David’s Noodles
13, #166 Preah Ang Eng St. (13), Phnom Penh
Monday to Sunday from 10:00 to 22:00
Tel: 012 351 890

Food: 3.5/5
Service: 5/5
Value for money: 4.5/5
Ambience: 3/5

This place, near the National Museum, gets lots of rave reviews, especially for their noodles; and I just had to give it a shot, being a big fan of freshly made noodles.

When we got there, it was pretty crowded, but we were greeted by very friendly staff and given a table inside. The owner, who is actually not called David, that is his son’s name, also came and inquired about our preferences.


Great banana shake and considerably cheaper than what most places charge.

We ended up ordering Banana shake (1.75), fresh spring rolls with prawns ($3.50), steamed dumplings with prawns, fried dumplings with pork ($3.50) and noodle soup with beef ($5.00). All very reasonable prices but would the food be any good and live up to the hype?


Not bad at all.

The food arrived very quickly, and the portions were generous. Some decoration would have been nice, presentation wasn’t all that sexy. The spring rolls were huge and very tasty. They were also very Vietnamese and almost as good as any spring rolls I have had in Vietnam. However, the dumplings were a little underwhelming. They were cooked right and hot enough that I ended up with blisters on my tongue (not their fault, I was hungry) but they just were missing something. They came with a huge load of chopped garlic, but I would have preferred some other condiment. There was soy sauce, vinegar, and chili oil on the table, which helped but that certain kick was missing.


Presentation wasn't that great.


Better than the steamed dumplings in my opinion.

The beef noodle soup continued the trend. The noodles were nice and chewy, but the broth lacked flavor. Nothing like a good “Pho” broth like in the country of our communist brothers next door. The beef, whilst generous, was a little on the tough side. I ended up adding liberal amounts of chili oil to the soup to make it more palatable.


OK, but not packed with flavours.

The food wasn’t bad, far from it, but it does not quite live up to the hype. On a positive note: the service was excellent; the owner was constantly around, and that banana shake was worth every cent. Would I go back? Sure, if I wanted a quick bite at very reasonable prices.


Can't complain about the prices.

Same here, I like to go there from time to time but I've never understood the hype.

Taste, quantity and service are much more important than presentation IMO and more so if value for money is a major consideration. Good review though and definitely a place worth checking out.

IraHayes wrote: ↑Sat Jul 22, 2023 12:59 pm Taste, quantity and service are much more important than presentation IMO and more so if value for money is a major consideration. Good review though and definitely a place worth checking out.

I agree but, as we say in German: one eats with the eye too.