from the ’specials board’.

It would appear that the Holy Cow does not have ‘Air Con’ inside (though I may be mistaken), but outside there are plenty of ceiling and wall mounted fans to provide a cooling breeze and a break from the steamy heat of the Sihanoukville night air.

The food arrived, was well presented and came in fairly generous portions. Both of us agreed that we were both surprised and pleased at the taste too. That’s not a reflection on this establishment, just that from experience in Sihanoukville, you never really know what your going to get when you order food.

I can honestly say though, these dishes were delightful, full of flavour and well prepared. My girlfriend, being a Thai and no slouch in the kitchen, even admitted that the Tom Yam was “good”. Praise indeed!

Despite the size of the main courses, we decided we’d follow up with desert. Again, not a huge selection available on the menu, but a few of the old favourites never the less. Ice Cream and a Banana Split were ordered (adventurous to fault!) and enjoyed.

All in all, we spent a very pleasant few hours at the Holy Cow, and I find that it is an establishment that I can wholeheartedly recommend.

I mentioned earlier that, judged solely on first impressions, the place ‘looked’ expensive. How wrong could I have been?!

Two main courses, two deserts, two beers and one water. $11.75 which surely must make the Holy Cow one of the best value eateries in Sihanoukville. A ‘gem’ of a place and certainly one to which we will be making many, many more repeat visits.

You should make it a ‘must’ during your stay in Sihanoukville too, good food like this is, i’m afraid to say, in relatively short supply.