Review of Hard Rock, Phnom Penh

[armchairlawyer]

I had not been to HR since before Covid. We went on a weekend evening, mostly to see the band which we heard was good. A (mostly) Filipino band called Art Chemistry. We got a table near the stage.
I couldn't find any hamburgers on the menu. They are there, but in HR-speak they are entitled "Steakburgers". Well, a steak is defined as "high-quality beef taken from the hindquarters of the animal, typically cut into thick slices", mmm.

I don’t like cheese on my burger so I looked for one without cheese. In HR-land, the cheeseless burger does not exist. So, go for the basic burger (which also has bacon) but hold the cheese.
The basic burger small-size costs $13.75 after the ++ treatment.
It comes with one slice of tomato and one onion ring which is proudly placed on top of the bun, along with a HR flag attached to a cocktail stick. You also get a small steel container of fries.

Once I peeled off the bun top and the streaky bacon strips, the burger was an unpretentious affair, slim and floppy. Reminded me of McDonalds.

The manager came around to ask how things were. I replied that I understood that the recipe and the meat quality (and quantity) were not determined locally but by some HR corporate souls thousands of miles away. I had come to see the music so the food quality was secondary to my main interest. I complimented the chef’s skills in making the given ingredients into something that was not enjoyable but at least tolerable. I decided not to go into semantics such as whether this serving had any right to call itself a steak.

The manager went off to talk with his boss. On his return, he offered to substitute my meal for the larger sized basic burger. I felt it churlish to refuse so he took away my half-eaten serving and soon returned with a larger piece of meat, this time adorned with cheese as I concluded that there probably was some science behind all of the burgers on the menu containing cheese. Yes! This was a big improvement. The eggheads at HR HQ have devised a combination of ingredients that was quite tasty and left one mostly unaware of the quality of meat being eaten. The bigger burger size also helped as the slim one just got overwhelmed by the cooking process.

Time to concentrate on the music. Now, I’m used to enjoying my rock music at Oscar’s at midnight after several drinks, not at 7.30pm in a well-lit restaurant with middle class Khmers drinking wine. So when the band rolled out their version of “Whole Lotta Love”, my interest was more intellectual than visceral. I have to say the performance was very good indeed. I would love to see them perform at Oscar’s. However, HR had obviously done careful research into consumer preferences and so, to satisfy as many customers as possible, every alternate song was sung not by the excellent Filipino but by a Khmer young lady. Let’s just say that the HR HR department had female good looks, reasonable dancing skills and knowing the words of Khmer songs (and not much else) on their job description. So the musical output is a bizarre alternating mix of 70s rock performed enthusiastically and cheesy Khmer pop songs.

The Covid-paranoid middle class clientele were reassured by all of the staff having to wear masks, no Motorhead “ I don’t wanna live forever” rock and roll vibes for them.

[John Bingham]

Sounds kind of shit but then I've never felt interested in the "Hard Rock Cafe", whether in Covent Garden or anywhere else. Some friends go to the one in Exchange Square and reckon it's okay.

[Ghostwriter]

It's an older concept than me, and hard rockers are as fresh as the Khmer Rouge, so

[rozzieoz]

Thanks for the review, I'll go and check them out.

[Doc67]

Do anyone believe they actually import a branded cheese and bacon smoked with applewood, just for a burger in a single location? And isn't all lettuce made from leaves?

And how did they manage to register "Legendary" as a trademark? Anyway, legends aren't always good.

[armchairlawyer]

Sounds kind of shit but then I've never felt interested in the "Hard Rock Cafe", whether in Covent Garden or anywhere else. Some friends go to the one in Exchange Square and reckon it's okay.

It is OK. The room is large and well fitted out, the aircon is good. Tables and chairs comfortable and well spaced out. The drinks are reasonably priced. No smoking allowed. Only the food is a problem. Very pricey for what you get, many of the dishes were around $25. It's not in the school of cuisine that believes in quality ingredients simply cooked. Quite the opposite in fact. Many people like that. Chacun a son gout.

[armchairlawyer]

Do anyone believe they actually import a branded cheese and bacon smoked with applewood, just for a burger in a single location? And isn't all lettuce made from leaves?

And how did they manage to register "Legendary" as a trademark? Anyway, legends aren't always good.

The cheese was good. The bacon looked and tasted to me that standard streaky stuff you see many breakfast places in PP. They are honest enough not to pluralise onion ring.
As you say, it's all very corporate and style over substance. But they do provide a nice place to sit and eat. If only you could have Larry's food in the Hard Rock setting.

I don't believe today's product bears much resemblance to what was served in the original restaurant in Piccadilly in 1970. That was a superb product.

[Jerry Atrick]

Do anyone believe they actually import a branded cheese and bacon smoked with applewood, just for a burger in a single location? And isn't all lettuce made from leaves?

And how did they manage to register "Legendary" as a trademark? Anyway, legends aren't always good.

The cheese was good. The bacon looked and tasted to me that standard streaky stuff you see many breakfast places in PP. They are honest enough not to pluralise onion ring.
As you say, it's all very corporate and style over substance. But they do provide a nice place to sit and eat. If only you could have Larry's food in the Hard Rock setting.

I don't believe today's product bears much resemblance to what was served in the original restaurant in Piccadilly in 1970. That was a superb product.

The thing about Hard Rock is that they are equally shit and equally expensive no matter where in the world you find one

I used get dragged by past employers to them for team bonding sessions - hang out with a bunch of cunts eating overpriced dross

At least it ran the boss' cc bill up

[armchairlawyer]

The thing about Hard Rock is that they are equally shit and equally expensive no matter where in the world you find one

I used get dragged by past employers to them for team bonding sessions - hang out with a bunch of cunts eating overpriced dross

At least it ran the boss' cc bill up

I went to the one in Saigon in 2019. They had a special local food lunch at a price that was much cheaper than the main menu. Best HR food I ever ate.

[Jerry Atrick]

The thing about Hard Rock is that they are equally shit and equally expensive no matter where in the world you find one

I used get dragged by past employers to them for team bonding sessions - hang out with a bunch of cunts eating overpriced dross

At least it ran the boss' cc bill up

I went to the one in Saigon in 2019. They had a special local food lunch at a price that was much cheaper than the main menu. Best HR food I ever ate.

Vietnamese food > American junk food for sure